Coercion

Arc II: Bending the Branch

Unchanging things are boring.

Beginning

"Hinata," Kabuto began. "I've cleared Orochimaru-sama for travel. We're moving to another base so Sasuke can begin his training."

"I see. Are you going to leave me here then?" she asked.

"No on the contrary, I'll need you the most there," he said. "I've got some cadavers I need examined, and I want you to observe the ranks there. I'll also begin teaching you some higher level medical techniques."

Hinata might have grinned, but she wasn't in the mood. She managed a nod instead.

"Always a person of few words. That's what I like about you. You'll be traveling with Orochimaru-sama, Sasuke and I, just so you know."

She dreaded the idea slightly. Orochimaru didn't have anything to say in the way of approval toward her. Sasuke seemed to think everyone that wasn't above him was a loser. Hinata decided to invoke her right to silence during that trip.

"Oh, and Hinata, please don the traditional Sound Nin garb. You'll stand out less at the new base if you do," he suggested. Hinata did just that. The morning they were scheduled to leave, she put on the Sound Nin garb and waited for the other three to arrive. Kabuto met her with a polite smile, the other two only met out sneers.

"You look ridiculous in that," Sasuke commented. Hinata ignored him, she had expected him to say as much. Orochimaru would follow up soon.

"Kabuto, you try my patience with this girl. Must she look so dreadfully meek all the time?" he said. Hinata said nothing in response.

"She'll prove her worth soon enough, Orochimaru-sama. I promise you," Kabuto said. "Hinata, take the rear and watch us."

"Understood," she said. Without another word they were on their way. The trip was relatively uneventful the first day. No one followed them, and Hinata said nothing to anyone. She wasn't interested in Sasuke's taunts or Orochimaru's indifference toward her.

That night, she offered to watch. Orochimaru rolled his eyes and Sasuke looked skeptical, but Kabuto thought it would be a great idea. Hinata sat in the middle of their camp and spread a thin chakra barrier around them in about a fifty yard radius. Having the barrier used a decent amount of chakra, but it used less than using her byakugan all night. She could sense when someone entered the barrier and then she could act accordingly.

At first she thought that nothing would happen, but then she heard him. He was so loud that Hinata heard him from beyond the barrier. She rolled her eyes and walked over to where she heard the noise. She activated her byakugan. It was another genin that Orochimaru had recruited some time ago. He specialized in using a screaming technique that could render his opponent deaf. However strong he was in combat, he was utterly useless when it came to infiltration. She could see him easily with the byakugan. She knew he was stronger than she was, but she already knew how he fought. He attempted to go toe to toe with Sasuke just before they left and lost. She was smarter, and knew her place. She had to confront him before he got too close, so she intercepted him.

"W-why are you here?" she said. She cursed herself for speaking so softly. He grinned at her apprehensively, trying to size her up.

"I wanted to follow Orochimaru-sama. Where ever he goes, I go," he said.

"I-is that so?" she said. Ugh, the stuttering!

"Have I…have I seen you before?" he asked. "I don't recognize you from around the compound or anything…"

"I'm n-new," she lied. Oh and she was bad at it…

"Oh…so…were you with that Sasuke kid?" he asked.

"Um…n-not…"

He raised his voice over hers, "Hey, all I want to do is be useful to Orochimaru-sama and—"

She put a finger over his mouth and used her byakugan to scan for any back up he might have. He was truly alone. Hinata was surprised at herself that was such a sudden move.

"H-he might hear you. Now go back, please," she said.

"No, I will go with Orochimaru-sama."

That simple phrase set her a flame. Did he know what that man was like? 'You wouldn't want to follow him if you went through what I did all day,' she thought. A seething feeling crept in her chest and made her clench her teeth. What was with all this aggression? No…she knew where all this was coming from. She'd been holding back a lot of anger lately and this person seemed to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. A very wrong time.

"Did you receive instructions to go to the next base?" she asked, surprised at the sharpness in her tone.

"No, but I want to be with Orochimaru-sama—"

"Did he request your presence?"

"No, but—"

"Then go back. If you are wanted then you will be summoned."

"I can't trust him with that Sasuke kid. I wanted to be trained by Orochimaru-sama and that kid shows up for five seconds and gets all the special treatment. I can't stand it!"

"What are you here for then?"

"I'm going to take Sasuke's place."

"What kind of loyal follower are you?" she said. "Orochimaru hand picked him and you doubt his judgment?"

"Orochimaru-sama picked me!"

"So? I'll be you can't even beat me, and Orochimaru only goes on and on about pitiful I am."

He moved to strike her but she dodged. He was strong, for sure, but he was much too slow to get her. Still she knew better than to let her guard down. Observing Kabuto all those weeks made an impression on her, she saw an easy opening to disable him quickly. Using Jyuuken, she disabled both his arms.

"Go back and get treated."

He lunged at her still and she felt her rage hit its peak as she dodged his attack. He hit the ground face first, but still tried to get up.

"I'm not playing, I said go back!" she cried tears forming in her eyes. He struggled to get up and she rolled her eyes. "I'm going back to camp. I'm done with this."

"I will be Orochimaru's pupil," he growled. He took a deep breath. Hinata heard the hollow sound in his throat…his screaming attack. With unprecedented speed she hit a pressure point in his neck and jaw, thus buying herself some time. She grabbed his collar and pulled him so he could see the rage in her eyes through her tears.

"What makes you think you're more worthy than Kimimaro, or Jirobo or Tayuya, or Sakon, or Kidomaru? What makes you more worthy of being Orochimaru's pupil than them?" she snapped. "They risked their lives to be used by Orochimaru in any way he said. They followed orders no matter how simple. So I'm telling you: follow this simple order and go back to base. I won't discuss this anymore."

Hinata released him and turned her back as she started to walk away. He was not to be deterred. He couldn't speak or scream, but he lunged at her. Hinata could not control her actions, he was already down and could not really fight her, but still she could sense he had a lot of bite in him and might have seriously hurt her. Or seriously tried. Still her reaction to his attempt to kill her was to turn around and use a Jyuuken attack on his forehead. He fell to the ground and Hinata took a step back.

She had never killed anyone before that night. Hinata had seen dead bodies, but she had never killed anyone herself. She could not hold back her tears, knowing full well that they would hear her. Kabuto would be glad for a new body when he woke up in the morning, she didn't know how Sasuke or Orochimaru might react.

She had the sickening feeling that this would not be the last time she killed. That sick feeling traveled through her stomach, to the back of her throat and she wretched into some bushes nearby.

Incomplete

"You're handling that girl with kid gloves, Kabuto," Orochimaru said once they finally made it to base.

"Really? I don't think so. After all I did make her carry that body the entire way back," he said.

"I heard her crying, and I heard you coddling her," Orochimaru said. Kabuto smiled and adjusted his glasses.

"I suppose that's true. Hinata is the type where if you break her harshly she will shatter into a thousand useless pieces," he explained. "However, if you chip away at her defenses little by little, you'll make her into something different but useful. She's motivated by her strong emotions. If she feels valued or needed, there's nothing she won't be able to do."

"Are you saying I have to coddle that girl to get her to listen to me?" Orochimaru inquired.

"No, I don't think she wants any of those things from you. I just have a feeling she'll be more valuable to you than you think she is."

Orochimaru snorted as they passed the medical ward. She was there healing one of his men.

"She's proved to be valuable enough, I'll let you keep her," he said. Kabuto only raised his eyebrows and entered the ward. Hinata was just finishing up with her healing session.

"All right, now don't strain yourself," she said to her patient. Kabuto put a hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him. She finally managed a half smile in his presence.

"Hello, Kabuto," she said softly.

"Hello, Hinata. You're doing a pretty good job taking care of these patients," he said. "I have a lot less work to do so I can do more of my research. Now don't you strain yourself. You need to have enough chakra for what I'm going to teach you tonight."

"Kabuto…" she began. "I'm not sure…I mean I shouldn't have…"

"Come to my quarters, we'll talk about this more," he said. She walked beside him, her face gloomy and tired looking. He opened the door and motioned for her to go in. She entered and stood in the middle of the room. He sat at his desk and she stood in front of him scratching her elbow.

"Sit down on my bed, Hinata," he said. She sat down primly and folded her hands. Her shoulders where hunched and she pressed her fingers together.

"I…I uh…" she looked down at her hands. "That boy…I killed him and…"

"We discussed this before, when you're a shinobi, you kill your emotions and you forget these things," he said.

"I…I can't I…" Hinata covered her face with her hands and began to cry. Kabuto sighed and moved to sit beside her. It seemed it would take more time for her to become the perfect Sound Ninja.

Sleepwalk

She dreamed about that boy she killed every night for a few days. He should have been so much stronger than her and yet…she took him down without much effort. The speed of it scared her most. He was alive one moment and dead the next. Orochimaru didn't seem phased by his death.

"If he was loyal he would have followed orders spoken or unspoken. He deserved to die," was all he said. Hinata was deeply shaken. All he wanted to do was help Orochimaru and all Orochimaru wanted to do was brush him off.

"Hinata, you killed him easily, so you know what that means? You're much stronger than you were before. You're improving so quickly," Kabuto said when he examined the body. "You disabled the muscles so precisely and that blow to the head…only a Jyuuken user could have done an execution that quick and devastating."

She was an executioner. The idea shook her deeply. She started to stay awake at night, to sit in her bed bolt awake, probing the area, always watching. Naturally staying awake for a few days made her a fright to see. Her eyes had dark, heavy bags. Kabuto decided to step in for her own health.

"Look, you're not good to me in the state you're in. I'm mixing a sedative for you. Take it and when you wake up, come back to me so I can check your vitals," he instructed. She took it half heartedly and went back to her own room to sleep. She dreamed she was walking. Sometimes she was talking to someone, sometimes she was running, but always she was moving her own two legs.

"Hinata, where are you going?" she asked herself. She didn't know.

"How did you get on that road?" She didn't know.

"All I know is, I was walking one way and this road swallowed me whole. Here I am walking on it."

"How far will you follow this road?"

"As far as it will take me."

"I think it will lead you to pain and sadness," she told herself.

"Well, what other roads are opening up? There is no other way out but death. So why not live and then die later?"

"Is it better to live horribly or not to live at all?"

She didn't know, but kept on walking.

Sorry it took so long for me to update, I had a lot of things going on. Thanks for reading!