Bellenero:
The Troll, The Demon & The Nun
-Chapter 3-
Politicians
SHIKAMARU HATES HIS FAMILY EVEN MORE THAN MONEY.
If Shikamaru had a dollar every time politicians annoyed him, he'd have the same amount of money the Nara clan possessed. More famously known as the Rue Nara Guild, they had gold and money.
And it'll fall into Shikamaru's measly lap in just a little. Fuck.
In this world, money meant nothing, especially when the people you cared about was dying. Nothing could save the man. Well, nothing that could be bought.
Tensions were high since it seemed like either the Hebi guild led by Orochimaru, Shikamaru's own guild (the Rue Nara guild) or the Black Mantis guild owned by the Aburame and the millions of others who hate the Rue Nara guild could have killed Neji.
Shikamaru wasn't dumb and he knew Neji died at the hands of a mercenary in the Rue Nara guild. He was getting too close to the truth, just like all other Hyuuga.
"He died." Sasuke whimpered. Sasuke tried to sound strong but he wanted nothing more than to cry.
At least, to a normal person, Sasuke seemed like cold granite on a winter night but Shikamaru knew better. Sasuke wouldn't cry in front of Shikamaru. Sasuke's ego wouldn't survive that blow either.
Neji, Kakashi and Sasuke were the three men Shikamaru could stand. Every other person was a lost cause. Kakashi already jumped ship so, yeah, Shikamaru couldn't stand the guy anymore.
Sasuke basically grew up with Shikamaru but man, Sasuke can have a one-track mind.
Shikamaru's father Nara Shikaku was the main advisor to King Uchiha Fugaku. Shikaku was also the Guild Master Supreme. Most people called Shikaku Supreme or Guild Master.
Shikamaru didn't think he deserved either, to be honest. It would be unbearable to call his old man Supreme, so Shikamaru called his father Guild Master. The Guild Master Supreme was the representative of all guilds who live and thrive in the Capital of the Empire.
In history, as men are proud and hungry for control, a power-struggle occasionally appears between the monarchs and the guilds that inhabit this decaying land. This power struggle between the Guild Master and the King has escalated to beyond manageable heights.
Sasuke doesn't even know that there's a problem and his royal father is slowly losing the loyalty of the magic ministry and losing numbers to the Rue Nara guild.
Sasuke never got along with his family so they don't tell him things. Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, scorned him. His royal father ignored his existence and his older brother Itachi was the star pride of the Uchiha guild...
It is rumoured that Sasuke won't even be considered for the position king or any position in the kingdom. Sasuke doesn't know the exact reason why he is the laughingstock of the Empire's Monarchy/Guild government.
Sasuke is a problem child. His sharingan was powerful. He would be better as a tool than a ruler. Because that's all a man's good for in this stupid society.
Shikamaru felt bad for the kid but he won't tell him. That would send future events collapsing before Shikamaru could steady the dominoes.
If Sasuke did know, he would rampage and burn the city to smithereens. Shikamaru would light his cigarette on Sasuke's flames but sigh because of how much more fragile he the economy, the buildings of the Empire and the nerves of the Rue Nara become.
Sasuke was stupidly equipped with one of the strongest sharingans in history but he seldom uses it. Either Tenten (a bitchy bodyguard of Uchiha Sasuke with the emotional range of celery) deals with the problems Sasuke has or he has Kakashi fucking scare them away.
And Neji would always coddle Sasuke.
Shikamaru fucking missed Neji and felt the weight of his friend's death. It was his fault. If Shikamaru had thought of a way to distract Neji from the government, stopped him from confronting the Guild Master about the oncoming massacre that will occur then Neji would be alive! Alive.
The Rue Nara want to be in control when the next Apocalypse occurs. Neji was about to warn the Uchiha Monarchs, including the Hyuuga that the Rue Nara were planning on killing ALL OF THEM.
He was assassinated because he wanted to change the way guilds had more power than the monarchy. He wanted to restore the Empire to something great. He always spoke of how fate held him back, how fate shouldn't bow in submission to the wrong king.
And he's wrong for doing that now.
If Neji had shared his plans, he could have died on another fucking hill.
"Yeah," Shikamaru shrugged.
Sasuke felt the smoke tangle in his lungs. Neji was the best of them. He actually wanted to change this society and make it move places. That's what got him killed. His eyes were too wide and all-seeing before the Rue Nara killed him.
Shikamaru's blood boiled. Any fucking time that his father or clan were involved, someone fucking died. Neji died. On his birthday, which makes it stomach-churning and even worse.
"Neji was a good guy. And they killed him," Sasuke inhaled, coughing at all the smoke. "You know who did this, right?"
Shikamaru nodded, slumping against the wall. Guild Master always told him to never slump on a wall. A real man's posture is as tall as his resolve. Is that why Guild Master always spoke like he was seven fucking feet tall?
"Politicians." Shikamaru said.
Rue Nara politicians. His politicians. Guild Master's politicians.
Politics come in and leave a dignified man sucking a promotion out of someone else's cock. Shikamaru hates them. If he could live without a government, in the mountains someplace, he would survive with happiness. Maybe he'd visit every now and then to get some packs of cigars. See a woman or two, come back for rum and smoke. The mountains were safe and his friends wouldn't die all the time.
"Don't go complaining about the government, they'll knock you," Shikamaru breathed out a plume of smoke.
"What does that matter to you?" Sasuke glared at him, all dramatic and moody.
Sasuke was a damned dramatic guy. He threw tantrums, tried to act all cool but he was just a flower blown away by a fucking sneeze. Sasuke was never monitored, both of them, actually. King Fugaku was too busy ruling a kingdom to care about his second son, Mikoto didn't like dealing with Sasuke's tantrums.
Shikamaru's mom cared too much. He never liked having women help him, too much, so it was okay. Sasuke wasn't okay.
"Man, shut up-" Shikamaru started but noises interrupted him.
This was a private hallway. Mages were at the entrances, who would come in so recklessly? A bunch of clunky Rue Nara doctors with medical boxes and special sealing containers came down the hallway.
Sasuke drew his swords on the Rue Nara doctors. Sasuke was in a defensive stance. His brows furrows, arms ready for slashes and expression colder than ice.
"Don't touch Neji," said Sasuke, simply growling with his aggression and killing-intent.
Shikamaru's guildmates stared at the prince. This standstill with the tension and shifty eyes and drawn swords was commonplace.
Nara Roy said,"Move, we must collect the best Neji's-"
"Neji's not a thing to collect. He was a man who had twice the decency than you!" Sauske hissed.
"He has twice the decency on the table where his corpse lays."
Sasuke just about lost it and charge forward at the once cocky, rude doctors who wanted to burrow in their shells like cowards.
Though Shikamaru has respect for doctors, most of them have big talk and big words while they bark but have no bite.
Shikamaru controlled their shadows, letting out a pile of smoke.
Shikamaru could always feel at one within the shadows, where he sees the light shining. He controls the darkness, so the darkness bends to his will. Anything that is caught in his shadow was stuck. They were fazed into stillness. It's a nice magic type to wield as everyone around him are prone to starting fights with one step at a time.
The three idiots were in this frozen picture frame. Sasuke's sharingan was blazing with threat and the two were cowering. They all struggled in their plastered positions.
"If you want to fuck around and start an insult, go on and finish your sentence like a man," Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
Toshiba (tall, stupid and a doctor) and Roy (blonde, stupid and more stupid) both swallowed their words.
"Got nothing to say?" Shikamaru murmured around his cigarette.
All he's seen are losers in Rue Nara start fights with the Monarch guild (the Uchiha and Hyuuga, the dojutsu-only club) nowadays. Even though Rue Nara has engulfed Monarch into their black hole, King Fugaku has no ability to quell the conflicts that occur between his conflicting clan.
The King and the Guildmaster must cooperate or else all falls into chaos. These doctor goons AND Sasuke don't improve those chances. Hell, no one did!
Toshiba grimaced, shuddering. His trembling was audibly heard as his hold on his medical toolbox clinked and clattered.
"Rue Nara don't treat their own like this." The tall, lanky Toshiba with curled black hair and hazel eyes demanded. Toshiba always spoke like someone was squeezing his balls. It was uncomfortable to listen to this idiot.
"Eh. Sasuke is apart of Rue Nara," Shikamaru shrugged.
The three glared at each other like children.
"Monarchs like the Uchiha and Hyuuga are slowly losing their hold. It's a wonder you guys haven't been wiped out of Capital." Toshiba said.
Sasuke bristled. "You Rue Nara dicks have brains but no way to fight. When it comes down to it, Nara can't protect anyone but their money! Us Monarchs have dojutsu. We'll save lies during the demon's wake." Sasuke retorted.
"You aren't special because of your eyes. You have no allies. That's what it comes down to during the Apocalypse." Roy said.
"Show me the strength of Rue Nara, punk. Prove my point!" Sasuke yelled. Sasuke's blade swung around and almost sliced Toshiba's neck. Toshiba gulped at the small pinprick. "I thought so." Sasuke said coldly.
"Lord Shikamaru, do something about this bastard Monarch!" Toshiba cried nervously.
Lord Shikamaru. How Shikamaru hated being a slave to that title. Shikamaru couldn't magic away all these fools' conflicts. In fact, he didn't want to.
Shikamaru yawned. The clouds looked especially enticing today. Why did he have to sift through a Guild Master's problems? Shikamaru never wanted to act like his father and service a guild while fixing their brawls. He just didn't want to be his father. Fuck that.
"You know what. I'm feeling generous. I don't want to regulate your fights. Deal with it amongst yourselves." Shikamaru said, waving them away.
"Nara, I like the way you think," said Sasuke as he set his jaw. His steady sword almost sliced their heads off.
"Yeah?" Shikamaru sighed.
Why was Sasuke always killing Rue Nara, he will get restrained like an idiot.
And so, release.
Shikamaru released his jutsu. Roy and Toshiba let out squeaks and shirked away, in another direction. Their tool boxes and the glass container Roy held went flying.
Roy was more concerned for the glass container and Toshiba cared more about the furious Uchiha going to slice his voice box out. Nonetheless, they both closed their eyes after falling to the ground, bracing themselves. However, Shikamaru seized control again and the two weren't sliced open.
"Oh. Merciful Lord Shikamaru, thank you!" Toshiba whispered with hiccups of fear in his voice.
Roy was too shocked to say anything.
"Get out of here before Sasuke feels like beating you to a pulp," Shikamaru sighed.
Both Toshiba and Roy nodded. They skittered off as if their tails were on fire. Sasuke glared at Shikamaru with a grimace cut out on his face.
"It's convenient that his byakugans are being cut out right now by Uncle's goons." Uchiha continued, gritting his white teeth.
Uncle was Shikamaru's father...
"Don't blame me. I have no power. That room is a place for men with suits." Shikamaru said.
"I can say whatever I damn hell want, Nara."
"If you keep on yapping, the goons will come out and take you too. The council already doesn't like you. Don't give them more reasons."
"Fuck off, Nara." Sasuke rolled his eyes, folding his arms.
This annoyed Shikamaru.
"Seriously, Uchiha. I'll have two friends dead over my birthday weekend. Do you want that?" Shikamaru accused.
Sasuke looked guilty. "Oh shit. I forgot. Happy birthday." Sasuke mellowed out. He clapped Shikamaru on the shoulder.
Shikamaru brushed off Sasuke's arms. "Nothing happy about this," Shikamaru shrugged. "We can get smokes after this, my village dealer has some. Maybe a druid'll bother me about it," Shikamaru laughed.
"Do you only think about smoking?" Sasuke scoffed.
"I think about rum too," Shikamaru shrugged.
Sasuke laughed and laughed until he had to wipe away a tear. He shoved Shikamaru's shoulder. "Don't make me laugh so close to a fucking funeral," he coughed.
Shikamaru paused. Sasuke didn't know that he wouldn't be allowed to the funeral, right? He decided not to tell him. The boy's been through enough. Instead, they walked out of the government building and got out to the streets of the Capital. When they entered the bustling street ways, everyone bowed to Shikamaru instead of Sasuke, which was a problem.
He prayed that Sasuke wouldn't notice. He never much cared for God, though, so of course the brat noticed.
Hinata woke up to heavy breathing. She hadn't meant to crack an eye open. Naruto was passed out. Hinata was also previously passed out as well until a certain hiss of pleasure was heard.
Wh- she was supposed to have the first shift! She fell asleep. Damn it. That gave her a little motivation to move a bit.
Her spit was tacky and her muscles were cement. Oh god. Her head. Her legs. Her feet. They all protested against this all. Hinata blinked away the acute blurriness then swallowed a gasp.
He- he wasn't meant to be here.
Oh. Crabs.
A large shadow loomed over Sister Ino's unconscious form. She seemed to have woken up before Hinata has. She had a head wound with blood trickling down her red cheek.
What? Is... happening?
The boorish man's face was covered in shadows but the weapon he had was akin to a night star in the secrecy. A knife was in one hand and a pumping hand was in front of the man.
Every second breath of hers was like an insult to her nostrils. The man smelled awful with his rag-like clothing. They were woven with tar and had rotten fruit as perfume. He was a bag of flesh and muscle, standing at a herculean height, with even more rolls and lumps.
He was masturbating over Sister Ino and making noises.
The back of the compartment was small and the horses rode on at an accelerated pace. When Hinata shifted, Naruto stirred, having found a comfortable pillow as her lap.
Just as she stared at the scene, she realized that the man couldn't hear her. He was too far gone. Too far gone. Horror and inaction seeped into her bones, like a second skeleton.
Hinata gently shrugged Naruto's body off with careful attention. No sudden movements. No sudden movements. None at all.
Then, Sister Ino stirred with a low bemoan of pain.
"Shut up bitch!" the stranger hissed.
"What are you doing to my teammate, coachman?" Hinata whispered, her voice surprisingly thick with intimidation.
The man's back curled, his muscles tightening up and scrunching together in shock. "Uh. Uh-"
"Tell me, what are you doing to my teammate?"
He twisted around, with blank surprise. Then guilt morphed itself onto his face. His frog-like eyes raced from side to side, her face and the back of the cart. He doesn't look guilty, actually. He was high-strung because he got caught.
Before Hinata knew what she was doing- her body moved before her mind caught up. She somehow moved Naruto off of her lap and she held something; her weapons! The handle of the swords was gripped tightly and the weight was anchoring her.
The man skirted to the left, to the entrance of the cart.
The lumps of fat jumped when he gulped. "Miss-" he crowed, his voice oddly deep and disheartened.
But she didn't want to hear his pleads. She wanted to hear a reason.
Hinata charged, leading with her sword. She ultimately kicked the man's thick swamp-like chest. Her foot sunk in for a moment before he catapulted backward, groaning out loud upon impact.
She drove him away and he reeled back even further, on his fours. He was going to a clearing. The brittle weeds and plants carpeting the ground were cracking under his actions. The trees were menacing in their gnarled heights and postures. The stars hid their fires too. It was dark and all animals scattered away, making this awful sense of foreboding.
"Let me ask again, what have you done to my teammate!" Hinata demanded. "Tell me!"
His lip was red; he bit it when he fell. "Miss- let's get this through, I was goin' uh play with'er for a little. She's jus' so perfect an' blondie. I ne'er hurt her."
Hinata jumped off of the cart's wooden platform and the man
He licks his leathery lips, "You see, I'm gettin' old an' I wanted a fresh, young face to hold. She's so beautiful. An angel, if ya really look close."
Hinata wasn't having any of it. She stood two metres away. "She is a woman of God! She swore herself to the church. You will not and can not take that away." Hinata pointed her sword at his neck
"She's close tuh God, eh, pretty high up there. Well, miss beauty, the higher the fruit, closer to the sun, the sweeter the juice," blood stained his fiendish smile.
He starts laughing at Hinata's horror-stricken expression. His chuckles rattle her until he suddenly stopped the awful sound.
He spat a gout of blood and wobbled onto his feet. "If yer so chaffed 'bout me gettin' my pleasure, I would have to get rid of ya. I will, since women exist just to serve men like me, right? That's what God made you all for." He steadied himself.
Then his eyes were empty and black, like the galaxy above with that sinister scrawl-like laughter. He lunged, his weight thrusting forward with a speed someone of that mass shouldn't possess. He overwhelmed her for a moment, but she had enough sense to swing her sword at his outstretched paw.
She expected him to yield; to flinch; to duck away but he didn't! He grabbed her sword by the blade and yanks. Hard.
Oh, crabs.
She heaved forward -air-borne- and her cheek collided with his fist. The whiplash from being punched was a distraction to how he tossed both swords in the opposite direction. A spiderweb of pain weaved its way through her.
Hinata was stuck, a fresh bruise fluorescent with its colour.
Whiteness consumed her vision and the air was knocked out of her. She didn't have the time to keen with a cry. He slammed her to the ground. Between all the punces, the trounces and pummels, she was bewildered she wasn't in more agony when the kicks came. He was a beast, clawing at her skin, trying to get her heart with those hits.
But she jerked her knee up, striking him in his jewels twice and he cried with a foul curse. He was grinning through the hurts, still with a ferocity.
"Bitch! Don't try tuh get away! I'll have ya fore'er in my den, you'll cook then you'll clean when I'm done with my angel o'er there, eh." hissed the man, holding his stomach.
He's distracted- she could, she has to get her swords. Ah. Her cheek and stomach stung, like sliding down a carpet with razor blades. Hinata scrambled, her nails digging into the dirt and wet earth for anything. She saw her swords- they were right there!
He didn't toss them away too far- she was almost there.
Just when she thought she would attain her goal, his sausage fingers grasped her ankle and pulled. Pulled her skidding leg. "You're not gettin' away so easy!" he snapped, his hand was slick with blood and it was on her ankle. "I'm not done wit' ya."
The other heel was not caught so she whipped over and transfixed him by shoving her strength into one kick right under his jawline. That did little for a moment but he was spitting away another spray of thick blood.
He dropped a club-like fist on her chest and fell forward. He almost straddled her but she kept on squirming. He kneeled, a table above her, with his features shadowed.
He couldn't get her arms still, though, and he thought it was useless.
"Ya remind me of Bellenero, the pretty queen with your pretty eyes, they ought to sell for a pretty profit, pretty girl. I'm gonna keep you! Yer mine!" his eyes glowed with triumph, suddenly malevolent.
Oh, crabs! Her heart beat quickly and she was trembling in fear. Fear.
Pretty eyes? Hinata flailed her arms until something dull poked her arm. It sent a jolt through her. It was a stick. She held it at her side. He couldn't see her, properly, if she was real careful.
His eyes darkened, once again, as his leer filled with lust.
His tone took a lower pitch. He was a pig and a dog, mouth salivating. "You must be apart of them Hyuuga- up at the Capital. Someone must be lookin' for you. Well, your eyes. They wouldn't mind getting different parcels of ya, doncha think, Bellenero?" he laughed, releasing it into the atmosphere like bubbles of poisonous gas from a potion. "Isn't that romantic, girl? You'll belong to me in life and you'll be mine in death. I'll keep you!"
Hinata rolled her face over, inhaled a bunch of leaves and spat them in his ugly, round, face. The leaves tasted like mud and murky water but it would do for ammo. He reeled his face back, clawing at his open mouth, the apple of his cheeks and forehead.
"You better learn respect when I am your keeper!" he roared.
Hinata lifted the stick and broke the branch in two with jagged edges.
"I think you'd want to keep your eye instead!" she yelled.
Hinata multitasked; one end of the stick stabbed into his eye and one in his shoulder. The left side of his face was shiny with gore and a river of blood and she launched from the ground to her feet. The man waved his arms, confused. He didn't know whether or not to tend to his eye or his shoulder with sticks poking inside of his body!
Satisfaction was a mineral, tinny taste in her mouth as she got her swords. This fight was over and she survived.
Her heart was a drum and she- she was alive. She was going to run away. She was going to run! He would be left there and that would be his responsibility.
That was enough. He's lying there, enough. Enough! Why wouldn't he stay down?! Due to the will of vengeance or revenge, he got on his feet once more.
She had enough and took off. He followed her, gaining speed until he threw something that lodged into her spine.
She momentarily stopped and twirled around, since she saw his shadow behind her limping form.
She leaped beside him and shoved him against a nearby tree.
She elicited a growl from his lips. That was all she did as he pinned her in his gaze.
"You bitch! You bitch! You bitch! You're just like your wretched mother!" he snarled.
Mother?
For some reason, she paused when she dipped and dove away from his clumsy attacks. Bellenero? Does he know her mother? Hyuuga? Why did he want her eyes?
Should he die?
She hesitated.
And that costed her. For a moment. He was still trying so hard and was still so strong that it undid her confidence and froze her fury.
But he got close. Close enough to grab her again but he was too slow, the speed from earlier gone. "You're going tuh pay! Be a woman. Be what God made you for." he sneered with a cold command. He lurched forward, his one good arm coming at her.
Not again! Not this time! Never a time again!
Hinata side-stepped his newest jab.
Her two swords took control. One came down in a chop and dug into his arm. The other was in motion, the momentum and instinct shocking her.
She turned on her heel, all the rage, all the confusion and all the violence in her thrust forward. The blade into his chest.
"God made me to kill anyone who touched my teammate. God made me to kill you!" Hinata whispered harshly.
With determination and a battle cry, Hinata pushed her sword through his body. It made a sickening squelch and she hated the relief that came with it. The silver of her blade was gone. Blood was on her skin. His skin. Her sword.
His growls and hisses were like a mighty current, beating its way into her confidence but it trickled now. His body slumped in despair as his inners were cleaved. His heart was cut...
With a fell gaze, he whispered; "Bellenero..." within his last breath.
Her vision was black around the edges. Red tinted everything.
Warmth oozed onto her, and for a horrible second, she thought it was relief. But it spread and dripped down. Off of her. It pooled too. Her mind engaged in what her body was up to and she was still holding something.
Ah- her sword. She pulled it out without thinking when she jumped back. She hadn't realized she held his weight.
He was dead. And her hands were red. That was blood. That was blood soaking into her already stained clothing. She... killed a man.
She can't breathe. Something's suffocating her. Can't breathe.
She killed a man. She... killed him. She killed him. A lightning bolt of cold and dread paralyzed her.
Can't breathe.
It smelled like silver- no iron was lodged in her nostrils because all she smelled was tin and iron. The metal. Her swords.
She could only taste blood.
Hinata stared at her bloody hands with swords. She couldn't see anything but red. She couldn't hear anything but red gushing. She couldn't smell anything but red iron.
She didn't want to smell this blood. Why was there so much?
Will... Will this ever get off? She rubbed her hand- oh God, the blood was cold now. She wiped it on her pants but they were wet, so it was like water washing off water- impossible.
Her knees locked up.
What- what have I done? Hinata cried in her mind. Then, she heard a sound- was that the man trying to haunt her? Then footsteps. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Still can't breathe.
Everything got locked in her lungs.
Then, his face filled her view. Naruto. His garnet brown skin in the dark, his gold hair and cerulean aquamarine eyes. Why does he look off colour?
Hinata tripped forward, gushing out words. She looked down at the body and back at Naruto's face. His features schooled into something unrecognizable when he saw the body-
Oh, no, nope, Hinata, her mind corrected her, That is a corpse. You killed him. He is not a body. He is a dead man.
"I- he, he was trying to, uh, Sister Ino. He's dead!" Hinata jumbled up her muttered words. She couldn't look at either of them right now!
But he was calm; he was quiet; he was observant too. She looked up because looking at her hand gave her grief.
"I know. I saw." he advanced to her since he was near the corpse. She hadn't realized she got that far away from the body.
And there's that smell again. Tears blocked her throat and she's seeing him in red and burgundy and red.
He was really close, observing her.
Her words were like knives, her knives, piercing into her. "Naruto-kun, it smells like iron and mercury and metal, like. Like blo-"
"Yeah, Hi-chan, it's gonna smell like metal 'cause you got these big ol' swords in your paws, right?" Naruto grabbed her wrists, tenderly, watching her every flinch and expression on her face.
Hinata was covered in blood. "Na-Naruto-kun?" She tried moving her hands away but he persisted. "I'm dirty! Can't you see, don't touch my arms!"
Her hands were vices clamped onto the two sword's pommels. Her fingers were cold and numb. Will she ever feel?
"Nah. You're good," he whispered with that calm smile.
He forcefully removed her swords and looked at her. He's smiling at her; why was he smiling at her? His teeth were diamonds in the flesh. Why was he smiling? At her? He can't smile at a thing like her!
"How about we go back to the cart and you know, make a campfire?" he suggested.
Hinata dropped her gaze to her flexing fingers. "You have to leave me behind. Take Sister Ino and go. I can't go on."
"Why not?" he whined. "This place gives me the creeps."
"I can't! Not with who I am now! I am a monster!" Hinata whispered.
"You remember who you are, Hi-chan?" Naruto poked her cheek then wiped away what blood was there.
"Yeah. A monster!" Hinata said bitterly.
"Nope." he objected with a sigh. "No, you aren't."
"I am!" Hinata insisted, pushing on his arms.
"Wrong. Try again," interjected Naruto.
"Naruto! I'm a killer-"
"Boo! Try again. Who are you?" he asked loudly.
"I... I don't know." Hinata choked up, her eyes throbbing with bitterness and burns.
"Really? You're Hi-chan to me. You should be Hinata to yourself, y'know?"
"How? How do you think I am not a monster?" Hinata demanded. Her voice broke.
Damn emotions. Damn life. Damn him. She was weak now and her body couldn't hold up anymore. She didn't want to anymore.
"You did what you had to do. Nothing more. Nothing less. That's how I know you're just right," he whispered. Then he patted her head. "Just right."
She doesn't know what to say to that, and a sob escaped her mouth. She cupped a dirty hand over her mouth to stop the sound when it was too late and she was falling.
He caught her. For some reason.
She sunk to the ground and he fell with her. They sat there for what seemed hours. He rocked her back and forth. Like the sea, endless in its resolve and duty to the moon. He was dedicated to soothing her right now.
Flashes of her reaction, her instincts when encountering the rapist came about. Why was she like this? He was a rapist but he also was a man. A human. She... she can't take back her actions.
"You were just protecting someone. I'd have done the same for you," he whispered into her ear. "You protected Maid."
"It's just not right! He called me Bellenero! Bellenero. Apparently, he knew my mother and I ki-killed him!"
"Hi-chan," Naruto whispered. "You are not a bad person."
"Well, I'm not a good one either." Hinata pulled away, her face snotty and tone unusually nasal. She hid her eyes and shiny cheeks. "Can you bring Sister Ino, I want to know if she's okay."
He looked at her face then sighed. "You want to stay here-"
She inhaled and the blood was on her face and clothing. "I just. I just want to be alone..."
His eyes skated all over her face, weary and hesitant but he smiled. "Welp, you're not stayin' here, that's for sure."
"Huh? I can't really-"
"I'll be your legs," Naruto leaned down then picked her up as if she were a leaf and he was wind. She weighed nothing to him.
He picked up the swords and she realized he changed clothes. His silk orange clothing was exchanged for an orange shirt and blue pants. And he picked up their swords too.
When he moved her, her whole body protested. Pain raced up her limbs and chest. Her face hurt so much.
He didn't let her protest when he trudged through the dense forest, the ground was less manageable and more crowded with wildlife. He put her down and said he'd go look for firewood. She turned away from him, wanting to change.
She's already gone through so many clothes. Metal and discomfort were in the thickness of her mouth as she groggily pulled herself up.
No-nose, you could hear me, right? A voice impaled her thoughts and rang around like the Sunday church bells.
This time, the sound wasn't welcomed nor familiar. It was new and filled with menace in its imposing rasps.
"Huh? I can hear you. Who are you? Reveal yourself!" Hinata said loudly.
Not again? Was Sister Ino okay?
Who was there? Were they trying to kill her? Who was a No-nose? She looked all around her. Nothing but tall trees with umbrellas of darkness. Sister Ino was in the cart, she was out here and now some strange thing was talking to her!
Has... she gone crazy?
You are all arrogant creatures while the superior beings are of my race, the Alpoje wolves, the voice continues. It's blunt and threatening, and loud.
Huh? Alpoje wolves. What?
How do you not know what wolves are? Are you trying to be stupid? the voice demanded, upset.
Hinata was shocked. Who does this wolf think he is? How does he think he could belittle her? She doesn't even know where he was- or if it was a him?
I know what wolves are! Stop being rid- WAIT, you're a wolf? Hinata said to herself.
Yes. I thought we were past this.
"You have an uppity way of speaking, I don't like it." Hinata sighed to herself. This is getting creepy!
I don't like No-noses, so we are even, Bellenero.
A cold feeling gutted her. The man called her Bellenero. Did... was this wolf his ghost?! Urgh. Why was everything so strange?!
"My name isn't Bellenero. It's Hinata. Why are you speaking to me, Alpoje Wolf-san?" asked Hinata to the endless abyss the sultry, cold place the forest was.
You do realize that I am speaking directly into your mind? Or you're slow like all humans? The wolf asked slyly.
Hinata looked all around her. It did seem so. "Why? I... I don't think this is normal whatsoever!"
Focus on me, no-nose! I am stuck. I am in dire need of aid. You no-noses have those opposable thumbs!
"What makes you sure I am human?" Hinata shrugged. "If all you know, I could be a worm or a snake!"
You clueless humans ask dumb, clueless questions like that.
"What? What have I said wrong?" Hinata frowned. This animal seemed unimpressed with her since his voice entered her frazzled mind.
Hinata didn't get an answer but a whine, a whimper of extreme and delicate pain. She swerved her head to the left, staring out into the black night.
"Where are you, Alpoje Wolf-san?" Hinata scanned the horizon.
Just follow your instincts, kitling. I am facing your direction now. Come follow your senses, alright? You no-noses can manage a little bit of that, at a time, of course. The wolf's tone was oddly inspirational, for some reason. Though there was the occasional mockery.
Hinata shuddered. Going forward or backwards was hard since her mind was muddy. She couldn't dedicate her mind to one single line of authentically cohesive thought.
But she went forward, stepping over roots and rocks and overgrown weeds until she was greeted by a form, a dark mass of fur, teeth and intelligent blue eyes.
Why do all of her companions have blue eyes? It's a trend.
However beautiful the wolf's eyes were, his coat was glossy and sparse moonlight highlighted its coarseness. Some of his fur was coated in blood as the thick substance was on his front left leg.
A trap he was caught in.
He stared at her, ears at full height with his snout pointed towards her. He paid rapt attention and followed her every movement.
A real tracker.
He was... huge and an animal. That reality hit her in the faces when his overly large, almost prehistoric-looking teeth were glinting like a weapon. His whole lean body was a weapon. His height while sitting was about two-thirds of hers.
Bellenero... he whispered in her mind. Fear not, if I wanted to kill you, I would have bitten your limbs off to let you bleed. I like watching you fling around and suffer.
In his jaws, near his beady, sharp eyes, there was no lie.
She gulped and her hands shook. "H-how... did you choose me to help you?" Hinata took a step away, to protect herself.
You, humans, smell different and worse than other species, the wolf huffed with a raspy disgust laced in his tone. Horrible, to be clear.
Hinata fought the urge to sniff herself. "Thanks?"
Why did she say that? She can't piss him off! That's not the way it's supposed to go!
But not you. the wolf sighed.
Hinata's mouth fell open. "M-me? What's so special ab-about me?"
From here, you look like my old master. I thought you were her. You wound me. I wanted to return to my pack and there you went, impersonating her. You don't smell the same. She smells like apples and sunshine. The sunflowers that used to grow in the Empire. You smell like old leather and death.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Hinata shrunk. Now... that's all she will ever smell like. She... killed a man and his blood seeped into her bones, the creases of her hand. She... won't get over this.
The wolf barked his answer. No, kitling. Don't apologize. You smell like death.
Hinata shifted and darted her gaze away.
Naturally a born killer, the wolf zeroed in on her nervousness. Oh, what is this? I smell anxiety on you. Why aren't you proud of your kill?
"Because I have never done it before."
Huh? No-noses are really good at doing that. All of you must've killed before. He genuinely sounded surprised
"No-noses?" Hinata asked loudly. What was that? Who were they?
Humans. I like to bite your faces off and I won't stop until all of you don't have noses. All humans are no-noses. That's why I call them no-noses. I like human blood. It's salty and I like to bite noses off. I used to hunt you humans until recently.
"What made you stop?" Hinata asked quietly.
Life. I met my master. He would have shrugged if he were human.
"What made your master leave?"
Kitling, you do realize that I could hear your thoughts? It's tiresome not for you to catch on so far into the conversation. Why must I have had chosen such a slow no-nose?
Hinata jumped. He could? Why? "What?!"
Yes. Kitling, try it out. Our conversations would be less suspect and loud if we were to speak mental conversations, the wolf explained tiredly and his exhaustion coloured his voice.
Hinata sighed.
And you would heed to my every need faster. The wolf snickered on that last bit.
I am not your servant! Hinata insisted.
There you go. The wolf grunted.
She didn't say that out loud? She clapped a hand over her mouth. Oh. I am speaking to you telepathically. From this to Naruto's witchcraft to trees growing at an accelerated rate. I am going to lose my mind.
Who's to say no-noses haven't been born with something wrong? The wolf shook his head, huffing out of his nostrils. My master was the only one who was born right. Who lived right and loved right. Another no-nose wounded her. You all can live without no-noses killing. I will find her killer and eat her killer's nose and liver.
Do you like the taste of noses? Hinata tried out the telepathic network, wondering how it functioned. Could other people hear? Is every one of her thoughts private?
Liver tastes good. Noses taste like that stuff No-noses eat. Crackers? No meat on them. It's a prize. All things must garner a prize. They're like warnings to the lower beings. He gave a terrifying smile, his half-lidded expression with terrifying energy around him.
You are the alpha, I take it? Hinata sighs.
He doesn't answer, instead saying, You will be my beta, omega, everything in between if you let me free of this trap.
What is your name? Hinata asked randomly.
Bah! We are not humans. We know each other by scent, by fur and by hunting capabilities. I don't have a name. I would like to be named after fire. The wolf shook his head. What an odd concept, you wild no-nose. Why the interest?
Hinata wrung her hands nervously. Uh. It'll be easier if we have a communication system and you, uh, have a name. Don't you think it's odd not to have a name? And you named me too. And so, I'll call you Nero.
Nero?! Why Nero? That makes me sound like a no-nose! Nero exploded.
Nero, that is the only name I will give you if I help you out, that is what I will address you as. Hinata smiled.
You will be mine to command and to heal if you allow me to be free! Nero said loudly, trying to get out of her grasp.
Hinata shakes her head. It doesn't work that way, love. I have companions; Uzumaki Naruto and Clementine Ino... You musn't hurt them. They're no-noses but they are good no-noses.
Ha. None of you are good. You all are arrogant creatures. My species is the best. Nero said resolutely.
And we remain to be the arrogant ones? Hinata quipped.
Yes. No-noses are dumb. He growled. NEVER SPOUT THAT NONSENSE, BELLENERO!
His voice was thunderous, shaking her bravery out of her like loose baby teeth. It gave her a headache since he was yelling in her mind. The sharp pain almost cracked her skull in two.
Fear got in between all of her atoms. He's never growled at her before. He was mean but that was his personality. It was never directed towards her. And man could Nero look like the top predator he was. Nero's claws were long and thick, perfect knives to leave marks. Deadly marks. His jaw was filled with pure power.
He could kill her.
He looked at her with his icy, glacier for eyes. Come forward kitling, Nero ordered, tipping his chin closer. His hackle was thick but smaller.
Hinata's chin shot up. Ne-Nero... She stuttered. In her brain. In her thoughts. She couldn't control it!
She eventually swallowed up her instinct to flee and stepped forward, one foot in front of the other, all of her muscles clenched like a fist. Almost like a taut elastic band. However, she gulped, she didn't know when she'd snap.
She could snap.
If I wanted to wound you, I would have. He licked her cheek then her neck and back to her cheek. You are mine now. I never hurt what is mine.
That was an odd promise and her first instinct was to run but she suppressed it.
Good to know... Hinata leaned down, looking at the trap.
It wasn't easy, but she stared at its metallic components. She was fiddling with it until she felt the weight and warmth of something wonderingly soft. Nero leaned his hairy muzzle on her head. There was a lot of thick fur in his mane, still black, still gorgeous.
Pack members must protect and support each other, Bellenero. You must understand. To hurt a pack member is to hurt yourself. Nero's words vibrated her.
He smelled like the ground they lied in, fresh fur with some petals matted onto his coat. Hinata lifted a trembling hand to his leg and stroked him. Okay.
Okay? Nero asked.
Hinata swallowed. Okay, I believe you.
She finally got free later on and he was free. He nuzzled his nose against her cheek then started licking the blood from her hands.
What are you doing? Hinata squirmed but he growled lightly to keep her still.
I cannot have you looking like this, Bellenero. That is unacceptable-
Oh yeah. She recently killed a man. She recently got all that blood on herself and her clothes. She doesn't want to just forget but she doesn't want to look like this. She really didn't and Nero was acting like it was a choice. She had to kill him!
Hinata sputtered for a reason to tell the animal. Nero was almost eager to punish her. The man just- he just-
That man's blood has no business on my pack member. Nero snapped in her mind.
Hinata froze and looked at him. Nero was way more thoughtful than she believed. She allowed him to do what he pleased until he sat back and started licking his own paw, whimpering. They sat in a quiet, raw silence with small animals and the fragile wind blowing by.
There was so much she didn't understand about this creature of the night.
Oh. Alpoje Wolves are often associated with the devil, Bellenero. We shrink as we consume human blood. Guild Masters and Alpoje wolves never got along and our kind liked murdering no-noses. So, the magic community took action and damned us with this incantation of malice and oppression. It was a curse placed on us by the Guild Masters, a mutation or curse, all of us have received. Our fur sheds colour, our fangs shrink and we lose all that of what made ancestors wolves, Nero explained warily.
What does having gray fur mean? asked Hinata.
That we have killed. That we are impure. That we cannot go to the light since we are too coloured like nothingness. We are of the night, how would we protect ourselves if we were as obvious and blatant as snow? It just isn't safe.
Hinata ripped off a piece of her already too small shirt and wrapped it around Nero's injured paw. Love, that really... is awful.
We were hunted by the Capital. You see my kind getting enslaved to do much of the dirty work. It's quite odd not to have an Alpoje Wolf without silver necklaces.
Oh, do you want accessories? Hinata asked as she tied the strip of fabric. I could get you-
Are you mad, Bellenero? Those silver necklaces are apart of the incantation, they kill us. Now they are harmful when near. They cannot harm us when not touching us. Like when I can't smell it or see it, but when it touches our fur, it burns off everything.
Oh. Hinata felt really stupid. I'm sorry. Hinata pressed her nose into his fur. I'm sorry.
Don't say that nonsense. Nero scolded.
Hinata looked at him and realized he was way smaller... Wow. Humans have been cruel...
No-noses are the cruellest thing to have happened to any species. Only us drinking five pints can shrink us to the size of nothing. Human bodies contain five pints and they would die if we drank their blood. It's a punishment that links us to you no-noses. I've seen dear betas turn into nothing.
Hinata observed Nero and his massive size. Nothing?
Yes. However, we can have magic to expand and shrink as we so please, Nero commented with some odd glee. We can be carried, as well.
Wow. Hinata eyed him for a moment. Did you inflate yourself to appear scarier?
Nero wordlessly became smaller until he was in her lap.
It's all survival, Nero growled
You look cute-
I am not cute! He growled. He looked down, withdrawing and self-conscious. Does my meagre size deter you from becoming a companion? I am not grown yet but when I am, I will wage war on the Empire itself.
Hinata picked him up and pressed her forehead to hers. I would have still taken you if you were the size of a mountain or monster or pebble. Hinata smiled. I will help you achieve your dream, Nero.
Nero's blue eyes blinked in discomfort and confusion. What?
Hinata nodded. Is that okay?
I still don't like you! Nero panicked. All no-noses are the same!
Hinata shrugged. Then I will believe I can change to your liking.
Do not believe in something that cannot happen!
It's better. I will change, as will you.
Nero didn't have a response for that, instead, he growled and lounged down on her lap with a belligerent huff. He flinched when she tried to stroke his back but she was persistent. She avoided his teeth when he tried to bite her that one time.
However, he relaxed and let her hold him. It was a small submission. Not to power, not to evil or in defeat, it was a slow surrender to the good things to come.
Later on, Hinata stared at the fire, Sister Ino beside her and Nero on her lap.
Sister Ino's wound stopped bleeding. It almost seemed like nothing happened. But Hinata looked to her hands.
Naruto has done another round of getting wood and kindle and anything that they could eat. He also brought back the soaked bloody, swords back without a speck. Hinata was confused about the night's and day's events.
Sister Hera's kicked them out and she was brave for the first time. Now she has a grumpy, aggressive dog on her lap who has issues with society and people. He likes to bite people's faces off! And not to mention that she killed a person who tried to rape Sister Ino. This was not shaping up to be a good night.
The warmth from the fire shocked her, and she didn't know how cold she was until she wasn't. Why did this have to happen? What has become of her life?
She changed but the blood was still there, no matter how many times Nero licked it away or... Naruto brought her buckets of water, she was still red. She was still a killer.
She leaned against a log while Sister Ino was laying on a sleeping bag. She reached over and stroked Sister Ino's hair.
"I will find a way to protect you all!" Hinata whispered, thinking of Naruto, Nero and Sister Ino. "I promise."
It's all her fault that she will always have a scar.
Naruto stared at her with an easy-going smile. "That's a good promise, ne, Hi-chan."
Naruto stoked the fire, making the surrounding air smell like smoke and pine needles. Hinata looked at him then her hand stopped carding through Nero's fur.
Naruto watched her carefully then frowned at Nero. What is this orange idiot fox looking at me for?! Nero demanded in her mind.
You calling him an idiot is mean! Hinata scolded him.
I called him what I pleased, Bellenero.
A fox?
No, an idiot.
Hinata sighed. Why did he have to be so mean?
Nero sensed her irritation. You're slow but he is a fox, I swear, you no-noses can't sense something so basic and trivial.
Oi, that's enough out of you. And I am not slow. Hinata protested.
Bellenero, accept that you are slow, that would cause you fewer problems.
Hinata gasped. You are so mean!
And you are weak-minded. I sense a great power within the fox, you have to catch up. I like him better!
"What's that?" Naruto asked loudly before she could form a good rebuttal.
"This is Nero, my pet." Hinata smiled down at Nero. Revenge was sweet!
Nero growled and she held him closer. I am not your pet! I am your equal, no your superior, even! Nero bristled in her mind.
Naruto stared across from her, "Awww! Why does he get to lay on your lap?"
Hinata laughed. "Because he is small and cute and cuddly!" Hinata whispered directly into Nero's pained expression.
Hinata found it hard to look at Naruto like some wall has been put between them. She didn't know if she could trust him all that well, too. Could she?
"My hand won't stop shaking since the rapist ca-called me Bellenero," Hinata said lightly.
Naruto gave her an empathetic look and his expression dimmed. "That... is normal."
Normal? Has he killed? She wanted to ask but it was hard to... instead, she looked at the fire. "I am Hinata, well, mostly... but I do not have a last name."
Naruto pouted at her. "Not even a last name?"
Hinata laughed. "Not even that. The coachman said my eyes would sell. People buy Troll eyes at the market, I heard. I wasn't treated as a human... and I am stripped of the decency of a last name..." she sighed. "That's my reality. And I killed a man, so that stripped me of even more. Was it... good that I was born? I am forgotten and now I've erased more of myself!"
Naruto looked at her then clarity struck him. "You can have mine," Naruto offered.
Hinata looked at him. "I can have yours?" Hinata questioned lightly. "The right way?"
Naruto's cheeks burned and he waved his arms frantically. "You can't take my name in that way! We're too young to get married-"
"I'm not saying to get married..." Hinata shook her head. "I just need... someone's last name to secure me when we fake documents to get into other towns and... you helped me feel human." Hinata sighed sadly. "I would have asked Sister Ino but she is related to Sister Hera and no one wants to poison their bloodline with traces of that witch."
Naruto laughed, throwing his head back too. "Alright."
It was still uneasy and Hinata couldn't really look at him. If she takes Naruto's name then it will be like giving secrets and keeping something new.
Hinata gave him a side-glance and gave more firmness to her curious tone. "You... you must tell me everything about what you did to Tenzou and... before that..."
His laughs died down gradually before he was left with the taste of tartness with acerbity all over his face. "I've done some bad stuff, Hi-chan," said Naruto, looking at the stars. "I'm surprised I'm not dead or blind, with all the stuff I've done and seen."
Her breath caught in her throat. "I want to know why you are so calm in the face of killing and murder. It's scary! And I feel gross. I can't close my eyes for a second without the guilt opening my eyes. Why do you know what to do? Why are you so... unmoved?" The questions poured out from Hinata.
"The first kill stays with you until the second one comes to haunt you," Naruto said, all small and guilty.
"You sleep night and day, how'd you do it?" Hinata clenched her fist.
She remembered her victim's breath, the way his blood moved and where the pain she caused settled on his face. She was brutal. Brutal.
Naruto stared at her for a moment then looked back at the heart of the fire. He was unforthcoming, looking upon his past with weary eyes.
"Tell me everything or else I won't be able to trust you. We share the last names, right? We must share this too." she insisted.
He smiled softly. "Hi-chan, you gotta believe me when I say my life hasn't been an easy one. Jiraiya and I weren't partying and shopping like all the brats back home believed. He would train me 'till I couldn't move. Till my threshold was devolved just a bit more than it was that yesterday. Till I would cough up blood like a dead man walking."
Hinata shuddered. "Why?"
"You remember when I turned fourteen and I was gone for almost a year?"
Hinata nodded. "The church was quiet."
Naruto chuckled. "It must have been. That trip made Sister Hera's abuse feel like playtime. Not that they hurt, anyway."
"Playtime?" Hinata winced.
Naruto sighed. "I would train until I was bloody until I couldn't breathe and all my bones were broken. Uncle Jiraiya was training me to become a knight for the Empire, for King Uchiha or whatever. I got stronger and stronger and Uncle Jiraiya wanted to train me and he did. That was dog shit."
Oh... so that explains the whole scene with the multiple Narutos. And wow... the Capital.
"You freaked out?" he laughed at her mild shock.
She tilted her head. "You were amazing." she smiled... But now they're enemies of the crown, Adventurers and their country, doesn't that make Naruto a bit scared?
Then her brain got involved, and her amazement dimmed into mild sadness. "When was he going to come back for you?" she asked. "Jiraiya... I mean."
Naruto was nonchalant and uncaring through his tone. "In a couple of months. For when I could be inscribed to the army and be treated "properly" for once in my life..."
Hinata shrunk. "Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry... that was taken from you."
"I know we can't stay near to Lady Morgana's Orphanage but that's where he'd pick me up and I'd get to be in the Capital." he sighed. "Now Uncle Jiraiya won't have any idea of where I am." he loosened something in his ear and flicked it away.
Hinata's heart broke a little. Hinata ignored the burning in her eyes. So that's why Naruto wanted to stay? Huh? It made sense. He was always destined for greatness, too.
She awkwardly put a smile on her face, trying not to appear too happy or too sad. "I didn't know that..." she let out a ragged breath. "I didn't know."
Naruto's face fell. "Hi-chan, don't-"
Hinata forced the smile to be huge. She wanted it to take up her whole face. "That is a marvelous opportunity. Uhm, you could go- and I'll. I'll stay with Sister Ino since you know, you have a bright future ahead of you, you know?" Hinata said, awkwardly.
She promised so much to this man who would only leave for the Empire and that lux and life.
"Why the long face?" He scrunched up his expression. "What're you talkin' about, Hi-chan?"
Hinata looked at him in earnest. "I thought- you would... I mean you h-have..." Hinata looked away. "the army to fall back on."
"No! I wouldn't leave you guys. Sister Ino, either. I never abandon my comrades. Besides, good isn't even a word to describe the Empire..." Naruto's eyes bore deep into hers. "Never!"
"But- but I thought you wanted to be picked up by Uncle Jiraiya-"
"Hi-chan, I won't be a slave or criminal or knight for anyone. I want to be king. King." He grinned then rubbed his neck. "Jiraiya'll probably beat it outta me the next time we meet," Naruto laughed some more. "I want to be free and become king, that isn't too hard, right?"
Hinata shook her head. "It's not," she smiled a little.
The night was quiet and Naruto threw a log into the flames, renewing its blue and yellow and orange colour.
Oh. I thought fox would make you cry. I thought I was going to have to bite his face off, Nero chimed in her mind.
I don't think he'd ever do that. Intentionally. He gives me a lot of grief, Nero. He's almost like a child. Hinata stroked his fur.
I thought you were mates. To hear you speak so lowly of this fox does not reaffirm my assumption.
Hinata laughed. Mates? No. We are not married.
His heart speeds up every time he looks at you. My mate would have a heart attack upon seeing me.
You have a mate? Hinata asked in a small voice. Someone who would willingly pledge themselves to you? For you? Forever?
I know, it would be so startlingly easy. Nero shrugged.
Hinata laughed. Yes, that is what I meant.
Nero became serious. There was hope in his tone. Yeah. There's another half for everyone. No matter how bitter and strange and calloused, there is someone who would take it in stride, and sacrifice everything for you. His gruff tone became smooth and sly. Complacent. It's rare to find one, but Fox would be a good substitute.
Substitute? Flashes of Sister Ino's longing expression and sadness were all too fresh. I couldn't. Someone else wants that position and does everything you said. I cannot take that away from her.
Oh. I will take him from her and give him to you if you are too "innocent" to admit you want him.
Read my mind, Nero. No. She's in love with him. I am not! Hinata yelled in her mind.
You can't always be lonely! You need someone-
I didn't need anyone for my entire life. It's just me and that's fine-
"Hi-chan," Naruto called out with urgency in his tone.
Hinata looked up, still panting with anger from her argument with Nero. "Yes?"
He stared at her with this unreadable expression that she can't decipher. She sat up taller.
"Would you promise to stick through thick and thin?" Naruto asked.
Hinata saw the shadows in his eyes though he was such a bright person. She knew what he really was asking; "Hi-chan... we'll have to do more bad things and more killing to become king. Would you stay by my side, no matter what I do?"
He was nervous. This is the first time he shied away from looking at her. Hinata remembered saying that if no one else would protect Naruto, then she would. She guessed she had to keep that promise.
He even washed her sword... Got all of the blood off, too. Hinata looked at the sky. Now it was dotted with stars of hope. Oddly, only 9 stars were visibly twinkling. 9...
"Yeah. Through hell, I said. Through fifty whips. Through hell." Hinata whispered.
He let out a breath of relief. "Through hell..."
She will protect them. Somehow. Someway. He came over to her side with a relieved expression. He laid back, leaning on the log, near to her.
He stared at the sky. He reached up as if trying to touch the heavens and beyond. "I won't give up on that. I promise. The world better prepare for when I am king. Guilds better watch their back, too!" he barked his laughter.
Hinata deflated. "Do we really have to join a guild? Do you think anyone will take us?" Hinata asked loudly, wincing.
Naruto looked considerate. "No, we could just make our own! We can't follow good-for-nothing people around. They'll treat us like dirt." he looked at Hinata. "I'll be busy being King, you'll be Guild Master Supreme, then we'll have the world."
Hinata choked on her own tongue. "N-no! I don't want to be involved in that guild life. It's your dream. We don't even h-have a plan!" Hinata sputtered.
What is his easy-going nature?! They couldn't... just not have a plan. And she didn't want to take from his glory.
"You don't need a plan to become king. I think it'll be easier than living at Lady Morgana. We'll wing it," Naruto laughed. "Hi-chan, trust me, you're smart too."
"I don't have a brain, if that's what you're asking for."
"A brain," he chuckled as if she made a joke. He poked her forehead three times. "Then what's in there? Don't tell me that you're like me."
Hinata smacked away his finger. "No, in the Capital, we have to find a brain- a person who could make our plans AND wants to be Guild Master. Not me."
"But Hi-chan-"
"I refuse!"
"Hi-chan- you would be a good Guild Master. You even have a guard dog!" he looked at Nero. "He's small but he's got spirit, right?"
"We'll have to be in the Capital, as criminals, then we have to fight for a Guild! We only have three people, too," Hinata shook her head. "That isn't enough!"
"Oh. If that's the case, then we'll get more people."
"Yeah! We need another person who could teach us to fight, a messenger and another who has useful swords. And a doctor." Hinata looked at their wounds, the blood and the splinters they both had. "We need a doctor."
Naruto crunched his eyebrows together. "We need to find someone who bleeds gold, a brain, new feet, a sword, a teacher, a pill holder, and there's me and you. That's perfect. The perfect 8." he held up eight fingers.
"Naruto, you said 8, there are 9..." Hinata smiled softly.
Naruto scratched his head then Hinata waved it away.
"We also have a mascot, a king, a nun and I. Now we need a plan." she said.
I am not a mascot! Nero yelled in her mind, growling on her lap.
And I am not Naruto's mate, alright?
Of course you are! You will be.
Then, my love, you are a mascot until you deny it!
Nero shook his head and didn't back down, not even in her head. He was a festering presence of anger and stubbornness.
Meanwhile, Naruto was vehemently shaking his head. "Hi-chaaaan, we don't need that!"
She smacked the side of his head lightly. "Yes, we do!"
"It makes my head hurt, to think like that!" he crossed his arms.
Hinata laughed, covering her mouth, stifling the sound just so Sister Ino wouldn't wake. And her ribs whined whenever she laughed but he was kind of hopeless.
"Kings have brains under their crowns, Naruto-kun. Maybe you should get hurt every once in a while." she looked at him.
"You can't hurt what you can't have, Hi-chan." He smiled blissfully. "So, no plan. Or let's think about this later."
"Yeah! Yes, you absolutely do need a plan now!" Hinata shook her head. What is he thinking? "Naruto-kun, I can't follow a man who doesn't have a plan."
"You're an Uzumaki. Not planning and thinking is in our blood! But the plan is... Hmm. We'll go to the Capital. Join a guild, find a party and gallivant in the Dungeons."
That's too vague but I am impressed, Nero commented.
Hinata nodded. Me too.
"Then we'll become bad-ass. The best adventurers in the world!" he shouted triumphantly. He stood tall, and pulled Hinata up. Nero skittered away.
Hinata was worried for Sister Ino as she was still resting. "Naruto- be quiet!"
"No! We'll become the best in the world!" he picked her up and danced her around.
"The world?" Hinata laughed when he put her down. Then the questions rushed back. "How could we... do that?"
"We'll do it," he nodded with a sureness. "Then we'll make the best years of our life."
"That's not good enough." Her cheek and sternum burned, making talking hurt. That guy punched really hard. "When we're successful and strong and rich, what do you think life will be?" Hinata asked, panicking.
"Who you are loyal to and what you do for them." he laughed.
"That's a pretty good way to survive, Naruto-kun," she nodded to herself.
He looked up. "Test time with me. I never fight and I never run. I'll also make a world where you'll never have to fight... or kill."
"Naruto-" Hinata stopped herself. That's too much. She was confounded for a moment, frowning to herself. "I don't think that'll be possible. You can't keep with that belief..." Hinata shook her head.
"You must push forward, and fight more even when you're fighting against fate," Naruto said.
"What do you even do? Huh?" Hinata demanded. "I don't think we could change anything as we are right now! That's a death sentence. That's it, Naruto-kun, one wrong move against the Capital and we're dead! We can't wage war against human nature, against time itself and-"
"Hi-chan, don't worry! Once you question your beliefs," Naruto became fierce and dangerously serious, "that's the moment you die, Hi-chan."
Hinata's heart skipped a beat. "Naruto-kun... We're chasing after a damnable fate. Did you know that?!"
"Then we capture it, kill the bad one and fight for a new fate, you have to believe it!" he yelled. "You at least have to believe it."
"I just saw a man die! Sister Ino almost died because of me. We can't even protect ourselves from the Adventurers and the Capital! How are we supposed to protect ourselves from fate, too."
"I will become strong because I have you to protect. I will become King. I will! Believe it!" Naruto grinned and his yell was so deep and imposing, it rushed through her.
He looked so convinced. He was purely made of capricious confidence that no one could shake or change. Again. Why does she believe him... again? Hinata shook her head. She was mesmerized by his eyes. She was lost in his heavy and good gaze.
There was a flare of energy, that she felt. It coasted around her. It was powerful, overwhelming and good. It felt like someone was holding, embracing her soul with a huge rush of awe-inspiring goodness.
Ah. Why was she... so reassured? Her shoulders slumped with visual relief. She sat down with the force of the relief, him coming back down with her.
"Okay... Naruto-kun, I believe you." Hinata whispered. Nero hopped back onto her lap. She caressed him.
Naruto looked at her carefully. "You do?"
She smiled at him. "Just.. we'll do this and you'll survive this war on human nature. You gotta stick with me, through thick and thin. It's a promise you have to make, too. Even if it kills you."
His eyes softened and he sat back down. "Alright."
Then the silence came after the huffs.
Nero shifted on her lap. I have a feeling you and the other nine you want all will be involved in a era-changing catastrophe?
You didn't see it but Naruto... is kind of strong but... he is not Kami... I don't know what strengths he has, but he was trained to be in the army, that's something. And Sister Ino cleans and loves Naruto... And I... I have you. Now we're criminals, we share last names and blood, and this knucklehead is going to rule the world. What could go wrong? Hinata shrugged.
Bellenero, do you think you'll change the world with how you are?
Hinata smiled at Naruto's profile against the log, arms cradling the back of his head and him staring at the sky.
No. I think he will, Nero, and I would see to see where he goes. He will lead us to the sun. Eventually. Hinata looked at Nero.
Nero huffed. You both are sort of hopeless.
Hinata sighed. Yeah.
It was an awkward silence. She avoided staring at Naruto. All that was heard were the breezes, the crickets crying and the distant animals. The fire was flickering and she was relaxed.
She still felt like it being weird between them. Negative vibes from the both of them came in straight waves. Her hand wouldn't stop shaking, not even holding Nero helped a little. She didn't like his declaration, it was too dangerous... and she wasn't sure if they would survive. But she would be stuck with him for a while, so it's best not to fight or to lie...
"If we do die, do you think hell would take us?" Hinata asked lightly, breaking the silence.
"Nah, after what we'll do, conquering the country and forging a new era, probably not. To get respect, we'd probably not get into hell." he sighed.
Hinata deflated once more. Great.
Naruto nudged her arm and she looked at him. "Chin up, us Uzumaki never give up or run, shi, shi, shi. I think we'll stay bound here, and come back to Lady Morgana to haunt Sister Hera forever." he offered a smile.
"That's another good promise, Naruto-kun," she laughed. That wasn't half bad.
"But we won't die... I'm sure of it." Naruto laughed aloud then looked out at the sky and held up his clenched fist. "My beliefs will be possible. I'll make a world where kids, nobodies like us, never have to hate. Hell, I'll be their father and King too. I want the cycles of hate to end. When the cycle is over, you won't have to suffer. No one will suffer."
"You're not giving up on that." Hinata sighed.
He shook his head. "Never."
"I'll see it through." she said and held up her wrist and fist, like he was. "I will definitely see it through too."
Naruto grinned and she found it in herself to believe him. A little bit.
-End Chapter-
A/N- This one was long... All chapters will be. The pace will pick up. ANd Nero will be around for a long while... Why not?
