Author's Note: Boom! Look at this, another chapter even when I said that you wouldn't get one this week! Yeah I know I said only on Fridays but hey, cut me some slack it was finals week. I said 'screw you finals!' and went ahead and got this chapter done just because I love my readers. So Happy Birthday! Speaking of birthdays, I swear it felt like I was having mine with the amount of reviews I got. Thanks you guys, they were truly helpful and motivating!
Riamhh: I've already talked to you but I must say again that your review was extremely helpful and really got me thinking about the plot and what not. I'm also glad you covered different aspects of the story no matter what you thought, so once again thank you.
Tally3703: I'm glad you like the way I made Hinata and I have to admit it was really fun to write. The fight was somewhat of a challenge but it's coming along nicely I think. As for Sakura, well it serves a purpose trust me.
Sir NickolasJhonstonMarcus III: Well to be honest I about had a heart attack when I read your review. It's an honor to be reviewed by a random Beta so thank you and I'm so glad you enjoy my writing style. I hope you keep with this story and thanks a million, it was a great motivator.
As for everyone else, I'm so glad you guys enjoyed the chapter. It was a ton of fun to write and I figured you guys would enjoy it as well. But enough about last chapter, here's the next installment! As always, Read and Review Please!
Chapter 9: Fighting and Forgiveness
"Yamato-sensei, how much further?"
Yamato sighed heavily; they had been running hard for the border all morning without exchanging a single word with each other. However, as soon as they had entered the Land of Iron Naruto began asking how much further they had to go. The worst part; the interval between the questions were getting shorter.
"Guess I should be thankful. His patients has lasted a lot longer than it usually does." Yamato thought glancing at Naruto over his shoulder. Naruto was staring at him, but not seeing him. "He seems distant though. In fact, he has been since we left the village."
Sighing again he spoke, "It's the same as the last time you asked, Naruto. Not much further. Now I would appreciate it if you would stop asking me every two minutes."
Naruto nodded his head before his eyes revealed his mind going somewhere else. It wasn't his fault he asked again, he just kept zoning out for what seemed like hours when it was only for a few minutes. That and the conversations with Kyuubi were distracting him slightly.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Kyuubi said with a grin. He was thoroughly enjoying the annoyance of the wood style user.
Naruto nodded his head in acknowledgement to the demon which caused the one eyed ninja next to him to finally break down and ask what was going on with him.
"Naruto, are you alright? Ever since we left the village you have been abnormally quiet. I must admit it's a nice change but coming from you it's just…unnatural." Kakashi said with a slight shiver.
Naruto was quiet and Kakashi was starting to think that he didn't hear him until Naruto finally answered him.
"Yeah I'm fine sensei. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."
In all actuality it was the truth. He finally found his way home to get some much needed sleep after talking with Jihibiki, but sleep never came to him. Instead, he found himself going through the same night terror over and over again every time he closed his eyes, and to make things even worse he had a new one. A shiver ran down Naruto's spine as he remembered the dream, it was just so horrible he couldn't shake the feelings he got from it.
The world was ending, or, at least the village was. The best was to describe the village as Naruto walked down the street was it looked as if the day of reckoning was upon them. Bodies littered the roads; men, women, children, both ninja and civilians. The blood red sky mixed with the overcast of blackened clouds, growing darker and darker as the black smoke rolled off of buildings and bodies as they burned. The smell of burning flesh and putrid plastics filled his nose causing him to gag. Everywhere he looked there was only fire, destruction, and dead bodies. Not wasting any time Naruto took off running down random streets, trying to find someone, anyone, that could tell him what was happening. Just as he passed a crumbled building he heard a weak cough. Skidding to a stop he turned back to look closer at the pile of stone and wood and saw an arm sticking out, weakly grasping at anything.
Without missing a beat Naruto was there, ripping away stones as large as his chest with one arm as he tried to free the person trapped underneath. Clawing away the last few pieces of rubble Naruto froze as his eyes grew in both shock and fear.
"Neji…" he whispered.
Neji's eyes flittered open, his opaque white eyes staring glassily at him, not really seeing him but knowing that he was there. Blood covered his face from large gashes on his cheeks and forehead and the blood running from his mouth suggested possible internal bleeding.
"Neji?" Naruto spoke again, his voice shaking as he looked down on his broken friend.
Neji coughed up a fine mist of bright red blood that stained his now dingy white robes. After a moment he managed to speak.
"Naruto," he rasped, "you have to stop it. You have to stop it before it destroys everything." Once again he was sent into another fit of coughs.
"Neji stay with me!" Naruto said now hurriedly as he looked around for help but a sudden hand clamping down on his wrist brought his attention back to the dying Hyuuga.
"You have…to stop it." Neji whispered.
"Stop what Neji? Tell me, what is it?"
Neji's eyes were now closed and his body was relaxing as he went to his eternal slumber. However, before he finally left the world he managed four words.
"Hyuuga…Complex…Hinata…Monster."
Releasing his grip from Naruto's wrist, Neji's hand fell to rubble that was now his grave, but before his hand hit Naruto was already two blocks away racing over, around, and even sometimes through the flames and debris as he tried to get to the Hyuuga complex as fast as possible. "Please!" he begged whatever god was listening. "Please let her be okay!" A block away he could make out the half crumbled wall that surrounded the mansions of the Hyuugas. Suddenly there was a blinding light as a giant blue swirling semi orb rose up from inside the wall and was followed by a deafening explosion. Pushing himself as hard as he could, Naruto jumped over the wall and landed in the courtyard to see someone hunched over and panting in a now burnt circle of grass that was the telltale sign of the Kaiten technique.
Running over, Naruto instantly recognized who it was.
"Hiashi!" Naruto yelled out as he was only a few meters away from where the clan head barely stood.
Flinching from the sudden voice, Hiashi spun around to see Naruto running towards him.
"Naruto?" was all he got out as a claw suddenly erupted from his chest in spray of blood and bone fragments.
Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked on in horror as he watched Hiashi stand there staring wide-eyed at the claw in his chest with a mixture of surprise and pain.
"You're getting old Hiashi; you should never allow yourself to be distracted in combat." A deep evil laugh followed that echoed throughout the courtyard.
"Kyuubi?" Naruto asked breathlessly as he watched the claw in Hiashi's chest remove itself and he began to sink to his knees.
"Hinata…why…" was all Hiashi said as he hit the ground and Naruto stood frozen in the spot because of what he saw before him.
Hinata or what used to be Hinata stood before him soaked in blood with a wicked grin on her face. Her once soft, flowing, midnight hair was now wiry and sticking up in spikes. Her canines had elongated and now showed themselves by sticking out over her lips. Both of her hands and feet now resembled claws while her body hunched over in a weird way. Red chakra now covered her body and swinging wildly behind her was a single tail. But the most striking difference to him was her eyes; her once caring and loving pale lavender eyes that so often looked up to him were now a blood red color with a faint black slit down the center. They bore into him with blood lust and hatred and the killer intent that came from her was enough to make him shake.
"Hinata?" he whispered, unable to find any more strength in his voice. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.
She cocked her head at him for a moment before laughing. "Because Naruto-kun, you made me this way. Are you not pleased with your creation?"
"What do you mean I made you this way?" Naruto asked confused. "I sealed the-"
"-You mean this seal?" Hinata cut him off as she tore away the bottom half of her shirt to reveal her seal gone and in its place a black hole on her stomach opening up into an empty void.
"H-How?" was all he could ask as he felt his stomach drop and fear seize his throat.
"How? I'll tell you how, Naruto-kun. I was vulnerable, I was alone, I became lost. I loved you and almost died saving you BUT THAT STILL ISN'T AN ENOUGH IS IT!" Hinata's voice boomed with rage at the end.
"I…I do care about you though…" Naruto whispered as his eyes fell to the ground.
Suddenly Anbu appeared on the rooftops all around the courtyard with swords and kunai in hand.
"Naruto-sama, get back! We'll take it from here!" one of them yelled as they all tensed.
"No!" Naruto suddenly shouted back looking up at the rooftops. "I'll handle this!"
"That's right Naruto-kun, be the hero. Wouldn't want anyone to get HURT!" she mocked and as she said this a red claw of chakra shot out of her chest and swiped the rooftops killing or knocking the Anbu away.
"Hinata enough of this!" Naruto begged. "Please stop!"
Something changed in Hinata's face. Her eyes seemed to soften somewhat and the killer intent seemed almost vanish.
"Why?" she asked genuinely.
"Because." Naruto said returning his view to the ground in front of him. "Because I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Because I don't want anyone else to die. But most importantly," Naruto said as he looked up at her with tears in his eyes, "I don't want anything to happen to you."
The transformation was almost instant. In a loud angry scream that echoed throughout the village the chakra around Hinata sucked back into her seal and it swirled shut quickly leaving nothing but a fading spiral. Her hair became flowing again and her hands and feet returned to normal. The last thing that changed were her eyes, which in a heartbeat went from red to soft lavender and they filled with tears. Taking a hesitant step forward she started to cry.
"N-Naruto-kun…I'm so sorry." she whispered as she slowly tried to walk to him.
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to say it was okay but his words were caught in his throat when four Anbu suddenly appeared at her sides, front, and back and rammed their katanas into her chest. Naruto watched speechless, as blood began to pour from her wounds and her mouth. Looking into Naruto's eyes she spoke.
"Naruto-kun…you've killed me."
Before anything else could be said the ground had cracked and he fell into the black void that was his subconscious. Then after a moment he found himself in the hospital reliving his other night terror. Needless to say he didn't get much sleep.
"Naruto? Naruto. Hey, Naruto!"
Naruto instantly snapped out of his thoughts about his dream and looked over at Kakashi. "I'm sorry, did you say something sensei?" he asked.
Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "Yes I did so pay attention. Yamato said we're close so we're going to drop down to the ground now."
Naruto nodded in understanding and followed them to the ground. They continued on in silence again, the only noise being made was the soft crunching of snow under their feet and the soft swish of their cloaks. The wind had died down to almost nothing which was uncommon to the Land of Iron, it was known for its bitterly cold climate and wind that could cut through any kind of protection. Now, however, they found themselves running and jumping through a surreal white wonderland. The small snowflakes practically suspended in air and only seemed to move as they rushed past them.
All of this was unseen by Naruto though as he tried to mentally prepare for the surprise meeting with the Raikage. "Damn it! I got caught up in my thoughts and now I don't even know what I'm going to say." Naruto cursed under his breath for his lack of concentration.
"Oh I'm sure the Raikage will understand. After all, you're only confronting him on the way to one of the most important meetings of the decade and asking the most outrageous thing from him. I'm sure he'll understand if you haven't prepared any dialogue." Kyuubi stated as his voice oozed sarcasm.
Naruto's furrowed his eyebrows in irritation. "Now really isn't the time Kyuubi."
Before Kyuubi could reply though, Yamato had raised his hand signaling them to stop. Moving through the brush slowly, the three life ninja found themselves at the edge of a clearing.
"Are you sure this is it Yamato?" Kakashi whispered without looking at him.
"Hai, this is it." Yamato answered with a nod. "They'll be here any second now."
As if on cue, the three ninja from the night before appeared in the middle of the clearing. Nearly a second in a half later three more cloud ninja appeared with one towering over the other two. "There he is." Naruto thought to himself as he tried to prepare for the unexpected meeting.
"Are we almost there?" Karui whined to her teammates as they raced through the snow towards their rendezvous point.
Samui sighed and Omoi's face scrunched up in thought before he spoke.
"Karui, you shouldn't complain so much. If you keep complaining then you might distract Samui and then we'll miss our rendezvous point. If we miss the rendezvous point then we might keep continuing until we're caught by the samurai of the Land of Iron and considered invaders. Then our village will have to declare war on the Land of Iron or else deny that they had any involvement with us and we'll be left to die slowly…in…prison…" Omoi trailed off as he noticed the daggers coming from Karui and actually managed to choke on his ever present sucker.
Samui sighed again but kept her eyes fixed straight ahead. "The rendezvous point is just up ahead so shut up and pay attention or else I'll make sure you both pull D ranked missions for the next two weeks."
Karui and Omoi both shared a glance before Omio spoke.
"Is something wrong Samui-san?"
However, before she could answer Karui answered for her. "She's probably just upset that she didn't get to spend more time with her pasty white prince charming."
"That's enough!" Samui snapped. "We're here so get it together."
She mentally sighed in relief when they shut up, allowing her faint blush that dusted her cheeks to go unnoticed.
Landing in a clearing they looked around expectantly.
"Well, where are they?" Karui huffed impatiently.
"Just give them a second." Samui snapped back and if on cue three more figures arrived.
"Raikage-sama, here is the scroll granting permission to hunt down missing nin Uchiha Sasuke as well as detailed information on him." Samui said with a quick bow before handing over a scroll to the towering tanned giant.
The Raikage nodded briefly before checking the contents and then handing it over to one of his body guards, Cee. He then turned and spoke to Samui. "I trust there were no complications while you were there?"
Suddenly Karui started to shift very uncomfortably as she found her katana quite interesting.
Samui sighed. "There was a small scuffle between Karui and a Leaf shinobi. It was taken care of however so do not worry Raikage-sama."
Everyone in the Raikage's group stared at Karui as she smiled sheepishly and then laughed nervously.
"Someone try to put the moves on you Karui?" Darui, the other escort of the Raikage, asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on his face.
"What! No!" Karui yelled defensively as she put her hands on her hips. "The punk just mentioned something about the Uchiha bastard so I thought I would try to get some information out of him. Like Samui-san said, it was nothing more than a little scuffle." She was quiet for moment as she brought a finger to her lip. "But now that I think about it, maybe I should have went easier on the guy." she added as an afterthought.
The Raikage was getting fed up with the banter and wanted to get a move on. He was about to tell them to shut up so they could continue on their way, but he was cut off by an unfamiliar voice.
"Man if you call that a small scuffle then I'd hate to see what a full-fledged fight in your village is." Naruto said as he, Yamato, and Kakashi appeared a few meters away from the group.
Everyone in the cloud group spun around and immediately went on the defensive. Everyone that is except for Samui, Karui, and Omoi who stood there with their jaws open staring at an apparently unscathed Naruto.
"Leaf dogs, what should we do?" Cee muttered under his breath as he glanced at the Raikage for a course of action.
The Raikage, however, seemed slightly impressed. "I'm surprised you were able to track Samui without her sensing you." He stated calmly however his voice suggested just as much contempt and disapproval as there was praise.
"Well it was thanks to Yamato-sensei here that we could." Naruto said as he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the wood user. Then he turned his attention to the group that he already knew and gave them a toothy smile. "What? You didn't think I would stay down that long did you?"
"H-How?" Karui asked in astonishment.
"Karui, do you know these men?" Cee asked warily as he eyed the group of Leaf shinobi.
"H-Hai, the blonde one in the front is the one I fought with." She stuttered in response.
"My, you must be losing your touch Karui, it doesn't even look like you landed a blow on him." Darui jabbed playfully despite the tense circumstance they were in.
"Yeah well I'm a quick healer so don't let her fool ya, she's got some killer punches." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head and laughed. He then noticed Samui's eyes darting between him and the tree line. "I know what you're thinking Samui-san and the answer is no, Sai is not here."
Instantly Samui's face grew several shades of red and Cee raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Care to explain who Sai is?" he asked.
However, before anything else could be said the Raikage interrupted. "Is there a reason you are here? If so state your purpose. If not then we will be on our way, I have an important meeting that I need to be at." he snapped in irritation.
Naruto exchanged looks with the others in his group before Kakashi answered his question.
"Raikage-sama, my student here has come to make a request." he said in the most respectable tone he possibly could.
"Tracking us all the way out here and without any prior notice is quite rude." Cee said evenly as he stared at the Leaf ninjas.
"I understand that, but it is an urgent request." Kakashi said with sincerity but his patience was running out with Cee's open distaste for them.
"Well what is it boy, out with it! What do you want?" the Raikage boomed impatiently.
Naruto was quiet for a split second as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"Okay kit, just like we planned." Kyuubi coached from the back of Naruto's mind. "Warm him up to you and then break it to him gently. If he's anything like his father then he has a fuse length that would rival mine. So let's do this nice and-"
"-Sasuke. I want you to retract your order to hunt down and kill Uchiha Sasuke."
Dead silence.
"…baka…"
Sakura was walking through a part of the village that was used as a lumber yard on her way back from the Hyuuga complex. She was pissed that she wasn't allowed to watch the fight between Hinata and her father due to the fact that it was 'Hyuuga family affairs'. She huffed angrily but stopped when she heard someone crying. Poking her head around a large pile of lumber she saw Ino balling her eyes out with an exasperated Tenten attempting to comfort her while the rest of the rookie nine, plus Sai and minus Naruto and Hinata, looked on.
"Hey guys what's going on? What's wrong Ino?" Sakura asked as she walked up and everyone turned to face her.
"I just told everyone about the order to kill Sasuke." Kiba said. "But if I had known that Ino was going to act like this I would have left her out." he complained as he rolled his eyes.
He quickly had to duck though as several kunai came screeching at him from an annoyed looking Tenten.
"Oh I see." Sakura said sadly as she ignored Kiba who was glaring at Tenten. "And what do you all think?"
"It doesn't matter what we think." Shikamaru said from atop the wood pile. He sat up and looked at everyone before continuing. "We're ninja and we have to follow orders no matter what. Whether we like it or not Sasuke abandoned us and he now must face the consequences."
"Be that as it may, surely we can come to some agreement with the Hokage though about hunting Sasuke?" Lee asked hopefully.
"No, he's right Lee." Shino spoke from the shadows of lumber pile he was leaning up against. "Regardless of what we think or feel we must follow these orders. Why? Because Sasuke has become a larger liability to the Leaf now that he has attacked another village."
"And everyone feels the same way?" Sakura asked quietly.
Everyone nodded; even Ino did after she managed to suppress a sob.
"Sasuke is our friend, but he's left us no choice." Choji said sadly as he put down his bag of potato chips due to his sudden loss of appetite.
"My only question is who will tell Naruto and what will we do about him?" Lee asked. "I do not believe he will willingly accept this news." Lee stated knowingly as everyone else nodded in agreement. They all knew the spiky headed blonde would never accept this news quietly.
"He already knows." Kiba said as he stood up and dusted himself off.
"And how did he react?" Tenten asked.
"He's on his way to ask the Raikage to forgive Sasuke as we speak." Sai said evenly if not slightly icy as he looked at Sakura.
Silence followed, washing over the shocked group of shinobi as the news sunk in. "He actually went to ask the Raikage to forgive Sasuke? Naruto…I really do have no idea what I've done to you." Sakura thought as she fought back the tears that were threatening to form.
"YOSH! Naruto's efforts truly show the meaning of the FIRE OF YOUTH!" Lee shouted as he stood up in excitement. However, a quick pleading glance from Tenten that said 'not now' was shot his way and he immediately calmed down and gave a quick small smile of reassurance.
"So what now?" Choji asked. "I mean it's not like the Raikage is going to listen to Naruto. What do we do?"
"Let me handle it." Sakura said with a lowered head after receiving another icy look from Sai.
"Why you Sakura-chan, do you have a plan?" Lee asked in curiosity.
"Hai, but please just leave it to me and don't say anything to him." Sakura said as she looked at everyone and clenched her fists at her side.
After everyone nodded she spoke again. "Kiba, can you and Akamaru track down Naruto please? Sai, would you come as well?"
Kiba nodded his head and after a moment's thought Sai agreed too.
"Okay let's go, we're leaving immediately." Sakura ordered as the four prepared to head out.
"Wait, what about the rest of us?" Tenten asked with a hint of hurt in her voice. She would much rather go looking for Naruto than stay here and try to comfort an emotionally unstable Ino.
The answer to her question was a rumble that vibrated throughout the lumber yard and everyone turned to look at where it had come from; the Hyuuga complex.
"I think the rest of us should stay here, for Hinata's sake." Shino answered evenly as he raised his hand and began conversing with a beetle that had just landed on his finger. "She may need us now more than ever."
Shino was known for his lack of emotion but everyone noticed the hint of concern in his voice as the beetle relayed information him.
Everyone's thoughts drifted towards the Hyuuga heiress as they hoped for the best. Everyone that is, except for Sakura. "Hinata…please forgive me for what I'm about to do." With that, Sakura motioned to Sai and Kiba and the group left to prepare for their trip.
Sweat glistened on Hinata's brow as she slipped back into her stance and stared determinedly at her father across the courtyard. For the first five minutes of the fight the two had gone back and forth trading blows and testing each other. Neither of them had succeeded in landing a serious hit, but things were about to get serious and Hinata could tell. The air suddenly became thicker as chakra and tension began to leak through the atmosphere between the two as they refused to break each others gaze.
"Okay time to get serious." Hinata thought as she hardened her look. "That was just a warm-up. Time for father to truly recognize me and make him apologize for what he did to Naruto-kun!"
With her resolve steeled, Hinata pushed off the ground and charged her father. Quickly closing the gap between the two Hinata prepared to strike her father head on. Thrusting her right palm forward it was quickly blocked by Hiashi with a simple tap from his left hand at her wrist sending it off course as he countered with his own right palm thrust. Hinata saw this coming and followed her original attack, turning her body sideways and blocking her father's attack the same way he did to her. "Right where I want you." Hinata thought as she smirked ever so slightly. Still following her original attacks momentum, she was nearly shoulder to shoulder perpendicular to her father when she brought up her knee with lightening speed and drove it into his solar plexus causing him to slide back several meters.
Hiashi gasped for air in surprise as well as in pain as he tried to process what had just happened. He saw the attack coming because of his eyes and was able to prepare for it. However, the speed as well as the randomness of her strike had left him flatfooted. The Gentle Fist style focused strictly on attacks that were precise and powerful, but Hinata was doing something else. She seemed to forget about precision and focus more on speed. "No, there's more to it than that." Hiashi thought as he watched Hinata prepare for another attack. Not wanting to give her a chance to get the upper hand he charged forward. Hinata showed a brief moment of surprise at her father's persistence but it was quickly lost as she prepared herself.
Rushing forward Hiashi fired off a volley of thrusts all of which Hinata dodged before ducking under the last one and throwing a sweeping kick. Hiashi jumped up to avoid the kick but found himself helplessly suspended in air. Pushing off of the ground Hinata threw another open palm at her father's chest with her left hand. Blocking it again with his right hand, Hiashi instinctively threw his left hand up in time to catch a round house kick from Hinata's right leg. Thinking he had caught Hinata off balance as she seemed to rotate out of control he smiled slightly. However, it was quickly removed when suddenly her left foot connected with his head. Once again Hiashi's Byakugan alerted him to the incoming attack and he managed to tilt his head to the side as his daughter's foot scraped the top of his head from a spinning hook kick, hidden behind the first kick until it was about to connect. Seeing black and white flashes he pushed his daughter away before they landed on the ground. Shaking his head he tried to clear the dizzying ring that droned away in his ears but was force to dive and roll to the side as Hinata suddenly appeared above him and rushed down at him with an axe kick.
The ground split under the force from Hinata's attack and the shockwave produced caused many of the Anbu on the rooftops to try and steady them. However, before Hiashi could even completely stand up Hinata was already on him throwing palm thrust after palm thrust and causing him to go on the defensive.
The clan members watched in utter amazement as Hiashi did one thing that they never thought that they would ever see in their lifetimes. Hiashi began to give up ground. Several branch members gasped as Hiashi did his best to defend against the onslaught of Hinata's attacks. One of these people happened to be Hanabi.
"Why do you seem so surprised?" Neji asked without looking or showing emotion however his voice was filled with slight humor.
"I've never seen nee-chan fight like this before. It's so…" Hanabi's voice trailed off as she attempted to find the right words.
"Graceful." Neji finished for her.
Hanabi nodded in agreement. "Where did this style come from though? It's so different and yet so familiar." she asked.
Neji was quiet for a moment before he answered. "It's familiar because the style Hinata uses is derived from the Gentle Fist technique that we use. To be honest, Hinata created this style entirely on her own."
Hanabi's eyes widened and she looked at Neji in shock but he ignored it and continued. "While Hinata was decent at Gentle Fist, she and I both realized that she would never be able to reach her full potential by sticking to the old ways of the family's technique."
"What do you mean?" Hanabi asked.
Neji thought for a moment. "Hanabi let me ask you two questions first. When I ask it, answer it immediately without thinking. Are you ready?" he asked. Hanabi nodded and he continued. "When you think of your father, what are the first words that come to mind?"
"Strict, noble, strong, confident, powerful." Hanabi answered immediately.
Neji Nodded and then asked the next question. "And Hinata?"
"Quiet, shy, soft, and…" she trailed off as she suddenly realized a similarity between her sister and the fighting style.
"Graceful." Neji said again but this time he looked at a confused Hanabi. "The Gentle Fist that our family uses is precise, and powerful. However, the style Hinata uses is different in the fact that instead of using power and precision, she uses speed and grace. Just watch her technique." Neji ordered as they both turned their attention back to the fight to see Hiashi on the ropes. He was having trouble keeping up with Hinata as she seemingly danced around him like a ballet dancer.
"Notice how Hinata's movement is never wasted, not unlike our style where we redirect incoming attacks with the slightest move, but in the way she moves overall…"
As if to prove a point, Hiashi suddenly blocked Hinata's thrust and fired back his own. However, before his attack even reached her Hinata had already slipped under the attacking arm with a grace like speed by sliding her stance wider apart and leaning back.
"No momentum is wasted and it's constantly moving like water. When it meets an obstacle it simply flows around it…"
As the arm passed over her she quickly shifted her weight to the foot that was in front of her and now behind her father's back. As she did this she quickly twirled around so they were suddenly back to back before jabbing both of her elbows into his ribs knocking him forward a step.
"But with enough force even the strongest rock can be crushed."
Still moving, Hinata leaned forward and delivered a near spine shattering rear kick to Hiashi's back. Precisely in the spot where she knew her father's blind spot was and sent him flying across the courtyard.
The shocked faces and gasps filled the air as every Hyuuga except for Neji stared at Hinata in wonder and amazement. The world seemed to slow down as Hinata stood there panting and blushed slightly when she realized everyone was staring at her. Even the Anbu seemed to be taken aback at Hinata's surprising performance.
"Hiashi-sama!" someone suddenly shouted out and everyone turned to see Hiashi struggling to his feet and blood running down his face.
Looking up, his gaze pierced into Hinata's soul and she froze in fear at the sudden wave of killer intent that washed over the entire courtyard. Hinata could feel her legs begin to give out as her father's presence shook her to the core. "What is this feeling?" Hinata asked herself desperately. "W-Why is father doing this? Does he really hate me that much?"
Hinata wasn't the only one reacting to the blood lust radiating from Hiashi. Several branch members began to shake uncontrollably and one elder even passed out from fear. Even the Anbu suddenly become anxious and started to shift weight in anticipation. Hanabi felt tears begin to run freely down her cheeks and she looked over at Neji to see him gritting his teeth.
"Nii-san…" Hanabi whispered as her voice failed her for a moment. "Is nee-chan going to be alright?"
Neji hesitated. "Hinata's style is practically flawless. She utilizes her grace and natural flexibility to move in ways no one really should be able to." He paused as he thought about what he was going to say and his face hardened. "However, because of Hinata's confidence issues she still second guesses herself sometimes which can lead to disastrous results." Hanabi nodded in understanding and Neji's face softened slightly. "But with family like us and friends like Naruto, Hinata can overcome that."
Hanabi smiled a little at this but her father's anger made her shiver. "Do you think she will be okay?"
"The only way Hinata can lose is if Hiashi-sama can match Hinata in speed and unpredictability." Neji said confidently. "And we all know that your father is quiet pre-"
The rest was cut off as Hiashi suddenly appeared in front of Hinata slamming his shoulder into her chest and sending her flying. However, before she got out of reach Hiashi grabbed her ankle and jerked her back towards him. Completely out of control of the situation, Hinata watched in horror as her father brought a chakra filled palm up and with blinding speed slammed it into her chest as she reached him. Hinata screamed out in pain as she felt several of her ribs crack from the sheer force of the blown and a sharp piercing pain blast through her chest followed by an intense fiery pain as it suddenly became harder to breathe.
Grabbing her by her sparring robes, Hiashi flung her across the courtyard and sent her tumbling through the dirt before she came to a stop.
"Nii-san…" Hanabi's voice shook as she stared at her sister's broken form. "I think nee-chan might be in trouble."
"I can't believe he just asked Raikage-sama that! He really is an idiot!" Karui thought as her eyes shifted between a determined looking Naruto and a shocked Raikage.
The Raikage's jaw hung open as he stood there astounded at the absurdity of the request made by the blonde headed shinobi in front of him. However, it didn't last long as his face flashed from shock to instant and uncontrollable anger.
"What the FUCK did you just say?" he shouted.
There was a sudden bright flash and Naruto found himself raised off the ground and his neck in the grip of the towering giant's hand. Instantly all other ninja went on the defensive. Kakashi and Yamato didn't move out of fear that if they caused any sudden movements then the Raikage would crush Naruto's throat. The other cloud nin didn't move because of the lack of offense of the leaf nin.
"Please, repeat what you just said." The Raikage said as he raised his other fist and it began to crackle with lightning. "I want to make sure I heard you correctly."
"I asked you to forgive Sasuke." Naruto said staring the man in the eyes.
"You've got some balls you know that." The tanned giant growled and anger dripped from his words.
"And you've got some speed." Naruto said bluntly before adding, "And I see that your temper is just as short as they say it is."
The Raikage glared hard at Naruto before he spoke through clenched teeth. "Do you have a death wish kid?"
"Do you?" Naruto asked genuinely.
Suddenly the Raikage felt something prick his throat and he looked down to see a kunai's tip resting right at the base of his neck. He looked back up at Naruto who had an eyebrow raised and was still waiting for a response.
"Ha, you've also got some speed if you can keep up with me." He said as he cut the lightening to his hand and dropped Naruto roughly to his feet. Turning his back to him he walked back to his group before he spoke again. "Let's go, I don't have time to waste with this brat."
Now it was Naruto's turn to get angry. "Hey meat-head, I still haven't gotten an answer from you!"
"How dare you speak to Raikage-sama like that!" Karui yelled as she rounded on Naruto. "I should cut you down the middle for your insolence!"
Naruto simply ignored her as he stared heatedly at the Raikage. Angering her even more because of his lack of attention, she was about to shout at him again when she was cut off.
"Karui that's enough!" The Raikage's voice boomed.
Insantly she flinched and nodded submissively. The Raikage turned around and looked at Naruto evenly.
"I'll be honest brat, I really don't like you. But I have to admit it; you've got guts too. What's your name baka?"
"I'll give you my name when you give me an answer to my question." Naruto said pointedly as he folded his arms.
The Raikage simply grunted, turned around, and started to walk away. Naruto had finally had enough and he was about to charge when Kakashi spoke.
"Raikage-sama, please answer his question. I know he can be hard to deal with but this isn't important to just him. It's important to a lot of people including myself."
The Raikage stopped and looked over his shoulder. "What's it to you?" he asked.
Kakashi shuffled uncomfortably as painful memories resurfaced. "Sasuke was…he was my student. I feel like I let him down and I feel like I let Naruto down as well. Please, we traveled a long way just to ask you this question. At least answer it for us."
"No." The Raikage said instantly.
"What? Why the hell is it no?" Naruto shouted in anger.
"Because he kidnapped my fucking brother, that's why you idiotic shit stain!" The Raikage exploded in anger. "If you fucking leaf ninjas were responsible and took care of the situation when it first happened then we wouldn't have this fucking problem!"
"Well what about Sasuke? He's my brother! How do you think I'll feel if you go and kill him?" Naruto shouted back stunning everyone but Kakashi.
There was a moment of stunned silence before Cee spoke. "Uchiha Sasuke has no living family; they were all killed in the massacre."
"I may not be blood," Naruto said as he lowered his head, "but Sasuke is definitely my brother. If my information is correct, your brother isn't exactly blood either."
"How could you possibly know that?" Samui asked in shock.
"I have…friends who know things." Naruto said quietly as he tried to ignore Kyuubi perking up at hearing it. The truth was he had no idea that the Raikage and the jinchuriki were brothers until Kyuubi had mentioned it.
"You're point is irrelevant." The Raikage said as he looked ahead and began walking. "The fact is that your traitorous brother is now working for the Akatsuki, he attacked my brother and then kidnapped him. I will find Uchiha Sasuke, and when I do I will be sure to kill him very, very, slowly."
"Please reconsider!" Naruto begged. He hated begging, but at this point he was desperate. "Would your brother want this?"
The Raikage stopped mid stride. "No." he said quietly.
For a brief moment, hope flickered in Naruto's eyes. The next second it was gone.
"But I'm not my brother. My decision is final." The Raikage said and with that they left.
Watching the cloud ninja walk away Naruto finally accepted that he would not be able to change the Raikage's mind. Slowly sinking to his knees he felt like a failure once again for not being able to protect someone important to him. Tears began to trickle down his face as he cried quietly to himself. "Damn it! Why can't I protect those I care about! Why is it so damn hard to at least protect one precious person?" He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn't feel a hand clamp onto his shoulder give him a reassuring squeeze. Wiping his eyes, Naruto looked up to see Kakashi smiling through his mask.
"Well I'll be honest Naruto; I thought that the meeting was going to go a lot worse. The fact that we survived shows just how well it went."
Naruto chuckled at this but it quickly faded when he thought of Sakura. "She'll be so upset when she finds out that I couldn't change the Raikage's mind." Kakashi saw his smile fade and gave him another squeeze. Then he spoke as if reading Naruto's mind.
"Don't worry about how Sakura will react. She knows that you tried and that's what counts."
Naruto nodded before suddenly becoming incredibly tired. Thinking back, they had run extremely hard to catch up to the cloud ninja with very little breaks. As if sensing his exhaustion Yamato finally spoke up.
"Might I suggest we rent a room and relax before we head back?" he asked.
Kakashi nodded. "There should be a small village about two miles to the east of us. Let's try there."
With the group reaching a consensus they trudged off through the snow to relax in the nearest town. With his mission done, Naruto's mind drifted once again and wasn't surprised when he ended up thinking about a lavender eyed girl. "Hinata…I hope you're doing okay. Give that asshole what he deserves!" There was no doubt in his mind that she could win, but he still was worried about her. His face contorted slightly when he realized his concern for her. "I know that she can win if she truly tries but I still can't help but worry for her. Why?" Answering his own question he realized one thing; he didn't know why. When he tried to come up with an answer for one question he just ended up with ten more. "I don't want her to get hurt. I don't want her to suffer. I want to protect Hinata with all I have because…because why? I care for her? Because I like her? Do I like her? She's strong, beautiful, and brave but I don't understand this feeling I get when I think about her. It's different from when I think about Sakura. What is it? ...Why is it different?...Fucking hell this is aggravating!"
Giving up mentally he focused on getting to the hotel so he could rest and soon found that they were already standing in front of it. He had been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn't even realize that they had arrived at the village. Shrugging his shoulders he walked in and rented a room for three. Once inside he wasted no time rolling out a sleeping bag and passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Kakashi and Yamato were in the process of setting down their packs when they just stopped and stared at the blonde in shock.
"You know, some things about him will never change." Yamato said with a smirk.
Kakashi chuckled to himself before they continued and finished prepping their own beds. Deciding that Naruto could handle himself, even if he was sleeping, the two left to get a bite to eat downstairs.
"You don't think he'll be angry with us for eating without him do you?" Yamato asked as they walked down the stairs.
"No, if there's one thing that takes priority over food with Naruto its sleep." Kakashi answered. "Besides, it looked like he could use it. Something must be bothering him because it really does seem like ever since the invasion he hasn't gotten a decent night's sleep."
Yamato nodded in agreement. "Perhaps there's something on his mind?"
"With everything that's happened to him, how couldn't he have something on his mind?" Kakashi said bluntly. He then sighed. "I guess as his sensei I'll have to ask him about it soon. I'm not one for this kind of stuff but he does seem like he has a lot to get off his chest."
Yamato nodded again. "I wonder what could possibly be eating at him?" he asked.
Kakshi shrugged his shoulders. "At this point, it could be anything."
Hundreds of miles away a midnight haired kunoichi slowly stood up with blood dripping down the side of her mouth. All bets were off, her father had just officially declared war.
A/N: Well there's chapter nine. Hinata is in the fight of her life and Naruto is miles away. Now let me know what you think!
