I know I said I would update last week but since it was another short chapter to add to chapter six, I thought that I should make it longer. There were so many ideas swimming in my head so I decided to postpone the deadline and write more for my wonderful readers.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape or form so no one has any right whatsoever to even try and sue me :)
Chapter: 7
Naruto shook his head and groaned, he wanted to forget all about it, he really did but that damn seal had to act up again. The jinchuuriki glanced out of the window and stared at the moon, his summer home was so close to the beach that he could easily see the ocean, he watched the tides go to and fro then repeating the same process. When the stars started appearing, he turned his gaze towards the sky to watch them slowly reveal themselves, first one, then two, then three more at the same time.
...............................................Silence...................................................
"What the hell am I doing? It's not as if staring at the stars is going to help me," Naruto straightened up from his comfortable position on the ledge and bounced into his kitchen. Picking up a random kunai that sat on a messy counter, he twirled round and round until it mistakenly flew off his finger - out a window and onto the beach.
Running outside, he searched desperately for the weapon, knowing that if it injured anybody and Sakura found out it was him, he would have a huge fist imprint on his face.
"Where is it?" the jinchuuriki searched frantically for the metal until he saw several glints, they weren't on the sand but above. Angling himself properly, he could see the light of the moon reflect off long lines strewn across the starry sky and wondered what they would be. Twisting himself a bit more, he saw shuriken, hundreds of them attached to the wires and ending where the wires did, at the head of the mountain about eight blocks away from the beach.
"This must have taken a lot of planning,"Naruto thought, "but what are they trying to accomplish?"
Glancing towards the sky again, he dropped his gaze to what was directly below the lines. The boulder, Sakura's special boulder that held so many memories - then he noticed a figure walking towards it: Hinata.
"What's she doing up there?"Naruto watched the slim girl sit down and but saw no more movement from then. He wanted to warn her about the danger that she was so close to, but seeing nothing happen after half an hour of observation, he relaxed. The boy rushed into his home again and back out with a soda in hand, he stared at the Hyuuga stretch and do yoga, then shake herself out and start again. Slender legs moved up and down as she did exercise after exercise, when looking at her up close, she seemed delicate and dainty, but seeing her physically training made you remember that she was a kunoichi.
It didn't surprise Naruto, he had seen the same from Sakura when she was younger. She seemed so fragile and airy but once you saw what she could really do, all those thoughts disappeared from your head. All you would be able to see was a cute little four-year-old who could execute drills using chakra perfectly because she was smart and actually listened to what her sensei told her. Now, the image of Sakura was a gorgeous young woman who is strong, charming and sweet, but doesn't take crap from anybody. Observing Hinata now, Naruto could see she wasn't just a shy pretty girl, but rather an elegant female who is graceful and flexible. Her balance was like that of a ballerina and her gruelling actions showed him she had strength, Naruto enjoyed the show for as long as it lasted, which was no less than one hour.
Sakura Haruno, Naruto realized, was a person who picked out her friends carefully. She chose kind and trustworthy companions that knew how to act around her, he had seen how easily it was for Hinata to calm down the pink-haired kunoichi and that was a job on its own. Then - he realized - she had selected a variety, Tenten was the exact opposite of Hinata. She was carefree and tomboyish, her voice wasn't soft and honey-dipped, instead it was levelled, clear and didn't have a trace of nervousness/anxiousness.
"She really is beautiful, "Naruto thought as he continued staring at the blue-haired kunoichi. After the first hour, Hinata had just stood on the edge and stared at the sea, Naruto seemed to be in a daze because he had just kept staring at her for another hour until she sat down. The sudden movement snapped the jinchuuriki out of his trance, rubbing his head, Naruto took another glance at the girl, she was moving her finger to something he couldn't see. All of a sudden she jumped and he heard the 'ting' of metal hitting rock. A wire started to fall, bringing all the shuriken with it.
"Hinata watch out!"
Sakura's head was pounding and that didn't help the fact that when she tried to breathe, her chest hurt. So because of all this, when she had fallen on Sasuke, she wasn't really unconscious, she just couldn't move because of the electricity that had charged through her. Her eyes were closed of course but never had she gotten any sleep, because just when she was getting into dreamland, her migraine came back full force.
"At least I'm healing,"Sakura mused, she had never really known before but her body had always had a little secret store of chakra in her, the one that she consciously used was placed at her centre, but her little cache was inside her heart, only to be used in extreme situations. So when her body had noticed the life threatening hole in her lungs, it had begun a healing process that she couldn't control and could only feel. But the thing that had Sakura on edge was this mysterious feeling in her gut, as if something was not right. Her inner was carefully sorting through everything in her head so that the kunoichi could find what was bothering her, the only problem was that all the memories that had been hidden from her came right back and made it harder for her inner to pinpoint the cause of her distress.
Footsteps echoed throughout the room as Sasuke paced back and forth wondering what to do with the kunoichi on the bed. All he knew was that he electrified Sakura and had no idea whatsoever about healing, the shinobi ran a hand through his black hair and groaned in frustration, never in his life had he thought he'd end up in a situation like this. Never! The rustling of bedsheets brought the Uchiha out of his befuddlement and he turned around to see a sitting Sakura, fully healed and staring at him, all he could see in her eyes was puzzlement. The pink-haired girl tucked her legs under her and faced the prodigy.
"Are you-"
"Thanks a lot jackass, that hurt."
The statement almost had him bellowing with laughter, he had been worrying over her for a good ten minutes and she just left him speechless with that comment. But Sasuke Uchiha never laughed, smirk - and a damn sexy one at that - yes, but laugh? No. Never. Not ever. Uchihas didn't laugh.
Sakura wasn't one to overreact, it seemed like she did when she was younger and Naruto had made a perverted remark, but every female would react to that. Sakura Haruno was a girl who took things at a moderate pace and that's what helped her a lot on missions, her -even though not very noticeable - patience. Her temper on the other hand was a different story completely, so all the girl wanted was a few answers to clear up her head then she would be happy. There were two outcomes possible - depending on the answers of course - number one was that she'd understand, sort through her thoughts and find what was bothering her, number two was that she'd understand, get up and rip the shinobi in front of her to shreds.
"You are Uchiha Sasuke correct?"
Nod.
"I need you to answer a few questions for me then."
Tenten and Hanabi had just reached the beach.
"Where?" Tenten asked.
"On...on..." Hanabi knitted her eyebrows together and closed her eyes, they snapped back open a moment later, "the rock! The giant rock!"
Another sprint began as they both headed towards it, Tenten let out a sigh of relief as the Hyuuga heiress came into view but Hanabi's pearl eyes (she still had her byakugan on) widened. She saw the countless shuriken and wires lined above her sister, but the kunai heading toward her was a top priority, sending a bit of chakra into her bloodline, she concentrated on the sisterly bond that she and Hinata shared until a telepathic wave was sent towards her. It worked, the wave had temporarily activated the kunoichi's byakugan, thus causing her to see the incoming weapon and dodge it in time, Hanabi smiled and closed her eyes.
The gleam of metal caught Tenten's eye, the weapon master narrowed her gaze to see a band of shuriken heading towards her friend, "Hinata watch out!"
Said girl turned in the direction of her name, Tenten grabbed the pendant from her bracelet and threw at another wire, it broke the cable and let another string of shuriken collide with the one heading for Hinata. The brunette snatched a pebble from the sandy beach, aimed, and threw with perfect accuracy and force to hit an incoming fuma shuriken. The huge weapon's course slightly diverted so that it sliced two more strings, which had their smaller shuriken jam the larger one.
"Don't move!"
Everyone turned their head towards Naruto who was running towards the boulder, "don't move an inch, there are eight more strings to the left and right that will release shuriken."
The pearl-eyed girl did as she was told and kept her view centred on Naruto, the jinchuuriki had just pulled himself to the top and took a few careful steps.
"Hinata-chan, are you okay?"
"H-hai Naruto-kun."
"I'll be right there, hold still."
The heiress nodded, she could get out of here by herself while avoiding everything, she did have the byakugan after all but the fact that Naruto was concerned for her well-being and wanted to help her, made the teenager too happy to think straight.
Naruto cautiously made his way around each cable, his hand outstretched for the female Hyuuga to take. Hinata lifted her arm and reached for Naruto's - until she was suddenly grabbed by the waist and whisked off the rock, her eyes widened as she and the stranger began to drop - the sand was coming up to meet them fast.
A simple transportation jutsu later and both were safely next to the kyuubi host's home. Said home's owner turned briskly to find the heiress next to a tall, lean man with a dragon-like mask, removing it from his face, he tucked a strand of his naturally white hair back into its high ponytail. By now, Naruto, Tenten and Hanabi were in front of the two, panting lightly because of the fast run.
"Who a-" Tenten was rudely interrupted by the person she was addressing.
"My name is Toriwake Kengen, heir of the Toriwake clan."
Naruto saw Hinata visibly stiffen at the mention of his name, "Are you okay Hinata-chan?"
"Sama."
"What?"
"You may only address her as Hinata-sama, 'chan' is simply disrespectful."
"I always call her that."
"That will end today."
"Who do you think you are?!"
Kengen looked Naruto up and down, his scrutinizing eyes viewed him the same way Hiashi's did, "nobility."
The jinchuuriki's jaw clenched in an effort to keep in the colorful words that threatened to erupt.
"Hinata-chan who is this jo-" the Uzumaki paused. "Hinata-chan?"
The lavender-eyed girl lifted her head from its bowed position, her eyes were glassy and the saddest smile was etched onto her face, "Kengen-san, my father is at the mansion, you ca-"
"I have some business to attend to, I know where it is so tell Hiashi-sama I'll be there in the morning."
"Of course, Kengen-san," With a nod, Kengen disappeared and left the four alone.
"Hime-" Tenten was cut off by Hanabi's sudden crying. "Hanabi-chan? What's wrong?"
Hinata walked over and put an arm around her sister, "it's okay, calm down."
The other two shinobi were beyond confused by now, "Hime, who was that guy?"
"Questions?"
A nod answered Sasuke.
"Go on then," the dark-haired male sat on the edge of the bed.
The name was on the tip of her tongue but she was almost afraidto say it. Almost, "do you know anyone by the name of Itachi Uchiha."
Sakura could already tell this was a touchy subject for the boy in front of her, the stiffening of his shoulders and the sudden tenseness of his body gave it all away.
"Why...why are you asking?"
"I'm trying to figure out a few things, so do you know anything about him?"
"He's a cold-blooded murderer who slays for the joy of it, just a sadistic killer that enjoys watching others suffer."
Sakura turned her head away once the sharingan started to form due to the fury of the ninja who harboured it.
The pink-haired kunoichi drew her legs up, wrapped her arms around her shins and scoffed, "I knew that a long time ago."
Sasuke's murderous aura disappeared at once, "what do you mean?"
"I already know he's a 'cold-blooded murderer who slays for the joy of it, just a sadistic killer that enjoys watching people suffer,'" Sakura recited, "but I want to know if you have any connection with him, if you can tell me anyone he's partnered with or something."
The Uchiha sighed, he really didn't want to talk about this.
Kengen entered the woods, "show yourselves."
Three men appeared in front of him, one spinning two shuriken on both fingers, the second untangling a long string of wire, and the third closing a case that had an assortment of weapons inside.
"Well?" The third asked.
"You've done well," Kengen said, "here is your payment." A big wad of yen sat in his open palm.
"When will we expect the rest?"
"When you interfere with her upcoming mission, oh, and don't be afraid to kill her friends. They might get in the way."
A nod signalled the end of the conversation and the three jumped back into the trees.
A smirk appeared on the Toriwake's face, "'The most wealthy man in Konoha', that title will be mine."
Neji's eyes narrowed.
So did you like it?
