Through the shadows of the night, a wolf is crawling through the bushes of a forest. Following its prey as they are unaware of them being stalked. The creature's golden eyes stared through the bushes, licking its fangs, as if imagined the taste of human flesh. Oh how it hungered for fresh meat, its belly letting out a soft and gentle growl of protest. The creature growled softly, watching as the human stopped under a street light as the forest path was alight with a dim glow.

The creature, or more along the lines, of a wolf, could hear the human's heart beating quicker within their chest. The thrill, the sound of their heart brought a thrill of a hunt to the wolf. Making it exciting, yet sneaking up on an unsuspecting human was fun. The thrill of a chase, was more exciting for a creature of the night.

Calling out, the human thought that maybe someone was there, most likely a human. Oh how they were wrong.

Crawling out of the shadows, carefully the wolf stalked its prey. The taste of flesh already fresh in the wolf's mind as it felt the need, no the desire to devour the human. Letting out a soft growl, the human turned around and let out a startled scream as they saw the wolf approaching them. Before they could even think to run, the wolf pounced, ripping the flesh from the human's bones, blood stained not just the ground but the wolf's sleek fur. Yes, this wolf dined well that night, but it was only one night of many, where it would feast upon humans.

A young man groaned as he heard the buzzing of his alarm going off. Reaching out from under the covers, he shut it off before throwing the covers off of him. A blonde haired teenager emerged from the bed, walking toward his private bathroom, scratching his chest as he let out a loud yawn. Blinking his tired blue eyes, the young man stared at his reflection as he noticed the small dark circles under his eyes. The dark circles were almost as dark as the whisker marks on his cheeks.

Running a hand through his spikey locks, he grabbed his brush and started to brush his teeth. Deep in thought, hoping that he could clear the haze of sleep from his mind. Chuckling a little, the young man spat out the tooth paste from his mouth before rinsing his teeth from the remaining of tooth paste and set his toothbrush aside. Grabbing his comb, Naruto thought that maybe, just maybe he could finally get the courage to talk to Hinata.

'Or maybe her cousin is just gonna get in the way again. He isn't a cousin, he's more like a freaking bodyguard!' thought the blonde with a sigh. Once he finished combing his hair, he saw that the spikes had smoothed out for a moment before jumping back into place. "I wonder how dad got his hair to go down…" he thought aloud before shaking his head. Setting the comb aside, the young man made his way back to his bedroom before he started to go through his dresser and started to look for something to wear today. If he was going to dress to impress, then he wanted to make sure that he stood out.

Tilting his head to the side, he grabbed a white t-shirt and an orange hooded short sleeved jacket. Grinning, he then grabbed a pair of blue jeans that had a few tears on the legs. Maybe today would be a good day after all. He found the perfect outfit to impress Hinata in, though that was assuming that she liked what he wore today.

Grinning ear to ear, he threw on his clothes though, now that he thought about it he did feel a little sore. Hm, he wondered if maybe he over did it in gym class yesterday. Then again, he did run a lot for track yesterday so maybe that was it. Shrugging to himself, the young man didn't let a little bit of pain discourage him from what he wanted to do. This, this was going to be the day that he asked Hinata out, or at least to study with him since he was falling behind in his English class.

"Naruto! Hurry up and eat your breakfast before it gets cold!" shouted a woman's voice. Causing Naruto to sigh. Okay, so maybe he was taking a while to get out of his room with trying to figure out what to wear and make sure that he had some kind of battle plan. Blinking slowly, the young man was about to answer her when her voice was heard again. "Naruto Uzumaki I swear that if you are not out of there in ten seconds that I will go in there and drag you out of there!"

"I'm coming!" shouted Naruto before he walked out of his bedroom and started to make his way down the stairs. "I'm sorry it's taking me so long mom, I was just trying to get ready for school is all." He said as he made his way to the kitchen and started to take a seat at the table.

"I expect you to be down here so you have enough time to eat breakfast so you can get to school on time." Said his mother as she made her way to the table. Holding his plate before setting it down. Looking up, Naruto knew that his mother was someone not to be messed with. Don't get him wrong, she is a loving woman. Long crimson hair, hair that he wished that he got instead of the blonde hair that he got from his dad. She had loving brown eyes, and pale yet healthy skin. She wore a simple yellow shirt with a pair of black slacks.

Giving a small smile, Naruto calmly said "Well, I was trying to get ready for work but I had some trouble trying to think on what to wear." He hoped that would have been a good enough reason to get her to relax a bit. There was no way that he was going to invoke her anger today. At least not unless she figured out that his father had messed up and got hit with a weapon that he shouldn't have been messing with in the first place.

"So, what are you planning to do today Naruto?" asked his mother with a smile on her face as she sat down with her son. At least she was always willing to listen to him. No matter the conversation. Taking a bite out of his eggs, Naruto tried to think on what it was that he could tell her about. Or at the very least, how he could tell her. "Well? What are you planning Naruto?" His mother asked with a big smile on her face.

Naruto grinned before taking a big bite out of his bacon. "Well, I plan to see if Hinata could help me with my English class. I am kind of falling behind so, I just hope that I can talk to her though." Then he sighed softly before nibbling back on his bacon some more. Still a little nervous about talking to her… Not to mention, his body ache is starting to get just a little annoying though. Shaking his head, Naruto looked up at his mother saying "If we have to study here, can you and dad please don't do any werewolf stuff here?"

His mother just blinked at him before letting out a sigh. "Naruto, we won't do any of that inside. You should know that." She said before getting up and went to do the dishes. Well, at least that was something. Sometimes, not being able to shift was a blessing. At least this way he wouldn't be able to shift in front of her or anything of the sort. So, that was something at the very least though it did have him curious… would he be able to have a normal life even though he can't shift?

'I'll figure it out at some point.' Naruto thought to himself before finishing his breakfast. "Later mom, love you!" He said before grabbing his back pack and his bike keys before making his way to school. God he hoped that today would be good. Nothing could ruin this moment.

Naruto hummed a tune to himself as he locked his bike up at the bike rack. He wondered, where Hinata would be right now. Checking the clock on his phone, he saw that it was still early, so maybe he could use some of this time to see if he could use some of his spare time to do run around the track. Maybe that would also relieve some of the stress that his body was going through. Inhaling softly, the young man started to make his way toward the track and field hoping that it would kill some time.

As he made his way to the field, he bumped into one of his friends. "Hey dope, what you are up to?" asked a raven haired teen. Turning his gaze, Naruto stared at the raven haired teen, his black eyes boring right into Naruto's own blue orbs. He wore a blue t-shirt and white shorts. Nothing really special though then again he could wear a brown sack and girls would still be all over him.

"I'm actually on my way to the field to run the track a bit." Answered Naruto with a grin on his face. Turning away, he said "What are you doing Sasuke? Shouldn't you and Sakura be sucking face or something?" Okay, he was a tad bitter when he said that. But at the moment, he didn't care, all he knew was that he felt like a third wheel right now. Ever since Sasuke and Sakura got together Naruto had felt like he was only getting in the way of their relationship and it caused him some great pain. Literally and fugitively. Grasping at his chest, the young man frowned a little as he felt the pain spread for a moment before it faded.

Okay, that was weird. Pain just didn't fade that quickly… something was up and he knew that much at the least. Yet, he just couldn't think as of the reason for it. Shaking his head, the young man rubbed his face as he said "I'm sorry. I just… feel like I'm a burden with you two dating and all. A third wheel ya know?"

Sasuke just stared at him for a moment. His bored stare almost unnerved him though he had a feeling about what it was that Sasuke was going to say. Though, he wondered if he was thinking, but he knew that he couldn't just assume what it was that the man was thinking. "Naruto," Sasuke began, causing the blonde to have his total focus on the raven haired teen. "You do not need to feel like that. I get it, the girl you like hasn't been able to talk to you because of Neji making sure that no one even comes close to her if he deems you unworthy." Okay, he had a point… Neji was the main reason why he couldn't really talk to Hinata.

"So what? It may not even happen, come on! Think about it, Hinata is some rich heiress and I'm… I'm pretty much a nobody." Naruto sighed softly before he started to make his way back toward the field. Though, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder, causing the young man to turn back to his best friend. He gave him a serious stare, causing Naruto to frown a little as he was about to say something. Though, to be honest Naruto couldn't really think of what more that could be said.

"That may be true, but from what I've seen of Hinata, she doesn't care about that. She isn't shallow, from the few times that I have spoken to her she is nothing but kind." Sasuke calmly said before he walked with Naruto to the track. Well, it seemed that things would be at least a little easier to deal with. Yet, there was still a few things that bothered him about the whole thing. He wanted to think of a way around Neji, though maybe he could ask Hinata when they were in class. After all, they were three years apart so he wouldn't just up and come to Hinata's class while in his own.

Maybe that could work…

Groaning, Naruto rubbed his shoulders, starting to feel slight pain there now. Just what was going on? It almost seemed like it was just the joints that were bugging him the most. Which was rather odd, he was always fit, had no problem with pain, but this kind of pain was new for him. "Hey, you okay?" asked Sasuke, causing Naruto to stop in his tracks.

Turning to his friend, Naruto blinked his eyes at Sasuke as he wondered what it was that made him ask that. Before he could even ask what he was talking about, Sasuke already answered his question. "You look pretty pale. Maybe you should see the nurse or something." The young man reached up and touched his cheek. Hm… he did feel a little clammy but didn't think it was that big of a deal right now. "Naruto, maybe you should go home. You look pretty bad right now." Shaking his head, the young man didn't think that anything was wrong with him. He felt fine besides the small bit of pain that was going on with him. Okay yeah, he also felt a little fatigued but other than that, he still felt alright.

"I'll be alright, I just need to run a bit. I think that'll help make me feel better." Naruto said with a grin on his face. Okay, that would be a bit of a stretch but, hey it was best to give it a try at the very least. Maybe he could sweat it all out of him. Then he'd be as good as new at this point!

Breathing deeply, the young man went back on his path to the track and field. That was his mission, and that was the only way that he would be able to get over this. Sweating this all off would be the only way to get rid of the clammy skin and the achy stiffness in his body. At least, that was what he kept telling himself.

Naruto managed to get to the starting line as he turned to Sasuke. "Can you start me off jerk?" He mumbled softly, though still loud enough for the young man to hear him. Taking a deep breath, he placed his fingers on the ground, one leg forward while the other was held back. He was ready for this, he was so ready for this completely though, he wondered if this really would work for him. Shaking his head, the young man heard Sasuke let out a 'bang' sound as a signal.

Acting quickly, Naruto started to run as quickly as he could. Well, at least not overly fast to wear himself out too quickly. Now, he wouldn't admit it to anyone, but to him but… he did track because it made him almost believe that he was a true werewolf like his family. The feel of the wind blowing through his hair, the wind in his face. The rush, his heart pounding in his chest, his pulse quickening with the idea of him chasing some kind of wild animal.

That was how he always pictured what it was like to be in the forests as a wolf. A life that he would never live thanks to some kind of problem that his body had. Oh well, this was going to be as close as he was going to get with being of wolf descent.

"Keep going Naruto, you're doing great!" shouted Sasuke, causing Naruto to pick up the pace a little. Maybe he would break his record, or at the very least any kind of record that he would ever have. Chuckling a little to himself, the young man picked up the pace a little more, just enjoying the rush that his body was going through. It all seemed so empowering so to speak.

Breathing deeply, the young man made the turn only to blink in shock at who he saw. It was Hinata on the bleachers! Oh god, she was watching him, and with a smile none the less! Oh man, this was his chance to impress her! Grinning to himself, Naruto waved to Hinata, hoping that she would be able to get her to wave back to him. Oh man, this was going to be the best day of his life by the long run!

Hinata, her short blue hair in a princess style haircut. Her pale lavender coloured eyes stared at him as she lifted her hand and waved at him slowly. Almost shyly. Why was she blushing though? Did she like him or was she like that with everyone who gave her some kind of attention? Hm, he'll find out soon and he couldn't help but grin up at her. Waving once again, he ran faster, hoping to get more speed in. Hoping to impress her, hoping to get her to acknowledge him… and maybe they could be friends and maybe something more?

Breathing deeply, the young man managed to finish the first lap, he had maybe two more until he couldn't run anymore. Yet, for some reason his body hadn't stopped feeling the slight pain. In fact, it almost seemed to be getting worse. Not to mention he almost felt light headed right now. Shaking his head, the young man knew that he had to keep going. Naruto knew that he wouldn't allow himself to go short of his run, he would finish three laps like he always had and would always do so.

Before he could even finish the second part of his run, Naruto couldn't keep running. His body was pretty much screaming at him, his vision blurred from the pain that was coursing through him. Shaking his head, the young man tried to get himself to calm down as he had his hands on his knees. Breathing deeply, trying to catch his breath he could hear a few people screaming or at the very least calling out his name. Blinking slowly, he looked up and saw Sasuke running to him and… Hinata? Oh god, his heart was beating quickly, maybe this was his chance to speak to her.

"Hey, Naruto you okay? You look really pale dope." Said Sasuke, a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm… fine…" Naruto wheezed out, only to wince in pain. God, everything was starting to hurt him right now. It even hurt to fully straighten himself back up. Why? This shouldn't be happening in the first place, yet here he was in a great deal of pain. Would the pain go away soon or would he be stuck with the pain all day?

"Um… Naruto?" said a shy and slightly timid voice. Causing Naruto to turn his head and stare with wide blue eyes. Oh man, it was Hinata Hyuuga! She was staring at him with concern, just wearing a simple purple sun dress. It was nice enough outside but still, it fit her perfectly. Blushing a little, just being in the same area as him it made his heart race once more in his chest. "Are you okay? You seem really pale…"

Frowning a little, the young man grinned at her, though it looked more like a grimace than a true smile. "I'm okay just… under the weather I think. I tried to run some laps hoping to sweat it out or something." He said, hoping that he sounded convincing right now. Everything was starting to spin and blur together, he didn't think that it would bug him so much though the young man knew that he had to make sure that he didn't show any kind of pain. He had to make sure, that no one got overly concerned for him. There was no way that he would let them be concerned when there shouldn't be anything to be concerned about in the first place.

"Are you sure? You look pale as a sheet…" Hinata said with concern in her voice. Her eyes shined with unshed tears. Was she that concerned about his health? Blushing a little, the only colour to his cheeks right now. Naruto didn't think that he could say anything to calm her down. In fact, he didn't even know what he could say that would help her calm down. "Maybe you should sit down Naruto, or maybe we can get you to the nurse's office."

"I'll be alright. I'm sure of it." Naruto said with a smile on his face, his face did show a true smile this time around. Though his body felt a lot worse right now. It hurt to even more at this point, and everything was hurting his eyes. It seemed that everything was hurting, even his hair hurt for some bizarre reason. Taking a deep breath, the young man started to walk forward, hoping that they would be able to get to class. Turning to Hinata, he asked "Hey, Hinata, I was wondering… would you… maybe help me study? I've been kind of falling behind in English, and… well, you're smart…" Oh god how he wanted to add 'and beautiful' but kept that to himself.

Hinata smiled at him. Her smile, it was so radiant that he never wanted to lose that smile. He saw her lips moving, yet… for some reason he didn't hear a thing. Had he gone deaf? Turning his gaze to Sasuke, he saw his lips moving as well, but like with Hinata, no sound was coming out. What the hell? Shaking his head, Naruto felt like his head was going to split in two. Had he over done it? He had heard that over doing it in hot weather like this you can lose hearing for a little while but, no… he didn't feel over heated. So what was going on?

Looking back up, he saw Hinata staring at him in concern. Saying something but like before, he couldn't hear her. No, this shouldn't be happening. He shouldn't be losing his hearing, his vision shouldn't be blurring again. Breathing deeply, the young man tried to speak, tried to say something, anything really yet even the slightest sound that he knew passed his lips hurt for some reason. If he was deaf, why did it hurt him so much?

Gripping his head, the young man felt like his whole body was weightless, or was it really heavy? He felt his body moving though not from moving his legs. No, it was more like his body was struggling to hold itself up, as if he was about to fall over from the pain that tried to consume him.

Darkness started to appear at the edges of his vision. Slowly, the darkness started to consume his vision, he weakly looked at the blurred images of Hinata and Sasuke. They almost seemed impossible to see them anymore at this point, it just seemed impossible yet he was going through it. Digging his fingers into his skull, breathing deeply, he whispered "Make… it… stop…" He groaned more before he started to feel the pain starting to consume him.

His legs wobbled, feeling someone grab a hold of him as he felt his legs no longer able to support himself anymore. Breathing deeply, Naruto's arms fell to his sides, still feeling someone holding onto him. Most likely Sasuke since he was the only one that could hold someone of his size. Groaning once more, the young man blinked slowly as he stared at the blurred images, he could faintly make out the lips moving. Yet, once again the man couldn't hear what they were saying. Blinking slowly, he mumbled something though even he couldn't hear himself anymore. Before he knew it, Naruto felt the ever consuming darkness take its hold over him.