Authors note: it has been quite a while since I've posted anything. I am hoping to finish this story though updates may not be regular I am aiming for once a week every Tuesday.
Before we begin there are a few things id like you to know.
Luminata is the first sun.
Solaris is the second sun
First light of Luminata is dawn
Second. Light of Luminata is late morning around 10
The bright hour is the shared hour of both Solaris and Luminata. Noon
First light if Solaris is late afternoon. 3:00
Last light of Solaris is sunset.
Lunamara is the moon.
With that being said, let us begin.
Hinata sank into the steaming water and closed her eyes as the intensity of the heavily scented fog rose around her. She listened to the encroaching footsteps and waited patiently for the door to the healing baths to open and shut with their usual echoing boom.
"Hinata,"
Slowly she opened her opalescent eyes.
"Yes, Tenten?"
The chocolate haired weapons master stared at her intently.
" The time has come. Your father has fallen ill."
Hinata nodded "Ah, I thought I had smelled trouble on the wind."
Tenten gave a derisive nod.
" Ino is preparing your travel pack."
"What of Shino and Kiba?"
" They used the portals to return home. Shino has assured me he will relay all information to the flame king. They wait for your instructions."
"Send word that they are to play along with the events of the next few days, any and all instructions from me in the coming days will always come during the first lights of Luminata."
She slid further into the tub submerging her hair. She sighed softly as the water spread across her scalp.
"Send word to Naruto that I'll need him to replace Neji and Hanabi with physical clones. They'll establish mental links as soon as they have been transported, and tell Ino to prepare a mental interface"
Tenten nodded again, "anything else?"
"Can you finish the last few replicas of the tools of holy war by tomorrow?."
"Are we really going to secret them away?"
"Possibly, yes; in any case, I want to be prepared".
Spoken like the true Empress of the flame.
Hinata managed a weak smile, " I am not Empress yet, "
Tenten smiled then,
"The blessings of Solaris rest upon your shoulders Hinata, the people of the kingdom will fall to their knees and pledge their fealty to you. You have allies here, believe me; we will cut down all who stand in your path."
Hinata sat up, cocked her head to the side,
"The people know who the rightful heirs are, it is the deceitful council that wishes my family into an early grave." Flicking her eyes back to Tenten's face she noted the slight frown." Don't worry, they will one day bow their heads before me. Whether it is out of loyalty or of punishment of death is entirely their decision and theirs alone."
Tenten hummed in response "I will alert you when the horses are ready."
"I'll need a day to prepare, I should be ready for tomorrow "
"Then I will keep us on schedule; for now, I take my leave"
Hinata listened to Tenten's shoes clicking across the marble floors, interrupted only by the echoing sound of the brass door closing. She turned to look out of the large window to her right. The storm clouds built in the distance and she sighed, "Solaris does not smile upon me today." She slid down into the milky depths of her bath. Tomorrow is another day she thought.
Hinata smiled at the box on her bed, sliding open the latch on the polished wood. Her smile widened at the jewel-encrusted hilt that seemingly lacked a blade. Pushing down on the ruby top she watched as the blade pushed out. Retracting only when pressed again.
Ahh, Tenten you've outdone yourself,
"Don't I always?" A voice responded by the door.
Hinata turned taking in her longtime friend.
"Always"
Tenten chuckled. Stepping further into her room she pulled a small bag from her hip and tossed it to Hinata. Opening the satchel she pulled out two leather bands.
"One for your hair, and one for your dagger"
Hinata smiled pulling her hair to the top of her head, she used the smaller band to pull it tight.
"The other will make for a lovely garter belt. Don't you think?"
Tenten laughed "yes, a rather ruthless way of protecting your innocence"
She chuckled, wrapping the band around her pant clad thigh and sliding the bejeweled hilt into its place.
"Are we ready?" Hinata asked.
"Ready when you are"
"Then we must take our leave"
She glanced around her room once more Before walking after Tenten's retreating form and closing the door with a soft click.
Hinata took in the massive stallions before her and their obvious lack of bags. She turned raising her eyebrow at Ino.
"Where are our bags?"
Ino smiled
"I sent them forward last night along with the carriage."
Hinata nodded her head and mounted her stallion. She turned, giving the palace a cursory glance,
"do you think you'll miss it?" Ino asked. Hinata turned away urging her horse into a trot.
"I already do, it's the only home I've ever really known."
Ino and Tenten shared a look and continued on in silence.
The storm clouds that ushered in after the last lights of Solaris gathered overhead. Growing heavy with the threat of rainfall. They pushed forward into a cantor.
"we'll have to find some shelter!"
Tenten yelled over the distinct sounds of thunder. Hinata nodded though just as she prepared to push magic into her eyes she noticed the large puddle to her right.
It had not yet rained. Her eyes opened wide.
"Hinata!",
Tenten yelled out. Lightning struck a tree to their left, and the ground trembled as the horses reared up in fear.They took off into a fierce gallop. Behind them, the ground exploded as several men cloaked in black leaped from the puddle. The hair on Tenten's neck rose as the force of the spell they were creating formed a vacuum like pressure behind them. Her eyes widened as she realized the which spell was being used. Drawing her bow she wrapped the rains around her waist and twisted to fire one of her enchanted arrows at the attackers. The spell hit her talisman and it shuddered in the air before a larger vacuum took over and rushed forward.
Panicked, Tenten yelled out "We can't outrun this!"
Hinata threw a concealment charm over her shoulder.
Ino!
The blonde pushes forward keeping pace with Hinata's horse.
Can you transport us? We can't have a battle this early.
Ino nodded. I'll need five minutes.
Five minutes and no more.
Hinata charged forward, her stallion pushed at full speed. She threw up a barrier around them pulling to a stop just as the white light of her spell enveloped them. And the force of the vacuum slammed into the barrier nearly knocking them off of their stallions. Hinata leaped from her horse to the white of her barrier just as she came face to face with one of their assailants.
"You shall not see, smell or hear of us," she whispered white eyes aglow with magic.
"Five minutes Ino. Go."
She slid off her horse and into the lotus position, hands clasped together she breathed in slowly as she searched for a safe place to move. Tenten gathered the horses, pulling them close together. Hinata moved closer. The trees ruffled and the sound of approaching horses filled the air,
"I-Ino," Hinata stuttered out, "we might be outnumbered here"
And then the shadows of the trees merged with their own and formed a dark mass beneath them; then, they fell.
The horses hit the ground first, storming and stamping the ground in this new unfamiliar place. The trio appeared shortly after. Slamming into each other and collapsing to the ground as they struggled to take another breath. Tenten was up first, weapons drawn she stepped forward glancing about for a sign of an approaching enemy. After a moment of silence, she relaxed, and turned to Hinata's form, bent over Ino's body.
"Is she?-"
"No " Hinata cut her off, "just passed out. I've never seen her use a transportation technique like that before."
"Well, Tenten said, "she did say she was studying harder than ever this past year."
Hinata hummed in agreement.
"Let us move, I could be wrong but I'm almost positive we are in shino' s province. We should be safe here."
Tenten nodded and pulled the horses together while Hinata gently lifted Ino onto her back. Tenten rearranged the bags into a crude chair on the horses back and helped Hinata lift into it.
They carried on in silence, padding across the darkened moss baked onto the trees, passing ancient oak and pristine waters until they came upon the trail only to find the carriages Ino sent ahead. Tenten whistled, "She sent those a day ahead no wonder she passed out."
Hinata glanced at Ino's sleeping form.
"Tenten," she called out. "The distance she's had us travel is immense, she'll likely need a full day of rest before waking. Perhaps we should let the carriage continue on and we"-
Hinata trailed off, as a man seemingly materialized before her. She pulled her dagger swiftly, the wickedly sharp edge placed calmly against the figures jugular.
"The light of luminata shines upon our hearts "
The figure murmured.
Hinata smiled returning her blade to her holster, "and our hearts shine brightly in response; Shino this is, an unexpected surprise."
The figure bowed his head. "The magic Ino used broke through our forcefield. I volunteered to check it out so that you might remain safe. Use the carriage and travel through the night, my kikaichu will guard you from the trees."
"Is that what this form is made from then, your kikaichu?"
Giving Tenten. A cursory glance he nodded, "get some rest". He murmured before nodding to both women and dispersing.
It was a quiet day of travel.Tenten polished her blades while Hinata shared her energy with Ino in timed waves until she woke up. The two women looked on in worry as the groggy blonde moaned and stretched until she shook out her golden locks and murmured "I'm famished" Tenten chuckled and the sound forced a giggle out of Hinata.
"what?" Ino asked.
The two women erupted into laughter.
"y-you idiot"Hinata choked out between laughs you used a spell that had us travel miles, not a few, but a full day worth of travel."
Her laughter subsided as she took on a more serious look,
"You did this without a talisman, without a crystal, and while I must say I am immensely proud of your growth; you could have died or, or trapped yourself in the shadow realm. That was incredibly irresponsible of you! What would we do if-"
she cut herself off; sucking in a breath she turned to look at the warning lights of Solaris.
Ino sighed, lifting her blonde hair into a high ponytail.
"Hinata, No Lady Hinata, princess of Konoha next in line for the throne, future Empress of our nation. I am your guard first and your friend second. I would do it again. I will do it again. Please remember I took the oath of my own free will." She raised her hand to her chest and recited. "I swear to the light of luminata to protect the ray of sun that might lead us through the night, I give my blood to the heart of our people and my soul to the hands of the gods"
"Yes, Ino I know. I was there." Hinata sighed out.
"Then you know that my mission is to keep you alive."
"But never at the cost of your life Ino".
"We would all gladly die for our cause," Tenten interjected.
"No one will die," Hinata said softly.
"Someone will die Hinata, we have made peace with it,"
Hinata stared blankly at Tenten.
"Have I not grown in my strength? Have I not gained your belief in my strength?"
That is not-
Hinata turned her tear-filled eyes back towards the setting sun. With the air of finality.
"No one will die, not one of ours."
Tenten and Ino shared a look at the conviction of her words struck a chord in their hearts.
The carriage made a stop in the village center, of Rame where Shino met them in his physical form. The dark haired boy strode forward to meet them. His dark coat obscuring the lower half of his face with a high collar while his dark spectacles shielded his uniquely colored eyes from the from scrutiny. Stopping short of their carriage, Shino bowed deeply, before extending an invitation to rest within is home. Graciously, Hinata accepted and the quartet made their way through dark woods passing multitudes of greenhouses swarming with insects and humans alike. Shino took in their awestruck faces and began to speak.
"These are our gardens, The plants serve as food for our Kikai and we breed them here. It is crucial to have a proper habitat where they can grow in larval stage before being introduced into the bodies of those that choose to work with this particular form of organic life."
"Well, what do you do with the plants after the Kikai are gathered and introduced to a body?" Ino asked.
"Nothing Shino answered, our primary focus belongs to our Kikai."
Ino hummed, " I suppose, though nature does have a way of fending for itself." She trailed off. Her blue eyes roaming the area before settling on on an ancient oak.
"Um, Shino" Ino began again, after this visit, please do not be surprised if you receive a letter of inquiry from The Yamanaka house. We are always in need of proper greenhouses, and may even be able to contribute to the growth of your Kikai."
Shino glanced at her before turning back to face the darkening path before him and nodding once.
Continuing past ancient willows and crystalline waters, the remainder of the trek was performed with little sound before they came upon an enchanting castle. Built squarely into the trees the castle wound itself through them, growing and rising higher as the trees grew. Hinata smiled softly. "all those years, this is what you meant by a castle in the sky."
Shino nodded, and ushered them into a hollow oak which began to glow a soft green. "this tree is enchanted, it operates as a ground to the level transport system."
Tenten looked at the walls as they rose. "is there a continuation seal and a sigil?"
Shino shook his head sigil only, the idea is that the trees provide the energy needed for the magic to work."
Tenten absently nodded her head already deep in thought.
Casually, Shino led them through vast hallways with invisible floors and past curtains made of spider silk until they finally reached His personal quarters.
Upon opening the door the young women starred in surprise. The walls were covered with lilies and vines that wrapped around several bookshelves. In the center of the room, a large tree stump made up a table which was surrounded by hollowed out and rounded tree trunks for a seating area.
"This is beautiful Shino," Hinata breathed out.
Burrowing his face deeper into his coat Shino bowed his head quickly and murmured out a soft "thank you".
He led them further into the room where a full dinner had been prepared.
"I took the liberty of sending your carriage ahead. You will eat and rest here, these rooms are the receiving quarters for my personal guests. To the left, you will find your sleeping quarters and to the right, you will find your bathing rooms. There should be robes in the wardrobes, any clothes you deposit in the bathroom hampers will be washed and returned to you before the morning. While you are free to roam the castle please be advised the floors do disappear after midnight as a defense mechanism for the castle. Which means your rooms, this receiving room, and the bathrooms are the only available roaming space until the first lights of Luminata. I also took the liberty of adding a transport sigil to the bottom of your carriage, as soon as you are dressed and fed for the morning you will be teleported into the carriage for the remainder of the trip."
Hinata paused, taking in his words, nodding every so often as he covered each thought on her mental list.
"Wow, that's the most I've ever heard you speak!" Ino exclaimed brightly. Unceremoniously dropping herself into one of the chairs surrounding the dinner table.
Tenten and Hinata shared a brief look of amusement before simultaneously rolling their eyes.
"You were exceedingly thorough Shino, Thank you." Hinata finally answered bowing deeply. "I truly appreciate your efforts." Shino bowed again before excusing himself from the room.
That's all for today, hope you enjoyed it. Please review!