Hello ppls, hope you enjoy etc etc. Pairings are inevitably going to be Gaara/O.C., Temari/Shikamaru and Neji/Hinata. Those who don't like Hyuuga-cest, apologies, but since other stuff is going on you can always just ignore it .
This is meant to be set after Naruto came back from that mission with Hinata, Kiba and Shino to find the bug and failed.
For a vague idea of what names are meant to mean;
Jiyuujin - Free One
Hogo - Protector (Y'see, I'm clever ain't I?)
(Though I only think he's briefly mentioned) Meirou/Hogo's Father - Famous Wolf
Anyways, yay, enjoy!
I am the little girl, that protects the monster.
A statement granted, but not one which is in entire possession of all the facts. Aspects of it you see, are somewhat questionable.
Little girl? Maybe not. Fair maiden? Definitely not so.
And monster...
I was among the first to realise that there are many kinds of monsters. The monsters that are created and the monsters that choose to become what they are. The monsters that revel in it and the monsters that are condemned to it.
So who is the real monster, the person who created it? Or the person who never had a choice other than to be a monster? And in turn, who is responsible?
I am the little girl, that would give her life for the monster.
In Konoha
"WHY do we have to find this plant for Granny Tsunade"
"How should I know teme, it's probably for one of her medicines. If I hadn't been standing round withyou she wouldn't have made me go"
"What are you saying Shikamaru"
"That people like trying to get rid of you"
"...OI!"
The idle insults that passed for a conversation, commonly punctuated by Naruto's loud exclamations of excitement or annoyance, continued as the two ninjas nimbly leapt from tree branch to tree branch, skimming the edges of the woods that surrounded Konoha village. Shikamaru's jet eyes scanned the floor for the plant - a shrub, to be precise, as he'd tried to explain to Naruto - but came across nothing. He could only imagine how much more difficult it must be for Naruto, with no experience in medicinal techniques whatsoever, to distinguish between the various types. Stopping abruptly he halted Naruto beside him and picked two leaves, grinning in wry amusement. 'Naruto, what's the difference between these two leaves?'
His blonde head whipped from one to the other with progressively growing annoyance, until he positively shrieked in frustration 'They're both GREEN, who CARES!'
Shikamaru shook his head and tried to stop himself from laughing 'They're from two entirely different plants Naruto-dobe. How do you expect to find this plant if you can't even recognise it?'.
"Who are you calling dobe?"
Shikamaru grinned unrepetently as they carried on moving. He knew first-hand that nothing could dent the rock-headed positivity of Uzumaki Naruto. It was almost unnerving for someone like himself, who had only recently acquired incentive to put effort into anything, to encounter someone who seemed to tremble like a live wire with pure energy and enthusiasm all the time. Certainly it was exhausting. But the village needed people like Naruto, much as most of them would still consider this an affront to everything that Konoha stood for. The idea of them needing the nine-tailed fox that had nearly destroyed them was perverse, but then Naruto had never been the sum of his parts. It could have all been very, very different. What likelihood was there that he should wish to protect all the people that had rejected him his entire life? And yet he did. Perversity piled on top of perversity.
"I think I've seen it!" declared Naruto, nose-diving down towards the forest floor. Shikamaru sighed wearily and placed his foot on the next branch to follow him down, when in the periphery of his mind he felt...
He remained motionless as the wood suddenly seemed eerily quiet save for the delighted yells of Naruto as he ripped huge clumps of the plant out of the ground, covering himself in dirt. Shikamaru focused, distilling the sound out and away, making it dissipate into the back of his mind until nothing but silence remained. It hadn't been a sound that had attracted his attention at first, but now it was the disturbing sense of normalicy to everything BUT the familiar noises of the forest that made him acutely aware. Why weren't the birds singing?
"Naruto shut up. We're not alone." Naruto looked up from his squatted position on the forest floor, squinting in belligerent disbelief and smearing dirt across his nose "What...?"
"I said quiet!" Shikamaru snarled abruptly, leaping down the surrounding tree trunks to stand back-to-back with Naruto, reaching for a kunai. He felt the muscles in Naruto's back tense up as he realised what Shikamaru was suggesting. "It's probably some people from our village." he said hopefully, planting his feet in a defensive position and keeping his eyes watchful. "If they were people from our village they wouldn't be attempting to conceal themselves..." Shikamaru said grimly through gritted teeth, brimful with controlled preparation.
There was a pause in which Naruto now too noticed the disturbing quiet of all that surrounded them. No birds, no rustling of the wind skimming through the branches. Just the anxious tense silence of that stretched-out second before violence. But the violence did not come.
"Apologies friends, we did not mean to unnerve you."
Both Naruto and Shikamaru whirled in stunned amazement upon the voice that came off to their left. "I didn't even hear them move..." Shikamaru thought tensely. For all his attentiveness the two of them had got so close with neither of them being able to feel their presence. If these people decided to turn nasty, they could be in serious trouble. Quickly and quietly he assessed them, not stepping down from his defensive posture.
The man was probably about Kakashi's age, nearly six and a half feet tall and heavily built, more like a warrior than a secretive ninja. Dark blue hair fell down to his collar, a blue almost the same colour as his eyes, and his face was burned dark by wind and sun, scarred and haggard looking. He was swathed in a thick cloak and was sporting what Shikamaru instantly recognised to be the Sand Village's symbol on his forehead protector. Despite the girl's reassuring words his expression and posture was one of quiet distaste, perhaps due to annoyance that ninjas as young as them had detected them. He was nonetheless relaxed and at least seemingly not prepatory to attack. Shikamaru did not discredit for a second that he was anything less than a powerful Jounin. The girl couldn't have been any older than them and had a wryly amused expression on her face. Shikamaru wasn't quite sure who she was amused by, them or her companion's reaction. Her eyes glowed a strangely bright amber colour and her forehead protector, tied tightly around her throat, showed her also to be a Sand Shinobi. The dark red dress she wore showed through the glimpses of arm and thigh that she was already acclimatised to battle, numerous scars scattering flesh that was shockingly pale in comparison with her companion. None of them looked too severe, but proved her to be someone who had experienced far more violent encounters than Shikamaru knew he had so far. But there were two things above all this that concerned him as he made his assessments of these two Shinobi who called them 'friends'.
The first was that it was this girl, a girl who was the same age as them, that was quite evidently in control. It was her who had addressed them, her who stood forward and exuded an attitude of understated confidence. The second was that despite this attitude, this confidence, Shikamaru could not sense her chakra in the slightest.
Any ninja learnt very swiftly to be able to detect chakra, to a lesser or a greater degree. Kiba's dog Akamaru could even smell it, smell just how powerful an opponent to his owner might be. And yet there was nothing, not even the vaguest of tremors in his mind, his psyche, that gave him a suggestion of her power. If one were to judge on this solely alone, it would seem as if she were a regular person, not a ninja at all, with no cultivated chakra whatsoever. But Shikamaru knew better than that. No one stood the way she did, held herself in that way, unless they were strong. Very strong. It wasn't even arrogance - arrogance Shikamaru had encountered dozens of times in ninja and could deal with. This was just calm confidence. Awareness of her ability to the degree that showing it off to anyone else was obsolete. Shikamaru opened his mouth to speak but found, not to his surprise, that he was beaten to it.
"Who are you bastards and what are you doing sneaking around outside our village!" growled Naruto, fists still clenched.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and dealt him a hefty slap up-side the back of his head, lurching him forwards. '
The Sand are our allies again Naruto, watch your manners!" he muttered before turning to fully face the two Sand. "More importantly, why are you sneaking up on us instead of walking in the front gate like allies are meant to do?" The girl looked apologetic for a second before grinning sheepishly "Yeah, sorry, I was hoping you could take us to see the Gondaime Hokage. We'd rather avoid being interrogated by every ninja we encounter as we go through the village." The man at her side grunted in displeasure and she shot him a swift but intense look. "And furthermore, neither of you are unfamiliar to me." Shikamaru and Naruto shared a look of confusion at this. They had never seen this girl before in their lives.
She smiled again, more broadly this time "Word gets around in the Sand. From what I hear the last Chuunin exams were quite... spectacular."
At this her eyes focused more specifically on Naruto and he shifted slightly on the balls of his feet in unease, nonetheless meeting her gaze determinedly. Her eyes became almost speculative as she took him in, her eyes lazily looking him up and down. Naruto could practically feel his measure being taken, and was mildly gratified that she seemed to be taking him seriously. Perhaps she knew that the Kyuubi was inside of him. "Naruto-kun, and Shikamaru I presume?" she said finally, eyes flashing with an almost predatory intensity. And yet the smile was friendly, almost mischievous as they both started in surprise that she knew their names. "I am Hogo Jiyuujin. This is Chimitchi Hamana. Fun as it would be to talk more with you guys, it is very important that we speak to the Hokage as quickly as possible."
The numerous curious looks they received as they escorted Hogo and Chimitchi up towards Tsunade's apartments only increased as word spread like wild fire that more of the Sand Ninja were back. Even if they were technically allies again, after their initial betrayal the public view on them was one of intense suspicion. Dark looks and mutterings followed them as they passed through the streets, eyes trained on them without any attempt to conceal it. Naruto swallowed awkwardly, sensing the air around them thicken with distrust and anger. He found himself grinning and laughing nervously at the scowling passers-by whilst Hogo and Chimitchi looked entirely unperturbed. Jogging to catch up with her, he looked round at Hogo, who gave him a roll of the eyes and a grin, nodding towards the crowd. "Seems like I'm popular wherever I go." Naruto grinned and rubbed his hand through his hair, embarassed at the attitude people were giving these complete strangers. Hostile though Chimitchi was, it was a little less unnerving than Hogo's seeming knowledge of him. "Uhhh... Hogo?" She glanced round and raised her eyebrows in inquiry 'Why d'you know who I am?" She shrugged casually, eyes remaining studiously ahead again. "You defeated Gaara. I didn't think... such a person could exist."
Her eyes met his again and he recognised now in them the look that he had sometimes seen in other ninja's eyes. Kakashi maybe, or one of the other Jounin. But not in someone his age. A look of disillusionment. "I expect you're more than used to seeing faces like these looking at you, Naruto-kun."
He knew he was staring at her with sheer dumb amazement but he could not help himself. Faces like the ones that greeted them on all sides now were what his childhood was made out of. Distrust and suspicion, hatred that he had never understood and never earnt. It was as closely related to him as his skin. He tore his gaze from hers and clenched his teeth, staring hard at the ground ahead of his marching feet. "You don't notice as much when you find people that care." he said finally, careful to keep the words level. Her gaze continued to be evaluative, but he saw a distinct level of warmth grow in her eyes. She looked ahead once more and they continued up the steps towards Tsunade's apartments in comfortable silence.
Clearly knowledge of the Sand's arrival had travelled faster than they could. Tsunade stood at the top of the stairs waiting for them, her glossy blonde hair caught up in a flurry of wind as they approached. Hogo quietly marvelled at how impressive a genjutsu it was that kept Tsunade seemingly so young. The woman was beautiful and had the commanding presence of a true fighter. A smile parted her lips when they reached her 'A Jiyuujin? Even for a clan as restless as yours, you seem to have wandered quite far." She said dryly, but not unkindly. Shikamaru and Naruto looked at one another, confused by this oblique remark as both Chimitchi and Hogo bowed their heads low. "Hokage-sama, it's an honour to meet you. Apologies for our abrupt appearance, but the Sand have a problem we would wish to discuss with you." Tsunade's eyebrows rose in interest before she turned and walked back into the building, leaving them to follow. Hogo gave both Shikamaru and Naruto a grin and wink before going inside "See you later boys" she said with amusement, giving a lazy wave back at them. Shikamaru got the distinct impression that she didn't expect them to leave in the slightest. Chimitchi grunted and shoved his way past them both before going after her. Naruto waited for Tsunade's office door to click closed before he leant forward conspiratorally and whispered "Wanna spy?"
"So what problem is it that required that two shinobi be sent instead of messengers?"
Naruto had a brief moment of panic when he feared the chakra to his feet was not going to hold out before he stepped further down the wall until he was in proximity with Tsunade's window. Shikamaru was not far behind, though with a tad more finesse than Naruto was managing. The street beneath them looked quite absurdly far away as they hung out over it, but nonethelss Shikamaru yawned and shoved his hands in his pockets, reaching level with the window also. Whilst they could not see in through the window without tilting at a dangerous angle, putting strain on the amount of chakra that could be applied, they could hear well enough.
"I was sent because my clan has an awareness of the terrains of nearly all the countries Hokage-sama. It was felt I could get here more swiftly than a messenger."
Tsunade made a brief noise of acknowledgement at Hogo's comment. "But why two of you?"
There was a long and tense silence in which Naruto feared they might have been discovered, before Chimitchi spoke for the first time. "Hogo was not trusted to leave the village on her own. She is under suspicion." Naruto could practically feel the look of surprise on Tsunade's face
"Under suspicion? Of what exactly?" Unable to curb his curiousity Naruto precariously balanced on one leg, wobbling round so that he could peer in...
He let out a yell of surprise to find Tsunade staring out of the window directly at him, nearly losing his chakra control altogether and falling but with some desperate limb-flailing, finally managing to cling on to the window sill with his fingertips.
"Ddddd.. DON'T DO THAT! I NEARLY FELL GRANNY TSUNADE!" he yelled, legs scrambling to gain footholds in the wall. "Naruto if you insist on listening in on my conversations you really must get better at hiding yourself. That goes for you too Shikamaru" she added, eyes sweeping round to the other side of the window where he let out a groan of annoyance. "Naruto you're too useless." he mumbled as Tsunade swung open the window and dragged them both in. "Welcome back boys." Hogo said, laughter rife in her voice as Naruto gave her an embarassed grin, blushing. Chimitchi let out almost an audible growl at their presence, but Naruto belligerently took a position next to Hogo in front of Tsunade's desk. If this guy was intent on accusing Hogo of something, he wanted to know what it was.
"Since our re-alliance with Konoha we have experienced several instances of unrest. Whilst the Elders made it known that Orochimaru had betrayed us, there were... some who still felt that our break with Konoha had been for the best. That a continuation of our alliance would merely mean we were under the thumb of the larger village. In particular Baki, one of our most respected Jounins, continued voicing his aggravation over this. He did not see the necessity for peace. You must understand Hokage-sama, that we are in an exceedingly difficult situation. Without a Kazekage... we are paralysed. Baki has been declared a missing-nin after refusing to fulfil a mission given him and disappearing. Others have followed him..."
Chimitchi's eyes trailed back to Hogo. Whilst her eyes glowed almost gold with intensity a wry smile remained on her face. It was distinctly unnerving.
"Amongst those who have disappeared since Baki's display of rebellion, has been Meirou Jiyuujin. Hogo's father. Almost immediately after Hogo herself was assigned to an exceedingly important mission within the village, he left and did not return. Consequentially, we don't know where her alliances lie."
"You do not know where my father's alliances lie baka. Jiyuujin were not born to remain still. He has disappeared many times before and has always returned - it is the way of my clan and it always has been. You do not know he has left to go to Baki." Hogo said silkily, the smile not slipping even as the eyes narrowed.
"But never before has one left at such a time, when the village needed the Jiyuujin! Even as your clan has not been trusted by some, you have never failed us before!" Chimitchi roared, eyes ablaze, bringing one fist down on Tsunade's desk hard enough to cause a large dent in the thick wood.
"That's enough!" said Tsunade sharply, her voice cracking like a whip in the silence. Chimitchi stepped back respectfully and bowed his head. "Forgive me. But we are in great need Hokage-sama. We are sure that Baki is planning an assault to take over the village. We need a show of unity, defensive aid. Without a Kazekage, we need to give the villagers an example that what has been chosen is right!" Chimitchi said, his voice cracking with emotion. Tsunade nodded grimly, her expression thoughtful "And Konoha will not let you down. I will send a team of six Genins with you..."
"B..But Hokage-Sama!" exclaimed Chimitchi, clearly horrified "With all due respect, we need stronger ninjas than those that are at Genin level!" "I fear I agree with Chimitchi," said Hogo with a grave glance at the floor "I do not doubt the skill of your ninja, but nearly all of those who have departed for the other side are at the very least at Chuunin level..."
"Just because I said they were currently Genins does not mean that their levels are that of Genins." Tsunade interrupted briskly, walking round the desk and placing a firm hand on Naruto's shoulder, making him jump in surprise. "Shikamaru has recently become a Chuunin and Naruto... Naruto will be of use."
Chimitchi scoffed loudly, causing Naruto to round on him with eyes flashing. "They're children. How can they be of any use?"
"Shut your mouth Chimitchi or I'll shut it for you." Naruto blinked in surprise, momentarily stunned by the sheer savagery of this statement coming from Hogo. Her teeth were bared in a snarl but the words had been spoken with calmly calculated fury. Chimitchi and Hogo's gazes locked for a second before Hogo allowed her gaze to soften ever-so slightly.
"Or else the Hokage will take back her generous offer." The moment passed and Naruto gulped nervously. Hogo-nee san could be scary! Tsunade coolly continued as if nothing had happened. "If the situation worsens we will send further teams to aid you. As things are we cannot afford to disband more - we too have experienced serious damages as you're more than aware"
She then turned to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, I trust that you'll collect up a team of suitable Genins." Shikamaru nodded determinedly. He would not ruin his opportunity to better his ability as a team leader. He had failed before and could not forgive himself even for that one slip.
The assembled team had finally comprised of Shikamaru, Naruto, Neji, Rock Lee, Kiba and Hinata. Shikamaru had had some reservations about bringing the timid, shy Hyuuga with them, but Naruto had assured him that Hinata was more than capable and he found himself trusting his judgement. Ideally he would also have felt more comfortable with Chouji by his side, but he was suffering from a bout of stomach poisoning resulting (unsurprisingly) from eating under-cooked BBQ meat. Previous experiences with Neji, Rock Lee and Kiba told him they were all reliable and skilled.
"We should make the journey even more swiftly with your abilities as well Kiba." Hinata said quietly as they headed towards the Front Gate where Chimitchi and Hogo were waiting for them. Kiba grinned cockily
"Hell yeah, me and Akamaru know the terrain better than any Sand ninja, eh Akamaru?" Akamaru yapped happily in response, before faltering at his master's feet. "Hey, what's wrong?" Kiba asked, going to pick Akamaru up. Akamaru wriggled out of his grip and trotted forward until he was practically sitting on Hogo's feet. The Konoha Genins watched in mild surprise as Akamaru vigorously sniffed all around Hogo, tail wagging cautiously. He let out a quiet whine and looked up at her, seemingly uncertain.
"Cute doggy." she commented, grinning. Akamaru backed off slowly, giving a tremulous bark up at Kiba. He blinked in surprise before staring at Hogo hard. "He says he can't smell your chakra. At all." Kiba said, giving Akamaru a reassuring pat. She gave a snort of laughter "I'm glad. I'd be disappointed in myself if he could."
"It's a genjutsu." They all looked up to see Neji's incisive gaze fixed upon her, the veins around his eyes pronounced. "The presence of chakra is an ultimate giveaway to another ninja. She has used her illusionary technique to conceal it.". The others could not see what Neji could, and he had to admit he was impressed. This was a powerful, but more importantly, very subtle and difficult genjutsu. To be able to continually maintain it required a magnificent amount of control. And that was without even considering the chakra that was penned in behind the technique...
"An assassination technique?" he stated rather than asked, closing his eyes and in turn the Byakugan. She smiled, clearly impressed "Very good. Assassination is what my clan is famous for. I need not ask what yours is famous for. Two Hyuugas..." she said, flicking a glance at Hinata who instantly blushed. "Tsunade's spoiling us! This should be fun."
The journey was long and arduous, and would necessitate them travelling over several mountain ranges, but they still were making excellent time by the end of the second day due to the combined skills of Kiba and Hogo. The two had built up a playfully insulting banter as they argued over the most efficient way to get places, practically creating a scoreboard for whenever they were proved right.
"Score SIX to me baka! It would have taken us twice as long if we'd gone through that wood!" laughed Kiba back at her.
"Laugh it up dog boy, when we get into Sand territory you won't know your head from your foot for all the sandstorms." she shot back. Chimitchi had remained at a scornful distance both physically and socially, not saying a word to these 'children' unless he had to. Naruto kept excitedly asking questions about the Sand which Hogo did her best to answer, as did Rock Lee.
Neji in the mean time kept his eyes continually alert, more out of habit than the actually expectation that they would be attacked. He noted that Hinata looked exhausted from their high paced journey on numerous occasions, and also that she didn't complain once. Tempted though he was to mention it to one of the others he decided if she was unwilling to say it herself then it was none of his business. Even though they now lived in the same house, her father having welcomed him with open arms, he was aware of just how little he in fact knew about her. The point had been sharply made clear to him the month before when she had left for a mission. As she had run round the corner, nearly colliding with him, he experienced something he had never expected.
He expected that he would have to catch her. He expected he would have to dodge.
What he had not been expecting was the expertly agile move that had cleared her from his path entirely, the supple spin of an ankle that didn't even break the pace of her run. He had never seen a movement like that before, almost dancer-like, especially from her.
When he looked back on their match now he didn't know what to think. At the time he had been furious with her stubborness. Didn't she realise he could actually kill her if she didn't stop? He had no qualms about being as savage as was necessary. But all the same he had been amazed at just how determined she was to follow through. He hadn't wanted to fight her, he had simply wanted her out of the way so he could move on to a real challenge. He didn't want to have to hurt her... Now he realised, that she was not as kitten weak as she appeared to be on the outside. Since then it had never been mentioned between them. In truth, they never spoke at all unless he spoke to her first, and even then she looked surprised that he had bothered. As if she would rather melt into the floorboards than be noticed. But he had noticed her now. Perhaps she had improved her skills - he did not expect much, but it would be interesting nonetheless, to view how she reacted to this mission...
"We should set up camp for tonight"
The sun was setting on their forth day of travel and they had found themselves on the incline of a mountain range, sharp expanses of rock sprouting out amidst the grass and shrubbery. Hogo looked back at Shikamaru in surprise. "Already? We can cover far more ground before we have to stop." she said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "Probably, but we won't be able to travel far enough to get over the mountains. Leaving ourselves exposed on a mountain top isn't a smart move." continued Shikamaru, already throwing down his pack.
She let out a quiet growl of frustration "Don't be so pathetic! We need to cover as much ground as possible."
"I agree with Shikamaru." interjected Neji apologetically before his gaze slid to Hinata "Hinata is clearly exhausted. We could all do with some rest or we'll be of no use to you when we arrive at the Sand village." Startled by the mention of her name, Hinata flushed hotly, embarassed "R..Really I'm fine to carry on..." she stammered despite her ragged breathing.
"You're too tired Hinata-sama and you have been for some time." Neji said firmly, his eyes dismissively returning to the others. Hinata blushed brighter but said nothing, annoyed with herself that she had not concealed her fatigue better.
"Why do you feel the need to get back into Sand territory so quickly Hogo? Do you need to report back to your father perhaps?" drawled Chimitchi, his eyes hard. "It's nothing like that!" snarled Hogo furiously, rounding on Chimitchi and miraculously managing to look down her nose at him despite him being over half a foot taller.
She sighed, letting out her breath slowly, attempting to relieve the tension inside her before sitting, dropping her pack and waving for the others to do likewise. "I'm sorry. I'm just... concerned. I'm not... used to being away from someone for this long."
"Someone? Who?" asked Naruto, curious as to what could have aggravated Hogo so much.
Her eyes flickered briefly and she looked uncomfortable, saying nothing. Chimitchi's voice dripped scorn as he answered for her.
"Gaara. Hogo Jiyuujin was assigned to be Gaara of the Sand's guardian."
A total silence settled on the group as they took this in, stunned.
Naruto let out the name in a whisper along with all the breath in his lungs.
"...Gaara."
Tadaaaa ppls, hope you liked it! Lemme know what you think etc etc, I love RnR's :D XXX
