A/N - DANG IT I'M LATE LOL! Oh well, I am FINALLY finished with this! This chapter was so complicated and I had to think really hard about it, but it's done and I like the end result.

I have put in the extra effort into this chapter since I've noticed I haven't been putting any gifs or pics lately. My cringey ass has LITTERED this chapter with gifs to make the story feel more intriguing I guess lol.

I would really appreciate the comments and votes cause I really did take forever thinking all this up and repeatedly had to change some scenes, take out some for next chapter, and so on and so forth.

Oh and... this chapter is pretty dark in some areas 💀

So yep! Please consider commenting and voting and enjoy ❤️

🌹🌹🌹

Chapter 23: A Foolish Heart

"Hinata, you see anything?" Naruto stood atop a boulder, looking down at the Hyuga who was using her byakugan to scout the area.

Despite her best efforts, there was just no sign of the missing Nia.

Returning her eyes to normal, Hinata then closed them in disappointment and shook her head.

Seeing this, the blonde lowered his head, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist.

"I just... can't stand it," He made a low growl. "How could I have let this happen?"

I swear... it's like it's always my fault why Nia keeps getting into danger. First, that time we got trapped in that cave and I transformed and ended up hurting her badly. Second, when I let that Fuyuka chick take her from me right after our first date then attacked Nia for a second time while being controlled. Third, when she literally died just to save me and just so on and so forth!

"It doesn't matter to me that you're a jinchuuriki... and I understand that me sticking around you can put me in serious danger, but... even so... I'm willing to risk all that, if... it means I can stay with you, Naruto...' He remembered hearing what the girl once said to him.

'But why...?' He still couldn't understand as he clenched his fists. 'Why stay by me when... I can never seem to protect you?! I'm always the reason you're never safe... why you end up hurt... What good am I? Someone striving to be Hokage should always be able to save those most important to them... especially the one they're in love with!"

Hinata lowered her eyes as she observed her crush dwell in frustration. She wanted to comfort him, but she didn't know exactly what to say.

Naruto only continued to beat himself up.

How can I allow her to call me her hero when I couldn't even keep her from getting abducted by the damn Akatsuki?!

"Rrrgh... DAMMIT!" The genin could no longer keep his thoughts to himself. "DON'T YOU WORRY ONE BIT, NIA! I SWEAR I'M GONNA FIND YOU! I PROMISE TO PROTECT YOU WITH MY LIFE, YA KNOOOOW!"

His words echoed throughout the Hyuga's mind. In a way... though she didn't wish any harm on Nia, deep down she didn't want the girl to be found. It was horrible and she hated how evil it made her feel, but there was no denying that she wanted the kunoichi to have no part in the Leaf Village. No... that wasn't it. The truth was that she wanted Nia to have no part with Naruto any longer.

She watched as the frustration of the girl's abduction was having a pounding toll on her crush. For hours upon hours, they had been looking for her with no luck at all. Over and over, she had to listen to how he'd declare his feelings for someone that wasn't her. It made her feel sick to her stomach.

She tried to stay strong and not get upset over this whole situation.

"NIA!" The genin then bounced off again as some of his clones followed. "NIAAA!"

Tears filled in the Hyuga's eyes as she saw him take off, desperately in search of whom he believed he loved.

But... this was all wrong. Why couldn't he see that she was the one? Why couldn't he see that she had been watching him since they were little? She was the one who admired him when the whole village looked down at him — Nia was nowhere to be found. She was the one whom watched him grow into who he was today — And Nia? Nowhere to be found.

"Naruto," She mumbled his name softly as she rested her fist on her heart.

Meanwhile, in another area entirely, a nin hound had ran over to Kakashi with something in his mouth.

"Kakashi, we've found a lead on where Nia could be..." One of the dogs informed him as another hound dropped down what he was carrying in his mouth.

"Hm?" The jonin kneeled and light picked up what was presented to him. It was a maroon-colored headband. He narrowed his eyes.

"This smells just like the diary you had us sniff..." The dog claimed.

"There's no mistake... this is her's, but... why is there blood spattered on it? Is it her's?"

"No... the blood smells like it comes from multiple people," One of the other dogs answered. "However, it's strange... none of it has her's on it. Didn't you say she wears her headband on her thigh?"

"Yeah, she does," Shikamaru, who was next to the copy cat ninja, added.

"There's something else... we've gotten word from one of the other dogs about a village a few miles ahead," The hound added. "Apparently, everyone except a few small children were slaughtered."

"What?" The two jonins gasped.

The dog hesitated briefly before breaking the news.

"According to what we heard from them... they say the children described the attacker to be... Nia."

There was a brief pause as the ninjas exchanged looks.

"Nia was the one responsible for the murders?" Kakashi was in disbelief.

"Why would she do that? Could she be getting forced to do such a thing?" Shikamaru pondered.

"We don't know, but Pakkun is catching up with Naruto right now to tell him of our findings."

"Well... at least we know she's alive," Yamato came jumping down from a branch. "Let's just hope she's being forced to commit such an act for Naruto's sake. I don't think he'd be able to take it if it turned out Nia did such a thing on her own free will."

"No kidding..." The Nara boy agreed. "I don't even wanna imagine the affect that would have on his mind, though... I'm positive Nia isn't doing this willingly. That's just not her."

"It may seem that way, but... you never know," Kakashi shared his opinion. "For now, we'll head to where this village is and track her down from there since we now have a lead."

Far ahead of those three, Kiba and Akamaru had been following the scent they believed to be Nia's. Out of everyone, they were right on her tail.

"This is it, Akamaru!" The Inuzuka exclaimed with immense joy. "I-I'm sure we've just found her! She's still alive!"

He then grinned.

"Talk about good luck! Once she sees that I was the one who came to her rescue and not Naruto, she'll have to develop feelings for me, don't you think?"

"Arf! Arf!"

"No more trying to hide how I feel!" He was so eager and pumped that he and Akamaru failed to realize the scent of Sasuke's group with her.

However, Karin had long sensed his chakra and as a result, the group scattered while Nia was the one to remove her Akatsuki attire and wait for the ninja to arrive.

"I'm gonna take the risk and declare my feelings! That stupid Naruto has been taking her for granted long enough! I'll show her that I'm a much better man and that she should be cheering me on in my quest to be Hokage!"

It would be a few minutes before the two would catch sight of the girl in the distance.

"There Akamaru! I see her!" Kiba exclaimed as he pointed forward, watching as Nia was seemingly walking on a dirt path alone. "YO NIA! HEY, YOU ARE SAFE! THANK GOODNESS!"

Hearing his voice, Nia slowed down till she completely came to a halt. She didn't bother to turn around and face the young man as he moved closer to her.

"Oh man, you had us all worried," Kiba hopped off his dog. "I guess you really did just hiked out on your own. I thought that whole Akatsuki abducting you thing sounded kinda off."

Because he and Akamaru were so focused on the situation in front of them, they failed to pick up the scent and voices of those around them.

"This oughta be interesting," Black Zetsu spouted out from a bark of a tree while Kisame was standing atop of one of the branches, observing the scene before them. "When she was still alive, Fuyuka informed us that this boy has feelings for Nia... Feelings that he's kept from Naruto."

"Oh?" Kisame didn't seem to care that much.

Black Zetsu, however, was intrigued.

"Yes... I'm curious to see how this'll all play out... Will she kill him or is Madara's control on her not as powerful as we thought of it to be?"

"Let's say we head on back and regroup with the others, huh?" Kiba patted on his dog's back. "You can ride on Akamaru's back."

Nia gave zero response. She just stood where she was with her back faced at him.

Near her, hiding behind some thick bushes, Sasuke's group watched as Kiba continued to speak with the girl; ignorant as to what had happened to her.

This was his moment; His chance to steer her away from Naruto. He was the one to have found her — to have saved her. The genin was nowhere to be found.

There was no doubt in his mind she was going to run into his arms. As a result, he tensed up. His face reddened and his ears burned. Since the day he witnessed her giving her life for his friend and gotten to know her day by day for the last year, he's been secretly waiting for a moment to confess his growing feelings to her.

He furrowed his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes with determination, though he still trembled with nervousness.

"He doesn't even realize this girl has no soul anymore," Suigetsu commented as Karin hushed him.

"O-Oh, I get it," The Inuzuka took a step forward. "You and Naruto must've gotten into some huge argument and you stormed off. Keh, as expected... that stupid idiot has no idea how to handle a woman. Unlike him, I fair pretty well with the ladies, and to be honest, Nia... if I'm to just come out with it, I've had my eye on you since that day you gave your life for Naruto."

Karin gasped.

"This guy has a crush on h-"

Jugo placed his hand over her mouth.

Kiba fixed his appearance a bit.

"Speaking of Naruto... don't you ever feel like you've made a mistake by being with that guy? I mean, I see how much passion and hardwork you put into your relationship with him yet he always seems to take you for granted. Not to mention the fact that he never has enough money to take you and travel outside of the village. I've heard him say how badly you'd like to do all that and have some incredibly romantic dates with him outside there yet he never seems to have the money. He is just a genin after all..."

The brown-haired boy then pointed his thumb at himself.

"Lucky for you, I'm a chunin, so I make more than him. How about you dump his sorry butt and become my girl instead, sweetheart? We can go traveling to other villages and set up those dates you wanna go on while there. I can pay, no problem."

Finally, Nia glanced over her shoulder before turning to face him completely.

Immediately, Kiba became alarmed over seeing the look in her eyes.

Dead... soulless... empty.

"Woah... you... okay?" He took a hesitant step back.

Without saying a word, the girl slowly approached him, placing her head against his chest as if to signal she wanted a hug.

"NO WAY!" He reddened with joy as he turned his head to his dog. "AKAMARU, YOU SEEING THIS TOO BOY, RIGHT?!"

"Arf! Arf!" He barked.

"So I guess this means you're finally ditching Naruto for me... As expected," He wrapped his arms around her, completely oblivious to the fact that she was sneakily pulling out a kunai from her pouch. "Well, you've made the right move. It's about time you stop rejecting-KUH!"

Just like that, he felt the sharp blade dig deep into his back. Blood slowly creeped from the corner of his lips as his eyes shakily locked with an emotionless pair of orbs.

Before he could respond, another kunai pierced him in his midsection as Nia had used her free hand to make that wound herself.

Distraught upon witnessing what happened, Akamaru charged for an attack. However, the kunoichi simply spun around and struck the Inuzuka in the gut with her foot, causing him to crash against his dog roughly and send them flying through a few trees before skidding across the ground and knocking the both of them out.

"Woah, one kick did all of that?!" Suigetsu popped from out of the bushes. "You think you can go do that to Karin next?!"

"Can you punch Suigetsu in the throat? That would be a lot better," The red-haired girl approached her teammate as she adjusted her glasses.

As those two bickered, Black Zetsu and Kisame just remained hidden further away.

"She got rid of him, no problem," The sword wielder chuckled. "Madara's control on her isn't so weak, after all..."

"But what would happen... if Naruto comes around?" Zetsu pondered. "Would he be able to release her from the genjutsu?"

"I doubt it..."

"You know... he's actually not too far from here. He's already made it to the village Nia took down. If Sasuke doesn't pick up the pace, Naruto should be caught up to them before night falls."

"Interesting..." Kisame seemed pleased. "I may have to buy Sasuke some time then... Besides... it's been a while since I've been able to feed Samehada."

"Shall we stay here for a bit then? Believe it or not, Naruto's actually a lot closer than I said now that I've sensed his chakra out again. He's approaching this area right now. He's been told of what Nia's been up to. He'll be here in a few short moments."

"You want me to step in?"

Black Zetsu shook his head.

"No... you go on ahead and follow Sasuke. I know how to slow Naruto down so he won't catch up to them too early on."

Kisame chuckled.

"And how do you plan to do that? You're not really the fighter. No offense."

"Genjutsu..."

"Hm? You can do that?"

"Not to a great extent like Madara, but... it should be enough to fool and keep the Nine Tail's away for some time."

"Hmph... I'll leave it to you then," Kisame hopped away, following in the direction Sasuke went.

And just like Zetsu had declared, Naruto did surely arrive within the next few minutes.

"KIBA!" He sprinted toward the unconscious chunin and his dog as his eyes widened and quivered at the amount of blood spilled before him.

"Hey!" He pulled out the kunais and attempted to wake his friend by patting him on the cheek. "Kiba! Kiba! What the hell happened here?! Wake up! Are you okay?! Who did this to you?!"

Pakkun, who was with him, sniffed the kunais that had been pierced in the Inuzuka.

"Nia did this..." He concluded. "These blades have her scent on it... there's no mistaking it."

"No..." The blonde shook his head. "This has to be some sort of misunderstanding! Nia wouldn't hurt anybody like this!"

"But the evidence is pointing towards her. We've even been able to find her headband and it was stained with that of other humans' blood. Then if you add in the eyewitness accounts, there's no denying she's the one whose been on a killing spree."

"She can barely kill a damn ant without feeling the need to plan a funeral for it! You really think I'm gonna believe she could kill dozens of people with no hesitation?!"

"Well... I have heard from Kakashi that she doesn't take a liking to many people..."

"So that makes her a murderer to you?!" Naruto was irritated as he had some of his clones carry Kiba and Akamaru to where the rest of the group was.

Pakkun frowned.

"Listen... all I'm saying is that perhaps... she has a motive for wanting to do such a-"

"BUT THAT'S CRAZY!" The blonde interjected. "SHE WOULDN'T DO THAT! Even back then when she was mad as hell and hated everyone and everything, she didn't do that sorta thing! She wouldn't take someone's life, let alone dozens of lives, ya know!"

"But how can you say that for sure? No, how do you know if this whole time she hasn't been scheming with the Akatsuki?"

"What the hell you talking about, Pakkun?!"

The pug locked eyes with the blonde.

"I'm saying she could've been playing all of us from the start. You didn't actually see anyone abduct her, did you? Perhaps-"

"KEH!" Naruto gritted his teeth and dashed away at top speed as Pakkun could only cry out to him as he done so.

"WAIT! YOU CAN'T JUST HEAD OFF ON YOUR OWN, NARUTO! YOU CAN'T TRACK HER DOWN WITHOUT ME!"

'I refuse to believe that!' The genin kicked off from the ground and resorted to aggressively hopping from branch to branch. 'There's no way she could've just suddenly snapped like that nor is there any way she could've been aligned with the bad guys this whole time!'

What he didn't know, was that in the midst of all this, knowing that he was not too far from Sasuke's group, Black Zetsu set forth the plan to slow the genin down by having him wind up in a fog that would ensnarl him in a genjutsu created by him.

Noticing this fog creeping in and the sky above beginning to become dark, the blonde forward onward anyway, completely blinded by his desire to find the kunoichi.

During this, he would try to collect himself. He needed to stay calm or there would be the chance that he could miss sight of her.

If there was anything that was keeping him from losing it was the reassurance that she was at the very least, alive.

That meant there was the chance that if she were corrupted, he would still be able to hold onto the hope that he could redeem her into a better person like he wanted to do with Sasuke.

However, even though she was alive somewhere, that didn't stop him from feeling down and conflicted about the possibility of her not being whom he thought of her to be.

And so, he clung onto the hope that she hadn't been playing him the entire time — that she was actually a good person.

A few minutes in, he would find what he was looking for as his eyes spotted the girl laying on the ground seemingly unconscious.

"NIA!" He gasped and quickly jumped down from the branches, rushed to the girl's aid, dropped to his knees then scooped her up in his arms. "Nia?! Nia! Hey! You okay?! Are you alright?!"

Checking her pulse, he breathed a huge sigh of relief upon realizing she was indeed alive.

Despite not responding the first time, when Naruto shook her, she began to stir. The genin held in his breath as he watched her weakly flutter her eyes open.

"Nia, you're okay now," He comforted her as soon as the two made eye contact. "Your hero came to save you!"

"My... hero?" The girl's vision took a bit long to focus on his face. However, when it did, her eyes widened and she abruptly sat up. "M-MY HERO! IT REALLY IS YOU!"

"Yeah," The blonde took her hand and squeezed it in his. "You don't have to worry anymore... I'm here for you, ya know?"

"Honeybun..." Nia just embraced him around his neck and burrowed her head against the crook of it as tears brimmed her eyelashes. "You really... came for me. I was starting to think you weren't gonna come save me. I was so scared, baby."

"Of course I came looking for you, sweetheart. I love you," He pressed her closer to him and rubbed her back. "I would never leave you to die — to fend for yourself. I would never abandon you... you're gonna be okay. Are you hurt at all? Tell me what happened."

Nia sniffled a little before answering.

"The Akatsuki took me. They made me do horrible things and tried to kill me. Somehow, I managed to escaped, but Naruto, they're looking for me and could be here any second. I'm so scared."

"I won't let anyone hurt you, you hear me?!" The ninja cupped her cheeks and made her look him in the eye. "There's no way I'd ever let anyone lay a finger on you! I'm gonna protect you, Nia! I swear it!"

"Naruto..." Tears of gratitude flowed down the girl's face as she let herself be held again tightly. "You really are my hero — I love you."

Like with Kiba, Nia slowly drew out a kunai and embedded chakra into it, having it go unnoticed by Naruto and causing the blade to resemble a dagger.

"A true hero protects those whose important to him," The ninja just closed his eyes and kissed the top of her head before nuzzling his cheek against it. "I'd do anything to keep you safe, sweetheart."

"My hero is making my heart race," The girl pulled her elbow back as she gripped the kunai's handle. "There's nobody else in this world that I love more than him."

Unaware of the danger he was in, Naruto just reddened and smiled warmly.

"And your hero loves you too. When this is all over and I bring Sasuke back and put an end to the Akatsuki... let's get married and start a family. I want you to live with me and give birth to my babies, Nia. Quit the ninja life and settle down with me..."

"And you'll protect me and the babies?"

"Yes, of course..." Naruto was melting at the thought of being able to experience what having a family is like for the first time in his life. "I'll protect you and our babies with my life. I promise, sweetie. Be with me..."

"Oh, Honeybun..."

"Sweetie..." The genin's smile turned into a grin.

His moment of bliss would suddenly twist into horror though as Nia shot her hand forward and stabbed the blonde in his stomach, all the way till the chakra blade was sticking out from his back.

Immediately, his eyes shot open as blood seeped from the corners of his lips.

"You're even dumber and softer than I ever realized," Nia then made a evil grin as she next pulled the kunai from out of the genin, resulting in him resting an arm over his wound and coughing out blood. "Did you really believe I've been on your side this entire time? That I actually fell for you? That... you were actually my hero?"

"Hah... hah..." Naruto struggled to catch his breath while his eyes fixated on Nia standing to her feet as his vision became somewhat blurry due to the amount of shock he was experiencing.

"Poor Naruto..." She chuckled as his blood dripped from the tip of her blade. "I was playing you from the start... No way would I ever let some man change my views of what this world is nor would I ever fall in love with anyone for that matter, though... I do admit, seeing you all helpless and bleeding out does extremely turn me on..."

"W-What... the hell... are you talking about, Nia?! What the hell... a-are you do-doing?!" The ninja staggered to his feet briefly before collapsing back onto his knees and gritting his teeth in agony.

Failing to realize he was simply caught in a horrific genjutsu, Naruto believed everything he was experiencing.

Nia narrowed her eyes at him.

"Didn't I just tell you?! I don't like you! I've never felt anything positive toward you! What you heard from everyone is true — They're damn right that I've aligned myself with the Akatsuki in order to take. you. down."

The blonde's eyes quaked in sheer disbelief.

"You're lying!" He shouted with an ache in his tone. "YOU'RE LYING, DAMMIT! THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE TELLING THE TRUTH, YA KNOW!"

Nia giggled into her hand before showing her stained blade to him.

"Did I not just pierce you deeply with this kunai?"

Her expression then twisted into a serious one.

"Naruto... you know damn well I'm not lying... I've got a new goal though... Forget just capturing you. I want you dead and I want you dead today!"

With that, she gripped the kunai with both hands and aimed it down at the young man's head, only to have him roll out of the way and dodge her attack.

"I... I don't get it!" He managed to get to his feet and repeatedly dodge all of her attempts to cut him down. "You... You were really trying to find a way to kill me this whole time?!"

"Yes!" Nia swung her kunai just as her opponent ducked underneath it and grabbed her by the arm, throwing her over his shoulder.

"Keh..." Naruto then threw his arm over his injury and stumbled a few steps backward before catching his balance. "Y-You can't be serious, Nia! E-Everything we've been through... together... that was... all a lie?!"

The kunoichi looked over her shoulder before turning to face him with a cold glare.

"...Of course..." Her voice had no ounce of remorse in it.

"No... NO!" The genin refused to believe anything she was saying. "What about all those times I held you close to me?! All the dates we had?! What about all the laughs we shared or the times we reassured and comforted one another?!"

"All... fake."

Tears began to fill his eyes as his whole world was starting to crumble down in front of him.

"W-Well what about when we would make love, huh?!" He desperately wanted to hold onto who he thought of her to be. "There's no way you could fake getting extremely wet and squeezing down on me then holding onto my body tightly like you never wanna let go!"

Nia just smirked.

"I obviously think you're extremely hot — that's why I never had a problem sleeping with you. Speaking of which, I've slept with Akihiko multiple times behind your back. He was telling the truth to you about me letting him go in deep while you were away..."

Immediately, Naruto's pupil constricted as his eyes widened and dulled to an extreme degree.

"W-What did you... ju-just say, N-Nia...?" His throat tightened and there was a stinging in his nose.

His heart felt like a wild animal was eating at his chest, tearing it's way to his trembling heart. It threatened to devour him, eat him whole and leave nothing behind.

He again opened his mouth to let in a small breath as he fought with everything he had to keep his tears from falling, but when Nia stood there with no ounce of shame nor regret in her eyes, Naruto couldn't control it any longer.

First, his nose grew very red at the tip; then, his mouth screwed itself around by his left ear; gradually, his face wrinkled till it resembled a withered crabapple; and finally, if one listened intently and watched closely, one could hear small sniffs and see several drops of water issue from the nearly closed and wrinkled eyes.
Soon those tears increased and rapidly streamed down his face.

He collapsed to his knees as everything inside him seemed to shut down. His eyes stung, his shoulders heaved with emotion and his body trembled.

As he was experiencing this genjutsu, the real Nia — who was abducted by Sasuke and his group, was experiencing one of her own created by the man who went by Madara.

"P-Please..." She sat in a completely white, tiny room devoid of everything outside of it, trembling and holding her head in absolute terror. "Sir... M-Madara, right? I... I don't know where I am... I don't know who I am... I can't... I can't remember anything... please help me."

This was where her mind trapped within the genjutsu placed upon her a couple to few days prior. Even though it hadn't seemed like much time passed outside, in the genjutsu, it felt like years passed by to the girl.

"You'll stay here for as long as I want you here," The man with the orange mask appeared in front of her. "But perhaps... I can let you know a little about yourself..."

Nia, still in a state of horror, slightly attempted to make eye contact.

"N-No... I wanna get out of here first. Let me out of here. I can't take it much longer. I feel like I'm gonna die if I stay in here. I've been in here for so long... I'm gonna go insane. Let me out, let me out, let me ouuuut!"

"Your only means of escape is through death. Other than that... you're stuck here."

"Then kill me..." The girl mumbled, having been mentally disturbed. "I've been in here by myself for so many years... I don't wanna live anymore. I can't take this isolation. I haven't seen the sun in years, I haven't heard another person's voice in years besides yours and my own. I haven't even seen another human being in years either. I can't take it no more. Please end it for me."

"But that would be too easy..." The Uchiha refused. "I need you rendered incapable to think for yourself. You're not quite ready yet. You still have a tiny bit of your memory left here..."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I don't even know my name. Just kill me already."

Her body was littered with many gashes and bruises she had inflicted on herself while trapped here. It was if she were in solitary confinement.

"You've beaten yourself badly... you must feel truly miserable inside here. The bruises on your face and body says it all. You've even broken your nose and gave yourself a black eye..."

"..." She had no reply.

Everything just ached — Her head, her body, her heart... just everything.

"Tell me," The man continued. "Do you know why you're here?"

"N-No..." The girl whimpered. "I don't know anything and I don't care... I just wanna die. Anything is better than staying here all alone in a small room of complete emptiness."

Hearing this, Madara created an illusion in front of her.

"The reason you're here... is cause of the Nine-Tail's," The illusion was of the Fox's jinchuuriki. "Naruto Uzumaki..."

Nia just stared at the illusion of him. She felt something smoothing in her heart yet she couldn't recognize whom the blonde was no matter how much she tried to. She staggered to her feet, wincing from her wounds.

"I don't know him..." She mumbled. "What does he have anything to do with me being caged here?"

"Hm? You really have no recollection of him?"

The girl eyed the illusion again. She could only state what she took note of.

"He's pretty handsome... but that's all I can say. I truly don't know who he is. Please... let me leave now."

"He's whom you admire dearly," Madara chose to reveal to her. "The one whom you can't help but fawn over."

"But I don't know him!" Nia replied, before squatting down and grabbing her head again. "Why are you doing this to me?! Why won't you leave me alone?! What have I ever done to you?! I can't take being here anymore! I wanna go! PLEASE!"

Her pleas were ignored.

"Fuyuka's tried multiple times to bring you back into the darkness... why would you walk away from it? Your original intake on the world lined up perfectly with that of my own. This world is rotten as is the people residing in it."

"I don't understand. Who's Fuyuka? What darkness are you talking about?"

Annoyed that he wasn't getting answers, the masked man decided to restore the girl's memories momentarily. When he did, she immediately collapsed to her knees, grabbing at her head once more as images began to run through her mind.

"There... I've restored your memories here, though not in the physical world. You should still be able to answer my questions though..."

"..." Nia moved her hands away from her. Her eyes widened in horror upon noting on the damage done to her palms and the rest of her body.

"W-What is this?" She was oblivious to the fact that she was the one to make such wounds to herself.

"Nia Umino... answer me," The masked man's voice caught her attention. "Why did you walk away from the darkness?"

"Hm?" The girl slowly looked up. "Wait, I've heard this voice before..."

However, when she did, she screamed and backed up upon making eye contact with the one who kept her prisoner in the midst of all the fog.

"KYA! YOU'RE THAT GUY WHO FUYUKA WAS WITH WHEN SHE ATTACKED THE VILLAGE!"

"You may call me Madara..." He spoke to her.

"W-What the hell is this place?" The girl would ignore this and observe her surroundings. "Everything is so bright and foggy at the same time. How'd I end up here? What did you do to me?! No, wait! Where's Naruto?! I... was just with him, wasn't I?! Where'd he go?! Did you hurt him?!"

"This... is a genjutsu I've trapped you under," The man revealed to her. "Try as you may, but you'll never be able to escape unless I allow you to myself.

"A... genjutsu?" Nia blinked a few times, though regrettably so as her eye throbbed and she was forced to give a grimace of pain.

Why does my eye hurt? Why am I covered with wounds?! Did I get into a fight? What happened?

"Yes.... you're one of the Nine-Tails' guardians, so you must die... However, I've ensnarled you here cause I have some questions for you before I put you to sleep..."

"Then why the hell should I answer any of your questions if you're just gonna kill me?!"

Having enough of her, Madara simply used his eye to place her under his control as the girl's own eyes went dull once more.

"You shall tell me the truth," He commanded as Nia slowly stood to her feet. "Why did you turn away from true darkness when you had the correct stance of what this forsaken world is?"

"..."

The girl wouldn't say anything at first.

"Answer me."

"...Naruto," She finally responded.

"Explain."

His power forced her to speak the truth even if she didn't want to.

"He... made me wanna view the world in a better light... he gives me hope that there's still good in the world..." She answered.

The man grabbed her by the throat.

"Such asinine nonsense. Your original intake of what reality is was the truth! This world is just filled with heinous people and needless acts of violence and destruction. How could you have let someone so foolish and naive make you change your perspective?! Why do you even stay loyal at his side to begin with?!"

Being as that she wasn't able to move, Nia couldn't struggle out of his grasp.

"He's... kind. I stay by him cause he's accepting, compassionate, and empathetic... He doesn't really pity someone... he hurts with them. He's not horrible like other people are. That's why I stay by him..."

"So then you do agree with me still... you believe others are heinous?"

"...I believe most people are... but there are still decent people out there. That's... what I think."

Madara narrowed his eye.

"What's his weakness?"

"I think... it's his love for his friends," Nia had no choice but to say. "They can be his strength, but at times, his concern for them is what I think drags him down. For example, his care... for Sasuke."

"And what about you? What would happen... if I killed you?"

"...You'll... be killed. I think he'll go crazy in the worst way possible. He gets upset from the tiniest bruise. I can't imagine what he'd do to you if you murdered me... or any one of his friends to be honest."

"Who's death do you think he'll have a stronger reaction to: Yours... or Sasuke's?"

"I... I don't know," The girl replied honestly.

"Tell me," The man tightened his grip on her throat.

"S-Sasuke... I think he'd wanna save Sasuke... over anyone else in this world. That's... what I truly think."

"He would choose Sasuke... over his own woman?"

"I... I'm not sure. I'm just assuming he would..."

"Now answer me this... what does he hope to accomplish with this world?"

"P-Peace... He wants to establish peace between villages and people as a whole. He doesn't want there to be anymore quarreling or unnecessary violence."

Madara scoffed at her answer.

"Such naivety. The only way for there to be peace is to place everyone in the Infinite Tsukiyomi. Only then will there ever be a such thing as true peace."

He would then go on to ask, "How long does he believe he'll be able to protect his light?"

"His... light? I don't understand."

"You — His woman."

"Me... as Naruto's light? N-No... you've got it twisted. I'm not his light... Naruto's the one whose always been my light."

"?"

"When you say someone or something is your light, you're saying they're the thing that can make you feel at ease, cause you to smile, or make you feel like you can keep going on even when the weight of the world is on your shoulders and you feel like just giving up on everything, right?"

"..."

One person just came to his mind.

The girl took his silence as a yes.

"In that regard, I don't think I would consider myself as his light. His friends were already his light before I even got to know him. The only thing I can do is to make sure he stays in that light, because..."

The girl started to blush and softly smile to herself.

"If he was able to make my icy cold, black heart melt and have a red color again then make me find my smile and for sure make me want to live again, then... I'm sure... that would... technically make him my light... right?"

When the masked man didn't reply, the girl just found herself rambling.

"Despite Naruto being my light... I couldn't get him to notice me for crap at first," She lowered her eyes and weakly smiled upon remembering her failed attempts at trying to get her feeling reciprocated. "It really sucked... experiencing rejection after rejection and unrequited love in general... haah... I totally remember how much of a flustered mess I'd get if the guy so much as smiled at me..."

Hearing this, the man's eye widened a bit as he was suddenly being hit with random long lost memories.

"Then I was so much of a loser that when he let me have a picture of him, I really freaking started kissing it while I was alone and thinking about him... It was so embarrassing," Nia wanted to hide in a hole. "My weird ass was probably the only person in the world who would be doing that... but then it's like, looking at a picture of them makes you feel good, so... that's what I would do. I wish I had someone to relate to in that sense."

The masked man was speechless as the memories kept pouring in.

"The worst part though," Nia kept talking. "Is when... you know you'd make a great boyfriend or girlfriend to someone, yet... they always seem to have their eye on another person and that other person always has that one quality that you don't and no matter how damn hard you try to possess that same quality... you always fall short... and you have to continue watching the person you love admire that other person as it feels like your heart is being ripped out from your chest... cause you know how strong your love is for that certain someone yet they don't seem to understand how much you're willing to give or sacrifice in order to just be with them or have them notice you at the very least."

"It's so heartbreaking and annoying..." The girl sighed. "Hurts like hell... I'm so used to it."

Madara narrowed his eye at the kunoichi as her babbling wouldn't subside.

"Thankfully... by some miracle, my feelings finally got returned after what seemed like eons. Now, I just do my best to be there for him and give him all the support in the world. Naruto always brags about how he's gonna be Hokage and keeps asking me and everyone else to watch him do it, so I always agree to that and give him my love, encouragement, and reassurance all the time."

"I'm always watching..." A young female's voice ringed through the man's ear.

Before she could say anything more, Madara threw her to the wall as Nia's back slammed against it before crashing her front side to the floor.

His blood began to boil. Everything she told him made him sick to his stomach. He knew how foolish it was for anyone to believe the world was anything but hell. His mind couldn't get the nightmarish moment of realization out of it.

Because she was already wounded badly to begin with, she slipped into unconsciousness with the masked man slowly making his way over to her, standing over her body.

"Your reasoning for wanting to personally kill her yourself is quite laughable," The deceased Fuyuka's voice made it's way into his mind as he recalled what she once said to him before dying. "You wander around believing you wish to kill her simply for the fact that every guardian must be killed in order to go after the jinchuuriki, but... in reality, the only reason you wish to do so is cause you're extremely envious of the fact that Naruto, whom reminds you so much of your former self, still gets to have his personal light while yours was taken away from you."

Those words spoke volumes for him... cause deep down... he knew them to be true.

There were no way to describe how badly he wanted to kill Nia. However, now wasn't the time. He had to wait. He still needed her to kill Sasuke the moment his guard was down and he was weak. He needed her to take as many lives as possible. He needed Naruto to suffer through seeing her become so violent and murderous before adding insult to injury, and murdering the girl in cold blood right in front of the genin to end it all.

He hated the blonde's naivety. His ideals and morals made him want to beat some sense into him. He felt he needed to open his eyes and make him realize the world could never be in peace unless infinite tsukiyomi came to be. What better way to do that then make him watch his lover being killed right in front of him as he observes everything utterly helpless and without hope — like how he had to experience having been done to him with his own love?

"Naruto always brags about how he's gonna be Hokage and keeps asking me and everyone else to watch him do it, so I always agree to that and give him my love, encouragement, and reassurance all the time," Nia's words this time ran through his mind.

If only time would speed up so he could hurt her... so he could get one step closer of getting rid of everything that would still make him think of that one special person.

Rin Nohara.

———

A/N - As you can see, I love ObiRin lol 💀 Why the heck did these two not happen 😭😭😭😭 they were so beautiful together! I shipped them so hard lol

Oh, and I had a Jiraiya scene in here originally but I had to save it for next chapter. And oh god, I got Naruto messed up with the genjutsu he was in 💀 I feel terrible but it was so entertaining to write something bogus for once.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thanks for reading!

Please comment and vote and have a great rest of your day ❤️

QOTD:

1. Fave Part?

2. What would you say the first book was about and what would would you say this book is about? (Pls don't copy each others answers. Just explain what you truly think)

3. How do you think Jiraiya impacted Naruto and Nia's relationship throughout the story? (I'm mainly asking this for something in my next chapter)