This chapter was brought to you by Team Outback, we do not own Naruto.
...
"There's the gate!" exclaimed Naruto as he pointed a finger towards it. For Jiraiya it was slightly entertaining to see the childish nature of the Genin. Clearly, even though the ninja headband that covered his forehead made him an adult, in a sense he was still a kid at heart.
The white-haired man took this moment to look at the other two Genin, the two students of Kakashi having been great inspiration for his next book. It was clear in Sakura's eyes that she was angry at Sasuke for what he had done with the Shadow Clone but her love for him kept her quiet.
As for Sasuke, he had spent the majority of the trip trying to figure out something, and Jiraiya could only imagine that it was due to the fact that the memories of his Shadow Clone kissing Sakura had become his own. While he could help the Genin by telling them the little secret about Shadow Clones, it was much more entertaining this way. The small awkward moments where both Sakura and Sasuke would turn towards one another, make eye contact, and quickly look away, were absolute dynamite for the author.
While he didn't have his notepad out with him, he was mentally scribbling down every single detail that he could get. Though he was above simply transcribing the scenario and publishing it, their small interactions unlocked floodgates of creativity for the Sannin. Kakashi seemed to have noticed that the white-haired man was soaking in all that he could get from the two Genin in front of him, and hadn't made conversation with him for the better part of the last half hour, likely not wanting to inhibit his creative juices from flowing.
"It hasn't changed much in the last ten years," said Jiraiya as he glanced at the guards standing by it. Two flak jackets. That meant they were probably Chunin as he usually attempted to keep up with the identities of the newer Jounin via his extensive spy network.
"I'm sure if they even so much as thought of attempting to renovate the outer gates, a certain someone would rain on their parade," spoke Kakashi as he made no minor attempt to prevent his gaze from falling on Naruto.
So the brat was a prankster... it wasn't as though Jiraiya hadn't seen that coming. With a sigh he took a few steps forward to the gate, the four younger shinobi falling behind him as he cleared his throat.
"Halt!" one of the supposed Chunin commanded, holding out a hand as he showed great confidence. "What is your business here?"
"Pfft, I feel insulted that people of your age and rank haven't been told about me," said Jiraiya. Instead of talking to them directly, he turned his attention to the blond kid next to him. "You'd think that when a man is being escorted into Konoha by a team of shinobi without bearing any kind of shackles, people wouldn't ask this question. Don't you think?"
"Wait, what?" questioned Naruto unsure of what he was being asked.
"Never mind, just make sure this is something that you fix when you become Hokage," stated Jiraiya. "Now run off and find your friend already."
"Hinata!" exclaimed Naruto as he ran off down the street, Sakura and Sasuke close behind. While the fact may have passed over Naruto's head at the mention of the Hyuga heiress, his teammates had picked up on the fact that the member of the Sannin seemed to have a great deal of faith in Naruto's potential. They couldn't help but wonder whether or not the white-haired man would be able to provide them with some of the answers that they sought.
The blond continued forward at a blistering rate, weaving in between citizens without a second's thought as he set his sights on the Hyuga compound. Knowing the people who usually stood guard outside the front of the gates, he knew that there was no chance he'd be let in for a casual call, but he was determined to get in one way or another to ensure that Hinata was alright.
...
"So I've got to walk a hundred metres north from the tower, turn left when I see the big oak tree and then follow the dirt road?" asked Jiraiya as he elicited a nod from Kakashi.
"The Hokage probably wishes for you to work on whatever's he's summoned you for," said Kakashi, the pair having cleared border security, "but I'm sure that he would find it just as imperative that you find inspiration too."
"You are a wise man," nodded Jiraiya, before frowning. "So what exactly did the old man want me to do about the cursed seal? Ever since those Kunoichi chased me out of the village a few years ago, I thought I was too much trouble to keep around."
"It's pretty likely that he wanted you to take a shot at reducing its effects," replied Kakashi nonchalantly. "I'm sure that it's a painful thing to have, and Hiashi's eldest is quite... timid."
"Odd," stated the white-haired man. "If he needed a Sannin to help heal up a Genin, I'd have thought he would have gone after Tsunade."
"Well Tsunade's not exactly all that... experienced... when it comes to picking up after Orochimaru," Kakashi began to drag his feet as the pair continued towards the Hokage's office.
"So he's really at it again, huh?" Had he not been used to the antics of his former teammate, Jiraiya would have shook his head in disappointment. "Wonder what else he did this time. The village still seems to be standing, at least."
"Last I heard he was obsessed with immortality," replied Kakashi as he whipped out an orange book, making a mental note to have the man standing in front of him sign it at some point.
"Mhmm, yeah it's been like that for a while now," Jiraiya agreed. "He must be after something from Konoha that'll help him with his immortality dreams."
"Well, there is that forbidden scroll that the Shodaime wrote… perhaps there's something interesting in there," suggested Kakashi, recalling that the first thing his blond student had seen was a rather high-classed Jutsu. Who knew what other secrets were contained within the scroll?
"Not likely," Jiraiya shook his head. "Those are mostly suicide Jutsu; the kind that you use if you want to go out with a big bang."
"Well Naruto found the Kage Bunshin in there, so I'm sure there's something that Orochimaru could get working with all his experiments."
"How on Earth did he get his hands on the scroll?" asked Jiraiya with surprise. "I thought the Sandaime kept that thing under lock and key."
"Remember that Jutsu Sasuke used back in the town we found you in?" questioned Kakashi.
"Yeah, where he turned into that smoking-hot chick and made out with Pinkie, what of it?" Jiraiya asked with a shrug.
"Naruto invented that, it was what he used it to knock the Hokage unconscious."
Jiraiya's face immediately grew into a feral grin. "Bloody lucky brat... not only does he invent the greatest Jutsu in the world but he also manages to snag the forbidden scroll."
"He's lucky, sure," said Kakashi, "but I wouldn't call him bright."
"Why's that?" questioned Jiraiya. He knew that the blond certainly wasn't book smart, but Kakashi seemed to be inferring something else.
"He could probably have any straight man in his pocket with that Jutsu but he never uses it. That and he's still not figured out the main advantage to having Shadow Clones; they don't pick fights with each other anymore but he's not even bothered to investigate their potential."
"I see," Jiraiya said with a quick nod, as he eyed the looming Hokage tower. "It makes more sense to allow him to learn by himself than spoon-feed everything to him, and plus he's too hyperactive... if you give him ammo, all you'll be seeing is explosions all week."
...
There were a few guards standing around the compound and it looked as though they were having a lazy day. From where he was, not far behind the gates, he could make out that the veins around their eyes weren't strained in that creepy familial Jutsu of theirs, that allowed them to see things at great distance, but still... to get around them, one would have to sneak past with a great deal of tact.
Thankfully, before he managed to do anything too stupid, he felt the hands of both Sakura and Sasuke grab at his shoulders, preventing him from making a leap forward. "Easy Dobe," said Sasuke, trying to get Naruto to calm down a bit. "Don't rush too quickly into this."
"But what if Hinata's in trouble?" asked Naruto worriedly.
"Remember some of the training you've been doing with Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, getting the boy to pause momentarily as his mind raced over all the information. While actual details of training had never been shared between the three teammates, Sakura recalled that Kakashi had originally taken Naruto for stealth and reconnaissance training, so hopefully he had learnt something that would currently help them.
"I guess you're right," said Naruto as he calmed his breathing, somewhat surprising both of his teammates who hadn't quite expected such a response, both having expected to have had to tie him down and spend an hour talking to him. "But still..."
"But nothing," interrupted Sasuke. "Look at the information we know and we can set up a plan from there."
"Well, all we know is that Hinata got bitten by one of Jiraiya's teammates and received a cursed seal or something as a result," said Naruto.
"Exactly, at the moment that is all that we know," said Sakura. "We don't even know where Hinata is right now."
"The old 'opening the eyes and looking down the street' trick seems to be pretty effective," said Sasuke sarcastically, as he looked down the road to where he could see the daughter of the head of the Hyuga clan walking away from the compound.
Naruto was just about to shout out to her, but before he could he found his mouth covered by both Sakura and Sasuke. "There's one other piece of information we need to remember," said Sakura looking directly at the blonde. "The person who attacked her is a traitor to the village. When we came in through the main gates today we didn't see any extra security which means we can assume that the knowledge about what happened isn't wide spread."
"So what does that mean we do?" asked Naruto, getting the general gist of what Sakura was saying.
"It means, Dobe, that we don't just go up to her and ask how it feels to be bitten by an enemy of Konoha," instructed Sasuke. "Use vague questions that teeter around the topic but never ask her directly about what happened."
"Got it," said Naruto, as his teammates released his shoulders, allowing him to rush forward once more.
"Do you think he remembers most of that?" asked Sakura as both she and Sasuke walked in the same direction as their teammate but at a much slower rate.
"A month ago I would have said that he wouldn't have remembered any of it," said Sasuke.
"And now?" asked Sakura looking for a follow on.
"Maybe about forty percent."
...
Naruto was tempted to run straight up to Hinata and make sure that the young girl was alright, the thought of anything bad ever happening to one of his friends turning out to be unbearable for the blond. She had been so nice to him, offering to let him cheat off her exam when all he had was a blank sheet... Naruto could only ever recall a few other people performing similar gestures for him.
However he knew that he couldn't do that, not after Sasuke's words; it would be almost stupid to do it out in public where anyone could overhear. This enemy of Konoha... Jiraiya's former teammate, the person who had attacked her and placed a seal upon her which apparently screwed with her chakra... he sounded dangerous. Naruto was the type of person to welcome a challenge but this guy sounded like someone that Naruto wouldn't ever want to have the pleasure of meeting. Unless that meeting involved planting his fist into the asshole's gut for hurting Hinata, of course.
Jiraiya was fairly strong according to Kakashi, making it rather obvious to the blond that the older pervert was either on par with or above the level of the other pervert. Kakashi's strength, Naruto had realised, was something that he was still struggling to comprehend. At first the man had appeared to be a typical lazy douche-bag who was born strong, but in the past week or so, Naruto's opinion of him had started to rapidly change. There were difficult training exercises and Jutsu that their sensei was now giving to them, which meant that he was also clearly above their level. In other words, Naruto felt as though he were a mere house cat in comparison to the mighty lions that were Kakashi, Jiraiya and possibly the latter's former teammate.
Naruto watched closely as another person who looked about their age joined Hinata. He almost felt as though he should've known the person but no matter how much he tried he could not place a name to the face. The boy's clothing and general smug look made it pretty clear that he was a Hyuga though, since he looked pretty similar to the guards that Naruto had seen a few minutes ago - the complete opposite of Hinata. He was still pretty far away from the girl and her friend but Naruto took notice of the foliage that was becoming more and more numerous the further they got away from him - perhaps he could take to the trees and follow them while he figured out just how to confront Hinata.
Suddenly, Naruto turned around, realising that he hadn't cared to see where his two teammates had gone off to in his haste to catch up with Hinata. He looked around for a few more seconds before realising that the two Hyugas were slowly getting out of his range of vision, so with a shrug he ran up the nearest tree and closed in on them by leaping from branch to branch.
Another thing that had really disturbed Naruto was this former teammate of Jiraiya's… this renegade's ability to play with seals and mess up a person's chakra. He didn't like the sound of that at all. While it sounded horrible and nasty, there was one thing in particular which Jiraiya had said that was still running around in the back of his head. "You of all people Naruto should know that seals are a serious business."
What was that supposed to mean? Other than the obvious reference to the gigantic monster sealed within Naruto's stomach, what had Jiraiya been meaning to say by that? There were two things that came to mind: either that this seal which had been slapped on Hinata was as big a deal as the one he'd been burdened with at birth, or Jiraiya was warning him... that this guy could potentially screw up his seal and mess with the Kyuubi too.
...
"I'm g-glad that you came out for me with a walk, Neji nii-san," Hinata smiled slightly as she pressed her fingers together. "I've been wanting some fresh air for a while."
"It is my duty to protect you, Hinata-sama. Escorting you is merely a part of that duty," Neji said softly yet with his usual monotonous tone.
"Still, I'm happy that y-you could accompany me," said Hinata weakly, her body still not fully recovered from the exertion that it had been through recently. "I've been wanting to thank you..."
"Thank me?" repeated Neji, surprised. "What could you possibly want to thank me for Hinata-sama?"
"For what you did in the forest," Hinata's voice was as gentle as the cool breeze flowing through the path that would eventually lead into town. "Before anything happened... you tried your hardest to make sure that Orochimaru wouldn't get to me, and seeing you like that... f-fighting against those odds, that really encouraged me."
"Hinata-sama," began Neji, "I am not sure if you are unaware, but I failed to do my duty that day and you paid the price in full for it. Such is fate, I suppose... but nevertheless, I have to accept responsibility for the consequences of my failure."
"No," Hinata shook her head firmly as she glanced to the ground, "No, no! You didn't fail me, and you did your very best... t-that's all that matters."
"Excuse me for speaking out, but do you not understand what has happened Hinata-sama? Orochimaru has marked you with his cursed seal, branded you with a very dark mark and because of it, things will never be the same for you," said Neji, formality slowly falling out of his voice for once.
"I-I know," said Hinata, her eyes beginning to water up as she attempted to not think of the implications that the seal would inevitably have on her life before she shook her head gently and looked up to Neji, a Naruto-esque smile on her face. "I-I've come to realise that everyone's lives will one day come to an abrupt e-end. It's sad really... but all we can really do about it is live our lives to their fullest and look back with no regrets."
"I see," nodded Neji. "While I still believe fate determines the majority of things which occur, I can see the point in and respect your beliefs, Hinata-sama."
Hinata merely beamed back at him, glad for them to be on a similar page for once in their lives.
"Anyway, I believe I am due for a meeting with Hiashi-sama, your father, so I shall not be able to escort you further," said Neji before looking up at a tree not far from them where a small blob of orange stirred. "So I'll have to bid you farewell, but I do suggest you get that orange idiot who's been tailing us for a while out of the trees."
With that, Neji promptly turned on his heel and left, not looking back as the boy in the orange jumpsuit simultaneously fell out of the tree and hit the ground with a thud.
...
"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata rubbed her eyes in disbelief as she saw her crush drop out of nowhere.
"Hinata..." said Naruto awkwardly as he quickly attempted to come up with an excuse for why he'd been in the trees. "We... we got back from our mission and I was practicing tree climbing for chakra control when I saw you, and I-I wanted to find out how you went on the first test!"
"We p-passed," said Hinata as she struggled to look at Naruto, her feet seemingly more interesting to observe than the boy in front of her. "We even g-got through the second test."
"That's amazing," said Naruto, trying to make it sound like the news wasn't actually new to him. "I bet someone as amazing as you would have gotten through it easily."
Little did Naruto know the effects that his words had, as Hinata's face became bright red and her consciousness threatened to fade. Yet, where once she would have undoubtedly found herself waking up after having passed out, her nerves steeled as she suddenly found a boost of confidence rush through her system. Reaching forward, she grabbed Naruto's hand and started leading him away without another word being said.
Naruto, meanwhile, couldn't quite understand what was going on, he hadn't faltered from the small plan that he had constructed with his teammates, yet this was by no means the response he had been expecting. He opened his mouth a couple of times but couldn't really find anything to say as he just allowed Hinata to lead him somewhere. Perhaps it was somewhere more secluded where he would be able to get some deeper information out of her without anybody else listening in. 'That's it, she just wants to find somewhere where nobody can see us for a while,' concluded Naruto. Little did he know that the reasoning he'd forged for this, was absolutely nowhere near what Hinata had planned, provided she had planned this at all.
Meanwhile, standing back in the spot where Hinata and Naruto stood only moments before, Sasuke and Sakura just looked at one another in confusion, neither of them truly understanding what had just happened.
...
For those who are interested, we are a group of collaborative writers who combine our efforts to bring you stories such as this one. We're an open group, meaning that anyone can apply to join. Feel free to check out our forums, and perhaps apply to join the group, via the link on our profile. It's a great opportunity for those who would like to better their own writing skills and exchange skills of the trade with fellow authors, or to simply be more apart of a writing community.
Hope you enjoyed and please review.
