Welcome To The Jungle
Chapter 2
The image was clear as day, she was seeing it happen all over again as she had done a dozen times before; she had just finished off some Sound Snipers with an M16, a hockey puck and Naruto's hair gel and she had turned around to see her childhood crush wearing a vest loaded with C4, she heard Naruto's voice only it had a large echo to go with it,
"Run…run now…it'll be detonated any second now…GO"
Hinata had simply shaken her head and had taken merely two steps forward before Naruto had turned around and ran, he had run his hardest, it was however in vain; he vanished into the jungle and was engulfed in a huge orange fireball, Hinata stopped had sank to her knees and tasted her tears running down her face, all she could see was fire…and a scream the two seemed to go hand in hand like the darkness and silence of the night, there was only the fire and the scream and the red glow seemed to gleam like the fur on the body of a fox…death seemed to have a sense of humour all right.
She then woke up drenched in a freezing cold sweat and breathing heavily, Hinata put her head in her hands and got out of bed. She walked to her chest of drawers and lifted up some tank tops, underneath she had a photograph of herself and Naruto on a day out, she had shyly asked if he would like to join her in the photo booth, being the number one hyperactive knuckle head ninja that he used to be he had said yes thinking she just wanted a photo with him, which she had done except ever since the photo had been taken she had spent hours upon hours just staring at it stroking Naruto's face and dreaming of the day they would finally be together, but that dream had dies hard long ago and she had held it in her hands long after it had turned to dust. Hinata went to the kitchen and ran herself a glass of water that she gulped down at speed; she wiped the sweat from her brow and put the photo away…after a few minutes awake she went back to bed and drifted back to sleep.
The next day Hinata was woken up by a banging at the door and a rapping on her door's knocker, she opened the door to find a bouquet of flowers shoved under her nose and the clichéd heart shaped box of chocolates to go with it, surprisingly it was Chouji, Hinata had expected Kiba but he had lost interest since he had moved to The Village Hidden In The Mist,
"For you my dear"
Hinata squeezed the bridge of her nose and pushed the gifts away,
"Chouji I've told you I'm just into another type if guy, now please stop bothering me"
Chouji pushed the presents under her nose once more however,
"I will if you have a drink with me tonight"
Hinata sighed,
"Look Chouji you're a sweet guy but I just got back from the jungle and I want to relax and unwind"
"You can…when I take you to that new restaurant in the village, it'll just be you, me, the jazz band and the candlelit dinner"
Hinata had a thing for jazz and a nice dinner didn't seem so bad,
"One drink"
She closed the door and listened to Chouji whooping outside her house.
In the Thunder Village there was a large statue in the centre of the whole town of the village's founder the first Misukage, what the majority of the villagers didn't know is that below this structure, deep below this structure was a secret installation built for the singular purpose of eradicating anything that was considered a threat to the village. So far they had one prisoner, he was being held in a small room within the maximum-security wing, he was chained by his wrists and was hanging wearing only a pair of boxers, a man then entered and dashed the prisoner with a bucket of ice-cold water,
"Rise and shine scum"
The jailer sneered; the young man raised his hideously scarred face and grinned, he said nothing as the jailer opened his toolbox…and acquainted himself with a machete.
Hinata sat slightly uncomfortably at the table she was sharing with Chouji and tried to decide which wine she was going to get smashed on, Chouji sat very comfortably at the table he was sharing with Hinata and tried to decide which seven or eight meals he was going to get stomach ache from, Hinata had to constantly avoid eye contact with her date as she knew he was looking for a little more then just a quiet dinner,
"You seem a little on edge"
Chouji sipped at his wine when it arrived and was rather surprised at how fast Hinata downed hers, she was dressed in fairly casual clothing, nothing too flashy or that showed off too much skin, in fact it looked a lot what she used to wear when she was in Squad 10,
"It's just been a while since I've had a night out like this"
"Did eating bugs and drinking tree sap grow on you?"
Hinata forced a smile at the dreadful joke and drank another glass of wine, the waiter then came over and Chouji ordered their 'romantic dinner',
Hinata nibbled at her steak as Chouji tore ravenously at his. The evening passed and after countless bad jokes and corny pickup lines Chouji asked Hinata for a dance,
"I'm…not very good and it's getting late I should be going"
"Just one quick tango, it won't hurt"
Hinata tried to leave when Chouji took her hand; she rolled her eyes and reluctantly went with him to the dance floor. A few minutes into the song that the band was playing Chouji twigged that Hinata had something on her mind,
"You still miss Naruto don't you?"
Hinata nodded and kept dancing; Chouji came in close and whispered,
"Get over the stiff jungle babe, get with me and you'll even forget where his gravestone is",
His hand went down Hinata's back and copped it's owner a feel, Hinata took hold of his hand and twisted his arm right behind his back where she didn't let go, the rest of the restaurant stared in disbelief and Chouji tried to keep himself from crying out in pain,
"If you…ever…ever try that again, or think you can pick me up like some cheap street floozy AND think you can 'help' me to get over Naruto, I'll tear out your large intestine, hang you with it and mail those tiny balls and that underused dick of yours to your parents…do you get me?"
Chouji nodded quickly but received his punishment in the form of his arm being snapped, Hinata tipped the waiter, kicked Chouji in the stomach and left telling the manager her date would pay.
Hinata stormed home through the village with more then a dark cloud above her head; she couldn't believe the sheer cheek of Chouji, he had always seemed such a nice person, a bit insensitive at times but overall a nice guy. She took off her sandals and walked home barefoot (she had never liked those sandals to be honest) and to make matters worse she was freezing cold. She got back to her house to find a curious looking Sakura waiting for her,
"What are you doing at this hour?"
"Lee got pulled away by Gai for some reason and my key is inside our apartment, I figured I might be able to stay here until he gets back"
"Yeah of course…I could use some company"
Hinata opened the door and the two friends went inside,
"What are you all dressed up for anyway?"
Hinata grimaced as she recalled the past few hours,
"I went on a date…with Chouji"
"Isn't that good…you look like you regret it"
"Oh I do regret it…trust me"
The two young women sat down on the sofa and Hinata went into detail about her date, Sakura could believe this as she had heard about one of Chouji's past attempts at a date,
"Well this just goes to show…you shouldn't date farm animals"
Hinata giggled,
"Especially pigs"
The two friends shrieked with laughter and smiled, after the large joke Hinata yawned,
"I need some sleep, you can have the spare bedroom, I'll see you in the morning"
"Thanks…goodnight"
"Goodnight"
Hinata went into her bedroom and changed into her nightclothes, as she climbed into bed she let fly a huge yawn; closed her eyes and was out like a light.
Hinata woke up to find Sakura in the kitchen making herself some coffee and waffles,
"Please tell me your going to share those"
Sakura smiled,
"Of course, you want some coffee too?"
"Does the Hokage shit in the woods?"
"I told you I don't know, where Lady Tsunade does her business IS her business"
All Hinata could do was shake her head and make her way into the living room. Sakura came in a few minutes later with a tray on it was two mugs of coffee and two plates piled high with waffles and pancakes drenched in butter and syrup,
"You're a live saver, I haven't had waffles like this since before last week"
"Well dig in there's a lot more in the kitchen"
Hinata started slowly but through her time in the jungle she had developed some form of 'animal instinct' and this 'animal instinct' compelled her to power her way through her breakfast in a matter of seconds and down her coffee faster then she had her wine the night before, she let fly a large belch and lay back on the sofa,
"Since when did you eat so fast?"
"Since breakfast became a delicacy"
Sakura smiled and got back to her waffles, Hinata placed her plate in the kitchen and sat back down only to get up again as there was a knock at the door,
"What do you want Chouji?"
"To say sorry"
This time the bouquet was lilies, and Hinata figured he was genuinely sorry so she took them, she didn't need to be a jounin to guess that the sling on his arm was a result of last night,
"Thank Chouji"
"So…you fancy a little alone time?"
It didn't take a genius to notice that Chouji's eyes had been roaming over Hinata's cleavage and eyeing her sleek bare legs ever since she had opened the door, any thought of Chouji actually hearing what she had told him last night quickly vanished; Hinata shoved the lilies back into his face and slammed the door. Sakura came to the corridor with a concerned look in her eyes,
"Was that who I thought it was?"
Hinata nodded and leant against the door,
"Chouji tried the moves on me again"
"Have you tried breaking his other arm?"
Hinata tried to laugh but couldn't, Chouji had the nerve to keep trying to win her over even when she had tried to make it clear that she wasn't interested, Sakura noticed her friends seemingly vacant expression and drew her into a hug,
"I know you still miss him and so do I…but you'll find someone new"
Hinata buries her head in Sakura's shoulder and gently cried,
"I don't want someone new, I want Naruto Uzumaki…Sakura I've never told anyone this before but I've loved him ever since we were genin at the academy…I still love him today"
Sakura held the weeping war machine in her arms and did her best to comfort her,
"It isn't fair Sakura…it just isn't fair"
"I know it isn't…"
The phone ringing, Hinata sighed and answered it in the other room, she came back and looked at Sakura through slightly bloodshot eyes,
"That was Tsunade…she wants us to report to her at once"
Sakura nodded,
"We best get going"
They arrived at their boss's office slightly late and ever so slightly annoyed,
"Where the hell have you two been when I was on the phone I said now not now-ish"
"Sorry boss, but what were you talking about on the phone anyway you said it was urgent"
Tsunade pulled down one of those old projection screens and turned on an overhead projector and a map flickered up on the screen,
"Our intelligence has informed us that deep within the jungle squads of Thunder ninja are amassing in great numbers and receiving countless arms, armour and vehicles by the day"
"Well why are they forming such a large group in a jungle that's right near our village?"
"That's what your going to find out, we're going to escort you into the jungle until you're a five miles north-east of their encampment, your primary objective is to gather evidence of whatever they're doing and report back"
"Weapons and equipment OSP?"
"As usual you'll be armed with your M9 and knife, should the reason for more…extreme firepower arise then yes you will have to procure at the mission site"
"Will I be going alone?"
"In a manner of speaking, our newest secret operative here will be positioned inside the heart of the Village Hidden In The Clouds, right next to Misukage himself"
Hinata looked uncertain about this however,
"For what reason?"
"Well if you can find evidence outside of the village, Sakura will most likely be able to find evidence on the inside"
Hinata looked at her friend apologetically,
"No offence to Sakura, but isn't this a bit of a steep hill for a new agent to climb?"
"It's also a good starting point for a young fresh face, she's eager, talented and a perfect candidate for a mission of this calibre"
"Well alright…but I'm still not sure about this"
Sakura then decided to cut in with her own defence,
"Hinata I appreciate your concern but I'll be fine"
Hinata looked at her friend to her boss and back again,
"Fine then"
Tsunade beamed,
"Excellent, report to Anko to receive your equipment and then to the Jounins mess to get your escort…dismissed"
Sakura and Hinata left the room and stood facing each other in the corridor, Hinata sighed and gripped her friend by the shoulders,
"When you're out there Sakura, you can't stop to think like it's a question on paper, you've got to make a snap decision and stick to it…got it?"
Sakura nodded and embraced her friend again,
"Promise me you'll come back alive Hinata"
"I promise Sakura"
Sakura nodded,
"Now promise me you'll come back alive as well"
"I promise Hinata"
The young warriors turned away from each other and walked away, Hinata knew Sakura could take care of herself but she couldn't help worrying, then she made her way to Anko's lab.
A few minutes later she arrived to see an annoyed Anko glaring her in the face"
"Ahh there you are, so did you bring us back a prisoner or did you kill him?"
Hinata remained silent,
"You killed him didn't you, now that's why I get so annoyed when I say bring me a prisoner I don't mean as a corpse"
Still silent,
"Oh alright your in a mood, well don't fret I've got a few things that should put the phlegm back in your spit"
After hearing that small speech Hinata proceeded inside the lab. A few ANBU members flitted around with various tools and pieces of equipment, one rocketed across the lab for some strange reason and landed on a piece of foam, Anko led Hinata to a table with all her gear laid out,
"Your leg tag"
She held up a small piece of Velcro on which was attached a small blinking red light,
"Basically a homing device, we can find you anywhere in the jungle, unfortunately it's signal can't reach outside of the underground"
Hinata rolled her eyes and shrugged,
"Figures"
Anko held up Hinata's M9,
"Your side arm can now hold up to ten tranq' darts loaded to the brim with a sleeping draught brewed by the village's herbalist…and finally you will be carrying the single most advanced piece of weaponry this village has to offer"
Anko handed Hinata the great piece of technology and Hinata was dumbfounded,
"Dirt…this is a jar of dirt"
"Indeed it is"
"Is the jar of dirt going to help?"
"If you don't want it, give it back"
"Ok"
Hinata handed the jar of dirt back to Anko, took up her equipment and headed for the Jounins mess,
"I'm gonna need that homing thing back"
"Oh bite me ANBU nerd"
Hinata walked out of the lab and down to the mess.
She met Neji down at the mess, he had became a Jounin in accordance with Hizashi Hyuuga's wishes whilst Hinata had followed her own path in life (thank fuck), Neji and another Jounin stood up as Hinata entered,
"Ready to go?"
Hinata nodded, tied the homing device round her ankle, sheathed her knife and clipped her M9 into her holster. The three walked out of the building, through the village and out into the jungle. It took them at least 10 hours to get where they needed to go, the three stopped and Neji looked at his cousin,
"Keep going this way until you find the enemy's encampment, do your thing and report back, if there's any trouble find a radio and call in"
"Will do…"
Neji shrugged and his Jounin friend and him turned away and headed back to the village. Hinata sighed and made her way into the jungle.
5 hours later Hinata came to a halt, she had been going for quite some time now and needed a rest, as always she had a small capsule with her which she gulped down quickly, she had always wondered why she was given such a small capsule, apparently the water inside could keep you hydrated for 7 hours but when your sweating bucket loads in the jungle you tend to dry out faster, Hinata heard something and her ears then seemed to perk up, it was like footsteps on leaves but quieter, eventually it faded and Hinata relaxed, she gulped the rest of her water and carried on through the jungle.
After about five more hours of slicing and dicing her way through the thick as hell undergrowth she saw a large clearing up ahead, she approached the tree line and looked at her objective in disbelief,
It was at least two square miles of camouflage tents and, five man patrols and roaming jeeps and tanks,
"This is way too much for me to handle," she said to herself,
Hinata leapt a few feet in the air upon having a hand on her shoulder; she unsheathed her knife and whipped round, pressing the blade to his throat,
"Is that any way to treat an old friend?
"Skull…what the hell are you doing here?
Skull was dressed in his black outfit and balaclava again and it seemed like his MP5 had been polished,
"What my bosses told me to…what are you doing here?"
"The same" She withdrew the blade,
"Well since we're both here…you fancy some company?"
Hinata thought about this for a second,
"Two guns are better then one"
"Good…come on they have patrols circling the perimeter"
The two companions stealthily walked around the tree line until they found an area that strangely enough didn't have a patrol or even a single guard,
"Where are the guards…their leaders tent is practically in front of us and they don't even have anyone guarding it"
Skull however grinned,
"All the more easier for us"
He started to creep towards the tent; Hinata shook her head and sighed,
"Too easy for us"
She began to follow closely and entered the tent with Skull, it was a fairly straightforward tent, a table at the back littered with documents and papers, a bed on the right hand side and a potted plant for some reason, Hinata approached the table and looked through the papers…although something was wrong,
"There's no print…these pages are blank"
"What?"
Skull joined in rifling through the papers,
"What the fuck is going on"
Hinata then came across one piece of paper on which was written one word in big block capitals, a shiver of fear jolted it's way down Hinata's spine…the paper read 'SURPRISE', Skull saw it also and a split second later armed Thunder ninja came in through the front door of the tent, the two friends raised their hands knowing they were outnumbered and outgunned. The inhabitants of the tent stood frozen for a few short minutes until an officer type looking person came in, the green beret on his head seemed to signify importance, he sized up the two and spoke to the two guards on his left,
"Take them for questioning"
The guards obeyed without question, they handcuffed the two friends together and lead them out of the tent. The two were roughly escorted to a small jeep and thrown in the back needless to say with the second guard in there as well, the first got in the front and drove them out of the campsite. In the back the second guard kept his pistol poised to shoot, the two looked at each other and shrugged, it seemed they were going to be there for a while
The jeep finally stopped at a small seemingly abandoned hut in the god knows where part of the jungle, the back seat companions were taken inside and each was sat on a small wooden chair only to be tied to it. The two guards left locking the door; Hinata and Skull were left to sweat,
"Well this is a pleasant setting…fuck knows how long we're going to be here"
"Until we answer their questions I guess…and there's…something I have to tell you"
Hinata instantly became somewhat sombre,
"What is it?
Despite being behind a balaclava Hinata could tell he was grinning,
"It's your nipples…they're bulgin' out your tank top"
Had Hinata's hands been free she would have slapped him, however all she could do was look down to see he was right, she giggled and grinned back at him,
"You're a pervert you really are"
Skull was still grinning but this faded and he shook his head due to the heat, it was close to forty maybe fifty degrees in this jungle and it was starting to show in Hinata as well, her vision started to go hazy and she was deathly thirsty. The journey up to the hut had taken at least fifteen hours and she had missed her check-in deadline, Hinata then heard a reassuring voice from across the room; she craned her head to look at him but her vision was too fuzzy to see anything she couldn't help wondering however why Skull was still conscious.
Hours later the young woman was woken up by a painful slap to her face and a bucket of water dashed across her face,
"Rise and shine scum"
Hinata looked up to see one hell of an ugly looking man staring down at her,
"Do that once more and I swear I'll be the last person you'll ever see"
"You're hardly in a strong bargaining position…much like your friend"
Hinata looked over to see Skull topless and his chest drenched in blood, his balaclava still on however,
"What did you do to him?"
"Just this"
The man picked up a smouldering cable near Skull's chair he picked it up and flicked a switch on the wall, the end of the cable immediately starting to spark and glow, the man grinned and jammed the cable into the middle of Skull's chest, he woke with a start and screamed, he screamed so loud the windows shattered, the light of the cable was like a strobe light in the room and illuminated the three of them, with every it moment Hinata could see the pain in Skull's face and the sheer sadistic delight on their torturer's face…something then happened, the look on the mans face vanished and was replaced by a look of terror and complete disbelief. An instant later he was hurled across the room and slammed into a cobwebbed shelf, Skull then yelled,
"I'M FIFTY TIMES THE MAN YOU ARE…BELIEVE IT"
Skull then shut his mouth upon hearing what had passed his lips, the man got up and walked over to Skull's chair, the mans hand went behind Skull's head and whipped off his balaclava, Hinata could do nothing but stare in awe and weep.