Well here is my take on the Naruto storyline. This one starts during Hinata and Neji's fight. Splits from there in many ways, but there will be a few skips where the official events aren't changed. Are you confused yet? Anyway, on with the story.
For the readers of my Evangelion fic, don't despair. I'm getting the finally touches worked out. Hard to finish all the fine details with my weird work schedule and so many fics in my head begging to get out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it.
Tales of the Void- Chapter 01- Awaken my pretty kitty.
Present: Chunin Exam Preliminary Arena
The battle hadn't gone as she had hoped. Everyone was watching her. Friends, family, teachers, even people she didn't even know. Everyone was watching her, and she was losing.
Hinata stood gasping and holding her chest with her right arm. One direct strike from Neji had left her hearts chakra system in shambles. Her own arms had been disabled when all of her points had been sealed.
'I can't let myself lose. I have to fight. I have to defeat Neji, but how?' Hinata thought desperately. Her arm released her shirt and fell to her side bumping against a small object in her pocket. 'Huh?' She reached in and felt a small hard oval object. 'A seed? Oh, that chakra seed I was given.' Her mind wandered to how she had gotten the seed.
Flashback: A small road in the Fire Country
Team Kurenai had been given a simple mission. Protect a small merchant on trip to another country. Bandits were normally the main threat, but after hearing about the encounter Team Kakashi had with their first escort mission, well anything was possible. Kurenai had been a small bit on edge. She had noticed the path took them excessively close to the territory of the Rock Village and even if a cease-fire was in order, bad blood still reigned.
'Good thing I have three ninja who specialize in tracking and early detection.' Kurenai told herself while she continued along side the merchant.
A small glint caught Shino's eye and he silently sent a scout to look it over. It didn't take long for it to return. "Sensei, we may have a small problem."
"What did you see?" She didn't need to ask much. Shino only spook up when it was something serious.
"A genin group is tailing us. What village they belong to I couldn't see as they hid their headbands."
"You sure about that Shino? Why would a genin group be after a merchant?" Kiba tossed in his thoughts. "And the villages in this area are allies."
Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the area. Sure enough, she saw four life forms sneaking about behind them. This could be her chance to prove she wasn't worthless, or be her last day among the living. Silently she looked toward her sensei to guidance.
"Be on guard but don't give yourself away. They may be on a mission to trail a band of ninja to test their stealth." Her words settled the three trackers a little. Out of the three only Shino could really guarantee to make it out ok. Kiba was strong but there were plenty in the village who could outdo him among their generation. Hinata had barely begun to get the hang of the Jyuuken style and her Byakugan's sight.
The trip seemed to dull down from there. Shino's scouts and Hinata's Byakugan kept a vigilant watch on the trailing ninjas. When they got to their destination, the merchant thanked them and wished them a safe journey back. Kurenai had a feeling something would come against his will.
They had only been traveling for about two hours when it happened. Four small kunai blades shoot at each of them. It wasn't much effort to dodge them, however the small all of them noticed to late that around the area were small tags. Hinata was the first to be snagged by the tags when a young ninja jumped out and landed next to her. A dome of earth and rock erupted out and sealed the two together. One-by-one, each of them suffered the safe way, sealed in a small dome in a one-on-one fight.
Hinata looked around their arena. Something didn't seem right. When she looked around it was a forested clearing. A small patch of grass only about ten or twelve feet in diameter with a wall of forest trees. To someone possessing the Byakugan this was both a blessing and a curse. The enemy would try to use the trees to hide, which Byakugan canceled. If they even did try to fight her hand to hand, it was certain doom with the small confines of the clearing. Her thinking was proven right when shuriken came out of the forest from every angle. She ducked and rolled to dodge the weapons, but failed to do so on many of them. Shuriken were planted all over her arms and legs and her clothes were torn by the passing blades.
"Ha, is that all a Hyuuga of the Leaf can do. To think anyone could even consider being ashamed to be the one to kill a Hyuuga." She knew he was taunting her. She focused her chakra into her eyes, shot the sight out into the trees, and saw her target. However, something wasn't right. He was clearly visible like nothing was between them. Turning off the sight, she saw that to be the case. "He, I'll have the pleasure of doing this by hand. For the Village of the Void the only way to kill a ninja is in honorable combat. So sorry miss, but I'll have to do this the hard way." She turned her sight back on and assumed her stance. If he wanted honorable combat, that's just what she would give him.
Meanwhile outside, Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba sat captured and defeated by their respective opponents. Shino's had happened to be a master of lighting chakra and able to produce waves that would fry any insect he sent to it. Even the special chakra consuming insects what would eat such potent chakra didn't stand to the wave. Kiba's had used scent and sound to overpower his and Akamaru's senses and rather quickly took him out. Kurenai's opponent hadn't even wasted time in declaring her jutsu's name before Kurenai was defeated.
"Who are you and what do you want with a genin team?" Kurenai asked, still very mad at her and her students defeats. 'Did they have some reason for sending a team perfectly suited to taking us out?' Shino's original guess they were a genin team and Kurenai's hope they were practicing was proven very wrong.
"We are a team sent to acquire a sample of a Kekkai Genkai from the Leaf." The leader announced. Everyone's eyes shot open and went to the dome Hinata was in. "Yes, you can see the purpose of our attack very well. We of the Void only kill those who pose a threat to us. Since you three are disabled we will leave your student behind to free you after we acquire our sample."
Kurenai hated to think how to explain to not only the Hokage, but to the Hyuuga too, that Hinata had been likely either killed or rendered useless as a ninja for the rest of her life. Not to mention the Hyuuga would likely be more concerned about the 'sample' to which the leader referred.
Back in the dome, things were getting heated. Every attack Hinata threw was deflected or stopped, while she was unable to guard against his attacks, as his fists were faster then anyone she had ever seen. Breathing heavily she jumped back to get some range on him and resumed her stance. 'How do I beat him? He can counter me perfectly and no matter what I do I can't stop his attacks.' Thinking to herself, she came up with a simple answer. She stood silently and hung her head, released the chakra from her eyes and let her arms hang.
"Good girl. You have seen that you can't win and willing admit defeat and await punishment. I think their may be honor in killing you after all!" he yelled as he ran forward and pulled a kunai out and swung it toward her heart.
Outside, Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba were horrified when the barrier dropped. There stood Hinata and the Void ninja not even an inch apart. The only clue of the outcome was the glint of metal from Hinata's chest where the kunai stuck out.
"Well you didn't need to kill her, but I guess that will do for our purpose. Did she at least put up an honorable fight?" the leader calmly asked the ninja. No response came though. "Hey, I said did she provide an honor…able…" The leader never even got the chance to finish that sentence.
Hinata shrugged and pushed the limp body of her enemy off her and pulled the kunai out of her chest. Without even looking up, she hurled it to the ropes binding her friends and sensei before passing out from exhaustion and injury.
Two days later, she had awoken in the Konoha hospital with her team by her side. "Sensei?" she asked calmly and softly.
"Welcome back Hinata. You did a great job against those ninja." Kurenai just smiled back at her. It was a surprise to see Hinata of all people resort to something so desperate to kill the enemy.
Kiba couldn't contain himself any longer. "Hey Hinata, how did you kill that guy? He was supposed to be perfectly suited to your skills."
"Truthfully, I…gave up." Everyone just dropped at that. She gave up and came out the winner?
Shino looked at her. "You could not have given up, Hinata. Of all the enemies, only you defeated one by yourself. Giving up does not result in a death to an enemy."
"Well I gave up and let him attack however he wished. When the blade pushed into me, I reacted naturally, sent waves of chakra into his body, and collapsed his lungs and heart. When the barrier dissolved I used his body to hide that I was the winner and used it to plan out how to free you three."
All three of them were surprised. Hinata had always been known as one of the weaker ninjas of their graduating class. In addition, here she was the first officially to claim an enemy ninja kill.
'She was able to figure out exactly how to kill her opponent and scout for information about the area around her. She's far stronger then she lets on. But how will she take realizing what she has done?' Realizing this, Kurenai decided to ask how Hinata felt about it.
"Hinata, how do you feel about the fact you killed him?"
Her eyes may be hard to read since they lack an iris or pupil, but her team knew better. She was panicking at the thought. 'That's right. I killed him. I was the one who ended all of his dreams.' Her eyes closed and tears started pouring out.
Before anyone could try to comfort her, a loud poof went off and an ANBU agent stood beside them. "The Hokage would like Team Kurenai to go to his office immediately."
"One of our team happens to be in critical condition and can't be moved."
"That does not matter. From what I understand that specific team member is the main focus of this call." Hinata went wide-eyed. The Hokage wanted to talk to her specifically.
'What does he want with me? I'm just murderer now. That boy didn't even deserve to die.'
Nodding, the four of them prepared to go see the Hokage. Getting a special invitation wasn't too uncommon in today's world. What was unusual was getting one after an everyday mission.
When they arrived, the four of them stood ready to hear his reason for calling them. Hinata looked around and noticed a young woman in the corner. She was about as tall as Kurenai and beautiful. Her hair was blood red pulled back in a ponytail that stretched to her bottom. She wore a red kimono that was the exact shade of her hair. Her look was elegant and noble. Only one thing flawed that image, the katana she carried on her waist.
"Thank you for coming. This is our guest Siren Syrinx. She is the leader of the Void ninja." The Hokage's words were simple and sparse.
The young woman bowed to the group before walking to Hinata. "So I understand you were the one who killed my young pupil."
Hinata started to get scared and could only nod. She had never expected that ninja's leader to show up and speak to her.
The Hokage was starting to follow Hinata's line of thought. They had lost a few powerful ninja to small squabbles like this before, and he sure as hell hoped this wasn't another.
"Well then I congratulate you on your accomplishment and welcome you to the Void." Siren spoke softly. Everyone looked confused, shocked, or, in Shino's case, devoid of thought about the statement.
"What do you mean by that Lady Siren?" the Hokage asked.
"Simple. I do not control any normal band of ninja. I only let in the strongest ninja. Since Hinata here defeated one of them, and was the key in the defeat of an entire group, I have decided she is worthy of becoming one of ours." Her answer was met with the same looks from everyone.
"I may not like the way ninjas are used often, but I will not trade them around like puppets. Hinata is not yours to take unless she decides to leave us herself." The Hokage was mad. No one had ever challenged his authority over his village's ninja like she had before.
Siren just laughed at him. "I never said I was taking her. The Void is like your ANBU. When I have a mission, I take ninja who are suited for it and give them the mission. Should they be on a mission or have some other reason to not be able to take it they are skipped over. I am only telling Hinata that should her talents be needed I will send a call for her. Until then I wish to give her a small reward."
With that said, she pulled a small charm with a seed embedded in the center. "This is a Nibi seed. I constructed it by concentrating the chakra of the Nibi itself. Eat this when you are at your most dire moment and you will see power far beyond anything you have ever seen before. The cost however is high. A body such as yours is not able to adapt to the sudden changes this will cause and you will die when the chakra is used up."
Hinata looked at the charm. The seed in the center looked like a sunflower seed and had a small cats paw print on it. "But why are you rewarding me. I killed one of your ninja. Calling me one of your ninja because of that makes it sound like we are just easy to replace minions you don't care one once about." Hinata couldn't hide the touch of anger her voice held.
"Truthfully, you hit the nail on the head for most of the Void. Only ones such as yourself or my most elite gain my trust and pride. That seed is proof."
Hinata didn't know what to say. Siren had basically said she was one of the elite Void ninja. Words just simply wouldn't come to her mind no matter how hard she thought.
"Well I will take your silence as confirmation of your entry. Your first mission will come after you have taken the Chunin Exams and tested your abilities." After saying that Siren simply faded away from sight.
"Well I see that the matter has been settled. Hinata I want you to act as a spy for us. Report on the activities of the Void and if they prove to be against us, report to me immediately." Team Kurenai nodded and bowed to the Hokage and left to return Hinata to her hospital room to recover. The Hokage's mission was unusual for a Genin to take up. To date no Genin had been given such a dangerous and vital mission.
"Hinata, are you sure you will want to take the next exam?" Kurenai was worried now. Finishing the exam would mean the start of her mission to infiltrate the Void.
"Yes. I want to see how strong I have become. I want to see if I truly deserve to be on this mission." Her mind was set. Shino and Kiba looked at each other and nodded. They would just have to help her get stronger anyway they could.
Present: Chunin Exam Preliminary Arena
Hinata didn't even consider the side effects. He job was to defeat Neji at all costs and prove that she had grown. Not to impress her father. Not to show the dominance of the main branch. Not to get Naruto to like her. No, this was for her and herself alone. "Nibi seed grant me your power," she whispered and watched it shine gently as she put it in her mouth and swallowed it whole.
Everyone watching was in shock. As soon as she ate the seed, her body began to pulse with power. Dust and debris from earlier fights was swept away by the waves of energy as her body was surrounded by two coils of blue chakra swirling around her. Her eyes flared open and revealed a bright yellow pupil with a slit pupil in the center. Her nails lengthened and sharpened to a point and her canine teeth grew longer and sharper.
She lowered into a feral stance similar to the one Kiba had taken against Naruto not even one match earlier. Her attack however was far different. A single wave of her arm caused Neji to fly back into the wall with four deep gauges along his chest and blood spraying out from the forces of attack and impact. She wasn't far behind the wave and slashed at his side sending him flying into another wall before kicking off from the wall Neji had landed in first, leaving crater in the wall larger then Neji had when he hit.
Before she could reach Neji for the next attack a bright flash let out in the arena and Siren stood between them hand raised as Hinata seemed to be choking. Siren seemed to be chanting something as bright dark blue markings appeared around her neck. A circle directly in front of her neck and then sealing inscriptions wrapped around her neck in both directions, passing over the other, and attaching back to the circle on the other side, as a cat paw print faded into the center of the circle.
The changes in her features faded away and the chakra flaring around her died down as she fell to the ground unconscious. "I warned her not to use the seed unless she was in dire need. Hokage, award this match to her opponent. She will be unavailable until I have completed the assimilation that's taking place." With that Siren bent down, picked Hinata up, and faded out with her in her arms.
End
Well that was the end of chapter one. Tell me what you think please.