A/N: I know it's been so long, and I really am sorry! But here you are with the second installment of Tainted Black Ch.6. Enjoy!

Translation; "Watashi wa koko ni iru." means "I am always here."

Previously on Tainted Black

He looked at me wide-eyed and raised his hand in my direction. I knew what he was about to do. He used this move repeatedly earlier in the fight, so I already caught on to what his act was. I ran towards him with all the speed I could manage with my tired body and grasped my kunai tightly. This was over.

A swarm of bugs poured out of his sleeve and he laughed loudly, "Heh, you think that you'll be able to beat me, do you? Nonsense! Do you realize how long you've been in that place Hinata? I'm much stronger than you think!"

And then, it happened.

It was all a blur from then on.

All I remember is seeing something appear in front of me. I heard someone say something before I blacked out, though.

"You're right Shino, shit does happen."


Searing pain coursed through me. It felt like flames were licking at my heels and hanging on to me at every turn. The heat would rise up to my knees and as I picked up speed, they'd disappear, but only for a moment. I ran until I felt that my legs would give out, but even then I continued to run. From what, I hadn't the slightest idea. Perhaps I'd never stop.

"Watashi wa koko ni iru."

This voice..no it couldn't be. This was...my mother's voice! I tried to call out. I screamed and shouted but no sound would escape me. I looked around frantically for any sign of her. Any motion of swaying violet hair or a sweet smile is what I looked for, but there was nothing. There was only silence. Minutes, hours, years passed by, or so it seemed.

And that is when I saw it. That is when I saw the chair. The feet swinging. That is when I saw my mother's head, drooped low. My mother, strung up by a thin cord tied to a piece of wood in the ceiling. No life was left in her beautiful eyes. Her body swung, almost gracefully. Streaks of agony ripped through me, overbearingly worse than the heat I'd felt before. Suddenly a small child appeared right under my mother's pale body. She had to only be around 4 years of age. The girl's face was contorted into confusion and tears welled up in her eyes. She jumped up on the chair and it creaked under her small body's weight. Her fingers reached and tried to grab at the lifeless body above her, but to no avail.

"Watashi wa koko ni iru, Hinata."

And that was when I realized it. The small girl was me. This is what happened all those years ago to my precious mother. She was gone, and I finally understood. The dead stay dead, no matter how bad you want them to come back. I had no one left in this world who truly loved me like my mother did, and as that settled within me, my rage only grew tenfold.


I woke with a violent jolt that sent me falling to the ground. The fall must have been harsh, because a sudden string of aches coursed throughout my body.

"Fuck!," I yelled as I shut my eyes tightly, trying to alleviate my pain verbally. Flashes of the nightmare came to me all at once. I could barely keep my eyes open. My heart began to race as I picked up on footsteps coming towards me. Everything concerning my nightmare was disregarded. As I tried to lift myself and get ready for whatever was coming my way, a hand found itself on my shoulder.

My eyes drifted up to meet wild red ones and I instinctively flinched.

"Don't strain yourself too much, Hinata-chan," A soothing voice said to me.

I was in complete disbelief that it took me a few seconds to respond without stuttering.

"You..." My thoughts were a mess, and my mouth wasn't being of much help. The older woman who stood before me smiled warmly at me with tears gathering in her eyes and a tinge of guilt hit me.

"It's been so long, my dear child," The woman crouched onto the floor in front of me and as she began wrapping her arms around me for an embrace, I stopped her with my free hand.

"Where am I?" I couldn't do this, not now. I was a different person now, and such trivial reunions wouldn't do any good to my progress.

"Hinata...you're in my home. Don't you recognize me? Maybe that hit to your head was a bit brutal.." Her dark eyebrows furrowed in concern but I shook my head, sighing.

"I need to go," The statement seemed to hurt her, but I didn't have time for this. My plans had been set back too far.

When she tried to assist me in getting up, I slapped her hand away harshly and limped my way around her. Emotions pooled onto her features, but I dare look back. I was afraid that I might regret it in the future, but I'd decided long ago that this world didn't accept me, no matter how much a few cared for me.

Maybe it was my rude actions that sent her off or possibly the disbelief of everything, but suddenly the black-haired woman cried out in anger.

"What have I done? What have I done exactly to deserve this? I cared for you, I helped you, I even saved you, and this is the thanks I get? For so long I worried about you. I asked your father time and time again what had happened to you, but he never gave me answers! I searched everywhere, far and wide. Never did I stop looking for you. And the minute you come back, you're...not you. Why-"

"Stop it. Just stop, Kurenai. I'm not the same as before, but all you're doing is making a fool of yourself. The Hyuuga's are liars and they betray any and everyone they come across. The one thing I will tell you is that I've been gone long enough and I had many things to think about, and now you will see what happens to scum. This world is made up of devils and I am here to purge them," With that, I looked behind myself to see wide crimson eyes, seemingly searching for a sense of logic. Stray tears glided slowly down her paled cheeks.

My former sensei would undoubtedly try continuously to find me after this brief meeting. For now, she was not a threat, but later, what purpose would she serve? Thoughts engulfed my brain until I decided to leave her be. Maybe it would be a mistake to fix in the near future, but I believed that she wasn't a threat.

"Keep your heart closed and your eyes open, sensei," These words trickled off of my tongue menacingly. She appeared still in shock, but I know that my words had gotten through to her. She would discover that not all people she trusted would be there for her when she needed them. This was a simple survival tip that needed to be adapted to, or she would burn like the rest of the sorry bastards of this wicked world.

I grabbed my throbbing arm and walked out of the room. Using my recovered chakra, I disappeared into the night.

My hair was being pummeled by rain as I took in my surroundings. I'd landed in a back-alley of the village. Looking up, I noticed a peeling sign that identified the small building to be a blacksmith's shop. I grinned slyly. Now that I knew where I'd get my needed weaponry, I decided it was time to initiate my next course of action. One thought crossed my mind before I began walking to the side entrance of the shop.

"I hope you're ready, because a storm's coming."