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A/N: Apologies for not updating right away! I've been eager to start new projects but it doesn't mean I'm going to abandon this storyline. GaaHina have so much potential. In fact, I'm actually developing, expanding, this AU with the spinoff "Puppet Show" but through Kankuro's perspective so expect the events here to tie up with some of there and so forth. Also, I've created an outline for the story until Chapter Ten and I'm already proofreading the next two chapters as we speak.
Most importantly, thank you Splaaash-attack, Busi, and sinedd662 for gracing me with your reviews! Taking time to write down your thoughts or reactions to my story, no matter how curt or vague, is no less than invigorating. :)
"...And when I lifted my eyes to your name, suddenly your heart showed me my way." - Pablo Neruda
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Chapter Four: Between the Sand, the Snake, and the Sky
"GAARA!" The jounin councilor was seething with fury. Still, the jinchuuriki was unfazed, his arms crossed on his seat and his gourd detached and rested beside him. Baki decided that he had berated the redhead too many times. None of these were ever to his favor. The boy would either shut him up with a frightening look or an outright formation of sand. Strangely, he seemed a bit more...restrained? He attributed it to his near-death exhaustion. "You...what were you doing out there in the middle of the night? Do you know the bounty on your head? Mercenary-nin would have kidnapped you! Worse, the Konoha ANBU would have seen that as an opportunity to assassinate you. Oy, are you even listening?" He paused, there was no change in expression.
The boy wasn't looking directly at him. "I made sure to drain as much of my chakra as possible. When I was finished, I couldn't move. There was not enough chakra to support even my legs. I was unconscious. However," he fixed a stare on the table, as if mulling over something else. "Kankuro said that the sand still protected me. The fall was high enough to kill me. But I'm still alive and unharmed." He finally eyed his mentor and father figure "I forced Shukaku to sleep...he said his sand will always protect me. Do you think the sand still carries his will? To protect me even if he's asleep?" It was now Baki's turn to cross his arms "Shukaku is powerful. The Ichibi may have embedded its chakra on the sand in your gourd to act separately on his behalf, even if it's asleep."
Gaara seemed unsatisfied "What happens to the bakemono when its jinchuuriki dies while it's still inside?" The jounin closed its eyes to think, before speaking "Most of the accounts were about the death of jinchuuriki during extraction, not before it. But I believe that if ever you are weakened enough to die, the Ichibi will be free." He continued "The strength of the seal in you depends on your vitality. The jinchuuriki before you reached old age and fell sick. He was too weak to keep holding the seal with his chakra and it's weakened. The old man would so much as sneeze and have partial transformations." As if reaching the crux of his confusion, Gaara asked "Why is the Ichibi protecting me then? Shouldn't it drive me mad...and careless enough to die so it'll be free?"
"The sand...it not only protects me. It...feels like it has a will of its own." The redhead told him. Temari opened the door to peek but Baki gestured her to wait outside."What makes you think that...your sand has a will of its own?" He asked. The other just looked at the gourd "It can sense my pain. It channels my hatred." He clutched his forehead with his hands "And...when...Shukaku tries to make me lose my mind I hear a voice...a woman's voice." To this, the jounin gulped. Gaara hadn't noticed him from his position "The voice just sings to me. When I open my eyes, the sand had built itself around me. It feels...it feels like I'm inside a-"
Womb, the boy had meant to say but he was interrupted by Baki letting Temari inside. Her sister cautiously occupied the adjoining seat. "I'm sorry to interrupt you but we're pressed for time. I have something important to tell the three of you. Where's Kankuro?" he asked the blonde. Temari shrugged "I don't know. He left the moment he was treated." The jounin scowled at her. She was compelled to reply "H-he's been bitching about being hungry though." The other sighed, went to the door and talked to a guard "Arikou! Find Kankuro and bring him here." The chuunin obliged and left using a body flicker technique.
Baki closed the door and walked towards them. He stopped and uttered "The council had been preparing this for a month, but I'm cutting it close by telling you just now because I don't want anyone to interfere. We will depart tomorrow at the break of dawn. Everything else in this conversation is non-negotiable." The fan-wielder crossed her legs and then her arms "Which is..?" she asked.
"Our alliance with Konoha...through Gaara's marriage." He quipped. Temari's mouth had been rendered agape and, from the corner of his eye, the jounin saw that Gaara was in shock too, though his expression was much more subdued. The only evidence of his reaction was the further paling of his skin, which was apparently still possible.
...
The Iwa-nin with the uneven sleeves walked into the mouth of the snake, Orochimaru's hideout, without so much as a flinch. Hardly anything startles her, neither the darkness nor the danger of her enemies. What else would, she had been around far stronger people all her life, such as her Tsuchikage jii-san. She seemed to relaxed, even adjusting the knot of her hitai-ate on her forehead while she ambled down the stairs. Before she reached the bottom of the stairs her body froze and suddenly several white snakes had encircled her limbs and restrained her. "Don't underestimate me!" she yelled and released herself from the genjutsu. "I'LL KILL YOU!" a Juugo gone wild screamed. His back thrusters spewed chakra as he practically flew across the cramped cave towards her.
The skirmish ended with several wrecks to the wall, collapsed entrance and a severely weakened Juugo whose entire body from the neck down was coated with heavy cement. Unscathed she walked on top of his head, then scaled down the mound he formed. As she reached the end of the corridor, she was met a bespectacled man "It's been a while, Kurotsuchi-dono." The dark-haired girl smirked "And you've always been hospitable to me, Kabuto-san." She spared a final glance at her unconscious opponent. "Where are those four bumbling idiots anyway?"
"That's the only guard we could spare. The four were sent to the Land of Fire to retrieve someone." Then a pained scream echoed through the walls from the heart of the cave. It was Orochimaru, cursing his molting and useless arms. Kabuto adjusted his glasses and smiled "Orochimaru-sama is currently indispensed. What can I do for you in his stead, Kurotsuchi-dono?" The Iwa-nin placed a hand on her hips "News of defeat travels fast, Kabuto-san. You know that. We're all informed of your horrible failure to conquer Konoha." He remained unfazed "Orochimaru-sama has not failed. He never really meant to conquer Konoha. He had his eyes set on someone there."
"The Hokage?" she offered. Kabuto almost laughed but he stopped himself "Someone who will undoubtedly surpass the old fart."
"So that's why he sent his guards away," she raised her eyebrows. "They're going to Konoha to retrieve that guy, right?" Kabuto scowled at his quick-witted guest. "Again, what do you want?" Kurotsuchi's black eyes gleamed as she smiled "Pretty much the same thing. My jii-jii the Tsuchikage got a whiff of the Konoha-Suna alliance forming and of course, we want to prevent it."
"And we'll assist to that by..?"
"Handling the prevention part of course! More like ambush and kidnapping actually."
It reeks of dishonor, he thought as he adjusted his glasses again. "I see, that's why you don't want any of your shinobi to be involved in this." She acknowledged that with a nod "We want you to send a party to intercept the caravan headed for Suna, kidnap the Konoha bride and bring her to a dropoff point where our ANBU will take over."
"Wait, what do you mean by Konoha bride?"
"According to our intel, Konoha and Suna had been deadset on forming an alliance through marriage. They're planning to publicize it in a few days."
"It would help to tell me the name of the target." He pressed.
Kurotsuchi shrugged "Beats me. They've been secretive about the couple but our political analyst suggests that in order to maintain power balance, it would have to be a powerful clan from Konoha and the jinchuuriki from Suna." Kabuto took a notepad and pen from his backpocket "That info is better than nothing," he was jotting down as he inquired "Do you have any intel on the escorting party?" The girl shrugged again "Not much, but expect them to be heavily guarded. That jinchuuriki is no light artillery either."
"I will not lie to you Kurotsuchi-dono, but what you're asking for me is...very difficult. I'm not sure how we will be compensated."
Howling, shrieking, coughing, all these sounds rapidly bounced against the walls of the den. Kabuto sharply turned, eager to nurse his master while the girl looked over his shoulder "If you ask me, me not killing your groaning master is compensation enough." The man scowled at her as she smirked at him "But then my jii-chan is more generous. He told me to tell you that he'll offer you money so you can bounce back from the cost of the invasion and a hundred prisoners, twenty of them with kekkei genkai." Kabuto's eyes slightly widened as he cracked his own mischievous smirk. This reaction did not get past her "Wow it's as if the word kekkei genkai summons your boner."
The echoes of pain had subsided. "I know you'll agree to this. You need all the help you can get." She glanced over his shoulder once more before meeting his gaze "Now tell me how you'll do it. What's gonna be the strategy?"
Kabuto turned around. His eyes were conceled by the shadows but his glasses glinted against the candlelight. "Follow me."
...
Peals of thunder announce the approach of rain and the sky was heavy with clouds. A palm barely grazed Hinata's stomach and yet the next thing she knew, she was flying halfway across the courtyard. "Again," the older Byakugan-wielded commanded before resuming his offensive stance. Hinata got up on her knees, struggling to pace her breath. Since their first session, Neji-nii-san had been relentess. This time, he asked for her to try to aim at the chakra point in his center without looking at it directly. "We do not have all day."
The moment Hinata was able to stand up Neji was already charging towards her, forcing her to cross her arms in front of her face and deflect his incoming blows. The swiftness and ferocity of his punches ensured that the girl's focus is on her upper body. The boy noticed her misstep and twined one of his legs just above her ankles, causing her to trip.
As she fell onto the ground she gasped and shut her eyes, scared of the fingers aimed at her throat. The thunder roared again. Since this was a sparring, Neji immediately got up, retreated and sighed "Again, Hinata-sama." Despite feeling the fatigue from the hours of assault, she propped her elbows and responded "Hai, Neji nii-san!"
Before she had fully managed to stand up, she asked "Nii-san, wh-why would you m-make me use the Byakugan but n-not use it t-to see my t-target?" The other changed his posture and rested "There is a saying within our clan 'we do not see with our eyes; we are the eyes of the heavens'. At first, I thought it was ridiculous. The function of the eyes is to see and we clearly use it to see, so why would this saying exist? " Hinata was puzzled. She had heard it before but she never figured it out. "However, I came to understand the true meaning of the saying," Her nii-san continued with a soft smile "It is not merely our eyes, but our entire being capable of sight. The shinobi will try to get their hands on our byakugan but they will never be able to master it, nor can they use it to its fullest extent like we do." Hinata placed her hand next to her lips while she gnawed. Then she asked again "Wh-what about 'the eyes of the heavens'? What d-does it m-mean?" To this, Neji had reserved a far more cryptic reply "There is more to sight than merely seeing, Hinata-sama. Think about this, how would the eyes of heavens see differently from those with eyes of the earth?"
Before Hinata could decipher what he said, the older boy had already sprinted towards her, commencing their exchange of open-handed blows once more. From afar, beneath the canopy of an old tree, another pale-eyed woman with hair as green as the leaves and a kind visage watched over them. She would offer a gentle smile with each instance Hinata would get a chance to glance her way. It was her manner of reassuring her master that she was doing well. Without warning, the Head of the Clan approached, dignified air hung over and caused her to face him and bow "Hiashi-sama," she regarded him before looking at him straight in the eyes, the difference of fire and ice despite the sameness of their hue. Hiashi broke their gaze to observe her daughter, now twice had stumbled but had gotten up quicker each time. The young girl's zeal came across as she did everything she could in order to stay upright this time.
"Natsu, do you think she's improving?" he asked her without looking. "Mm," the woman affirmed "She had improved her posture. Moreover, her reflexes are now fast enough to evade Neji-dono's attacks." Hiashi further scrutinized the training "Hinata's eyes are activated but she's not even focusing it to see her enemy's chakra pathways." His tone was frustrated but Natsu merely answered "Neji-dono had specifically requested Hinata-sama to do it."
The older man was surprised. He realized that Neji respected his daughter's strength so much that he had allowed her to expand the capabilities of their vision. He silently cursed himself for not understanding it immediately. "How long had they been training?" A wider grin appeared across the woman's lips "It's been almost a month, but their sparring had only begun within this week. Neji-dono would first build her stamina and strength by making her run across the village, lift weights and practice her movements on wooden dummies. Hinata-sama sought him out the moment he was discharged from the hospital."
Hiashi watched his daughter again. Had it been that long since he had last spared time to look at her? The month had been busy. He had been in charge of the Fifth Hokage induction ceremonies. He had gone to Kumogakure to renew the vile truce that had taken his dear twin brother's life. He had also visited Suna to help draft the prenuptual agreements between the two royal families and to ensure that her daughter would be treated with hospitality despite the longstanding grudges the citizens, including the older council members, have against the Konoha. He could have stayed and let the Hyuuga elder perform in his stead, but he was adamant that he oversee such affairs personally.
"Hiashi," Natsu called his attention. He wasn't surprised that she dropped the honorific. She would often do so when they were in private. "Hinata has changed. Can you see it?"
"Ah," he agreed "But she will always be delicate. She's too much like her mother."
The wind howled mightily and the sky darkened further, threatening rain. "You can believe that but that's not what you're seeing right now, are you?" She told him. She was right again. "There's fire in her eyes once more." She continued, quashing any form of denial that will erupt from the other's lips. Hiashi faintly groaned then uttered "She can't take back what she had lost. She cannot be the clan heirress anymore. She may show strength now and she might be stronger...but she will just have to be a strong kunoichi." Natsu scowled at him, offended for the girl. "Why are you so eager to turn your back on your daughter?"
"She has disappointed us enough." The clan leader had curtly responded.
"She was too young to know what you demanded of her!" Natsu exclaimed. This caught Hinata and Neji's attention which caused them to stop and bow in different depths as an acknowledgment of his presence. "Oto-san," the girl simply said but it was enough to startle Hiashi. His daughter was obviously withholding her panting breath but her back was straightened and her chin was up and her gaze was meeting his. There was no meekness or guilt in her tone, only eagerness.
For a fraction of a moment he had finally witnessed the one thing that he had been trying, too harshly, to coax out of her in years. It was not strength, as the clan elder would often say. It was determination. While physical and political strength would enable the clan to fluorish, it was determination that would nurture the strength expected from her, one that would nuorish her vision for the clan, one that would reap the esteem the Hyuuga should have for her. In times of adversity, determination would be the only crutch of her sanity. Now it was before him and he was welling with emotion. This did not escape his daughter, whose air of mightiness softened into that of concern, but none of the weakness he'd normally perceive from her "Chichue, is there something wrong? D-did I..?" Now aware of her stutter, she cleared her throat and met his eyes again "Was it something I did? Did I do something wrong?"
You've done everything right. It took all effort to stop himself from shedding a tear. Natsu was beside him, touching his arm as if to steady him. He shook his head and turned away. Hinata's mirth had dropped and her eyes were half-lidded from disappointment. She thought that her father will finally acknowledge her improvement. She had barely spared time for eating or sleeping, devoting them instead to relentless training. She remembered to straighten her posture and look him in the eye while speaking, to act confident but humble. She did not cut her hair anymore, choosing it to remain long. All nobility of Hyuuga kept their hair long and she was fervent at taking back her identity as one. But perhaps, it doesn't matter anymore. He did not seem to notice her transformation. Despite all of this he still turned his back like he always did after they sparred in her childhood, when he would sigh and had to stop because her body was too tired and beaten to get up once more. You think you've come far...but then you're still this bumbling stupid child he'll never be proud to have.
"Hinata-sama," Neji had already assumed fighting stance "Again please." Hinata was startled but she faced him "Hai! Neji-niisan." She had been too absorbed in her thoughts to notice that her father had left with Natsu, who accompanied him back to the mansion. Before she resumed stance she closed her eyes and reactivated her byakugan "Nii-san," she said and Neji halted his first advance. "What is it, Hinata-sama?"
The wind blew the leaves that gathered around them and the first droplets of rain had fallen. "I'm far from being strong as you but please, don't give up on me." The kunoichi was on the verge of tears. The other's face was softened by his faint smile "I would never-" His statement was cut by her own, stiffling the stammer brought on by her sobs "B-be by my su-side wh-wh-when...when I t-take back m-my right!" She furiously wiped her tears away. "I will be the head of this clan! And you will be with me. We...we will change the Hyuuga and help Naruto-kun become Hokage!" The downpour had soaked their clothes but none of them moved for shelter.
Hinata-sama...
A moment of silence, an anticipation of reply, was fractured by a slow yet willful nod then a promise "I will always be by your side."