One of my friends asked me why i put up the prologue and first chapter together. In case any more of you are curious it's because with a prologue like the one that kicks off this story i didn't think it fair to leave you hanging with a load of information and not a lot of fun.
Thanks again to all the readers and reviewers, those that added alerts and so on. I'm getting a better reception than i dreamed of in the Naruto category and i thank you all for it. Hugs to everybody!
Edited: 5th July 2015
Chapter Three: Revelations
"And just where the hell have you been?"
Naruto flinched; Tenten might be quiet in nature, but by gods was she loud when she shouted at him.
"On assignment." Asuma replied curtly, walking past her as the two entered the village.
"Sure took your sweet time in doing it." she muttered, then, louder, "And why the hell were you two paired up? Asuma aren't you normally paired off with Kakashi?"
"Where is Jiraiya?" Asuma removed a packet from his trouser pocket and lit up a cigarette. Not only did Tenten frown, but Naruto did as well; neither teen liked this habit of Asuma's.
Tenten shrugged. "Beats me how should I know? Try the Council House or the bar, or even the local hot spring." everyone knew that if Jiraiya was at the local hot spring it wouldn't be for relaxation. "Now what took you guys so long to complete the assignment?"
Tenten was a wolf like Asuma, and one of the 'Shifter Caste's best fighters. She might have been a young woman, but gods was she deadly when you pissed her off. She had been gifted by Mother Nature with long dark hair – though she rarely wore it in any style other than her customary twin buns – and smoky brown eyes. She had a figure, but she was usually too much of a tomboy to flaunt it. She was 19, almost 20.
Asuma was 26, tall and rugged. With a habit of smoking. Across his shoulder blades was a tattoo; an intricate design of lines around a central diamond-shape that vaguely resembled wings. His skin was a dark olive and he was very well muscled.
Naruto was a fox 'Shifter. He looked innocent. At first glance. Until you noticed the mischievous smirk. Upon each cheek were three long, thin whisker-like markings; a sign both of his animal and of the being housed within. He looked slim but that apparent weakness was betrayed by the iron-like muscles in his arms and legs. And of course, his left shoulder and upper arm were marked with a tattoo. Naruto was an orphan, 18, and was the second adopted son of Jiraiya, the wolves' leader.
"None of your business Tenten." Asuma growled in warning.
She, unfortunately, was ignoring him as she pointed to both their wrists. "Oh my god are those silver burns?"
"Tenten, go find Gai or Lee and pester them instead."
"I would but they keep trying to make me wear green spandex and proclaim the youthfulness of youth." she replied sweetly, still following them.
Naruto laughed and even Asuma had to smirk.
"So what took ya?" She was walking between them now as they strolled down the main street that stretched from gate to central Council House. There were several bars along this street that Jiraiya liked to frequent, so they could kill two birds with one stone, sort of.
"You'll find out when we find Jiraiya." Asuma told her. "If you're that curious you'll just have to be patient."
They found Jiraiya just as he was walking out of the Council House.
"Ah, Asuma, Naruto, good to see you safe and well. I was just heading to the Kiri Hot Springs and-"
"Cancel it." Asuma interrupted him. "We need to talk."
Jiraiya gave him a long look, then turned his gaze to Naruto. The blond was uncharacteristically silent and serious. Slowly he nodded and turned to go back in. The trio followed him all the way to the top floor, where Jiraiya's office was. The room overlooked the 'Shifter city with a view of the main gates from which Asuma and Naruto had just come.
"Alright," he began as Tenten walked in last and shut the door behind her, "I'll bite. What went wrong?"
Tenten had sat down near a window and was looking from the two to Jiraiya worriedly.
"We were captured." Asuma said, still standing and still looking straight at Jiraiya. "By two Vampires, in the forest near the wall."
Jiraiya nodded. "And yet you stand before me almost unharmed." he voice showed that he was waiting for the real problem to be explained. "How did you escape the Midnight City?"
"With help." Asuma said, his face totally serious.
Which was just as well, for the reactions of Tenten and Jiraiya were both shock followed almost immediately by incredulity.
"You can't be serious?" Tenten exploded from her perch on the sill. "They're all Vamps in that place! How could another 'Shifter get in and -"
"It wasn't a 'Shifter." Naruto spoke, for the first time since seeing Jiraiya. The expression in his eyes and on his face made Tenten quiet immediately.
"But if it wasn't a 'Shifter, then . . ."
Asuma nodded wearily. "A Vampire." he looked like he was still coming to terms with this himself. "A female. And that's not everything. She's a Hyuuga, born and raised."
Jiraiya looked between them, the movements suddenly wary. "How old?"
Asuma made a sound between a laugh and a snort. "You expect me to accurately gauge a Vamp's age?" he sighed. "She can't have been that old, while she had that way of moving that comes with age she just didn't give off that vibe. Couldn't have been older than Naruto."
Jiraiya parked himself behind his desk and watched them both. "You two got a name for me to work with here?"
Asuma looked at Naruto, who looked back before facing his adoptive father. "Hinata Hyuuga. She said her name was Hinata."
Jiraiya went as white as his hair. "Say what?!"
Asuma nodded grimly, Naruto looked at his feet.
From her perch on the sill Tenten spoke up hesitantly. "Who is she?"
"A Born Vampire." Jiraiya explained, sounding older than he was as he ran a hand over his face wearily. "She's the eldest daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga and the next in line, or so it would be apparent, to the clan leadership."
Tenten looked somewhere between impressed and confused, not to mention scared. "But then, why would she . . ."
"We don't know." Asuma said bluntly. "She just did."
"Actually she told us that too." when everyone turned to look at him Naruto raised his eyes from the floor to meet them. "Well, she told me at any rate. You were sleeping." he said to Asuma. "She claimed to understand how it is to feel trapped and said that she wanted to rebel against her father."
The white-haired toad sage raised an eyebrow. "Did she now? And did she happen to mention why?"
Naruto squirmed uncomfortably. She had said a lot of things, and he didn't feel exactly comfortable with telling the others what she had told him in confidence. Though try as he might he had no clue why that should be.
Finally, after much squirming and hesitation, he admitted, in a quiet voice, "She's not happy there."
Tenten looked nonplussed by this confession, and Asuma also looked confused.
Jiraiya, however, looked at his adopted son and saw a whole different story. "Tenten, Asuma, you may leave. I want to speak to Naruto in private."
They did so, albeit reluctantly.
When it was just Jiraiya and Naruto, and they were sure the other two weren't listening in, Jiraiya sighed. "What's up kid?" he asked as he sat on the corner of his desk.
"I don't know." Naruto admitted. "I'm confused as hell."
"You said she's not happy there . . . what does that mean?"
He watched the blond trying to figure that out himself so as to adequately explain it.
Haltingly, with many pauses, Naruto repeated what Hinata had told him to one of the few men he totally trusted.
By the time the blond fox had finished Jiraiya was surprised and silent for a long time. "So Hinata is not really considered a candidate for the leadership of her clan?"
Naruto shrugged. "It's the impression I got. She wants out of that place." he hesitated. "One more thing, at least one other Vamp knows about Kyuu."
Kyuu was Naruto and Jiraiya's nickname for Kyuubi, an odd sort of spirit that had taken a liking to Naruto at a very young age and shared space in his body in exchange for one or two little benefits to Naruto. Rent, the blond called it.
"How?" silently Jiraiya added who to the question.
"Not sure. She seemed able to take over minds or something." he described the ordeal he and Asuma had gone through. "It felt like I'd been shunted aside while she went through my memories. She only left when Kyuu got angry at her and shoved her out again. With Asuma she left of her own will."
"A Yamanaka without a doubt." Jiraiya said thoughtfully. "Your description seems to indicate the main Yamanaka clan and I think I might be able to work out who she is. She's strong I'll give her that. What she did to Asuma is no easy task."
He cast Naruto a sharp glance. "Why did the Hyuuga girl say so much to you?"
"I don't know." Naruto said simply, but he sounded miserable. Jiraiya said nothing and waited for him to say what was on his mind. He did, eventually. "I don't want to just leave her there. She helped us, can't we help her?"
Jiraia scratched his head for a minute before replying. "Our culture dictates that we owe her, a life for a life, in this case two favours are owed." he sighed. "But she's a Vampire, not 'Shifter. It's tricky, and I doubt there are other 'Shifters who would agree to kidnap her, which is exactly what we would be doing regardless, let alone allow her to stay here."
"Can't we do something though?" Naruto was almost pleading. "I don't want to just leave her there after everything she did for us. She could be killed because of us. Because of me."
Jiraiya gave him a long look. He knew what that statement meant, even if Naruto didn't understand it yet himself. "I'll call a favour with a Created that still has loyalties to the 'Shifter Caste." he said finally. "No promises, but I'll see if I can't contact her. Don't ask me why but I'm intrigued, I'll admit that much."
The grin that made its appearance on Naruto's face would make anybody think he'd just been given the best news of his young life. "Thank you, Pervy sage."
"And no calling me that for at least a week!" Jiraiya shouted after him as the kid tore out of there like a whirlwind. Shaking his head in despair and amusement, Jiraiya opened a folder on the shelf behind him and flicked through it.
"Ren!" when said girl looked around his door he continued. "I want a message sent to one Keitaro Kaioh, a Created in connection to the Hyuuga clan. Tell him I'm calling in a favour and he's to meet me in a day's time at this spot," he pointed to the map on the wall, "and that if he's not there then I'll whip his sorry ass!"
"Right away sir."
o.O.o
Keitaro Kaioh walked back through the gates into the Midnight City still a little bewildered from his meeting with an old friend. Why he had been asked to act as a go-between for Jiraiya he'd never understand, or so he'd stated before finding out who the recipient of this first message actually was. He ran a hand over his face in agitation. This would not be easy.
Debating whether to get there quickly and so get this harrowing experience over with or to dawdle and delay the inevitable that little bit longer, he settled instead for a mid-point between the two. By the time he reached the entrance to the Hyuuga Compound sweat was beading on his forehead, and he wiped it away irritably.
Nodding to the guards on either side he proceeded through and steeled himself for the ordeal ahead. Just because it was the middle of the night didn't make this task any easier.
His target was in her room, and he gained admittance on the pretext of carrying a message from a friend. A message he did indeed have for her; whether she'd see it as from a friend or not he had no idea.
"Lady Hinata?" it came out as a strange, raspy squeak and he cleared his throat. "Lady Hinata."
"Yes?" she was on the balcony and her delicate, pale hand swept the sheer curtain aside as she looked at him expectantly.
"I bring news of a friend to you." he explained, bowing low as was right. He had no way of knowing whether somebody was eavesdropping and so he would have to be as discreet as possible; it would be suspicious if he were heard asking her to check.
"Which friend?" she asked. "Ino?"
Keitaro shook his head. "A different friend, Lady Hinata. One you helped a few days ago." he hoped that wasn't too obvious; she was already in trouble with her father and under suspicion for the escape he spoke of. That she was in fact guilty of it was beside the point.
She obviously understood for her eyes widened a fraction. "Come stand with me, and tell me how Naru is doing in her new home."
Keitaro obliged. She scanned the surroundings with her eyes, looking for others. Finally she seemed satisfied and turned to him. "I trust the news is good?"
"Yes," he explained, "My source told me that they returned no worse than when they had left you."
"Your source?" she raised an eyebrow. "Are you a spy, Kaioh-san?"
He flushed slightly. "Not exactly, my Lady. Before I became what I am I was a wolf, and so I have some measure of loyalty still to my old Caste." he hesitated. "I bring messages to you from an old friend of mine."
"Continue, please." she was intrigued; that among the Created there were loyalties other than those to the Vampire Caste she had never realised nor dreamed. She had merely taken them for granted. An error she now realised was a fatal mistake that could have dire consequences.
Keitaro nodded and shifted from foot to foot for a moment before he spoke again. "Naru and Asu send their thanks, a hello and hope you are well and safe. Naru especially. Rai asks that you clear something up for him as he doesn't quite understand."
"And what is that?"
Keitaro paused, uncertain. "Why are you unhappy?"
Hinata didn't speak for several minutes. The question had surprised her, and she realised now that she had said too much when Naruto was caged here and that perhaps she had made a grave mistake in doing so. She gave a slightly cryptic answer, partly because of the prospect of being overheard but also because she felt slightly hurt that the fox had betrayed her confidences. "Doesn't every creature wish for freedom from oppression?"
Keitaro gave her a look. "Is that your answer?"
"It is." she paused and then added, somewhat testily. "I have no desire to be used against my family or my Caste."
"Of course not." Keitaro spluttered as quietly as he could. "Rai was merely asking. He thinks you are . . . intriguing."
She raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"
"You helped them."
Hinata thought that over for a moment. "Is that all?"
He looked incredulous. "Isn't that enough?"
She shrugged so he tried a different track instead. "Why do you feel oppressed?"
The young woman gave a humourless laugh that he didn't think quite fit her. "What am I." it was said as a statement, not query. It told him a lot about her feelings.
"And you wish for freedom?"
"Among other things, yes." she sighed and he saw her sadness then. "But I could never do that to my family and friends. It would hurt them terribly."
"Do they feel the same?"
She looked at him. "I don't know."
Keitaro nodded. "I shall pass on your reply, Lady Hinata. I am to be your go-between." he murmured in her ear as he left. She watched him leave with an odd sense of excitement.
She didn't feel so restless any more.
She felt she were finally moving.
And now the world would wait instead.
o.O.o
Shikamaru looked up as Tsunade walked into the room.
He and Sakura had started with her own collection of tomes and books, and there were quite a few. Thus an entire two days had been spent in the kitchen of the house she lived in with Tsunade and Shizune, with Sakura going over the ones in the old Witch tongue.
"Is everything ok, Tsunade?" Sakura asked as she looked over the topmost edge of a very large, dusty, brown leather-bound volume. She was wearing glasses. This had raised an eyebrow from Shikamaru, so she had explained that when she was little she had needed them, but the habit had stuck despite her growing out of them.
"I'm not sure." she poured a clear liquid into a very small cup and downed it in one. "One of the other Castes is taking action."
"Of war?" Sakura sounded shocked, which Shikamaru could understand easily; the last outright Caste War had been over a century ago and had resulted in hundreds if not thousands of deaths. The Human Caste had suffered more losses than any that time.
Tsunade frowned as she poured more from the bottle. "I'm not sure." she admitted slowly. "A Created is believed to have met up with a 'Shifter."
Shikamaru's eyebrows nearly met his hairline. "Say that again?"
"I know, it is a little strange." Tsunade conceded; she had grown used to the new addition to her household in the short time he'd been in the city. "We know that the Created tend to retain loyalty to whichever Caste they come from; it's one way we've managed to gain so much information about the marked in the Vampire Caste. We think this one was once 'Shifter, probably a wolf too." She frowned. "I'm not sure if it bodes well or not."
Shikamaru looked at Sakura, Sakura looked at Shikamaru. Neither knew what to make of it either.
o.O.o
"Master Jiraiya, a message for you."
The white-haired man looked up from his paperwork and blinked. "A message?"
"Yes sir," Ren nodded, "from Kaioh-san. It was sent by hawk. A normal hawk." she added hastily. She meant a non-Shifter.
"From . . ." the full weight of her words hit him and he scrambled from behind the desk. "Thanks, you can go now." He smiled as he took the envelope.
Once he was alone he went back to his desk and sat on the corner.
The message was simple; only a few lines, and he suspected that some were direct and indirect quotes.
Salutations, Lavender blue.
Doesn't every creature wish for freedom from oppression?
Especially a bird in a gilded cage.
Perhaps many birds in a cage can escape together?
A puzzle to be sure.
"Well I'll be." he muttered to himself. "The old sod did it." He strode over to his office door and threw it open. "Ren I want Naruto and Asuma sent here immediately. No ifs, buts or maybes just do it." he closed it again as she opened her mouth to question.
"Lavender blue? Ah, I get it, must mean she's well and safe. And she says hello." he mumbled, figuring out the code. Kaioh had never been one to use fancy codes and so this was relatively easy to unravel. The next two lines were easy, so obvious it was almost painful. "Perhaps many . . . he must mean there could be others like her. It's a possibility. And they could get out together, yes, that would make things simple."
Jiraiya frowned at the last line; A puzzle to be sure . . . "Maybe . . ." he was interrupted by the door flying open with a shout of "Hey Pervy Sage!"
"I thought I told you to stop shouting that." he half-snapped.
Naruto shrugged. "Sorry."
Jiraiya ground out a frustrated sigh and thrust the paper under the blond's nose. "Read that."
The almost-order was obeyed.
"What is it?" asked Asuma curiously, looking over Naruto's shoulder.
"A message from a contact." Jiraiya said eventually. "I asked him to get in touch with this Vampire that helped you. He agreed and this is the result."
"Reads like gibberish."
"He used a simple code. These kinds of messages have never been his strong point. Kinda looks like a poem to me." Jiraiya added with a snort. "I think that was the effect he was going for, a nonsense rhyme. Though it hardly rhymes."
"She's Lavender, isn't she."
Jiraiya looked at Naruto for a long minute. "What makes you say that kid?"
"Her eyes, they're a pale sort of lavender colour." Naruto's face was perfectly serious.
The other two men studied him, one calmly and the other with a degree of shock.
"Yes," Jiraiya explained at last. "Lavender is the code he used for the girl. Lavender blue means she is safe and well. The greeting is from them both. The next two lines are so obvious I'm not even going to bother telling you." He waited until Asuma had scanned those lines and raised an eyebrow before continuing. "The second to last means that there may be more than just she who feel that way, and if they can find them we'd be better off bringing them all out together. The last line means he's going to investigate further."
Naruto didn't bother hiding his joy at the message. "So what's the plan, Pervy Sage?"
A vein in Jiraiya's head began to tick but he didn't comment. "Nothing, for the moment. I'll send a response back to the contact and he'll probably keep an eye on her as well as investigate."
This slightly deflated Naruto's mood, but only a very little.
"So you're definitely going to be breaking her, and possibly a handful of others, out of that city?" Asuma's tone didn't commit him to anything.
Jiraiya nodded.
o.O.o
"Hinata!"
The young woman looked over at her friend's shout. Ino was waving at her from outside one of the gates to the parkland.
"You're feeling better?" Hinata said when she walked over.
The blonde nodded. "Yeah, it was a bit of a shock to the system. The Clan medic had to get rid of rogue chakra." she referred to the energy it took to use abilities. "It's a shame that those two escaped." she added as an after-thought. "Dad was looking forward to experimenting on the fox."
Hinata shuddered.
"You ok?" the blonde sounded concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine." Hinata smiled at her. Ino didn't look entirely convinced, but she let it drop.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, admiring the scenery in the parkland. Spring was in its first flush, and the trees were still patchy with greenery. Overall it was a content, refreshing image.
"Ino," Hinata began slowly.
The blonde looked at her. "Yes?"
"What are your plans for the future?"
There was another few minutes of silence as the young blonde thought it over. "I'm not sure." she admitted at length. "Deidera is taking over when father retires, we all decided that he would be the successor, and I didn't want to be the head of the Clan." she sighed and stopped walking, looking up at the sky. "I suppose . . ." she bit her lip, eyes dulling slightly before they suddenly brightened and looked at Hinata. "What about you? All set to become the Lady of the Hyuuga Clan?" she winked.
Hinata smiled sadly. "No."
Ino blinked. "Come again?"
"I'm not the next in line for the clan-head-ship. My sister, Hanabi, is."
Ino stared at her. "Hinata, I'm . . . I'm sorry I . . ."
"I-it doesn't matter." Hinata told her. "I didn't want you to know, or worry. I'm sorry for not telling you sooner."
"How long have you known?"
"A-a few years now."
They lapsed back into silence again, each considering both their own and the other's prospects. Finally one of them broke the peace.
"Come with me, Hinata."
Lavender met sky blue. "What do you mean?"
"We've got it sorted. Deidera and I already made plans for me to get away from here, to travel, so that I wouldn't get married off to some noble as a trophy, but my father has already begun lining up suitors. I'll bet yours has too." Hinata's silence was her confirmation and Ino nodded. "Come with me. We'll leave sooner."
Hinata was shocked to say the least. "B-but my family, Neji will have to come after me, father will order it, a-and what about Hanabi?"
"She can look after herself. Besides, it'd do your cousin some good to get out of the city. Who knows, maybe we can persuade him to come along for the ride. After all we know he's not exactly happy." she winked. "Come on Hina, I'd feel a lot better if you were with me. And I don't like the idea of you becoming some uptight noble's bride and trophy."
Hinata sighed. "I worried I might be alone in my feelings."
Ino grinned. "Well, you're not. So how about it? Just us two, freedom within our grasp, the wide open road." she swung her arms out and twirled. "It'll be fun. And neither of us is exactly incapable of looking after ourselves. And who knows, maybe this will prove to your father that you're not the weak girl the clan believes you to be."
Ino's words struck deep. It was true. The Hyuuga Clan considered Hinata a weak link in the chain.
A blossom drifted across her vision and both girls turned to watch it descend to the earth. Hinata decided that it was symbolic somehow.
Out of sight, up in a tree nearby, Keitaro smiled. He had managed to get assigned as Lady Hinata's bodyguard that day and had opted to remain hidden. Just as well; he severely doubted that this conversation would have occurred if either girl had known of his presence.
He already had some information to return to his old friend with, and this simply made it that tiny bit easier. Where there was one dissenter, there were bound to be more. When these two fled the confines of their cage, others would undoubtedly follow.
He had also noticed the Marks both girls bore, and his eyebrows raised with interest.
The story had just gotten more interesting.
