Mulan Shippuden

They say the calm before the storm can be just as intense as if you were waiting for your enemy to strike at your back—and you have a bit of a problem…you can't see him. With a knife at hand, you know that he will strike when you least expect it, but when is that? And what is this feeling coursing through your body? The feeling of useless panic. You wish it would end. "Just get it over with!" you scream inside your head. The adrenaline rush in your body will stop its surge through you, and you'll feel your heart beating at its normal tempo—not 10 times as fast.

You know that the second you feel your heart beating at its customary rate, it will stop. Once the dagger hits you, you're done for, but you were just so glad to feel the rush stop in your last moments of life.

Many say they would rather be the storm—be hated, and not have that intense feeling. However, some love it, and in my heart, I know I love a monstrous adrenaline rush—like when I'm with Naruto…or when I'm fighting my perceptive enemy ninja. But on top of that feeling, I can't help but want to be the storm, as well. I wish I could switch places with the perceptive ninja, the storm, or my enemy with a knife, just waiting to get me from behind. I want to do something with my life, and not be treated like women do in my village. I want to be like a man and participate in a real fight with a real ninja with real persistence. Somehow, a wooden doll and some flimsy needles just won't do it for me. I want to—

"What's this?" Naruto questioned as he snatched my paper off of the desk placed near on the wall opposite of the kitchen wall, consisting of a sky blue paint and light pink rims.

"Oh!" I yelped, trying to snatch it back from him. "It's…nothing. Just something I was writing." I tried to sound honest. Somehow, I don't think he heard me, as he was too busy reading over my paper.

He looked at me and back at the paper about 6 times, and all I could do was sit there with my head down. It was almost forbidden for women to talk the way I was writing on that paper. I hated how females were treated differently here…and everywhere, for that matter. We were able to learn healing techniques, acupuncture, and learned the human body, just incase we needed self-defense. But of course, they expected the men to take care of all the 'hardy' work.

"As expected of my Hinata!" he grinned with bright eyes. "You're writing is terrific. Like, really good!" I smiled my huge smile, and then he gave me a big 'question mark' face.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" I yelped.

"No, no. It's just—these aren't your actual thoughts, right?" he questioned.

All I could do was nod. If my husband found out that I actually wanted to fight, he would immediately make me dispatch that thought from my mind. Naruto loved me, but I don't think he would ever let me do something so dangerous and unlawful no matter how much I wanted it. Maybe even needed it.

"Oh! Well that's a relief." He smiled, and hugged me goodbye as he went off to work. "I'll do my best today on my mission!" he yelled as he was a couple yards out the front door, holding up a fist as he grinned widely.

"Work hard!" I yelled back, waving. "I'll make your favorite tonight!"

Ah, there's nothing to do until dinner time…I thought as a laid on our brown love-seat with my feat up.

Then, I heard the knock on the door that would forever change my life, Naruto's life, and perhaps the life of the village as a whole…

"Yes? Who is it?" I said in a loud voice as I walked down our tiled hallway to the large wooden door.

"Mail!" a woman's voice yelled back. I thought I heard a snicker in between the word. I reached for the bright golden door handle. I opened the door to find a brightly grinning Sakura.

"Oh! Hi, Sakura! I didn't know you were doing mail…" I said, sounding almost a little too surprised.

"Oh, I'm not a regular at this, but the Fifth finished these letters and wanted me to deliver them to…Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji, Lee, and a whole bunch of people!" she announced as she flipped through the identical envelopes. I knew that by 'people' she meant 'guys.' I little sigh went through my head right then.

"Well, thanks for this!" I thanked as I took the envelope from her. She smiled, waved, and took off down the dirt road probably looking for Kiba or someone.

Step by step back down the hallway, I slowly opened the white envelope and thought for a second about how this was Naruto's mail, and how I probably shouldn't be looking into it, but I dismissed that thought and looked at the note that was inside the envelope. It read—

You have been chosen to be apart of a Special Op's mission to go to war between the team of elite ninja known as 'Akatsuki.' You have been training for years for this day, and it has finally arrived. It is sad to say that many of you will not come back, but this is for the protection of the village, and our nation as a whole.

Please join together at 7 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning at the Hokage's rooftop.

This is a great honor for you to be part of this fight, and although there are consequences of war, this will surely make the people of the Land of Fire safe.

As I read this, I pictured the Hokage at her desk, hand running through her straight, blond hair as she drank her sake, screaming orders to Shizune, and preparing for an extremely intense war about to be on our doorstep.

Trying to sum it all up in my head quickly, there were a few things I was sure of.

Naruto had the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of him—one of the last pieces of the Akatsuki's plan to rule over the Ninja World.

During this fight with Akatsuki, they would surely try to target Naruto.

And 3) Naruto could not participate in this fight, and someone was going to have to go in his place-someone knowing that the outcome could be: getting kicked out of Konoha, getting in huge trouble with the law [it wasn't allowed to impersonate someone else under these circumstances], getting seriously injured

…Or death.

And I knew that I was the only person who could do that…