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Disclaimer: All characters, places, and abilities within the Naruto world are created and owned by Masashi Kishimoto. This fanfiction is completely my own artistic work set in his world; and all rights to the story I wrote belong to me.


Healing Hurt

She drew a deep sigh; her long dark hair fluttering in the wind. Focus she told herself. Don't think... Act. She widened her stance. Don't worry about missing... She stepped lightly forward and launched a right-handed, forward thrust and without missing a beat spun 270 degrees simultaneously lifting her elbow and whipping it around as she gracefully finished the full turn ending one stride further then her previous attack. Just follow up immediately. An enemy can't counter your attack unless you give them time to do so. In Hinata's mind, each strike made contact with a foe. As she quickly stepped from one form to the next, her mind blazed with the combinations she had been taught. Palm thrust, spinning elbow, right hand trap, left hand palm to the chest, reverse trap : left hand, right spear-hand, precisely between the ribs : hit the heart, pivot right, side-step, quick 2-finger stab to the side of the throat, pivot right, quick spin, double palm thrust to the lower back, aim for the kidneys.

Each step Hinata performed perfectly. She had gone through this combination more times than she could possibly count. If your opponent still stands, do not hesitate; move into combination 3 or 6... Faster and faster Hinata's lithe form moved; her feet skipping, never faltering through step and turn, power stance, to pirouette. Finally, exhausted, she bent over to catch her breath hands on her knees, short, ragged breaths giving her body little air. She dropped to her knees and willed her body to calm. She took long, deep breaths filling her lungs. I've done it... again... all 17 stage 3 combinations seamlessly blended 4 times never in the same order, never a misstep.

The success gave her no happiness. Practice was perfect again; everything she did was perfect. No missteps, not a single misplaced attack. Then why... She leaned back on her toes supporting her weight in a crouch. Why had she failed when it mattered most! Real life was never the same. No matter how much she sparred, how much she practiced, when it came to the mission... No forget the mission, when it came to protecting her friends, she had failed. Horribly! She stifled a sob of frustration, and though she felt it, pretended the hot saline rolling down her cheek was simply an illusion, sweat, surely nothing more. She dropped her hands behind her for support as she lowered herself to the ground. Lying back on the soft forest-green felt wonderful. Her muscles ached from the hours and hours of non-stop practice she had forced upon herself today. She stretched her limbs slightly her heart-rate slowly returning to normal. The warm sun cast a fluorescent beauty upon the scene. The lush colors, the light breeze, the cerulean sky... they were all lost on Hinata though. In her mind, a different scene replayed: the same scene she'd been watching over and over as she practiced all day long.

Team 7's Sai carefully slipped around the corner of the small hut that held their objective. Midnight served him well; his dark clothing camouflaged him perfectly. The village was small; three guards that had been patrolling the town lay in awkward positions where they'd fallen. It seemed unbelievable how quickly Sai had taken them out. Shino had cast a net of insects around the entire village slowly draining chakra from all who slumbered. Not enough to cause damage, but enough to make them sleep much more soundly. Sakura waited to the east of the village, their expected escape route, ready to provide medical care if it was needed. Naruto and Kiba were on hold in the trees waiting to assist if Hinata or Sai were suddenly ambushed by a larger group. Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Sai had but to slip into the hut, reach their target, inject the paralysis drug into him to keep him quiet, and the two of them would slip out unnoticed and be back reporting to Tsunade in no time. Hinata's job was to look out for any remaining patrols and silently take them out while Sai concentrated on the target. Vital information lay dormant in the target's mind hidden beneath a seal. Tsunade had made it very clear that this mission was important. Hinata watched with bated breath as Sai expertly picked the lock on the front door and slipped inside. In moments, he had returned with an older, slight-builded man over his shoulders. She was impressed at how quickly he'd accomplished his portion. They were almost through. She suppressed a giggle when she noticed the target's pajamas were decorated with little pink pigs.

Sai's eyes showed no emotion as usual, though there was a slightly different shine to them that reflected success. His eyes glanced at her and then a short distance to her right and then back to her wider. For a moment, she didn't understand. But Sai never did anything without reason. Something had alerted him. She watched his hand drop to his side and come up with a kunai. Her eyes widened as he spun it once around his finger and let it loose right at her! Stifling a cry, she jumped backward just as a guard lunged for her. The kunai slipped neatly between his ribs as he landed where Hinata had been only seconds ago.

Shame burned in Hinata's cheeks; she'd failed to do the one thing she was supposed to: keep a look out. She closed her eyes for a half-second and summoning her chakra whispered “Byakugan!” Her sight range increased a hundred-fold she suddenly realized there were five guards only feet away. Sai had immediately noticed and acted taking one down, but with the target in his grasp he could not help her take the rest. His goal was to get out of the village and rendezvous with Sakura. It was Hinata's job to get them out silently! As these thoughts blazed through her mind, Hinata's practiced hands and feet seemed to move almost of their own accord silently dispatching the first two guards with three strikes each. Combination 1, flow into combination #3, the guard blocked her attack three hits in. For a moment she was stunned having completely expected the strike to hit. His fist sailed under her guard and connected with her stomach. She lurched slightly, but recovered and quickly drove a spear-hand into his throat: another guard down. That was three. A fourth tried to circle her, but Byakugan was not to be fooled; she finished the combination with a double forward thrust behind her knocking the wind from her attacker's lungs. She dropped low, and a quick sweep knocked him off his feet onto his head. With any luck, he'd been knocked out, she thought, finished. She turned to Sai apologetically; he was of course already sixty yards away half-way to Sakura. Hinata cursed herself for being so foolish and turned to follow him arms dropped behind her to streamline her sprint.

Just as she pushed off with her right leg to run, Naruto dropped in front of her nearly forcing a collision. WHAT was he doing?! Anger burned through her for a moment and evaporated leaving fear as she watched him draw a kunai. There was a loud “OI!” With a flick of his wrist, the kunai sailed through the air and embedded itself within a black-suited leg. A tiny “ugh!” escaped the guard's mouth before the specially prepared paralysis-solution the kunais were tipped with froze the man's muscles. He lost his balance and tipped off the roof of a building silently dropping to the grass along with a bow and the single arrow he had knocked. Naruto's eyes showed wide-eyed concern, then quickly narrowed in anger at her carelessness when he realized she was alright. Hinata had frozen in place having been saved twice by her friends; she had nearly cost them the mission... If he'd managed to alert the village... but she was ripped from her thoughts as Naruto jerked her arm forward already a step into his run for the rendezvous. Hinata jumped forward and ran with him. Her face was crimson, she was glad nobody could see it in the blackness of the night.

Skidding to a stop three minutes of full-out running later, Naruto dropped her hand and rushed over to Sai and Sakura who were leaning over the target. Sakura's hands were busily running chakra over the man checking for injuries apparently. Hinata who hadn't even had time to be embarrassed about Naruto's hand having been in hers, rushed over, and whispered quickly, “I'm sorry! I just looked away for a...” But Sakura had looked up at her angrily. Sai glanced at her, shook his head, and stood up. Naruto looked from Sai to Sakura as did Hinata. She was confused for a moment longer than Naruto who was now also glaring at her. “What..? I... I'm sorry..” she stuttered wondering why they were so upset. She had made a mistake or two, but... they had succeeded still! She took a step forward as Sakura again shook her head and stood. She and Sai started off toward the Leaf Village. Hinata, completely perplexed, glanced at Naruto and then crouched over their target to see why they hadn't taken him with them. She saw it... foam on his lips. A disgusting-looking froth encrusted his mouth and chin. He'd been poisoned... how? She pulled a glove from her pocket and slipped it on. Having lifted the man's upper lips, she saw the obvious cause. Small chunks of what had been a gel capsule were stuck between his teeth. The old man had been instructed to keep a poisonous pill under his tongue even while he slept. Sai had succeeded in paralyzing him, and Shino had stolen his energy so he slept. The fifth guard she'd let escape had yelled before Naruto silenced him. The yell had woken the paralyzed target who had managed to crush the pill in his teeth. He was dead. Naruto again grabbed her hand glanced at her once; she read disappointment in his gaze. They both took off running side by side: he pulled her along; they had to reach the Leaf Village before it was discovered who had tried to kidnap the old man. As she ran, her eyes stung, her lip trembled slightly, they'd failed. It was her fault. He was dead. It was her fault. Naruto... Naruto was disappointed in her... She'd failed him too. Stung by her tears, she blindly ran allowing Naruto's hand to guide her back to Konoha.

It was that look, he'd given her... She rolled onto her side and closed her eyes. He'd only glanced at her for a moment... but the disappointment evident in his eyes: the one she very least of all wanted to fail... it was enough to threaten tears once more. Hinata had tried to blame her failure on the guard who had stopped her combination. She reasoned that if she'd simply trained harder, she wouldn't have frozen when she was interrupted. She'd simply have continued into a different string of attacks. If she'd managed, she would have seen the last attacker on the roof, and this might all have been prevented. Try as she might, though, she could not erase the nagging in her mind that refused to believe this cover story. A quick glance at her watch told her it was nearly time to report to Tsunade. Naruto, Sakura, and Sai had reported immediately following the mission. Naruto had sent Hinata home. Even when angry with me.... he still... he knew I was in no shape to stand before Tsunade... he is the kindest boy I have ever known!

Hinata jumped to her feet and started the trek toward the Hokage Mansion. Along the way, she invented story after story to explain away her failure. She considered for a moment simply pleading for mercy the moment she entered the Fifth's office. Tsunade didn't value pleading though; she would want answers, and no amount of tears would change that. She quickly dismissed the idea and returned to inventing stories as she sprinted past Ichiraku's just in case Naruto was there. As she made her way to the gate leading to Tsunade, she had still not managed to string together a series of events that would exclude her from blame. She wouldn't dare try to pass blame onto her teammates, but she feared Tsunade's reaction as well. Staring at the ground, completely ignoring all those around her as she approached the door, she crashed right into Kurenai who tripped and nearly fell. The baby! Hinata threw out her hand and caught Kurenai's arm. She flashed a relieved smile as she helped Kurenai back to her feet. The older woman, recovered from her initial shock in just a second.

“Hinata! I'm sorry. I wasn't paying attention. What with the baby and all my mind's in a thousand places!”

“Oh, no... Sensei, it was my fault completely!”

Kurenai flashed a knowing smile and, as she slipped past her, softly imparted: “Relax, simply be truthful. Tsunade's not expecting everyone to be a hero. Guilt is the worst punishment one can inflict on themselves.”

Hinata's cheeks colored. Does she know...? Already? Everyone knows? She hung her head and whispered, “Yes, Sensei.”

As she climbed the red-carpeted stairs, her mind resigned itself to the truth. She knocked tentatively on the large wooden door.

“Come in,” came a strong female voice.

Hinata stepped in and with a little difficulty closed the door. Her fingers had lost their dexterity. Her hands were shaking. She quickly hid them behind her back. Tsunade rifled through some papers and tossed an entire folder off the desk which Shizune managed to snatch before it scattered across the floor.

“Enough of this! Paper, paper, paper, sign this, read this, approve this!” She turned with a huff to Shizune. “ Do we really have time for this nonsense! I have much more important things to deal with!”

Hinata trembling accidentally backed into a photo on the wall which fell to the floor with a clatter. Tsunade's piercing gaze darted to Hinata and immediately lightened.

“Don't worry about it, Hinata. Thank you for coming in.”

I must look as terrified as I feel, she guessed, because Tsunade quickly followed up with:

“Really, don't worry about the picture... it's not a big deal.”

Hinata's mind snapped back to the present. She reached down, picked up the shattered frame and barely whispered an

“I'm sorry.”

“It's fine, really. Shizune, have someone pick me up another frame will you?”

“Right away!”

With that, Shizune vanished in a puff of smoke. Honestly, Tsunade thought, Can't even SHE take the stairs... all day with this poofing in an out! She rolled her eyes and turned back to the still shaking girl.

“Hinata.”

Hinata jumped nearly three feet. She's obviously upset about the mission results. Poor thing.

“Hinata... Naruto and Sakura explained what happened in last night's mission.”

Hinata's face fell; she hung her head.

“I'm sorry, ma'am. I -I just -I failed.. I c-comp-pletely f-failed in my d-...”

“Nonsense!”

Tsunade's eyes were wide.

“You single-handedly fought off five attackers?

“Furthermore, you kept a lookout over your teammates with your Byakugan and saw to it that they all made it back safely by ensuring no one was following you?

“...tell me... How did you fail?”

Tsunade's kind eyes smiled up at her. Disbelief flooded through Hinata's mind. She stood utterly perplexed.

“I...”

“Naruto gave us a play-by-play, with his usual energy, on how you managed to spot and disarm five guards. And Sakura assured me that the target was dead the moment Sai paralyzed him.”

She sighed.

“We never expected they would have implanted a drug that would react with any other chemical agent to bring about a quick death... The mission was a failure before it began!”

Hinata couldn't believe her ears. They had covered for her. Explained away her failures with a story far better than any she could have conjured. She was safe. Her heart slowed, her hands stopped shaking and small smile flitted across her lips.

“That's better!” Tsunade quipped. “Good work, keep up the training, it's really paying off for you... but at the same time... do take some time to rest, eh? You look like you're about to collapse, how long did you train today?”

Hinata blushed and answered truthfully, “Um.. w-well... I guess. Maybe thirteen hours?”

“Straight? Ridiculous! Go and get some sleep!”

Hinata nodded her smile widening.

“Dismissed!”

Hinata practically floated down the stairs. She was off the hook. She hadn't lost her chunin rank. She hadn't been punished at all. Sakura... even Sai? Had covered for her! And Naruto... Naruto had seen to her escape!

She choked on the thought. Naruto had lied for her. Lied. Naruto never lied.... never about something so serious as a mission. It was against his nindo. Her eyes widened. He'd dispensed with his own morals to save her hide, when it was her fault... She'd simply been careless! Stunned for a moment that she'd finally admitted it to herself, she said it again, out loud. “I was careless!” I forced Naruto to choose between his nindo and his teammate and he chose me. I'm a horrible person for being happy about this!

Without really considering where she was going, Hinata made her way to the entrance to Konoha and dropped into a wooden bench seat still deep in thought. As she considered deeply how to repay her friends, an old memory suddenly rose in her mind. The last time... the only other time Naruto had forsaken his nindo. It had been her fault that time as well. He had been so angry. “'I won't ever go back on my word!' That's my nindo! How dare you try to take that away from me!” She heard those words echo across her mind as clearly as if he'd said them to her right now. She had been paired with him in the academy. Together, they were to accomplish three goals in a wilderness mission: 1. to find food for themselves, 2. to stay together as a working unit no matter what, and 3. and most importantly neither of them was to leave the forest until two days had passed.

The mission had started out successfully enough. As usual, the moment the mission had been explained, Naruto jumped to his feet pumped his fist and shouted: “Alright! Don't you worry, Iruka-sensei, I'll finish this mission easy! I never go back on my word; that's my nindo!” Naruto seemed to have a nose for food and had quickly discovered some wild berries that were quite tasty. Together, we set up camp, and my Byakugan had found us a rabbit for dinner. That, however, was when the trouble had stared. Naruto had had to leave the camp to kill and clean the rabbit. I'm too squeamish; I just couldn't handle it. When he had returned with cleaned strips of meat ready to roast over the fire he'd made before he left, I refused to speak to him. He hadn't been too bright, but as he roasted the rabbit and helped himself to a strip, even he couldn't miss her look of disgust.

“Hey... in the wilderness it's eat or be eaten... mission objective #1: get food for you and your teammate! I did that!”

He had reached into the fire, pulled out a half burnt stick, and stabbed a strip of the rabbit which had been sizzling on the stones surrounding the fire. He tried to hand the stick to me but...I slapped it from his hand and glared at him.

“What did you do that for? I spent over an hour cleaning that!”

“Just to stuff your face! You killed an innocent rabbit!”

“I did what Iruka-sensei said; I swore I wouldn't fail! 'I won't ever go back on my word!' That's my nindo! How dare you try to take that away from me!”

“And” He added, “might I remind you WHO found the rabbit?” He had inquired.

I didn't have an answer for that so I simply got up and left the camp. Naruto had jumped up immediately trying to follow me into the woods. But it was no use. I used my Byakugan to watch him following me from behind and easily evaded him. He'd spent the entire night and most of the next day looking for me.

I regretted my sudden rage. It wasn't Naruto's fault that I couldn't stand the sight of death even if it nourished me. It wasn't his fault that I'd had a change of heart. He'd done his part by finding the berries. I led him to the rabbit, and, when he acted as my teammate and did what I couldn't, I stormed at him and walked off. I completely ignored his work. I felt terrible... but was too ashamed to return to him. I knew it was the right thing to do, but my pride refused to let me. And... she now admitted to herself, I didn't want him to have the chance to say he hated me and never wanted to see me again.. to call me the loser that I knew I was... I was so foolish then... I should have known he'd never do something to purposely hurt a friend ever. “By the second night...” she whispered aloud. “Naruto had completely lost any hope of finding me.” He worried that I'd been hurt. That I had gotten lost... She shook her head as the memory continued to play out before her closed eyes like reels of film. He, finally feeling he had no choice, broke the final rule and left the forest in search of help. And he had gotten it too. He came back with Iruka who had found me in little time.

Naruto had taken all of the blame for the mission's failure. He told Iruka that he had failed to find food for me, and so I had left to find it myself and gotten lost. Iruka had failed him in the class team mission project.

Later... I was so overcome with guilt that I went to go see him... to apologize... to try to make up for it. I was so nervous I could barely put one foot in front of the other as I walked the steps to his room. I knew, even then, that I was in love with him. He'd caught my eye ever since that day he'd stood up for me... took a beating for it too... but I never forgot what he did for me... Hinata shook her head and willed her mind back into the memory she had been sinking into. When I got to his door, I took a deep breath and raised my hand to knock... but I couldn't do it! I was too scared! What if... what if he didn't answer... what if he didn't want to see me... I wouldn't blame him! What if he hates me! I winced at the mere thought of it. I had raised my hand to knock again when a flash of his disappointed face struck my mind again. When Iruka had failed him, he hadn't said a word. He simply glanced at me for half a second. It hadn't been anger, just sadness. I heard the other kids laughing and slinging insults at him. “Couldn't even handle a basic survival mission!” “Survival? It was just a camp out!” “Idiot! How could a baka like him EVER become a genin?!” It was more than I could bear. I buried my head in my hands. I... I hated myself for not being able to stand up for him.... like he had for me. The glance he gave me wasn't even accusatory. It simply said “I'm a failure.” Worse than anything he could have done or railed at me... was for him to think he was a loser...

I don't know how long I stood there, but, as I remembered that face, and determination coursed through me to tell him how special I thought he was, I raised my hand to knock again. The door burst open, and I nearly knocked on his face! I was so startled I tripped and had to grasp the wall to keep from falling. Naruto's eyes widened questioningly.

“Huh...Hinata? Why?”

“Er... um... Na-Nar-r-r-uto-k-kun...”

“What?”

“..I...er... well I..”

“Come to yell at me again?!”

He took a defensive stance. Apparently, he thought I still blamed him.

“Hinata...I did the best I could to get you a passing grade... what more do you want from me?!”

I took a step back.

“No... Naruto-kun, I came here to tell you-”

“I KNOOOW! I'm NOOO GOOD! I'll never be a decent ninja. Well let me tell you something!”

He took two steps closer and spread his legs leaning toward me his right hand formed a fist his left pointed directly at me as he shouted:

“I WILL become the greatest ninja! I WILL become HOKAGE and EVERYONE will notice me!”

He smirked, and dropped his hands to his side and raised his nose to the ceiling.

“No matter what you and your stupid friends say about me!”

I was exasperated, not only that, I was getting angry. He completely misunderstood why I had come to see him! So I said the first hurtful thing I could think of:

“You won't give up? Won't go back on your word? That's you're nindo? HA! You already went back on your word! You failed that mission when you swore to Iruka-sensei you'd pass it easy!”

He slumped a little, and I knew I'd hurt him. But I was angry now and didn't care.

“And they're right you know! You don't play ninja very well! Always running off doing things without thinking... I mean what kinda ninja expects to blend in with ORANGE anyways?!”

“This kind does! And if I'm SUCH a bad ninja why were YOU the one crying over me making dinner?! HUH?! And then I tracked you d-”

I stiffened yelling back at him now.

“You did NO such thing! I watched you the whole time! You were clueless! You stumbled around for a day and a half without sleep, I didn't even have to stay awake to avoid you! Iruka-sensei finally helped you find me!”

I didn't notice the look on Naruto's face and plunged on.

“I could have rejoined you anytime I wanted! But you... hah, I'm glad you failed!”

The moment the words left my mouth I regretted them. When I look back now and think about the horrible things I said that day... I can hardly believe that Naruto didn't simply throw me out and never speak to me again...

“Hi-Hinata-ch-chan... you...”

He seemed at a loss for words.

“You WANTED... me to fail? You... made it happen... purposely.”

“Nar-r-ruto... I-I-!”

He moved so lightening-fast I barely saw him coming. When I watch the scene in my mind now, I can see he merely forced me onto the bed face-up with a light push, but then, in the moment, I was so frightened it seemed like he slammed me down. I didn't know what was happening. I wanted to fight him, but I was so scared I couldn't move at all. Next second, Naruto had grabbed both my ankles and crossed them. His left hand gripped my crossed ankles and lifted them into the air. Higher, higher...till they were over his head, and then he pulled them back toward me till they were nearly over my head but not quite. Before I could even fathom WHAT was going on I heard a loud snap. And then a small area on my right buttock suddenly felt like it had been pinched hard. The sound oddly reminded me of father's maid beating the carpet against a post to get the dust out of it. The sound came again and the pinch harder now this time I felt it on my left cheek. The sensations all came so fast I couldn't make any sense of them. I had closed my eyes in fear. The pain increased... spreading from one spot on each of the center of my bottom's cheeks upward... I opened my eyes and forced myself to look at Naruto. His face was angry, determined, sad... and then I knew what the pinch was. His hand was rising and falling on my bottom over and over and over. I let out a little “Oh” as I watched his hand crash down onto my bottom and immediately felt the pain in response. Somehow it seemed to hurt more now that I could see it happening!

A thousand thoughts whipped through my mind all at once as I tried to drown out the pain. Naruto! He was.. How dare he! But I... I deserve... but! OUCH! I kept myself from voicing the pain, but my eyes were starting to tear. There were so many thoughts buzzing through my mind about how much I deserved to be punished, but how this wasn't right! How I felt about Naruto, How I didn't want him to hate me! I wondered if he hated me, and that's why he was doing this to me! He looked into my eyes and it took my breath away. For a moment everything else was lost. He was speaking... but I couldn't hear him. I barely registered the pain even. Then his words suddenly broke through my trance.

“...you. I don't... I CAN'T UNDERSTAND why you hate me so much, Hinata! Why?!”

When those words registered, all my anger evaporated. “Hate him,” I thought? Hate... Naruto? He thinks...? it was like ice stabbing my heart. I resolved there to accept whatever punishment Naruto had justly decided to give me. He had taken all the blame on himself... he had failed the mission when it was me! All along my fault! SMACK!

A particularly hard spank suddenly stole my attention away from my thoughts.

“Hinata, I always respected you. Because you never laughed at me like the other kids do... I wanted... I hoped we'd be friends. It's because of that... because of that...”

He seemed unable to go on, so he settled for action instead. His hand stopped bouncing off my quickly warming rear-end, and moved to the button of my pants. My eyes widened and the scarlet my face had forgotten to show when Naruto started spanking came out in full! The button was undone, his hand.. my zipper... as my brain tried to reach through my shock to provoke some kind of action, Naruto pulled my ankles up higher lifting me onto my lower back, and with one light pull, tugged my pants down over my hips and out from under my bottom. My face was crimson, as with his attentions, they slid down past my thighs and came to rest just a few inches above my ankles.

“Na... ruto!”

I breathed out, in a panic. I watched his hand rise and finding my body able to move again struggled pulling my body forward, but Naruto was too strong, he held me in place with ease. And, as I squeezed my thighs together and tried to press forward, I felt my movements pulling my panties. All I succeeded in doing was stretching my panties more tightly across my already virtually unprotected cheeks. Naruto watched my bottom clench and unclench and lowered his hand slowly to rest between my cheeks. The resulting touch even through the thin cotton was electrifying! My mind and body went crazy! Heat swooped through me; I felt my hips convulse of their own accord. His hand felt the vibrations of my movement. Felt my bottom tighten in his hand. And, without a word... he began to discipline me. His hand rose and crashed into my lower left cheek landing hard in the light blue material and sinking deeply into my bottom. I heard a loud SNAP and then it felt like twenty bees had stung a small portion of my bottom. From that sting a deep-seeded heat flowed. Before I could contemplate further, the hand smacked down on my right cheek. The spanks were coming hard and fast now. Naruto meant to teach me a lesson, and he was doing a good job of it! His electrified hand smacked into my upper thigh and for the first time I felt a good spank on my bare skin. The pain got the best of me; before I could stop it, I had cried out:

“Aagghh!”

And that was it... with that one cry, my resolve to hold back my tears was broken. Naruto aimed his fire-breathing hand into my right thigh again and then jumped to the same position on the left side. Faster now, his hand was peppering my tender bottom with spanks that were quickly overwhelming my sense of dignity. “Ouch!” I cried when a particularly hard spank hit the side of my thigh. “Owww' “ouch” “oh!” “aghh” He seemed to read my reactions and quickly learned how best to make his hand sting my burning bottom. His hand now cupped my cheeks as he spanked delivering the full force of his hand into the curve of my bottom not wasting a single inch. I was on fire, I lost control, Naruto... he punished me still. All at once I released my tears, they filled my eyes like puddles and then rushed like rivers down my cheeks. I sniffled and cried and yelped with each stinging slap. I didn't fight him. I deserved this. Naruto deserved this. I hurt him. I purposely hurt him... just like those other jerks at the academy, just like all the people of the village did... for no reason! I did it too... when I had wanted him to know I loved him. In a surge of emotion I cried out:

“Oh, Naruto, I'm so sorry!”

I sniffled and gasped for breath and sobbed my heart out whispering over and over how much I was a fool, how sorry I was for treating him like nothing. As the rapid spanking burned the pain deeper within me, I realized the pain in my heart, the pain that must be in his heart from my betrayal was much worse than the pain I was enduring now.

“Naruto...”

I uttered his name... not loud, not quiet, completely ashamed. The tone stopped him, stopped his hand. He looked deeply into my eyes. I felt the burning in my bottom suddenly blossom into an inferno in the absence of his spanking to distract me from the overall affect. Through my tears I choked out:

“Naruto... I....sob I... sob I'm so sorry...”

He looked back at me for a moment as though shocked and realizing finally what he'd done. In my head I thought “Don't you dare say you're sorry.”

But he didn't. He simply nodded and a light smile formed on his lips. A warm smile. And he lowered my ankles, in the process lowering my burning bottom and thighs onto his bed. I winced in pain. He inched closer looking down at me. He slipped his arm under my knees and his other under behind my lower back. Showing off his strength and care, he lifted me softly in one motion up and held me against his chest. I rested in his lap. He held me, hugged me. And I looked into his eyes in awe wondering at how the owner of the hand that had so hurt me... could have such a warm chest, and such gentle eyes...

I woke up a few hours later cozy, warm. It was so soft and comfortable, but felt somehow strange. After several attempts to open my eyes I finally managed, sleepily drinking in my surroundings. Naruto's room! I snapped awake. The strange sense... it's because this isn't my bed! For a moment I couldn't remember what I was doing here. Under the blanket I reached down to lightly scratched my thigh, my whole rear-end was itching like crazy! That half-second of scratching awoke a wave of unwelcome pain so sharp I jumped a few inches up from the bed... which was quite the wrong thing to do... because I had to come back down and the pressure of colliding with the bed sent another flaming wave of pain through my bottom. It seemed to ripple out from the centers of my cheeks and spread to my thighs. With the pain, came the flash of memories. Naruto had....I blushed furiously just thinking it... had... redder still... had... s-s-SPANKED me! The flash of Naruto pulling my pants down played in fast forward over and over. It was then I realized I was wearing no pants. I blushed even further if that were possible... a few minutes later when I had found them and put them on, Naruto embarrassed had explained that I had fallen asleep in his arms and he didn't think it would be comfortable to have my pants... bunched up around my ankles.... and he didn't want to wake me to pull them up, so he had gently slipped them off, folded them, and laid me down in his own bed. After tucking me in, he'd simply watched over me. Not wanting anyone to get the wrong idea if they came in while I was in his bed...

Hinata smiled as that memory's blissful end faded from the movie screen in her mind. The tail-end of the conversation they'd had that morning still sounding quietly

“I'm so... so... sorry, Naru-”

“Hinata, it's over... you're forgiven... really. You're punishing yourself far worse than I did with that guilt.... stop it...”

“He had known too,” she mused. Just as Kurenai had said today, Naruto had said it years ago... 'Guilt is the worse punishment you can bring on yourself.'

She sat up on the bench smiling at the thought that knowing that had absolutely no effect on how guilty she felt. She'd carelessly caused the failure of all her friends, and she'd been the cause of Naruto's breaking his nindo... for a second time... She felt just plain awful.

Suddenly, her eyes widened, she jumped up from the bench full of purpose. She knew exactly what to do. It seemed stupid of her not to have known immediately. So glaringly obvious... There was only one way to rid herself of the guilt and mend her relationship with Naruto at the same time. She walked toward Naruto's house, purpose in each step. She was nearly there when-

“Hinata!”

“What?!”

Hinata jerked her head around, jumping slightly when her thoughts were interrupted. A pink-haired ninja flashed her a friendly smile and waved for her to slow down. Hinata smiled back nervously, her guilt quickly resurfacing.

When the Kunoichi caught up a moment later, she seemed to be in a perfectly content mood. Hinata kept glancing at her trying to read some hidden bitterness, but there was none. Sakura must have noticed because the she anticipated one of the glances and caught Hinata's eyes in her deep green ones.

“Hey... relax... I don't bite...”

She giggled.

“Eh... well... aren't you... aren't you... m-ma-um...”

“Hmm?”

“Well... thank you.... for.... for covering for me with Tsunade.... I... really didn't deserve that.”

She broke off awkwardly.

“Well,” Sakura quickly responded, “Naruto pleaded with me to cover for you... He didn't want you to get in trouble.”

She casually ran a hand through her hair and continued:

“He said he knew you screwed up, big time...” She added in for effect. “But... he has seen a confidence in you that neither of you have ever known... and he... was proud of you for that. No matter what we said, he couldn't see anything justifiably worth crushing that confidence you gained. So... while he's not quite smart enough to come up with a good cover story...”

Sakura smirked and shook her head as the two girls walked side-by-side.

“He did succeed in convincing me to cover...”

“Wow!” Hinata, thought out loud. “Naruto's not the best at debating... I wonder how...”

Sakura must have been reading her thoughts because she giggled again and shook her head.

“He begged... didn't take long to convince Sai, after all Naruto was his first friend; he'd do almost anything for him. Your teammates... though I doubt they'd have sold you out... weren't required to report since we were. And me... well… we're friends too... and there isn't much I wouldn't do for Naruto. He may be a blockhead at times... but he has a good heart...” She said matter-of-factly.

“Wow...” Hinata intoned again, though more softly this time.

“And... well... he said you'd punish yourself far more thoroughly then Tsunade ever could.”

Hinata's face burned scarlet, but she said nothing. Sakura noticed but pretended not to.

“We'll, Hinata, I've gotta get going. Tsunade wanted me to help out at the hospital today, see ya!”

And with that, she scampered off down the road forking to the right toward the hospital. Hinata continued on toward Naruto's house deep in thought. Was Naruto not angry with her anymore? Was she being stupid? Naruto... you fool... you're way too good to me.

With that thought in mind, she turned up the stairs to Naruto's apartment. The same one he'd lived in since she'd known him. As she reached the top of the stairs, her heart-beat quickened, as did her breathing. She raised her hand to knock and took a deep breath and wrapped her knuckles lightly against the wooden door twice. A muffled, “Just a minute!” Rang out from somewhere behind the door. A moment later, the door banged open and Naruto looked up into her face his eyes wide.

“Hinata... why?”

Hinata beamed at him still thinking of what he'd done for her, but her nervousness was fast over-taking her. She raised a finger to her lips and nipped it lightly, and old nervous habit she'd never quite shaken. She looked down at the floor and quickly peeped out:

“How are you?”

Naruto raised his left eyebrow and returned,

“Alright...considering.” A brief pause and then “And you? Tsunade wasn't too hard on you was she?”

Hinata still looked down at the floor now trying to burrow her left shoe into it.

“No.. Nar-Naruto-kun. She treated me very kindly... very... well... thanks to- I mean- thank you, Naruto-kun... for... for covering for me.”

She could feel his eyes on her looking hard or at least deeply at her. He turned and left the doorway leaving it open for her. She kicked off her sandals and crossed into his room.

“I didn't... didn't deserve what you did for me. It's all my fault the mission was a failure... and I feel so bad.”

He took a breath quickly and hard:

“We can't undo what we have already done, Hinata. And nobody is perfect. Be careful next time. I can't always cover for you.” He hung his head, “It costs me something to do it...” He let his words trail off.

“I know...” Hinata's voice grew nearly inaudible.

Sadness and shame filled its low tones.

“Naruto... I'm so sorry... I made you more than fail.... I made you go back on your nindo...”

She paused and took a breath trying to hold back guilty tears at how much what he'd done for her had hurt him. She knew his nindo was everything to him!

“And that's why... that's.... why...” I have to get it out before I lose my nerve! “That's why I need you to punish me.”

Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. Of all the things he'd expected her to retort, or blame, or cover up, this was CERTAINLY not one of them.

“Punish you?! What are you talking about? I can't do that! I'm not your father... I'm not Grandma Tsunade!”

“I don't care!” Hinata's eyes narrowed determinedly.

“Hinata, I already forg-”

“-No! No you haven't! You're still a little bitter I can hear it in your voice!”

“And HOW... exactly am I to punish you?” He asked both eyebrows raised now, his hands on his hips.

Hinata's face burned crimson. She was silent several moments... so long in fact that Naruto started to wonder if she would answer. She made a fist, planted her foot firmly; gulped and took a deep breath and let it out and took another. Then she looked up directly into his eyes, and he stared back into her violet pupils as she asked firmly:

“Naruto...please. Please spank me.”

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. His jaw dropped so far that he could have fit ten of Orochimaru's swords in it.

“S-spank you?” He paused. “Spank you?!” “What?! No! I can't! I have no right!”

“That didn't stop you four years ago,” she countered.

He grimaced and took a step closer to her.

“I shouldn't have done it then either!” He shook his head. “I had no right then either. I... was angry...”

“You were right to be.” She returned.

“But I'm not your father... I just...”

“...gave me the spanking I needed to make me get past my pride?” she finished for him.

He stared at her dumbfounded. “I...?”

She nodded. “Yeah...” She blushed deeply. “You did.”

He shook his head. “No, I can't, Hinata, It's not right! I won't. It's not proper for you and disrespectful! And... No!” he finished firmly.

“Don't you understand!?” She almost cried, but held back those burning tears.

“Naruto! I need you to do this!” She stepped closer. “It wasn't wrong of you to do it back then! You did it for me! I needed it, I deserved it! You know I did!”

“But..!”

“No! Naruto... all my life I've never had anyone care about me enough to punish me. I never expected you did.... I surely didn't like it when you did at first... but I realized... what you did for me... when you spanked me... the pain... the idea of a caring discipline... it wiped away my guilt! It... it made me feel better about myself because... I'd paid for what I did wrong! And because it was you I hurt! You were the rightful one to punish me! It felt right... it felt... like you cared. That's why... that's why I accepted it. Right in the middle when I thought I couldn't stand it, and I would hate you... I couldn't, instead I felt a burning pain inside me for how I'd hurt you... for how much it must hurt you to have to punish me like this...like that... Naruto...” She breathed heavily sniffling softly between breaths... “For once... I felt like... I wasn't just... in the way. I wasn't one who could get away with whatever she wanted because nobody cared enough to do anything about it...

She paused and took a breath speaking more forcibly as she made this point:

“And I know, I KNOW you have felt that way like me! Because of how everyone treated you… you understand! But this one time... you, you showed me.... you cared... you cared enough to set me straight. You cared enough to hurt me... to correct me... and when it was done... you still cared for me... you held me and whispered I was forgiven!

She dropped all pretenses now, and unblushingly stared deep into his astonishingly blue eyes, “It was the moment I felt most loved in all... all of my life...”

She reached out and took his hand in both of hers. Her heart beating maddeningly.

“So please... please, Naruto.” Her embarrassment returned and she blushed. “Please give me a spanking... if you still care about me...” She turned away and bit her lip. The secrets she had just revealed to Naruto had been locked deep within her for years... no one would understand, no one could know... but she had bared her soul for him... but what if he... what if he didn't... She felt strong, arms encircle her and before she could look up Naruto had pulled her close into an embrace. Her head was resting against his shoulder; both his arms were around her waist holding her firmly against him.

She softly snuggled against his chest.

“Hinata-chan.”

She lifted her head though she couldn't see his face. He drew her hair back behind her ear with his fingers and quietly, but firmly spoke...

“I still care.”

Hinata closed her eyes and felt a tear slip from them and glide down her cheek. Naruto, he... he didn't hate.. he CARED about her... he'd said it.. his own words... She hadn't been on a high like this since back in the chunin exams. Naruto had cheered for her giving her the strength to change to press on, to-! His hands slipped from her waist and moved to her hips pushing her back from him a few inches. He could feel that she didn't want to let him go... but she hadn't come here for this, she'd come here for...

His right arm skimmed up her back stopping behind her neck and gently guiding her face down to his chest. He hugged her there for a moment holding her close. As she laid her head against his chest, she felt his fingers move to her waist. They slid to the button on her pants and slipped it through the hole. She felt her body tremble slightly as his left hand held her pants up while his right slowly drew the zipper down as far as it would go with a light grating sound. She took a deep breath and burrowed her face deeper into his chest hiding her embarrassment as she felt his hands move to her hips. He hooked his index fingers into her pants and pinched the material between them and his thumbs and pulled lightly, with just enough force to draw the form-fitting pants over her hips. A bit further, and then he let them go. She gulped a gasping breath and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt her cheeks burn. Her pants, subject to gravity’s whim fell pooling around her ankles. After a moment frozen in embarrassment, she tried to kick them off. They were stuck... She wiggled her right foot, and shook her left... but they wouldn't budge...Naruto must have noticed because he chuckled softly making her jump.
“Sorry,” he quipped softly and bent down.

As she lifted her head from his chest, she watched him gather the material binding her left leg. He raised his hand, and she took it for balance and lifted the foot a few inches off the ground. He slipped the left side of her pants off her foot in one smooth motion. She smiled softly even as she quivered. She set her left foot down and took his right hand as his left worked to extricate her right leg. In a moment, he managed and with a rather forceful tug slipped the material off her right leg and tossed the tangled pair of pants to the floor. He smiled up at her softly as he stood. She giggled nervously: tension building.

“Eh, Hinata...?”

Hinata jumped again at the sound of her name. Naruto looked to be a bit flustered as he contemplated something. He closed his eyes and opened them rolling them once.

“Eh, Hinata...? um..”

“Yes?” she managed to squeak out.

“Your.... um your coat is too long.” His face went a light shade of pink.

“Huh?” She didn't understand what he meant at first.

“Um... It'll block...”

“Oh!” she flushed as realization dawned.

The coat she always wore hung low past her waist... it would get in the way of her pun...punishment. Her face reddened further as she finally reached the same conclusion he had... she had to take it off. She shrugged off another tremor and looking to his eyes quickly nodded her consent. He slowly reached up to her collarbone and unzipped her coat slowly pausing just barely noticeably as he reached the bulge in the center of her chest. With great care, he gently slipped the zipper down over and passed and finally passed her waist separating the two sides. Hinata quickly shrugged the coat off her shoulders and pointed her arms toward the floor behind her allowing her coat to slip off. She knew he was too embarrassed to ask, but the form-fitting black shirt she wore beneath her coat also tailed just below her waist. It too would be in the way, but Naruto was too much of a gentleman to ask her. She smiled at the thought. She wouldn't force that on him.

Naruto breathed deeply relieved he hadn't done anything inappropriate when he unzipped Hinata's coat. He was, however, completely unprepared for what was beneath it. Hinata wore a gray-black low-cut shirt with a criss-cross netting covering her cleavage. The top hugged her curves showing off something Naruto had failed to notice before. Hinata was beautiful... He had never really considered her in that manner before. But as he looked at her now her astonishing violet eyes, her long dark free-flowing hair, her cute little nose and a slightly awkward smile that made him smile too. Toned calves led up to pale, curvy thighs which swelled into firm, sexy hips which in turn slimmed down at her waist, she having finally grown taller. Her flat, toned, but smooth stomach emphasized even further the large rounded swell of her breasts. Naruto had never seen this much of her figure, he'd barely even known her shape above her legs for years! Always hidden behind a coat! It was plain to him now, however, as she looked nervously at him she was utterly gorgeous. As he paused for a minute, determination flashed through her eyes. He glanced down and noticed that this shirt as well dropped below her waist... but he couldn't possibly ask her to...

I'll save him the trouble of asking. Hinata reached down to the hem of her shirt crossing her arms simultaneously. With a slight pull and a quick flex and stretch of her arms over her head she had removed the undershirt as well. Naruto stood stunned. He wondered for a moment if she had read his mind. He prayed fervently that she could not! He tried hard to focus on her eyes, but his pupils couldn't help straying down to the black lacy brassier she was wearing. Hinata smiled, and then her eyes widened ever so slightly as she realized with a jolt.. Naruto is looking at me...not just looking... he's...Her cheeks colored if possible even further. She felt more then saw his eyes stare at her face then leave it drop to her feet and travel up and down her just once then come to rest on her eyes once more. She had chosen this morning without any real thought about looks in regards to the evening's events. It shouldn't have played a part.... she had thought. So she'd chosen a simple black brassier with plenty of support especially for when she was over his lap! It had a lace cut drawn lightly over the upper portion of the tip of her breasts and showed off an ample amount of the lower dip of her cleavage. Am I... embarrassing him? Oh, I'm such a fool; what was I thinking! However, a part of her inwardly relished Naruto's feasting eyes. Does he... am I... pretty? Enough? Maybe.... I don't know.

When she was younger she had always felt she looked unremarkable. She wore a coat all the time because she was shy about her figure. She felt that she was overweight and at the same time was embarrassed about the size of her chest. At this moment... though....this moment... Naruto... he keeps looking... he. He's looking at me. More than once.... maybe... he likes... it... likes what he sees? I hope...

Naruto tried to force himself to focus. But now that he'd had the thought of her in another manner. He could hardly draw his eyes away from her body. He didn't want to upset her... He wasn't being vulgar; it was like an epiphany... noticing someone... for the first time. He smiled nervously and with great will-power forced his eyes back to hers and nodded offering her a smile of reassurance which she returned to his great relief.

“Okay, Hinata... now.... now that we've gotten... that out...out of the way. We should be ready.”

He walked over to his bed and sat down on the center edge and with an outstretched hand and two fingers gestured for her to come closer. Hinata's heart was banging out of her chest. I want this... I need this. Naruto.... Naruto deserves this. I deserve this. She told herself over and over as she forced her suddenly leaden legs to trudge to Naruto's side. She looked down into his eyes and started to lean forward.

“That's it, bend over my lap.”

As she bent down, Naruto lifted his left arm under her breasts to help support her as she lowered herself down to his knees and slipped his right arm behind her thighs as he guided her over his lap. With a small, “oooh.” Hinata repositioned herself more comfortably across his lap her waist resting on his right knee her torso leaning off of his left.. Naruto soothed her lower back with his left hand as he lifted his right knee a bit higher than the left raising Hinata's bottom higher than her waist and thighs and also lifting her feet just barely off the ground. A slight adjustment maybe, but the psychological effect on Hinata was instant. Her feet had left the floor, she had no balance nothing to kick against... she was not in control any longer. By consenting to this, she'd given full power to Naruto and taken her ability to fight him completely out of the picture. Secondly, in lifting her bottom higher than the rest of her, he seemed to paint an invisible X on her rear end. Her bottom was to be punished... it felt so vulnerable, so unprotected... on display almost. She let out a low whimper. Naruto let his right hand drop softly onto her right cheek. She had taken a bit of time to choose which underwear she wanted Naruto to see. She'd chosen a pair to go with her bra, though he wasn't meant to see it then. Soft but solid black material hid Hinata's intimate regions and continued to spread lightly up the cleft of her bottom's cheeks. From the solid center, thin, transparent black lace spread to loosely cover most of her bottom stopping just short of her thighs. Hinata and Naruto were both quite aware now though, as his hand lightly squeezed her right cheek, that her position caused the lace to hug her bottom quite snugly.

His... hand. He's … he's squ-squeezing my bottom! The light touch sent electricity surging through every nerve in Hinata's body. Naruto stopped rubbing her back and placed his left hand firmly on her lower back locking her in place.

“Hinata...”

“Y-yes?”

“Why are you being punished?”

Hinata blushed and tried to answer but her tongue was tied.

“Hinata!” Naruto called sharply.

“Why are you over my lap about to be spanked?”

His voice took a calm, firm, almost parental tone that demanded an answer. When he didn't get it, he raised his hand and gave her right cheek a hard smack.

“Oww!” Hinata squealed.

“Why are you being punished?”

Hinata was far too caught up in the moment of impact and the great amount of strung tension that had been released with the first spank to answer. Naruto's hand lifted and crashed down into her left cheek and again she squealed in pain and surprise.

“I...! Er... because! Because...! Because I..!” She fell silent again.

After a few seconds of silence, Naruto raised his hand again and brought it down hard on her right cheek [Ouch!], again on her left cheek [Oh!] and once more much harder then all before on the center of both cheeks. Hinata whimpered softly and took a breath and then another. Naruto gave her a moment to compose herself and finally she squeaked out:

“You're p-pun-punishing me, b-because... because I was careless.”

“And?” Naruto asked glad she was finally responding.

“A-and... because... because it was my fault that we failed the mission.”

“Yes, true, and what else?”

“Because I put my f-friends in danger w-with my carelessness!” she quickly whispered stifling a sob.

“Very good.” Naruto encouraged her, “...and for one more reason. Do you know what it is?”

Hinata desperately wracked her brain trying to think what the last reason could be... I've already admitted to failing the mission, and being careless, and putting Naruto and the rest in danger... was there something else I did.. something I didn't even know?!

Naruto smiled softly as his palm traced a circle over both her cheeks. She's breathing a little more calmly when I do this, He noticed. He let his hand continue its elliptical path across her bottom as he answered for her.

“And... because I care about you.” He paused. “You've been my friend for a very long time, and I love you far too much let you put yourself in danger.” He paused again and his hand rested on the center of both her cheeks. “I couldn't bear losing another friend....I couldn't bear losing you, Hinata. The thought of that... hurts enough to make me do whatever it takes to make you be more careful!”

I never thought....of that... I never knew he cared so much about me. His friend... for so long... Love! He said......The word froze in her mind reverberating, echoing. He's disciplining me because he loves me. Loves me. How could I be so stupid?! What if I'd gotten hurt... or worse.... Naruto would have blamed himself! He would have been forced to endure ANOTHER loss... after the Third, after Sasuke... after Jiraiya....I might have been the last straw... the hurt that broke his resolve!

The very thought brought fresh hot tears streaming down her face. She didn't bother to try to hide or wipe them away. Shame... pure and unappeasable burned deeply in her chest. Her heart hurt at the very thought of what she would have put him through. A fierce determination quickly filled Hinata's chest. She swore to herself she would never again put herself needlessly in a position to hurt Naruto. She would guard herself at all times to protect him. She would not become his downfall. And to start today.... today I will be punished for it. Naruto.... please don't hold back... please... force me to remember this spanking! I don't ever want to be careless again!

Naruto let his words ring in the air, not spanking her lest she lose sight of them before they had fully sunk in, nor speaking to allow her to work out its implications herself.

“Naruto...” her voice was quivering with emotion

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Please.... please let me up.”

Naruto's eyes widened, he was shocked. He wondered if he had said something wrong. Had he treated her wrongly in some way? Do I sound selfish when I say I'm punishing her because I can't stand to lose her?

“P-please.. Naruto... now!”

He certainly would not punish her if she didn't want him to. He had taken the authority to spank her from her consent, and without it, he had nothing. He slowly removed his hand from her bottom. His left which had been holding her in place slipped off her back. Without a second's hesitation, Hinata jumped off his lap. She sniffled and threw a glance full of sincere regret and shame in his direction, and then in one smooth movement hooked her index fingers into the waistband of her panties at either hip and tugged them over her hips and bottom and slid them down past her knees to her ankles and kicked them off onto the floor. She was shaking. Her breathing heavy and quick. She looked up at him her violet pupils boring angrily into his blue ones.

“Naruto!” She breathed in and out deeply. “Don't you dare go easy on me! I couldn't stand myself if I did that to you! If I...I... “

Her emotions were flooding her mind so quickly she was finding it difficult to speak sentences...

“I would never forgive myself. EVER!”

“Hinata!” Naruto's eyes shown with worry at her sudden outburst.

“Naruto... I need this... I-!”

“Hinata!” He cut her off so quickly that her words dropped off. He could see the shame burning in her eyes, he could feel her guilt and the severe pain she was forcing herself through because of it. He would not allow it. She would forgive herself, he would provide the way. She had given him the authority. “Bend over!”

She submitted immediately: lowering herself without his assistance and positioning herself on his lap. He raised his knee pressing against the now-bare skin below her waist. She felt her bottom rise. Felt the familiar vulnerability and embraced it.

“Naruto...” She said in her heart not realizing she was whispering the words audibly. “My body is yours to punish as you see fit! Please... be thorough!”

Naruto looked down at the creamy, white skin of the curvaceous bared bottom waiting on his knee.

SMACK! Crash! SMACK, SMACK! The eight spanks came so fast and hard it felt like two or three bees had stung her bottom's cheeks! Naruto had aimed two spanks at her right cheek toward the nether edge and two on the left cheek's edge as well followed by one extra-hard spank dead center across both cheeks. One more on each cheek near the center and one more harsh spank across both cheeks at the lowest end of her bottom. Hinata gasped loudly at the stinging pain so quickly and severely dealt. The few licks she had received before had hurt but... nothing like this! The crack of his hand against her bare skin sounded again three times and this time she discovered being prepared for it did nothing to stop the shooting pain! She squealed. His bare hand hurt so much. She hadn't thought her panties would be much protection, and she knew the sound was louder without the material to muffle it, but psychologically it made the whole spanking feel so much more severe! That was as much time as she had to think before his palm crashed smartly down on her outer right thigh twice in the exact same place. Then twice again on the back of her right thigh just below her bottom.

Hinata had been trying to bite back her cries to prevent Naruto from going easy on her, but SMACK SMACK SMACK! She had expected him to even out his spanks by placing two spanks each on her outer and back left thigh and had prepared for that, so when instead three extra hard spanks whipped the center of her right cheek she shrieked caught completely off-guard! The sudden, unexpected, intense pain filled her eyes with tears. Two more hard spanks were dealt to her lower right thigh; she made an attempt to stifle her cry, but failed and let out an agonized sob. Being able to guess where his spanks would land had allowed her some measure of control. Having guessed wrong several times in a row wrenched that last vestige from her. She was completely at his mercy. SLAP! She cried out as another hard spank hit her left cheek so hard that for a second it was pushed far enough away from her right that her anus had been visible.

Naruto hid away his compassion for Hinata. He needed to be cold enough to give her what she needed. To give her enough punishment to burn the lesson into her mind. To wipe away the guilt and fear she had placed on herself. And so he spanked her hard and fast. Covering as much of her bottom with each spank as he could. Each slap echoed ear-splittingly off the walls of his room. Each time his hand came down it sunk deep into her bare, soft skin. Her bottom rippled with the blow and when he raised his hand to slap her thighs, a deep-red, hand print was left in each wake. Hinata kept remarkably calm in the beginning only ooing and ahing when he spanked particularly hard, that is until he stopped being so uniform with his spanks. He guessed that she was trying to patternize his rhythm and his layout, it was only natural given her style of martial arts. So he purposely began to spank hard and soft and harder and harder again and aimed for spots earlier he would not have yet trying and succeeding to throw her off. He could hear the surprise in her breathing.

When she first cried out, it hurt his heart, he closed his eyes for just a second, but then quickly kept on spanking harder still. She had to learn, he couldn't give up, he couldn't let her cries slow him. She wouldn't be able to let go of her shame if he did. And so he began to focus on the backs of her thighs. He knew from his own training that the rear end was solid from falls in sparring, and that the legs were toned muscle... but the thighs... they remained soft, smooth, and unconditioned. They would be tender, they would feel the sting even deeper than her bottom would.

Four spanks in a row connected with the back of Hinata's left thigh, she cried out loudly tears streaking down her face. She was crying now but didn't care. It hurt... Oh god it hurts! Naruto... oh! His hand slapped the outer edge of her right thigh. Once, two times. She could feel the overlapping palm prints fusing together to make waves of heat-infused pain. She was so focused on the pain, on each spank now that she could not focus on anything else. Her legs had begun to kick out each time he smacked her thighs, but his left arm wrapped tightly around her lower back kept her firmly in place as he disciplined her. She didn't even notice as he aimed his spanks in such away that when she kicked her legs spread a bit more, a bit more... a bit... there... a new target. She felt his arm press more tightly against her back and tried to brace herself for whatever was coming. SLAP! SLAP! SLAP! Pain... unbearable pain whipped through Hinata's synapses as Naruto's palm hit the inner cleft of her left cheek and his fingers flicked forward snapping hard like the twigs of a birch branch into her inner thigh three times in exactly the same spot. Hinata took a deep breath and cried out “Ouuuuuuuuuuch! Owwwwowwwhowwwhowwhow!” As she took another deep breath, his hand punctuated the silence again crashing hard against the upper back of the same thigh his dreadful fingers switching her inner thigh in a new spot. She nearly choked as she gasped in middle of drawing a breath. He raised his hand and connected sharply with her right cheek dead center twice and once in the center of her left cheek. These were now unexpected and drew choking sobs from Hinata's lips. Naruto steeled himself against his nature which was dying to stop her pain.... to comfort her...... he couldn't.. not yet. A second... a third hard slap to the center of her left cheek and SMACK! CRACK! Two extra hard spanks had slipped between her kicking legs and landed full palm on her right inner thigh followed immediately by those snapping fingers burning welts into her tender skin. Hinata closed her eyes She had completely forgotten... it was a new target again... a spot not touched at all by Naruto's punishing hand! A fresh tidal wave of tears poured from her eyes and she wailed in pain.

Naruto watched as his hand prints overlapped again and again forming a deep pink tinge to her tender white skin. Soon after the pale bottom and thighs had been scorched a very deep shade of red. She was almost there... he could feel it. She had broken down and cried, she had let go of her pride, she had let him punish her for her carelessness, all that remained was her guilt. She took the punishment fully, eagerly almost she hadn't had enough yet. Her heart still felt the burn of guilt. But she was close... he just couldn't give in.

With these thoughts in mind, he prepared himself to be cruel. It was almost a battle of wills. Her will to need eternal punishment his to not let his compassion override his will to drain that guilt from her. He slapped her outer right thigh and as predicted, her leg kicked out. He caught it with his left hand and as gently as he could shifted her body's center of gravity onto his left knee. He waited for her left leg to drop again and hooked the heel of his foot around it holding it down while his left hand firmly held her right in the air. Hinata was crying waves of tears, any hope of mature dignity had died ages ago when she had given herself over to be punished. Naruto took a deep breath and steadied himself for what was to come. As he held her legs apart his right hand firmly spanked her inner thighs. On the left side first full swung spanks crashed into her upper and middle inner thigh. Her breath caught in her throat and before she could regain her voice the same hand spanked her right upper and middle inner thigh hard. Long deep hand prints appeared between her legs coating each side of her thighs. When Hinata's voice returned, she didn't scream, she lay simply unmoving, collapsed on Naruto's lap. Her body exhausted. Trembling sobs wracking her body expressing a pain that no amount of horse shouting could suffice.

“Na...Na-Na-r-r-ru-to!!!”

Naruto lightened his spanking enough to allow her to speak but didn't stop switching her thighs with his fingertips. Between sobs, she managed to get out:

“Na-naruto... I.. I'm sorry...”

Naruto nodded, Here it comes... at long last... He let her right leg fall to join her left. When the two touched, she jerked them apart immediately! He aimed two or three light spanks on her already tender bottom enough to make her wince as she spoke again.

“Naruto...” Silence. “Forgive me....” He stopped spanking completely. Silence “Please.” Silence. “For worrying you... for even making you consider... losing me.” “I...I....I...!”

It seemed she wouldn't be able to go on, but she didn't need to. Naruto released the compassion he'd been holding back and it rushed through him all at once. He very carefully lifted her off of her stomach and gingerly sat her on his lap extra careful to avoid putting her weight where he had spanked her the hardest and ensuring that her thighs didn't touch as she sat. He guided her head to his chest and wrapped his arms around her squeezing her with all his strength. He was so proud of her. He was so glad it was over. He'd hated hurting her... but he was glad at the same time that she had trusted him enough to make herself vulnerable, to allow him to wipe her slate clean. How long he held her he had no idea. She sobbed and sobbed until there were no more tears to be shed, and then he just held her as she trembled in his arms.

When at last she had calmed enough to where he thought she could understand him. He took a short breath and whispered:

“I forgive you, Hinata.”

She paused a moment and looked up from his tear-soaked shirt and gave him a watery smile that reached all the way to her reddened eyes. He could feel her want to be closer to him. Her need for reassurance... he could feel the pain of her punishment and see the emotional craving in her eyes. Tomorrow... he would spend the morning relieving her pain. A very gentle hand and a bottle or two of medical lotion he kept around for treating his own bruises from training would work wonders on her. But for now... she wouldn't have let him take it... take the pain she had earned. She wanted it for now. She wanted the reminder. She wanted the reminder that he cared for her. She wanted the reminder that he had forgiven her.

Naruto very gently lifted her off his lap and set her on the floor virtually supporting all of her weight on himself. After two or three minutes she regained her balance and he felt her weight leave his muscles. She was breathing heavily, and every few seconds a sob would break the silence. It had been quite an ordeal. The experience had changed them both forever. They were brought closer together in a way nothing else but surrender and care and compassion could have. Inches away from her he leaned close and whispered into her ear:

“Lift your arms, my dear Hinata... and turn around.”

She obeyed immediately without question turning her back on him and lifting her arms out to shoulder height. Naruto stepped softly behind her and reached up with his fingers nimbly unhooking the three clasps that held Hinata's brassiere firmly in place. The straps sprang open Wow... was it that tight on her? Naruto wondered. He reached for the straps on her shoulders and slipped them down her arms and past her wrists, off her fingertips. He folded the garment in half and dropped it onto the floor. He turned to face her once more and whispered what he had thought earlier but couldn't have said, as his fingers stroked her hair behind her ear and his arms slipping around her hips drew her into a warm embrace.

“You... are stunningly beautiful...Hinata.... more beautiful than anyone I've ever seen...”

She couldn't respond, she simply grasped his shirt tightly and buried her face in it again. Naruto smiled as he held her. After several minutes, he gently pushed her away and pulled back the blanket from his bed. Before she said a word, he slipped his right arm under her knees and his left behind her lower back and lifted her body up and laid her down as soft as humanly possible on his bed. He turned and shed both his shirt and pants and flicking off the light climbed into the bed behind her. Naruto reached down and grabbed the blanket pulling it over them both. He slid closer pressing his chest lightly against her back and molding his legs to fit against hers with just the barest whisper of a touch... he didn't want to add too much pressure to where she'd been spanked. She raised her head slightly as he slipped his arm under it and draped his left across her ribs curling upward resting on her stomach his palm and fingers gently caressing her breasts. The silence fell around them heavy, warm... soft skin against skin. As fatigue set in on Naruto, he felt Hinata's utter exhaustion and held her protectively. The last words she heard before she fell asleep with a tired smile on her face were from Naruto's lips resting against her ear:

“I love you...Hinata...”





Thank you to any and all who took the time to read this story; I do greatly appreciate it. This is the first story I have every uploaded to the internet, and as such I am a little nervous about the general response it will receive. I would so very much appreciate any feedback at all: negative will make me a better writer, and positive will make my day! I want to go ahead and thank anyone who does post a review ahead of time! Thank you again for taking the time to read “Healing Hurt”, and I hope you enjoyed it.

~Joel (aka ZENI7H)

PS: this had italics in it to signify inner thoughts and past memories before I posted it here but this site wouldn't let me upload a file so i had to copy and paste and doing a manual italicize would take ages lol hopefully that didn't detract from the story.