Twisted Yet Still Pure

So happy right now! I love you guys, thanks for being so cool with my story.

Alright, there was a little typo error in the last chapter where Hinata saw the blood of the mongoose as crimson. The Byakugan see's only in black and white, and Hinata's no exception. I've changed it now, but if any of you think she can colour, your wrong sorry xx

Anyway, my beloved muse visited me on Monday, so I thought every night about this chapter (which is irritating if you want sleep!) xx

Enjoy : )

Chapter 6

Previously…

Scared out of her mind, Hinata tried to remember what happened. Her memory gave her small fragments of what had happened. There had been lots of pain… And blood… And squeaking… Very familiar to what she was hearing now. Something nudged her side, and that seemed to jolt her mind into action.

Everything came rushing back, the forest, the tiger, the healing. She remembered fainting whilst being dragged through something cold… Snow.

Hinata gasped as she realized where she was.

She was underground!

xXx

Hinata's eyes darted frantically around what she suspected was a burrow, trying to see if there was a light she could follow to get out. She would have used her Byakugan, but she didn't want to alert the creatures to her consciousness.

Her breathing was loud and her body started to quiver from fear. She wasn't cold or wet anymore; the body warmth the massive 'things' gave off had dried her out thoroughly. Yet, Hinata felt icy, like the snow outside was rushing through her veins. Her heartbeat was like a hummingbird, thrumming so fast in her chest it sounded to her like a constant buzz. A drop of cold sweat ran down her neck, and she shuddered involuntarily.

Suddenly, her world came to a standstill.

"Y-you think s-s-she's o-k-kay?" a shy, nervous voice whispered.

Hinata took a massive breath. Someone was down here with her!

"Nervy, why did ya speak? Yer fuzzy baka, the little lass is awake now!" a deep voice hissed back. It was a peculiar voice, one that reminded her of a farmer for some reason.

There was a lot of shuffling and then sighing.

"Lassie, we know yer awake. Don't be frightened of us mind." The farmer-like voice murmured gently.

Slowly, Hinata sat up and weighed her options. That voice sounded older than she was, so she would have little chance of running away without being captured. But… The voice had told her to not be afraid, and it sounded nice enough. Hinata screwed her eyes shut and tried to sense who was with her, and what they were like.

It was odd, Hinata detected around 8 or 9 'things' there with her. 'Things' because they didn't have the normal human aura. All of them had a slightly wild feeling about them, some more than others. But, they weren't evil, she got that much.

Then, it hit her. The farmer voice had said fuzzy. Hinata's brain whirred, and she started to grasp how she got down here and who was with her. Or, more accurately, what.

"Ohh… Look at 'er shaking. If Hen 'wa up and about, this lassie wouldn't be breathing from the coddling she'd be gettin'." The rough voice giggled.

Other high pitch giggles rang throughout the cave.

"So lassie" the homely voice echoed. "We owe ya thanks for savin' our hides. Sorry if we frighten ya, not many people have summoning contracts nowadays." Another high pitch giggle. "The looks on folks faces when they first speak to an animal!"

Hinata just sat there in the darkness, completely and utterly shocked. A mongoose was talking to her like it was completely normal! She managed to move her fingers and pinch herself. The pain was real, and so was the heat, and the fur. That also meant the talking mongoose was real too.

I-I'm not dr-dreaming…

"We are in debt to you child." A smooth, slick voice commented.

"Slick, I didn't know you were up and about! You alright now?" the voice that had been talking to her asked cheerfully.

"Yes Joe-sama." Slick responded.

"Ahh Slick mate, you know I don' believe in fancy titles and all that. Too much fuss." The mongoose now known as Joe scolded lightly. "That goes for you too little 'un. Call me Joe."

"Joe-s… Joe, she can't see us right now." Slick reminded patiently.

"Wha- ah yeah, I 'member now. Turn on those eyes 'o yours little 'un."

Hinata obeyed (mostly because she couldn't really think properly right now and following an order was easier than thinking for herself) and everything became clear.

She was in a gigantic burrow, so big it seemed more like an underground cave. There were nine giant mongooses with her. The extra two were newborn pups that Hinata guessed the two mongeese in the snow had given birth to.

Each pup was about her own size in width and length. Both of them had a thin coat of fur, to her their furs were both black but one had a white streak running along their back. Their eyes were screwed shut and they snored a little, curling up closer to their big mothers (she assumed they were) for warmth.

There were three awake mongeese, all staring at her with intelligent beady eyes. One was bigger than the rest, and it seemed to be grinning at her cheekily. There was one with a welcoming but assessing expression, and, well, its fur looked greasy. There was one more, and they were pressed into the wall as if terrified. Hinata's stomach dropped at the frightened creature; it reminded her of herself. The rest of the adult mongeese seemed to be in a deep slumber, including the one she was resting on.

"Hi there little 'un. I'm Joe. Don' add titles." The biggest mongoose greeted.

"I am Slick. Pleased to meet you." The greasy looking mongoose said. His words were well pronounced and he spoke with the utmost precision. He was clearly the brains of the group.

The trembling mongoose pressed into the wall said nothing, but one of its paws twitched, and Hinata took that as a hello.

As intimidated as she was by the large, clever creatures, she had to be polite. It was her way.

"H-he-hello ev-every-one. M-my n-name i-is Hi-Hinata." She managed to stutter out. She saw the terrified mongoose relax just a little, and the creature turned towards her properly.

"Hinata 'ey? Well, lookin' at those eyes 'o yours, you're a Hyuga. Gran'ed, I ain't seen those eyes for a long while." Hinata's fear lessened a little, and excitement replaced it. He-he knows?

"S-s-sir… P-please t-tell me ab-about my eyes." She didn't bother to inform the leader mongoose about her standing (or lack of) in the Clan.

Joe scratched his whiskered chin thoughtfully. "Well, lass, I don' know much really. I jus' know that's a fancy, upgraded Byakugan. If ya really want answers, you'll have to ask the Elder Kats."

"Joe, she can't just go and ask our leaders. She's doesn't have an alliance with us." Slick contradicted, his furred face wrinkling just a little.

"Hold yer 'orses, I wa' getting to tha' bit!" Joe argued back.

"You don't mean…? She's going to be our new summoner. No offense their child." The greasy mongoose apologised smoothly. Hinata was too busy trying to get her head round the fact that they were offering her something she had no clue about.

"S-S-Slick-sama, wh-what do y-you mean by s-summoning?" Hinata shyly stuttered.

"Slick-san's alright child. Anyway, summoning... Well, a human signs a certain scroll in their own blood. That person is now allied with the creature of that scroll. In battle, or wherever else the person see's fit, the person only needs to offer a little blood and chakra up and an animal of their signed scroll will aid them. The amount of chakra used will determine the outcome of the strength and size of the creature." Slick explained slowly.

"Got it in one Slick. Yupp little un', I want you to be our new summoner. Mongoose and Meerkat summoners are extinct nowadays. You'll be the firs' one in about… Well, since the Firs' Shinobi World War."

"Th-that w-was a-ages a-ago. " Hinata gasped shakily.

"Yupp. The Firs' Shinobi World War wa' behin' our summoners extinction." Hinata sat forward, always ready to receive new knowledge. Joe saw this and giggled. "Eager to learn are we? Tha' is always good." Joe shuffled a bit and coughed deeply. "Alrigh', so in the time of the Firs' World War, Meerkats 'n Mongoose were widely used 'cuz we can dig and infiltrate the most complex hideouts, an' we were pretty nifty fighters too. We were used by the Lan' 'o Wind folk. That wa' our homeland." There was a dreamy look in the leader mongooses' eye, but then he snapped to attention. "But, Mongoose 'n Meerkat users were feared, so they were hunted down, alon' with our kind. The Lan' o' Wind folk are a paranoid bunch, they even hunted down their own shinobi 'cuz they thought they were disloyal. War does tha' to people I'm afraid." Joe ran a paw over his head, whilst Hinata listened on carefully. "Our Contract Scroll was bein' searched for too, whether it wa' to destroy it or keep it for ones own uses, I don' know. So, to protect the rest of our kind an' the Scroll, we moved awa' from the Wind land and spread out. Our Scroll is kept wi' the Big Kats for protection, but any Meerkat or Mongoose can summon it in the event someone decen' comes along. That's you lass." Hinata blushed deeply, but said nothing. "Anyway, our kind kept real quiet for a long while, an' folk started to believe our kind were just dumb animals. Some of our own kind forgot who they were too." A saddened look brought down the usually cheerful animals features. "So, as time wen' on, our kind became less and less hunted, until one day, people jus' stopped. We came here 'cuz we were brought here by Konoha folk. They thought we would be perfec' beasts for testin' young shinobi. We ain't really like tha', so we stayed out the way of 'em. As for this fores', it ain't too bad, we got plenty to eat 'n a nice burrow, but life is… Borin'. Well, unless you coun' tha' massive beastly tiger, that ain' been round 'ere before. Must be a new challenge. It wasn' like a normal tiger, they usually leave us be in 'ere. Must 'ave been bred for the job."

Th-that's… wrong… I-I won-wonder who c-came up wi-with that idea… Hinata thought, slightly angrily.

"We are in debt to you lass, we know you aren' part 'o this fores'. You wen' out your way to save us. We owe ya this much." Joe got up off the floor and stood on his massive hind legs. He then brought up his paws and began forming handsigns with them (Boar, Bird, Monkey, Dog and Ram), using his sharp claws as fingers. After he slammed his paws down onto the cave floor (awakening the rest of the pack quite startlingly) a big scroll appeared after a poof of white smoke.

"Hinata, I am asking you now, would you like to be allied with us 'n our kind? You don' have to, but I can at leas' tell your trainin' to be a ninja."

All went silent in the cave, the animals that had just woken up seemed to already know what was going on, and remained quiet so the blue head could think.

E-everything is… ch-changing… So q-quickly… I-I d-don't kn-know whether I-I am st-strong enough t-to ma-make them p-proud of m-me a-as their su-summoner… B-But… This is a once in a lifetime opportunity… I must try! With her resolve came confidence, and with confidence came a smile.

"Yes." That one little word rang throughout out the cave, and all at once, the animals cheered and hooted.

When Joe raised a huge paw and the noise ceased but the excitement was still thick in the air, so thick it seemed to brush Hinata's skin with tingly electricity.

"Step forth lass, and bite yer thumb." Joe commanded gently. Hinata obeyed, a nibbled the flat side of her thumb until she could taste the coppery liquid of her blood. "Sigh yer name, an' then bloody up yer fingertips an' put a hand mark there. ID, y'know."

She did so, and closed her eyes.

I, Hinata Hiuga, promise to be loyal to the Meerkats and Mongeese. I will protect them, and they will protect me. We are not allies, we shall be friends! Hinata vowed in her head.

There was no sudden rush of power, no sudden feeling of strength, but it didn't matter. Hinata felt as if she could run up a mountain, the sheer thrill in the air gave her power in itself. It seemed to be infectious too, because as soon as Hinata's bloodied hand pressed against the paper and sealed the deal (no pun intended) the Mongeese started purring, giggling, screaming and jumping. Only the penetrating wails of the baby mongeese brought them down from their high.

"Oh, the poor dearies! We woke them!" one mongoose cooed, immediately rushing over to the crying pups. "Everyone, quiet now!" there was already silence, but the threat was clear. Don't make a sound.

Hinata was fine with not speaking, she had done it most of her life. But it was hard not to speak for once, she wanted so very badly to thank everyone (she didn't think they were things anymore, she acknowledged them as people, intelligent sentient beings, smart as any human on earth) for accepting her so quickly. But alas, she didn't want to anger her new friends and comrades.

"That's me wife, Hen. She'll coddle you within an inch of your life when you get near her. She has a soft spot for kiddies." Joe whispered. Hen turned to glare, but then saw her mate speaking to Hinata, and her expression softened.

When the baby mongeese were quiet, Hen came rushing over. Hinata was immediately crushed into a strong, furry hug.

"Well, by fur, look at this pup! She's so cute!" Hen squealed, still glomping the poor, frightened blue head.

"Hen luv, you're killin' our new summoner." Joe giggled, and Hen looked down to see Hinata starting to go blue from lack of oxygen.

"By fur, she's a small thing ain't she?" Hen finally let Hinata loose of the killer hug. Hinata breathed in deep gulps of air, trying to get her breath back. K-Kami-s-sama s-she is-is st-strong!

"Hello there pup! Call me Hen or mama, it don't matter to me." Hen chuckled, whilst Hinata… Felt like crying.

Mama… Was a word she didn't like anymore. It was too painful to think about her mother; the loss she felt when she reminisced about the woman who had shown her any love cut so deep, deeper than any physical wound she had ever received. Scars of kidnap and poison stretched in her mind painfully, and Hinata whimpered a little. But, this was a happy day for her; she shouldn't be feeling these things. She should accept the death of her mother and move on. But it was hard; harder than anyone made it out to be. Half a year had passed, and Hinata's mind wouldn't let her forget the events of that night.

A pair of gentle, warm limbs embraced her, and Hinata held onto that furry comfort tight.

"Hush love… I'm sorry if that hurt you… I- I didn't know." The soft voice of Hen murmured.

Hinata had never had comfort before, not since the Hokage had hugged her that one time in his office. Sure, she had had hugs from Ino, but that wasn't for comfort. It was a sign of their friendship, and an achievement for Hinata as she let Ino close to her without becoming uncomfortable.

But, this comfort was longer, more secure. The girl imprinted the hug into her mind, she never wanted to forget the sweet, reassuring feeling the simple touch gave her.

Eventually, Hinata stopped thinking thoughts of deaths and grief, and just let herself relax. She was sleepy (although she had been unconscious for Kami knows how long) and Hen seemed to notice that.

"Joe, the dear is tired. Shall we introduce her to the pack and then get her home?" Hen whispered, stroking Hinata's small head with a single large claw.

"Aye, we should. C'mon group, meet our new summoner properly." Joe called, and the animals (save the babies) stood in a long line.

"Alrigh' lass, you know Slick. I bet your wonderin' why we don't have proper names. Well, I find it easier to give everyone names based on their looks or sometimes how they speak an' act. Only the Big Kats have real names. It don' bother us. Slick's named 'cuz he has real greasy fur, an' he's a smooth talker."

"D-d-doesn't th-that bother y-you Slick-s-san?" Hinata asked sleepily. Even though her attention was waning due to her tiredness, she could still listen properly.

"Not at all child. It's the truth, I have greasy fur. As for smooth talking… Joe-san's making up stories there. I don't have a way with words, but I can get out of a slippery situation. Welcome to the pack Hinata-sama." Slick replied smoothly, running a paw through his shiny fur. Before Hinata could protest at being called sama (she didn't think she was any better than them, if anything she was in awe of the creatures) Joe spoke again.

"Alrigh' you know Nervy too. She's shy 'n has a stutter like you, but she's a fierce little fighter when it comes down to it." Nervy seemed to bow a little at the praise, and she gave another small wave to Hinata.

"W-wel-welcome H-Hinata-sama." Nervy greeted shyly.

"P-please… Don't call m-me s-s-sama… I-I a-am no be-better th-than y-you."

"I like this 'un, don't you Nervy. She's not arrogant like some summoners we've seen." Joe praised, and it was Hinata's turn to blush and bow. She blinked her eyes blearily, she remembered she still had the Byakugan on, and it was starting to ache. But she hadn't met everyone yet, so she kept it up.

"Alrigh', you're in the arms 'o Hen. This one is Lucky. He's the one you saved from being the first next meal 'o tha' tiger. He's proper lucky, he always is alive after a nitty, gritty fight. Enemies blows jus' don' seem to hit 'im." Joe commented, whilst the mongoose names Lucky smirked cheekily.

"Someone golden loves me up there. Nice to meet cha." Lucky giggled. "Thanks for saving my hide too."

"N-no p-problem."

"Alrigh' next up is Scar-sama. He's the oldes' of the group, 'n he's me dad. We call him Scar 'cuz, well, look at him." Joe pointed to the numerous jagged scars running all over the gruff looking mongooses body. "You healed his cracked skull 'n stuff."

Scar said nothing to Hinata, he just grinned at her in a creepy sort of way, with all of his sharp teeth showing.

Hinata felt a little uneasy, and detected more wildness in Scar than any other mongoose she had met. She got a feeling he had a love for violence and all things bloody. He was primal by nature.

"Movin' on, this is Silky. She has the best fur in 'ere." The sleek looking mongoose puffed up.

"Damn right I do. Someone's gotta make up for Slick's fur." Silky boasted, and she seemed to swell in pride. Slick on the other hand, just rolled his eyes at the vain mongoose.

"Alrigh' big 'ead, calm down." Joe giggled. Silky scowled at her leader, but her eyes softened when they rest on Hinata.

"Pleased to meet you. You have nice fur." She commented. Hinata blushed (another thing she wanted to get rid of as she looked and felt ridiculous) and thanked her quietly.

"Alrigh' group, I've named the pups already." Joe announced when they came to the tiny (by the mongooses standards, they were about the same size as Hinata) snoozing babies.

"Tha' one is Streak, and tha' one is Shadow." Joe said, pointing to the mongoose with the white streak in its fur and then the mongoose that was totally black (in Hinata's eyes).

"Okey-dokey then, you've met the pack little 'un. I think it's time you got some zzz's. Ya look dea' beat." Joe said.

"I'll show her out Joe love. You need rest too." Hen offered.

"Thanks Hen. I'll see ya in a bit love. An' you too lassie. Visit us soon."

The rest of the mongeese said their farewells, and then Hen carried her through a maze of tunnels. The 'mother' mongoose said nothing, but checked on Hinata regularly to make sure she wasn't falling asleep.

When light was in her Byakugan's sight, Hinata deactivated her kekki-genki with relief. Now that it was off, her eyes felt less relaxed and more than ever she wanted to drop off into dreamland.

The girl felt the chilly wind before she saw the exit, and she shivered. It had been so warm and cozy down in the burrow chamber, the wide, chilly tunnel was not a nice contrast at all.

When she could see the light at the end of the tunnel, Hen placed the exhausted girl on the icy ground.

"This is where I stop I'm afraid dear. We still have to keep a low profile. When you are truly ready to use us in battle, we will announce our presence to the rest of the world. For now, grow strong child." Hen pressed her furred lips to Hinata's forehead lightly.

"G-goodbye… A-and th-thank y-you." Hinata thanked. A single tear rolled from the corner of her eye. She wasn't sure whether it was from tiredness, cold or plain emotion, but she was too sleepy to care.

"It's no problem dear. See you soon!" The large, loving creature turned tail and scuttled back down the tunnel. Hinata was envious, Hen was going back to her warm, loving family and she had to trudge through icy snow to get to her apartment.

Slowly, Hinata crawled out of the tunnel, squinting as the bright light hurt her eyes and made them water. Outside it was still freezing, but there were no grey clouds covering the sky and the sun was shining brightly, warming up the now cold girl gradually.

After stretching her muscles, the blue headed summoner waded through the thick snow to her home. Idly, she wondered how long she had been gone. A night at least, because it was morning now and coming up to the afternoon when she left to help the Mongeese.

She was relieved to find the burrow tunnel she had come out of was right next to the waterfall near the hot springs, because she really didn't want to go through the Forest of Death in this condition. She was dirty, tired and achy. And now chilly too,

Willpower gave her the strength to turn on her Byakugan and check who was around. There were citizens doing their daily chores which included snow clearing, and a few shinobi wandering around.

What really caught her attention was Naruto; he was dashing around frantically, calling out something. She read his lips. He was calling her name!

Running as quick as her exhausted body would allow, she went through the back alleys of Konoha to her apartment. Her Byakugan was still active, so she could see if anyone was coming. They weren't luckily for her. She didn't fancy explaining why she was covered in dirt and smelt of mongoose, not to mention why she had been gone for a night.

She could have collapsed in relief when her apartment was in sight, but that would probably kill her. It never was good falling asleep in the snow.

Her apartment was cold, but not as cold as outside. It was also a mess. The kitchen was littered with empty ramen pots, scrolls were everywhere (the ones she allowed Naruto to read) and Hinata swore there were his boxers on the floor. She vowed never again to leave Naruto on his own, as their home would suffer from it.

Climbing into the shower, she washed off the grime she accumulated from the burrow and her little 'adventure' before getting into some warm pyjamas.

She wasn't a selfish person, but she was simply too tired to find Naruto and explain. That would be for later.

She fell deeply asleep quickly. Her dreams were filled with training and mongeese, dark tunnels and wide open spaces.

Much later, her pleasant dreams were interrupted by shaking. She snapped open her eyes and saw the worried, pale face of Naruto looming over her. She squeaked in fear, he looked furious.

She definitely had some explaining to do.

xXx

Alright, I think some of you are wondering, why did I choose Mongeese and Meerkats? There are so many other cool animals out there (dragons, tigers, snakes etc) so why did I choose little (or in this case large) furry things that look like weasels (apart from they aren't really related).

Simple. They symbolise Hinata in a way.

Mongeese eat snakes, slugs (Meerkats do, and they also eat scorpions too), frogs, insects, rodents, earthworms and lizards. They don't look like they could take on a snake and win do they? But they can.

They are the same as Hinata. Hinata won't look like she could take on, for example, Orochimaru, but when she gets stronger; she would have a fighting chance. The same as a Mongoose.

Hoped you liked this chapter anyway. Took me awhile to straighten everything out :) xxx