Finally here's chapter 3, I hope you've all been expecting it. BTW I've changed the genre from tragedy to general, so I can put pretty much whatever I feel like in this fic. And another thing, I'm approaching the point where I'm running out of ideas for the plot, so feel free to give me some suggestions.
Disclaimer: if you think I own this, think again.
The Tragic Life of Hyuuga Hinata
By Ausir
Chapter 3
The sun was setting over Konohagakure, bathing the village in a light as red as blood. Tsunade was looking out over the rooftops from her office window, situated high in the Hokage's mansion, and heaved a sigh.
'I really hope I'm not going to regret this' she thought.
Several hours ago she had claimed to have come up with a plan, a fairly good one to, but the Hokage now began to experience doubt. Not in the plan per se, but more of the consequences of such an act as the one she had in mind. Her brooding was interrupted by a knock on her door. Tsunade turned her chair to face the entrance.
"Enter" she said.
The red door opened and five people came inside. The first one to enter was Neji, followed by his sensei Guy and Guy's rival Kakashi, who as always was reading his Icha Icha Paradise, and lastly Kurenai and Asuma who walked and stood very close to each other. Neji and Kurenai had been the ones Tsunade sent to gather the other three since Tsunade did not like the prospect of letting additional people know about her scheming.
"You wanted to speak with us about a mission, Tsunade-sama?" Guy said and flashed his teeth in an anticipating grin. Tsunade nodded.
"Yes I did" she replied "I have a special mission for the five of you" she crossed her fingers in front of her face to calm her own nerves somewhat.
"Last night" she began "The Hyuga leader Hiashi confined his daughter Hinata as well as Naruto inside the Hyuga mansion. He has made it clear that he intends to execute Naruto for some crime the boy supposedly perpetrated against the Hyuga clan" Tsunade made a pause in order to watch the others' reactions.
Kurenai's and Neji's expressions were largely unchanged since they already knew what the Hokage was telling them; however, the remaining three had been brought into varying degrees of shock. The stoic Kakashi had merely blinked hard, while Guy had let his jaw fall and Asuma dropped the joint he had been sucking on to the floor.
"Why would he do something like that, Hokage-sama?" Guy loudly inquired "It's completely insane! None of them has done anything wrong, right?"
"No they haven't, Guy-sensei" Neji answered in Tsunade's stead "However" he continued "Hiashi-sama greatly disapproves of their relationship with each other" This caused even Kakashi to raise an eyebrow.
"Relationship?" he asked "I knew that the Hyuga girl likes Naruto, but I always gathered that kid would be too dim to even notice"
"And why would Hiashi disapprove of that anyway?" Asuma said while he dug around in his jacket in search of a new cigarette.
"From what Kurenai says" the bearded jounin continued once he had found what he sought "Hiashi doesn't care a spit what his daughter ever does" Neji nodded.
"He doesn't" the young genius confirmed "However, Hiashi-sama has decided to make me his successor as clan leader, and the only way that is possible is if I marry Hinata-sama. In this situation, her and Naruto's relationship is a hindrance to his plans"
"So that's what this is all about" Kakashi said calmly without betraying any emotion. Guy on the other hand had been moved to tears.
"How cruel a fate to be separated from one's true love in the springtime of youth!" the green clad jounin cried, tears flowing freely while he clenched his right fist in determination "We must immediately rush to their aid, Hokage-sama!" he urged. Tsunade nodded.
"Yes, we shall" she said "and that is why you are here"
"Enough with the talking already!" Kurenai said, clearly annoyed by the delay this conversation was causing "Tell us what we need to know so we can go rescue those two!" she demanded.
"Very well, but before that all of you need to know that, if you accept this mission, I cannot help you should you be discovered. This is because I cannot risk a conflict between Hyuga and the rest of the village, do you understand this?" Everyone present nodded solemnly.
"Okay" the blonde woman continued "Since Neji-kun knows the Hyuga mansion inside and out, he will aid you in infiltrating it. Once you're inside, Kurenai and Asuma will go for Hinata, whom I think is imprisoned somewhere in the main building" Tsunade looked at Neji for confirmation on this. After he had given her a quick nod, Tsunade resumed her briefing.
"Kakashi and Guy will enter the dungeons below the mansion with Neji-kun who will guide you to where Naruto is being kept" Kakashi raised a hand.
"What should we do once we've got them out of there?" he asked.
Tsunade flinched; this was the part of her plan which she herself had had difficulty coping with. She took a deep breath and braced herself.
"If you succeed, you should bring them to the northern gate where Shizune will await with supplies and some other bare necessities which Naruto and Hinata will need once they leave the village" As expected, all hell broke lose inside the office.
"What!" Kurenai raged "you're going to exile two kids!" Guy vigorously nodded in agreement.
"She's right, those two has done nothing wrong, why should they be punished so?" Tsunade sighed.
"Believe me I don't like this either, however this is the only option" she raised her hand to stop the interruption she felt was coming.
"Those two will be safer outside of Konoha, even outside the land of Fire, where the bastard Hiashi and his pet Hyugas can't get to them, no offence Neji-kun" The young Hyuga didn't respond.
"True, yet very risky, Hokage-sama" Kakashi said, holding his masked chin in deep thought "to send away both the Byakugan and the Fourth's legacy…" he left the implications hanging "But I have quite good confidence in Naruto, that kid has much potential" he continued with a veiled smile. Neji nodded.
"Hinata-sama has grown much stronger as of late, I believe wholeheartedly in her abilities"
Kurenai glanced at Asuma, looking for some kind of support, but the bearded man just shrugged. The red eyed kunoichi sighed.
"I guess you're right Tsunade-sama, but I still don't like it"
"Neither do I, but I believe this to be for the best" the Hokage said "Now, you should all be on your way if you hope to rescue those two before dawn"
The five shinobi nodded and departed.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Hinata sat by her window, watching as the sun slowly wandered behind the horizon. She would gladly welcome the end of this nightmarish day, though she knew that the next would be the same, if not worse. She had become completely exhausted, the previous night had not provided her with any rest, only horrific nightmares, by which memory the young girl shuddered. These dreams also prevented her from regaining the strength she had lost from lack of sleep, thus creating an evil circle.
It was not merely the lack of sleep which had weakened her though. She had been brought breakfast, lunch and dinner, but had scarcely eating anything and leaving almost full plates. Hinata was unable to keep an apatite and the food and drink would all turn into sand once it reached her lips. Her stomach voiced its displeasure of being neglected, but she did not listen to its rubling complaints. She only sustained her soul with thoughts of the brief moment of happiness she had shared with her Naruto-kun. The thought of the blonde nin who had captured her heart once again caused tears to trickle down her cheeks.
"Naruto-kun…" she whispered to herself.
The Hyuga girl had been crying most of the day away and by now her eyes matched the redness of the sunset. Hinata knew her father would kill her love as soon as possible; the deed might already have been done for all she knew, no-one had talked with her since last night. The constant worrying was slowly tearing Hinata apart. She had tried to ease her chaotic mind by reading in the scroll of healing jutsu she kept in her room, though this had only worked for a short while.
Hinata sighed and shambled towards her futon. She fell upon it and buried her face in her pillow, wetting it with her still flowing tears.
'Forgive me, Naruto-kun' she hoped that somehow her thoughts would reach out to her love 'please forgive me for putting you in this situation, father is right, I'm a failure and I don't deserve your love' she continued to repeat these thoughts in her head, wearing down her already weak self esteem.
"I o-only h-hurt the one I-I l-love" she said to herself between sobs "p-perhaps I w-was never m-meant to b-be h-happy…" her voice had dropped into a whisper as the exhaustion was beginning to take its toll on her body, and slowly let a new night full of horrors claim her.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Naruto sat in his cold cell, barely conscious from the torture he had received once Hiashi had returned. There had been a few more hours of beating and rhetorical questioning before Naruto had once again been brought back to his cell when Hiashi had become bored. The blonde boy still felt the unending pain from his savaged body, and he vaguely wondered why none of his injuries seemed to heal the way they used to. The pain though efficiently blurred out most of his thoughts and soon made Naruto fall into oblivious darkness.
He found himself lying on his back in front of an enormous and all too familiar iron barred gate. The blue eyed nin stood up, not surprisingly without any of the pain he had previously felt, and looked into the darkness beyond the gate.
"What do you want?" he asked the creature he knew resided within in an irritated tone of voice. Naruto really wasn't in the mood to get mocked by that giant fox. Two lupine, flaming eyes shone through the bars and a small chuckle, though it resounded like thunder, was heard.
'NOTHING MUCH, KIT' the voice of the demon fox boomed 'JUST WANTED TO HAVE A LITTLE CHAT 'TIS ALL' He chuckled again.
"I don't want to talk to you" Naruto said defiantly. The fox didn't seem to care and continued.
'YOU REALLY HAVE A TALENT FOR GETTING INTO TROUBLE, KIT' a monstrous grin consisting of rows of sharp teeth appeared within the cage 'AND BRINGING OTHERS ALONG AS WELL, I MIGHT AD'
"If you're just going to say stuff like that I don't want to listen, baka-kitsune" A wave of dark indignation rushed through the bars. The demon fox was a being of immense pride, and being called 'baka-kitsune' really hurt that pride.
'PEOPLE WOULD PROBABLY LIKE YOU BETTER IF YOU WERE A LITTLE MORE POLITE, KIT' he remarked snidely. Naruto scoffed.
"They would like me a whole bunch more if I didn't have a monster fox sealed inside me" he snapped.
'IT ISN'T LIKE I ENJOY BEING SEALED INSIDE AN OBNOXIOUS THIRTEEN YEAR OLD' the demon retorted, finally letting his gargantuan grin fade away, for which Naruto was secretly very grateful since it had been giving him the willies.
'AS FOR WHY I BROUGHT YOU HERE' the great fox continued 'I WAS PLANNING TO HELP YOU ESCAPE; BUT SINCE YOUR BODY IS IN THE STATE IT IS I DON'T THINK THAT WILL BE POSSIBLE ANY LONGER' the blonde nin was tapping his foot in irritation.
"If you knew you wouldn't be able to help anyway, then why did you bring me here?"
'LIKE I TOLD YOU, I WANTED TO CHAT' the demon answered matter-of-factly 'YOU HUMANS LIKE TO HAVE SOMEONE TO TALK TO BEFORE YOU DIE, RIGHT?'
"Wait a minute, I'm… dying?" Naruto asked in bewilderment. He knew he was in a pretty bad shape, just not that bad.
'LETS SEE…' the fox began sarcastically 'BROKEN LIMBS, INTERNAL BLEEDING, DEPLETED CHAKRA, THOSE CHAKRA ABSORBING SEALS REALLY ARE A BITCH…' Naruto stared at the eyes within the cage '…THAT SOUNDS LIKE A DYING PERSON TO ME' the fox concluded. The boy was initially in shock from the fox's words, though he admitted he should have seen it coming, and then he began to laugh.
'WHAT'S SO FUNNY?'
"Hahaha, it's just great!" Naruto said bitterly between laughs "I've finally found a girl who loves me, actually loves me, and because of that I'm going to die. I have no luck at all, eh?"
'DOESN'T SEEM THAT WAY, KIT' the demon lord admitted, actually feeling a bit sorry for the boy, though he would never admit to that 'YOU FOUND QUITE A NICE FEMALE THOUGH, SHE REALLY SEEMS TO CARE FOR YOU, UNLIKE THAT PINK HAIRED VIXEN YOU WENT AFTER BEFORE' he commented. Naruto sat down in front of the gate and nodded.
"Yeah, Hianat-chan is great, I just feel so bad for never noticing her before now… and never being able to make it up to her" Now even the light within Naruto's mind was starting to fade, but the red eyes of the fox suddenly flared.
'SOMEONE IS COMING' he alerted.
"Probably those bastards coming to finish me of" Naruto said in resignation.
'NO THESE SCENTS ARE DIFFERENT' said the fox 'I THINK ONE OF THEM IS THAT TEACHER OF YOURS…'
"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto exclaimed with increased hope "He's here to get me out? I better get out of here then" The blonde nin rose once again to his feet and began to walk away, but turned to the cage again and flashed a grin.
"You're not so bad company after all, baka-kitsune" he said merrily "Maybe we could talk again when I'm not dying, ja ne!" Naruto dashed of through the dark halls of his mind towards the light of the world, and hopefully his own freedom.
Still in its cage the Kitsune now pondered alone.
'I THINK I BEGIN TO LIKE THAT CUB' he thought before wrapping his nine tails around his body and going back to sleep.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Kurenai and Asuma stealthily made their way through the dark corridors of the Hyuga mansion's main building. They had only had to dispose of two guards to get there; apparently the Hyugas didn't expect to have nightly visitors, though two more stood in front of the door they suspected led to Hinata's room. The guards did not seem to be very high ranking though and Kurenai easily put them to sleep with a genjutsu.
"You're really good at this, Kurenai" Asuma complimented.
"Yeah, I know" the red eyed kunoichi said with a smile and slight blush "Now lets get Hinata out of there"
They both closed in on the door cautiously so as not to awaken the unconscious guards. On the door had been placed several powerful paper seals, but since these were only meant to repel attacks from the inside, the two shinobi had no problem in disposing of them. Kurenai carefully slid the door open.
"Hinata?" she whispered into the pitch black room.
There came no response and Kurenai made her way deeper into the room, almost tripping over a shape lying on a futon, whimpering. The raven haired woman went down on her knees to investigate and found the shape to be the young Hyuga girl crying even in her sleep.
"Na… Naruto… kun…" Hinata whispered sorrowfully, causing her sensei to almost break into tears herself.
While Asuma dragged the knocked out guards into the room so as to avoid detection, Kurenai gently shook her student, trying to wake her up. Hinata stirred and opened her eyes.
"Kurenai-sensei?" she said sleepily, rubbing her eyes.
"Shhh, Hinata" Kurenai said reassuringly "we're here to bust you and Naruto out of this place" At the mentioning of Naruto Hinata instantly became fully awake.
"Naruto-kun? Where is he? Is he all right?" the Hyuga girl bombarded her sensei with questions.
"Easy there, Hinata" Kurenai said with a smile "Neji, Kakashi and Guy are on their way to fetch him, you'll meet him soon and I'm sure he's all right" A groan from the guards alerted the three that it was time to hit the road.
"Hurry up and get dressed Hinata" Kurenai implored. Hinata quickly put on her clothes, while Asuma and Kurenai politely had their backs turned. As an afterthought Hinata also grabbed her healing scroll and put it inside her jacket.
When Hinata had finished, all three of them quickly made their way through the corridor and back door into the dark night.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
The party of three darted down the dimly lit passageways of the Hyuga dungeons. Neji was at the lead since he alone among the three shinobi knew the exact path. The whole dungeon had been constructed much like a labyrinth to hinder any potential escapes. In fact, the only way one could navigate the treacherous passages was if one possessed the byakugan, since this was required to detect the chakra markings on the walls which told the way.
The labyrinth was completely void of guards, but Neji was well aware that instead there were a multitude of hidden traps. Therefore, although they still moved at quite a pace, the party was often forced to halt whenever a trap was suspected. They had still been caught in a few though; two spike traps, a scorpion pit, a rolling boulder and a powerful genjutsu which had taken Kakashi quite a while to detect.
Finally though, they were now approaching Naruto's cell. It was quite hard to miss actually, since all the bars as well as the fortified door were covered in different seals.
"Barricading and chakra absorbing seals" Kakashi noted casually. Guy looked horrified.
"How cruel!" he exclaimed "those seals must have weakened the boy to deaths edge!" The masked jounin nodded.
"Yes, we should get him out as soon as possible"
"I shall do it" Neji said, gathering chakra in his hand and directing a forceful blow towards the door, shattering it to pieces.
"Did you have to be so forceful?" Guy asked his pupil disapprovingly.
"Yes I had, sensei" the branch member explained as they entered the cell "The door was resistant to taijutsu and ninjutsu moves, as well as weaker combined moves, had I not used enough force I would barely have left a scratch"
"I doubt the blast caused him any more injuries than he already had" Kakashi commented grimly as he carefully examined the beaten and barely alive Naruto.
"Kami-sama!" Both Guy and Neji inhaled in shock. Neji had only been informed of Naruto's imprisonment, not of any torture conducted upon him, and was therefore completely horrified. The young genius activated his bloodline limit to learn the extent of the damage.
"He… he's really messed up" Neji said in disgust "his limbs are fractured, and his internal organs are barely functioning, he's got internal bleeding as well and his chakra circulation system is almost completely trashed" Neji was clearly amazed "He shouldn't even be alive!" he stated incredulously.
"But alive he is, and I think we'll have to thank the Kyuubi for that" Kakashi muttered while carefully undoing the chains and lifting his student in his arms.
"Kyuubi?" Neji asked. Kakashi suddenly remembered the taboo set in power by the Third.
"Nevermind" he said "Just show us the way out" Neji nodded and they began their ascent back to the surface.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Outside the northern gate, Shizune, Kurenai, Asuma and Hinata were all anxiously awaiting the arrival of the team sent to recover Konoha's number one hyperactive ninja. Shizune was checking through the supplies she had brought while Kurenai was fully occupied with keeping Hinata from running back to the mansion herself in search of Naruto.
"What if something has happened, sensei?" the blue haired girl asked repeatedly "We should go back and look for them!"
"I'm sure they're all right, Hinata" the raven haired shinobi assured, although she was getting a bit worried herself.
Asuma by far looked the calmest of the bunch as he stood leaning at the trunk of a tree with a lit cigarette in his mouth. However he was actually as nervous as all the others, maybe slightly less so than Hinata though. The bearded nin was the first who spotted Guy and Kakashi's approach. Kakashi seemed to carry something in his arms though the night made it hard to discern what.
"Hey you guys!" he called out, gaining the others' attention.
"Kakashi-san, Guy-san, where is Naruto?" Hinata asked while fear was creeping up under her skin.
"Here he is" the masked jounin said solemnly and presented the unmoving Naruto who lay in his arms.
"Oh Kami-sama, what did they do to him!" Shizune exclaimed in horror.
"N-naruto-kun…" Seeing the limp body of her love made Hinata swoon, and Kurenai was barely able to catch her pupil before she fell to the ground.
"According to Neji" Guy explained with a grim face "This is the result of some advanced torture where they have made extensive use of the juuken" Kurenai had just then noticed the absence of the young genius.
"Where is Neji-kun anyway?" she asked suspiciously while Kakashi put his student down on the ground for Shizune to treat him.
"He stayed behind to delay his uncle and the other Hyugas if that would become necessary" Kakashi answered.
"I see…" the red eyed kunoichi said, not entirely convinced, but her attention was redirected when Hinata began to stir.
"Naruto!" the Hyuga girl called out once her eyes fluttered open.
"It's okay, Shizune is treating him" Kurenai tried to calm the girl. Hinata however quickly got to her feet and rushed the short distance over to Naruto and dropped to her knees by his side.
"Please be okay Naruto…" she pleaded taking his hand in hers. She lifted her head to look at Shizune who was emitting a green light while trying to stop the internal bleeding in the unconscious boy, and took a decision.
"Shizune-san, c-can I do anything?" The medic nin didn't avert her concentration the slightest but she gave short nod.
"Use your byakugan and tell me where I have to focus my energy" she instructed. Hinata nodded in confirmation and activated her bloodline limit. The sensitive Hyuga almost vomited when she saw the damage which had been inflicted on Naruto's body, but she pulled herself together and began to give Shizune instructions on where the damage was the worst.
Almost an hour passed by while the two women frantically did their work, Hinata had even got a few opportunities to test some of the jutsu in her scroll, to the assembled other's great amazement. Finally they were able to stabilize the blonde ninja's condition so as to not be life threatening, and by then the sun had once again begun to rise in the east. Kakashi began to fear that they would not make it in time to escape before the Hyugas awoke and found their prisoners gone.
"How much more do you have to work on him?" he asked impatiently. Shizune wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"He should be fine now" she said when Naruto's breathing had eased to that of deep sleep.
"Good" The copy nin turned to Hinata, who also sweated profoundly "Do you think you can manage to carry him?"
"C-carry h-him?" she echoed. Kakshi nodded.
"We were originally going to help you two across the border" he explained "but we must return now so as not attract any suspicion, therefore you will have to carry him yourself"
"But why do we have to leave Konoha?" Hinata asked desperately, even though she hadn't been too happy in this village, it had still been her home for all her life, and Hinata was reluctant to leave it behind. Kurenai gave her a sisterly hug.
"Its not safe for you two to be here any longer, Hinata" she explained "That means that you have to leave the country, otherwise Hiashi could easily find you again"
"B-but…"
"You should hurry!" Guy urged. Finally Hinata gave in.
"O-okay, but where should we go?"
"Try Sunagakure" Shizune proposed while handing a backpack to the lavender eyed girl "They should be able to take you in"
"Hai" Hinata nodded and put on the backpack.
"There are only supplies for one person in that backpack" Shizune warned "You wouldn't be able to carry Naruto plus food for the two of you, so you will have to eat sparsely" Beyond the gate the village began to stir, adding more urgency to the shinobi at the gate.
Hinata blushingly picked up Naruto in her arms, holding him close to her, and turned to the jounin.
"Thank you for your help" she said teary eyed "I promise we'll never forget you"
"And we'll never forget you either, Hinata" Kurenai assured, equally teary eyed. In fact the only ones who weren't teary eyed were Kakashi and Guy, Guy because, in stead of merely having damp eyes, he was crying openly while talking to himself about the springtime of youth.
Hinata turned towards the forest with the blonde nin still held protectively in her arms, and nimbly made a jump up into a nearby tree, swiftly proceeding to the next ones and leaving the village hidden in the leaves behind her.
"I really hope those two will be okay" Kurenai said.
"Oh I bet they will" Asuma said confidentially "They're a lot stronger than one could tell from just a short look" the other shinobi murmured their agreement, and swiftly disappeared back into the village.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
To be continued…
AN: Not much to say, just hope it didn't come out too short, and I'm eagerly awaiting your responses.