Kunoichi Ai
A Tenten x Hinata Fanfic
Notice to Readers:
This chapter started as a rewrite for the first chapter, but ended up being a little bit of a combination of the first three chapters. Not too many things have been changed in the story and I've taken liberties to switch some lines from one character to another to either help establish a character's personality or give a character a line they would likely say in the stead of another. I will continue to rewrite (and possibly condensing future chapters) while continuing the story line.
Chapter 1: A Kunoichi only Mission
The third training ground of the Hidden Leaf Village was scattered kunai, shuriken and various other thrown projectiles as two kunoichi trained together. This unlikely pairing was the result of various circumstances: Kurenai Yuhi, head jonin of team 8, was on maternity leave, Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame were busy with clan related activities, leaving Hinata Hyuga with nobody to train with save for Tenten, whose teammates (Neji Hyuga and Rock Lee) were training independently with their respective mentors (Hiashi Hyuga and Might Guy). Despite the oddity of the situation, they were both chunin and thusly on were on the same levels skill wise (not to mention Tenten has years of experiencing training with Hyuga's as she often trained with Neji). Though Hinata didn't possess the ability to perform the 8 Trigrams Palm Rotation, she made up with her own technique she created herself, the Protective Palms Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. The ability alone to a create an entirely new technique amazed the weapon master alone.
One of the first things that Tenten noticed was different from training with Neji was that the young heiress was more easy on the eyes. Despite much of the popular opinion, the weapon master had no interest in the Hyuga Prodigy or any man at that, though in a country renown for its peaceful nature, it was quite closed minded when it came to such matters, so she kept it a secret. In fact many of the hidden villages were like this, most likely to due to out of date mind sets existing since the Great Shinobi Wars where insuring the next existence and the survival of the village was more important that the individual villagers' desires. As much as the kunoichi desired to make advances towards the beautiful kunoichi that catches her eye, she was forced to play a lie that left a foul taste in her mouth. At least she didn't need to pursue men to keep the illusion up.
"Thank…you….for….helping…me…Tenten-san," Hinata said between pants. Their training had come to an with each covered in considerable sweat and double over from exhaustion (allowing Tenten to get a considerable view of Hinata's well developed chest). For Hinata, she was so grateful that she didn't miss a single kunai; she was constantly afraid that she would screw up and get herself hurt or worse. However Tenten continually complimented the effort Hinata did which helped her very much. She knew very little of the weapon master besides the fact that she was her cousin's team mate and training partner (though she has heard the general rumors of their relationship). In honesty she admired the outgoing and positive outlook Tenten had on things and, though she could be a little rough at times, her kindness toward her.
"It's…nothing," Tenten replied, blushing lightly as she tried to catch her breath. Her body was on fire from the exercise and something more; something she never felt when she trained with Neji. Like a starving lion, she was filled with an unspeakable desire to devour the kunoichi's body (though in more a sensual sense of the word). She could hardly wait to steal a glimpse of the kunoichi's body in the bath house and it was hard to suggest their next course of action without her intentions coming to surface once she was capable of speaking whole sentences, "Why don't we call it a day and wash the sweat off?"
Hinata, still trying to catch her breath, simply nodded. Hinata helped Tenten gather up the thrown weapons and reseal them within the massive green scroll the weapon master carried on her back before heading back to the village proper.
Shizune rushed about the village, anxiously searching for the two kunoichi she was sent to fetch by Tsunade, the fifth lord Hokage. She had been searching for hours with no success much to her frustration. Neither had gone on mission of as recent and they were not at their respective residences, leaving the kunoichi to question where they could have gotten. She was heading towards training ground three when gentle breeze brought the most horrible of smells wafting towards her. "What's that stench?" the medical kunoichi asked, pinching her nose. It was not long before she caught sight of the two kunoichi she had been sent to find and to her grief as they came close the stench grew stronger. "Where have you two been? I've been looking all over for you!" Shizune chided through a nasally voice. "And what that's smell?"
"We were training and were on our way to clean up," Tenten said, laughing nervously. Neither kunoichi could smell the stench of their sweat as they had already grown familiar with it as they were training, though having it pointed out them was still quite embarrassing.
"We have no time! Tsunade-sama is waiting for you!" Shizune said, turning about and footing and hurrying back towards the Hokage's residence.
The two kunoichi looked to one another and gulped. The fifth lord Hokage was known for her temper and the last thing anyone wanted to do was anger her. They quickly fell in step behind the medical kunoichi. As they passed through the streets of the village, the villagers pinched their noses and gossiped amongst themselves about the stench, causing the already embarrassed kunoichi to blush deeper. They were all too glad to have reached the Hokage's residence.
Shizune barely stopped to open the front door as she hurried in and headed straight to the Hokage's office. The following kunoichi had to hurry so that they didn't fall behind. The trio didn't even reach the door before the voices from the other side could be heard. From the sound of Tsunade's voice, she was in a good mood.
"Come, Tsunade-obasan, what the hell is up with all these D-rank missions?" The familiar voice of the village's number one hyper active knuckleheaded annoyance whined. Tenten didn't have much of an opinion for the boy that had seemed to have gone from zero to hero over seemingly overnight. She had never really hated him (let alone known of his existence until the Chunin Exams), but she couldn't really wasn't be interested either (as he was male and all). Though from what she had seen during the Chunin Exams and the few missions she had been on with him (or were those just really weird dreams, she could never tell), he was a competent, if not a little eccentric fighter. Hinata on the other hand was infatuated with the boy. She never had the courage to tell him what she felt for him (in fact she fainted the first they meet after he returned from his two and a half years of training with Jiraiya) and she was worried if she did that he would reject her.
"I'm sorry Naruto, but the only high ranked mission I have request only kunoichi!" Tsunade replied, the effort to restrain herself audible in her voice.
"Kunoichi eh?" Naruto replied. With a puff, smoke streamed from under the door and the shinobi added with a now feminine voice. "How about this? If I stay like this for the entire mission-"
"IF? What if you were to loose concentration and transform back? You would void the contract and cause us to possibly loose a client!" Chided the voice of Sakura Haruno. Tsunade's apprentice in medical ninjutsu, Tenten was looking forward to one day sparring with her, though she personally had to admit the kunoichi was as flat (if not flatter) as the weapon master, a trait she would never bring up to the kunoichi having inherited her master's killer temper.
"What kind of pervert would hire only kunoichi anyways?" Naruto asked.
"Naruto respect the client's demands!" hissed Tsunade, what little patience she had being chipped away. "If they want kunoichi, I will give them kunoichi!"
"Wait a second . . . You've been sending on missions one after another. HAVE YOU BEEN GAMBLING AWAY THE VILLAGE'S AGAIN? HOW DEEP IN DEBT IS THE VILLAGE?"
"Na-ru-to! Do you think I would gamble away the village's funds in a few hours?" Tsunade said, barely able to restrain herself anymore.
"Considering your loosing strea-" Naruto began before being cut off by the sound of a fist connecting with "her" face with a puff, Naruto exploded through the door and into the connecting hallway. Whatever transformation he had done was canceled when he was punched and it appeared that his nose might have been broken in the process.
"WHY YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Yelled Tsunade, her temper reaching its peak. "I'M GOING TO ASSIGN YOU THE MOST DEGRADING D-RANK MISSIONS I CAN FIND UNTIL THE DAY YOU DIE!"
"F-Forgive him Tsunade-sama! He speaks without thinking!" Sakura pleaded frantically.
The kunoichi gulped. Thanks to Naruto's antics, it didn't seem like Tsunade was going to be a good mood for a while. As curious to what kind of mission requested only kunoichi, they didn't feel brave enough to face the woman's rage.
"Oh, hello Hinata- Gawd! What is that smell?" Naruto asked, pinching his nose shut.
'Na-Naruto-kun thinks I stink!' Hinata's face paled as she fainted, leaving Tenten to catch her as she fell.
"NA-RU-TO!" Sakura howled stepping through the hole in the door that Naruto had made when he had burst through it. Grabbing him by the collar of his orange and black jacket, she hoisted him into the air and shook him furiously. "YOU NEVER TELL A WOMAN THAT SHE STINKS! (Even if she does)."
Looking out of the door way, Sai watched the scene and thought, 'So women don't like being told that they stink. . .' What most people would consider common knowledge was news to the ANBU Root member. Thanks to a life without much human contact outside of Danzo and his fellow Root members, Sai was like a new born learning how the social world worked.
"Here's your mission, if you are successful maybe I'll consider showing you mercy," Tsuande said, the anger in her voice having dropped a bit. Maybe the punch relieved some of the stress, though she was still in a foul mood. From the documents on her desk, she handed Yamato a folder.
"Y-yes, Hokage-sama," replied the undercover ANBU. His real name was only known by the Hokage herself and other ANBU members (including retired ANBU such Kakashi Hatake), but that was information that was a safely guarded secret as the ANBU are the hokage's personal guard and servants; if their true identities were known, the security of the village and the safety of the Hokage would be at risk. "Naruto, Sakura, we're heading out. I'll brief on our mission on the way." He said, stepping through the hole in the door with Sai following closely behind.
"Yes Yamato-sempai!" Sakura replied, dragging Naruto (kicking and flailing) behind her as she followed her team's (current) leader.
Shizune hesitantly knocked on the door.
Tsunade, having turned her attention towards the documents on her desk, didn't look up as she replied, "Enter."
Shizune opened the door, wondering at the same time if they should just step through the hole like the others did.
"Um, Shizune-san, can you help me?" Tenten asked, referring to Hinata. She was not heavy, but it still would be difficult for her to walk and carry kunoichi.
"Right!" Shizune said, picking the Hyuga up by her feet and carrying through the door.
Catching the scent of the sweat, Tsunade looked up and pinched her nose. Seeing the unconscious kunoichi, she asked curiously, "What happened to her?"
"I fear Naruto said something idiotic again," Tenten said, shaking her head. She was grateful that Tsunade sounded less angry than she was handling Team Seven, though she feared that they weren't out of the woods just yet. The kunoichi stepped into the room and laid Hinata down against a wall.
"I see. Well this should do," Tsunade said, opening a drawer in her desk and drawing a container of smelling salts. An expert in medical ninjutsu, it wasn't too odd for her to carry such an item with her especially if she had made it.
"Thanks," Tenten said, taking the container and kneeling beside Hinata. Unscrewing the cap, she waved the smelling salts under Hinata's nose.
The kunoichi's nose wrinkled with the strong scent of the salts as she began to rouse. Slowly opening her milky white eyes, she looked about the room. She recalled what had happened a few moments ago and blushed in embarrassment. Apologizing, she picked herself up with a little aid from the weapon master.
"Several mysterious abductions have happening in the Land of Lilies and their princess, our client is afraid she will be the next target. Your mission is to protect her while discovering the culprits and bringing them to justice. Go pack and take a bath; the client and her body guard is awaiting you at the gate," Tsunade said.
"Yes Tsunade-sama!" The kunoichi said, bowing. Tenten began to leave the room when Hinata asked, "Um, Hokage-sama . . . "
"Yes?" Tsunade asked, slightly irritable.
It was too clear that Hinata was going to be muster the necessary courage to ask so Tenten took the lead. "We heard the mission only requests kunoichi, why?"
"It's because the Land of Lilies strictly prohibits men from entering their country on the penalty of death. If you wish to know more, ask the client," Tsunade said grumpily.
"Thank you!" Tenten said as the kunoichi left the office.
"The Land of Lilies?" Shizune asked once the chunin kunoichi had left earshot. "You're sure its right to send them?"
"They will need to understand the world outside of this village can and probably will be different. It's not like they will be changed by their experience there," Tsunade replied looking over her documents.
"But you-" Shizune began until a sharp glare from the Hokage silenced her.
"What happens in the Land of Lilies stays in the Land of Lilies," Tsunade said sternly, ending the conversation.
The kunoichi finished preparing for the mission within little less than a hour and met the princess of the Land of Lilies and her bodyguard at the massive double gates separated the village from the outside world. Two exotically dressed met them at the gate. One wore an unusual hat with a stovepipe like base and an upturned brim, a sleeveless robe, extending from an obi-like sash as a loincloth-like flaps in front and back, over another garment with long sleeves extending past the hand and dangled near to her knees, ballooning pants bunched at the ankles and two-toed shoes. The other dressed in a similar manner though her face was mostly hidden by a bandana with a veil covered the side and back of her head. She also wore light weight, flexible armor with vanguards that held the ridiculously long sleeves in place and greaves that bunched the pants at the knee. Combined with the spear and shield she carried, it was clear that the second was a warrior, most likely the bodyguard of the first; the princess.
The kunoichi stared at the couple with awe, forgetting momentarily their mission until the warrior looked behind her cautiously in the direction of the wilderness outside the village. "Forgive us for making you wait!" Tenten said, drawing near. As a she got closer, she noticed something out of place with the women. The princess had a deep tan and the air of the soldier, her eyes turning quickly to the weapon master as soon as she opened her mouth while the warrior seemed rather uncomfortable in the armor and slightly frail. However, the kunoichi knew better than to point this out and decided to let the matter go.
"We are simply grateful that the Leaf would aid us in our time of need. Besides, we prefer waiting in the village, knowing that we are somewhere safer than in the wilderness, where we feel vulnerable," the princess said, she and the warrior bowing to the kunoichi.
"Don't worry; with the two of us around, I doubt the assailant would show his face without thinking twice!" Tenten said confidently, she and Hinata bowing in return.
"Unfortunately our comrades said something on those lines and ended up being killed by the assailant without having a change to fight back. You can see how such words bring too little comfort to us at this moment," the princess said in a sad tone.
"Forgive me!" Tenten said blushing in embarrassment. "if the assailant is as good as you say he is, then he must be a shinobi!"
"Indeed, but do you mind if we continue our conversation on the road? We're anxious to return to our homeland," the princess said, looking towards the warrior quietly nodded.
"Of course! Let's set out!" Tenten said with a smile. She wasn't sure what to make of either of the women. They both were highly suspicious and felt out of place. Their clothing was too exotic, there was no way they could pass off as mere travelers; no wonder the assailant easy time picking off their allies. Also if the princess carried herself like a warrior, why didn't her bodyguard. Only the best warriors should be protecting the princess. There was much she was unsure of and she was going to find out.
As the kunoichi and their clients left the village, three silhouettes watched them from the shadows.
"They're leaving!" Said one of the silhouettes in a cheerfully feminine voice.
"We should get rid of them as soon as they are out of sight of the village," added a second silhouette in a gloomily feminine voice.
"But that would be no fun!" Argued the cheerful voiced silhouette.
"If we do not strike as soon as possible, we will loose our chance," the gloomy voiced silhouette replied.
The third silhouette said nothing, but brought a finger to its lips before pointing to the traveling party.
"Yes cousin," the two silhouettes replied, nodding their heads. All three silhouettes faded into the shadows.
They were nearly out of sight of the village when Tenten asked, "Excuse me, but we didn't introduce ourselves back at the village. I'm Tenten this is Hinata Hyuga."
"Nice to meet you," Hinata said meekly.
"I am Yurihime and this my bodyguard Yuribuke. Excuse us if we aren't too talkative, but we are like to get as far as possible before nightfall," the princess said in a stressed tone.
What kind of fake names are those? Tenten thought though she was careful to keep it from being shown on her face. The way the princess addressed them was growing to agitate the weapon master. Quite informal and evasive, it made a little sense considering that there is a faceless assailant hunting them, but as their protectors maybe they should be more forth coming.
"Um . . . If you don't mind, why are men forbidden?" Hinata asked to lighten the subtle intensity rising between the weapon master and the princess.
A moment silence passed and the kunoichi feared they clients wouldn't answer. Then Yuribuke answered in a soft, gentle voice that as a smooth and soothing as honey. "Long ago, in a time long past but never forgotten, the Land of Lilies was ruled by a chauvinistic daimyo who thought of women as being no more than child-bearers and housewives and treated them as much. His sexism was so great that he decreed that the men in the land follow suit, else be punished with death. The men followed for they feared for their own lives more than the integrity of their daughters and sisters. The women of our land suffered greatly, beaten and abused at the slightest mistake, tortured endlessly if they refused to be subservient until their wills broke or they died. In a way we all suffered regardless of our gender under the reign of the daimyo . . .
"However there was a girl who was too strong-willed to be anyone's slave, but too wise to do anything rash. She was clever and learned quickly how to feign obedience while secretly rebelling against the oppression of her people. She learned how to weaponize the most common household utensils and how to craft poisons from garden variety ingredients. She learned the mindset of the men of our land and how to manipulate them without sacrificing their integrity. However, she was not happy with keeping this information to herself. She passed this knowledge to other women who themselves passed it on to others and so on and so forth until every woman in the land, young and old were armed with very deadly knowledge. Before she knew it, the girl had raised an army and created a revolution that was launched over the course of a single night. The daimyo and his supporters were killed in his sleep and the remaining oppressors were disarmed and bound. By morning, the captured men were given two choices, repent for their crimes and live or be exiled. Many of the men, having grown use to the reign of the daimyo, refused to accept this new hostile change in power and were exiled from the land to never return. The few men who repented were allowed to stay, they were stripped of any power they had to never regain it. The people turned to the girl who had made the revolution possible and she, despite her humble wishes to simply live without oppression, became the new ruler of the Land of Lilies."
"You mean one girl had brought forth a revolution in a single night?" Tenten asked, awed.
"Well that's how the popular retelling states, but many historians say that it would have taken several weeks, if not months and years for such a revolution to happen, but a single night is far more romantic," Yuribuke said.
"Oh I see," Hinata said. "But that doesn't explain why men are forbidden."
"Well the revolution left the country weakened and vulnerable to attacks by the neighboring countries so they declared a state of isolationism. Originally the conditions of isolation prohibited all outsiders from entering the country, but of as our generation it has been reduced to only prohibit men. Though our army has gained enough strength to fight off invasions, the scars of the daimyo's reign have yet to healed even now and a tradition misandry has done little to heal those scars," Yuribuke said.
"So in short, the cycle of chauvinism comes full circle with women devaluing men," Tenten said, sighing. "But you said that only a few of the original men chose to repent and remain, doesn't that have an impact on your population?"
"Indeed it does. You see the combination of cultural influence and now outlawed acts by lower class, the male birth rate has plummeted and forced us to lessen the terms of isolation. We are willing to offer safe harbor to any woman regardless of her political ties to the outside world. Many women who come to our country end up staying, allowing for our population to temporarily stabilize," Yuribuke said.
"You know much for a soldier," Tenten said while thinking 'Cultural influence and now outlawed acts by the lower class? I wonder what she means by that. And why is the princess so quiet?'
"I-If you don't mind me asking, but what do you mean by 'outlawed acts by the lower class'?" Hinata asked meekly. She wasn't as overly suspicious of the Lily Country's women as Tenten was, but she felt if she knew more about the country maybe some light could be shed on their assailant's identity.
"In our society, men are powerless politically and socially. They exist only to serves as a mean to continue our population even though my- the present daimyo tried to change this. She may have lived under the oppression of the daimyo, but she understood that inflicting the same suffering on the men would not make things better," Yuribuke stated sadly. "Male children were undesirable and families that could only afford to raise one or two children would drown any males children that were born . . . It was all that the daimyo could do to outlaw this act."
The kunoichi were speechless. To think that such a thing was possible. However there was a feeling that there was something not right that couldn't be shaken no matter how hard the kunoichi tried. "Wait, isn't the present daimyo at as much risk of being targeted as you are?" Tenten asked Yurihime.
"She's already dead. The pr- I will be crowned the next daimyo as soon as the assailant has been captured and dealt with. Until then, our people act without a ruler," the princess said somberly.
The conversation dropped dead from there and an uncomfortable silence reigned for the remainder of the first day of travel.
As the sun began to set, the women began to set up camp for the night. Entrusting Yuribuke with the duty watching over the princess, the kunoichi scouted the surrounding area to insure that were no dangers within the surrounding area that may pounce on them while they slept. It also allowed the kunoichi to speak freely about their unusual clients.
"Tenten-san?" Hianta spoke quietly.
"Yes?" Tenten replied.
"About Yuribuke and Yurihime . . . " Hinata began, but it was clear she hadn't the frankness to speak her mind.
"They're keeping a lot of secrets from us," Tenten said taking the lead. "Their names are so fake sounding I wanted to laugh myself to death and they aren't trying to be our friends- which is understandable, but at least they could tell us what the hell is going on!"
"I'm kind of scarred," Hinata said, looking at the ground shyly. "What if we fail to protect them? Tsunade-sama-"
"We won't fail, not with somebody as skilled like you!" Tenten said. "You're as not as bad as you think you are! I've seen what you can do! You're amazing!" The weapon master didn't realize how she was rambling on until she was about to compliment the Hyuga on beautiful she was. Blushing in embarrassment, she forced her mouth shut and hoped she hadn't exposed her dark secret to her team mate.
"Thank you, Tenten-san," Hinata said quietly. Though she still had a downcast expression on her face, she had a small, confident smile that brought warmth to the weapon master. The soft blush filled her cheeks were likely caused by the Hyuga's humble personality or so the kunoichi told themselves. Only Hinata knew how her heart was reacting to Tenten's words of confidence. She didn't understand the feeling or more didn't want to realize what the feeling really meant. "Let's head back," she said in order to change the topic and hopefully let emotions return to normal. Little did they know would await them that night.
"Pr- Yuribuke-san, I think Akane-sama lied to us when she said these were the cultural dress of the outside nations," Yurihime said, tugging on her clothing uncomfortably. They sat about a lively campfire waiting for the kunoichi return from scouting.
"If she wasn't afraid divine punishment, she would even lie about Inari-sama truly wishes. Besides it could be far worse. She could have us wear as little clothing as possible, though I doubt she wishes to disgrace us with such foolishness," Yuribuke said calmly. She was too embarrassed, but her armor allowed her to hide it more easily. "Though I hope she is safe."
"She takes no side in if the isolationism policy should remain in state or be abolished so I doubt she will bear any interest towards the assailants," Yurihime said, nodding her head.
"But many of the victims insofar have not voiced their opinion on the matter publically! She can still be a target!" Yuribuke said worriedly.
"I know not about the kami, but I'm sure that Inari-sama will protect her. It's that outsider I fear of," Yurihime said, shaking her head. "What was her name?"
"Honeko Shiinu I believe is the name if you mean the miko courting Amaya-sama," Yuribuke said. "I understand she bares some controversy if you mean by her choice of okami, but she seems not to pose any threat to our country."
"I wish not to speak ill Izanami-no-Mikoto-sama, but to worshiper her not as an okami creation, but the okami of death, that is a little extreme! Can we trust somebody who intentionally walks down a dark path?" Yurihime asked shaking her head. "You have heard of the rumors!"
"I have and they are rumors, I doubt nothing more. You need to stop worrying about the littlest thing," Yuribuke said.
"Yes, Yuribuke-san," Yurihime said, sighing.
As their conversation came to an end, the kunoichi returned.
"We've seen nothing suspicious," Tenten as she got within hearing range.
"'tis a good sigh, though I fear have to pi- relieve myself," Yurihime got up from where she was sitting.
"You shouldn't go alone; I'll escort you," Tenten said.
"As you wish," the princess said gracelessly, walking off with the kunoichi in tow.
Yuribuke stopped her, grabbing her by her sleeve. Though she didn't speak, she was expressed her worry through the tightness of her grip and the fear in her eyes.
"Do not worry, I will return," the princess said softly, gently taking the bodyguard's hand and removing it. Pulling down the scarf-like mask of the warrior wore, she kissed her romantically on the lips.
The kunoichi's eyes were wide with surprise and their faces were a deep crimson from embarrassment. Tenten was especially surprised to see something she thought was forbidden being performed before her very eyes and having it appear so natural, so right.
"Are you coming?" Yurihime asked, blush alit in her face as she parted from the warrior and turned to face Tenten.
"Y-Yes!" Tenten said, stuttering. Lost in a daze of confusion and mystification, she followed after the princess who impatiently walked into the wilderness.
"From the look of your face, is it not common for two women to show affection for one another in public," the princess as she walked.
"No, it's in fact taboo for two women to even suggest it," Tenten said, trying not to look embarrassed.
"As I feared. We've heard rumors about other countries being quite close minded when it came to relationships between members of the same sex, but I never believed they were true. It must be a torture to keep it secret, isn't it?" The princess said with a smile.
"W-What do you mean?" Tenten asked, wandering if she knew.
"You know how you really feel. I know that not all women think the same as we do, but I can tell you do. Do you have a lover or are you too afraid of being caught to explore your feelings?" the woman said.
"I-I don't know hat you mean?" Tenten said, gulping.
"How about that Hyuga girl, she seems very kind. A little timid, but she is beautiful and no doubt caring towards her comrades."
"I don't like where you are taking this," Tenten said, growing unexplainably angry at the princess.
"Forgive me, I didn't mean to upset you," Yurihime said, sighing and shaking her head. "Though you know the more defensive you are about her tells me the more you like her."
Before Tenten could deny the woman's accusations, somebody screamed in the direction of the camp.
"No!" The princess cried, growing pale. Without another thought or warning, she rushed back to the camp, with Tenten following closely behind her.
The camp was overran by dirty women dressed in Qing Dynasty garb and paper talisman covering their faces. They about with outstretched arms ending in long, black fingernails, heading towards Hinata and Yuribuke. Holes in the ground suggest their means of alluding the kunoichi when they were scouting. Hinata struck at the with her gentle palm, knocking them down only for them raise again as if they had not been affected by the chakra induced internal damage. From the worried look on the kunoichi's face, it was quite possible it had no effect on them.
Yuribuke oddly enough sat with her legs sprawled apart, shaking badly as she clutched her spear for life. For a seasoned veteran, this was ridiculous. If Tenten wasn't mistake, she was even sobbing hysterically.
"GET AWAY FROM THE PRINCESS!" Yurihime screamed, rushing forward and placing herself between the invading women and the hysterical warrior. Taking the spear from Yuribuke's hand, she impaled it into the closest enemy and pushed her back before retrieving the spear and spinning above her like a quarterstaff. The spearhead slashed at the enemies while the staff knocked them down. Unfortunately, the struck enemies pressed onward despite receiving some grievous wounds.
"No way!" Tenten said, retrieving the scroll she wore on her back and unrolling it. Tossing it into the air, the scroll unrolled further and released a barrage of weapons.
Hinata shielded the women of the Lily Country from the falling projectiles by weaving strands of chakra into a protective net. Their enemies were not so lucky and were impaled mercilessly.
"You have some explaining to do!" Tenten said as the barrage was finished. However, their enemies were not finished. To their women's horror, they impossibly rose once more no matter how badly they had been damaged.
"They have no tenketsu!" Hinata cried as she continually attacked the enclosing enemy.
"Impossible!" Tenten exclaimed, drawing a pair of kama from that had impaled one of the bodies and hacking at the same enemy. To her horror, severed body parts flailed about on the ground and no blood came from the wounds. "What are these things?"
"They are the women from our village- the ones who've been abducted!" Yurihime said, staring ghastly into the face of the one of the women she had pinned to the ground with her spear.
"They are kyonshi!" Yuribuke cried out. "Corpses animated by when the souls of the deceased fails to leave the body!"
"Great zombies!" Tenten said sighing. She continued to hack apart one of the women after another, achieving as much as temporarily slowing them down. Thankfully they appeared incapable of pulling themselves together and lacked enough sentience to turn its attention to their attackers. "Just cut them apart or pin them to the ground!"
Hinata and Yurihime followed the weapon master's instructions within little time, all the invading women were either cut to pieces or trapped on the ground. From what they could tell, they had won the battle. Pinning severed pieces to the ground and tying up the few whole bodies, they were gathered them and kept them in close sight.
"Again, you have some explaining to do!" Tenten told the Lily Country women angrily.
"We're sorry to deceive you, but we had no idea how information the enemy had on us so we thought it would be safer if I pretended to be the princess," Yurihime said, consoling the sobbing warrior. "This is the true princess of the Land of Lilies."
"Well apparently they weren't fooled by your little act and thanks to you, we nearly screwed the mission up for us! We have all means to cancel the contract for this you know!" Tenten scolded harshly. An uncomfortable silence befell the group before Tenten spoke up. "However, we will look past this if you tell us everything you know! No more secrets okay?"
Yuribuke looked at Tenten surprised. Tears brimmed on the edges of her eyes. "Thank you! May we have some time to compose ourselves?"
"You can do that as we move. The enemy probably got our location and will be sending back up anytime soon," Tenten said. "Pack up camp as quickly as possible and let's get going."
The four women began to prepare to start moving again.
"So they won after all!" said the cheerful voiced silhouette. Only the smoldering ashes of a camp fire indicated that there had been once a camp. "I wonder where they took Itamu-nee's toys?"
"They probably sealed them away for transportation. I recalled one of them having a large scroll that could easily fit them all. It matters not. Those mindless dolls were merely a test of power. They have yet to feel full power of the Hitsugi clan," said the gloomy voiced silhouette. "Maisoko-imoto, I'm going to return to report to Shiryu-sama and prepare the next attack. Track them down and prepare to give them a warm welcome. They won't get off so easily next time."
"Yes Itamu-nee!" said the cheerful voiced Silhouette before disappearing into one of the wholes in the ground.
"Let us continue this game of hide and seek, princess," the gloomy voiced silhouette said before fading into the darkness of the night.
"Let us start by reintroducing ourselves. I'm Barahime, the heiress of the Land of Lilies and this here is my faithful bodyguard (and lover) Sizume," the real princess said. She now wore an elegant kimono covered with flower designs something more suiting to a princess.
"There is no wonders to excuse the dishonor we brought you by our secrecy," the real bodyguard Sizume said. She wore a well worn suit of do-maru armor befitting to a seasoned warrior with the spear resting familiarly in her arm in addition to a tachi slung across her back.
"Those are believable names," Tenten said, trying to not sound suspicious despite having been deceived until recently. "Now mind telling us why a shinobi skilled enough to control a hoard of undead is trying to possibly assassinate you?"
"Not everybody supports the state of isolation our country is in and many believe that we should abolish the isolation policy and allow more men into our country. They believe that because we have fight off every invasion so far we should have nothing to fear, but those in favor of the isolation policy, many of the elder generation, say we are only able to survive so long as a nation because we were neutral and kept out of needless conflicts. This has resulted in two competing factions that threaten to divide our country," Barahime explained.
"And which side do you stand?" Tenten asked.
"I fear I side with my mother who wishes for the policy to stand. I can claim something noble such as thinking about the people or such, but I fear I would do no one justice by lying. This world is not kind to those who fall out of the 'natural order' of life. Many countries only frown on those of us who do not find interest in men so we must hide this secret from others, except in our country. Our land with too few men and prohibition of foreign men has created an atmosphere where our fears can be forgotten. Many of the women who migrate to our country do so not only for protection, but find acceptance and be open about who we are. Until the other countries can accept us, we will hide in the lilies," Barahime said solemnly.
Tenten sighed. There she had asked for no secrets and they weren't hiding anything. She knew nothing she could say would sway her opinion for there was much truth in it. Until the world was ready to accept people like- like her, this was their paradise. "It seems not many feel the same way."
"Those who oppose the isolation policy never have left our country nothing of the prejudice the outside world bears. If they knew then they, I'm sure that they would see that the isolation policy protects their way of life!" Barahime said, sighing.
Hinata walked in silence, contemplating what Barahime had to say. Though she was not interested in women or so she thought, she could understand their standpoint. The idea of having to live a lie saddened her. The fear of being shunned, how was she any different? Her father nearly disowned her for failing to meet his expectations. No parent would desire such a thing from their child, at least not intentionally.
"We must make you uncomfortable Hinata-san," Sizume said walking by Hinata.
"N-No! I just feel sorry for what you have to go through, but didn't take a risk exposing yourselves to us?" Hinata asked.
"No, we have a good intuition to whom we reveal our secrets too. We can also tell when one of our kind is pretending to something else," Barahime said, unsubtly hinting towards Tenten who pretended to not have heard the comment.
The four women continued to move until they were ready to collapse from exhaustion before stopping again and setting up camp.