Hi. This is late.
Um, yeah.
ONWARD.
Strange Kismet
Chapter Nine: The Unholy Trinity
The two-story house had obviously been a nice place in which to live at one time. But now it wasn't. The white paint was peeling in some places and cracked in others. There were nicks and cuts in the wood frame, and even a few gouges that looked like they had been made by swords. The village itself was eerily quiet; the people who were walking around town seemed either listless or jumpy – thought mostly just depressed. People definitely got jittery around the ninja, despite their obviously warm feelings for Tazuna. After all, he was the only one to whom they would bother to wave or smile.
The trip to the village had been mostly uneventful, except for one thwarted attack attempt. Shino and Kiba had quickly detected two hiding chuunin that meant to attack the two teams. After being discovered, the "Demon Brothers" went on to say that Tazuna would never escape their clutches, and that every attempt by the Konoha ninja to protect him was doomed to failure. They had begun to make moves toward Tazuna – Sakura wasted no time in stepping in front of the man defensively – before keeling over on the ground in a dead faint. Shino's destruction bugs then detached and flew back to him, flying up his sleeves.
Asuma had looked slightly impressed. Kurenai was proud, and told them all so. Team 10 seemed slightly in shock. Of course, that had been a common state of being for Ino after Sakura's big changes. Sakura occasionally sparred with her – but not with words, only with taijutsu. Every time, Sakura, who had never even gotten close to Ino's level of taijutsu – the highest of all the girls in the class, and better than some boys – came one step closer to besting her. They never argued about Sasuke anymore, despite Ino's prodding her at every given opportunity. And they never just talked about girly things, either. Even her state of dress had changed. No more red – only serviceable, practical green.
Ino decided that she hated green.
"Thank you again," said Tazuna with a low bow as they walked to the front door of his house. "Please come in. Tsunami! Inari! I'm home!"
"Father?" A woman with a pink shirt and dark eyes looked startled at the sight of them, then relieved, and then happy. "Father!"
The ninja teams watched the affectionate hug with various levels of discomfort or "Awwww"-ness, mostly depending on gender. It all turned into discomfort when Tsunami said in what she thought was a quiet whisper, "why are the Konoha ninja here? We thought they'd imprisoned you!"
"I would like to see my grandson," said Tazuna gently. "Then I will explain everything. In the meantime, please give these Konoha nin a very warm greeting, for we all owe them a lot."
Warily, Tsunami smiled at them. Kurenai took the liberty of warmly introducing herself and fellow shinobi to the woman, who gradually became more open to them. She was a very kind woman, and even offered to let them stay in their home, which the shinobi declined. (It was not of much consequence to survive in the outdoors, especially in the late spring weather and given the outdoors specialty of Team 8. Ino was despairing.) They were just starting to feel more comfortable when a small, pale boy raced down the stairs and pointed an accusing finger at all of them.
"Grandpa! Why are these evil Konoha bastards in our house?!"
It was going to be a long mission…
Anko stretched luxuriously on the plush, full-sized, Western-style bed she had been given – a definite departure from her futon at home. After spending a night in the high-class rooms, she was well-rested and ready for her first day on duty. The Cheshire grin on her face, though, had not faded since seeing the horrified faces of Mayakashi and Kirameki. She half-wondered if she'd done what she did purely for the look on their faces, but then brushed the thought away. It was the promise of a little extra money that spurred her on. Bit of spare padding never hurt anyone!
Hinata sat on her bed as well, but did not seem as enthused as her sensei to be in their position; and Anko, despite her loud and rabble-rousing nature, was quite observant.
"Hinata-chan, what's wrong?"
"We haven't seen Naruto-san or Sasuke-san. Or Kakashi-sensei," she said in her customary way – only as loud as absolutely necessary. "It's been twelve hours."
"Don't worry about those boys. They're holding up just fine," said Anko dismissively. Hinata did not relax. This being apart from her teammates set her on edge. She'd been in their company almost constantly for a long while now, and both the fact that they weren't with her now and that it meant so much to her was alarming.
"Tell you what. Once we get off shift today, we'll go and look for them if we haven't found them yet, okay?
Hinata did not look too impressed by her decision. However, Hinata didn't show too much emotion generally, so Anko didn't let it bother her.
"Ready to go?" Anko said in reply to the silence. Hinata nodded.
"Good. Let's go guard some yakuza boss ass, okay?"
The floor was hard and cold, easily felt through the raggedy futon. His holey blanket was made for an infant, not for a growing teenage boy. A large, hairy man had given him a rude awakening two hours before dawn so that he could attend to his duties.
This certainly wasn't the treatment that an Uchiha deserved!
"Are you awake over there, onna-tarashi?" Kakashi asked him, barely being able to conceal his snickering as they both ate breakfast – if it could be called that – a sparse affair of water and stale bread. Yuck. Sasuke clenched his jaw at Kakashi's new nickname. Playboy. Playboy! He was never going to live this one down. And he hadn't even done anything embarrassing! Suddenly the fact that he was talking to a girl was big news! He spoke with Anko and Hinata all the time!
…and there was the catch, he supposed angrily. He needed to communicate with Anko and Hinata so that their team could function properly. With Asami, he didn't have to speak with her. He didn't even have to be around her. It was all of his own free will. At least, until Kakashi had enlisted himself and Sasuke to the cause of guarding the mayor – and, subsequently, guarding his daughter.
So now he was here, watching the mayor of this no-name little town leisurely nibble on a large, very delicious-looking breakfast. It took all of his willpower to keep his stomach from growling. Every once in a while, the man would glance over at him, his gaze getting darker and angrier with every look. Sasuke glared right back. This man was an amateur; he wouldn't know a half-decent scowl if it came up and slapped him in the face. Which is what Sasuke's current scowl would do if it could, because Mayor Okonomokoro was really starting to piss him off.
"Alright, boy, let's get this over with right now," he said suddenly, twisting fully in his seat that he could lock eyes with Sasuke. "You were flirting with my daughter yesterday afternoon. Don't deny it! I've heard it all – multiple accounts, even!"
Sasuke shifted his glare to Kakashi, who looked away, whistling innocently.
"And I have this to say about the whole situation. As it were." He stood up and walked toward Sasuke, attempting to tower over him and failing miserably. Sheer stubbornness worked something like killing intent on a smaller scale, and Sasuke had loads of it. Still, he attempted to intimidate the genin as he began his tirade.
"She is a high-bred girl, out of whom everyone expects great things. She is the last in a line of very prestigious nobility, the Okonomokoro. And I will be damned if I let some half-rate ninja-child attempt to coerce her into a relationship!"
There was a long silence. The man was breathing heavily, his face red with anger. Sasuke looked him up and down coolly.
"With all due respect, sir, I am not a boy, or a child, I am a legal adult, and would appreciate it if you would treat me as such. I am not a servant at your beck and call, either; I am a ninja, and you have hired me for a brief period due to some sort of agreement with my sensei. I have free will and I will use it how I please. Whether or not that choice pertains to your daughter remains to be seen. Furthermore, since my Hokage did not assign this mission to me, I have no obligation to you or to your contract. I can leave at any time."
This had shocked him into a stupor. Mayor Okonomokoro stared at Sasuke like nobody had ever taken him down a peg. This was going to be a good one.
"In regard to your supposedly illustrious bloodline, I sincerely doubt the truth to your claims since no such name has, to my knowledge, ever been on the Godaikoku Nobility Registry, of which I am well-acquainted."
Ah, politics. The art of making somebody feel like he was a low-class scumbag while being totally polite. Not everything from his lessons – so long ago – had worn off. This was good; it allowed him to make a fool of this pompous old man. He already took enough shit from Kakashi about his relationship with Asami, he wasn't going to take anything from anybody else, client or not.
But relationship had too strong a connotation. Acquaintance. Yes, that was the perfect, detached word. No, he had absolutely no feelings for the girl behind that of a distantly pleasant friend.
"Have a seat, sir, I think your breakfast may be getting cold." Sasuke smirked as Mayor Okonomokoro stumbled back to his seat, shoving food into his mouth listlessly.
"I think that's the longest consecutive stream of words that you've ever said in front of me," said Kakashi, blinking his one visible eye. "Hm!"
"I do have a question, sir," said Sasuke, still very polite. Mayor Okonomokoro paused and slowly turned to look at him. "Yesterday, Asami-chan told me that her last name was Choudai. Why did she?" Sasuke's smirk widened when he saw the man's jaw clench with the familiar address of –chan.
He harrumphed and turned back around. "Don't ask me to fathom the mind of a teenage girl," he said. "I have no idea why she did it. Choudai, though, was her mother's maiden name."
This was when Asami – or was it Reikasamiko? – chose to stroll into the room, unconcerned with but aware of the tension between her father and her friend.
"Good morning," she said, leaning her weight on the seat next to her father's lazily before pulling the chair out and sitting down. "How are you today, papa?" Asami asked with a wide, innocent smile as the server filled her plate.
"Well, my dear," said the mayor, softening under the sweet treatment. "And how are you?"
"Well," she answered primly. "Papa, I want to go into town today. May I?"
"After yesterday's fiasco, I'm not sure that I want to let you go," he said. There was a frown etched across his face as he looked over at her calculatingly. She looked at him with a pleading pout.
"But papa! I'll take an escort!"
"Oh, really now? And who exactly were you thinking?"
Asami smiled winningly. "Who could be better escorts than a pair of ninja?"
"WHAT?! You want to take that boy with you –"
"'That boy' has a teacher, papa. You would doubt the skill of a shinobi like Kakashi-san would you?"
"But the boy!"
Ten minutes later, a grumbling Mayor Okonomokoro watched his daughter go, all the while cursing those brown doe eyes that looked just like her mother's own.
"I'm guessing you do this a lot," said Kakashi intuitively, having watched the short battle of wills that had taken place.
"Yeah, about every day. I never used to go out of that house at all, it was killing me. So eventually I got him to let me go as long as I took an escort… and I usually get to pick the escort. Just pick the right person, and I'm basically home free."
"What about yesterday, then?" Sasuke asked her. Asami scowled. "A snitch. I usually have a better sense of who I can trust not to rat me out, but not this time I guess."
The two teens walked side-by-side in companionable silence for several minutes; the town over which Mayor Okonomokoro presided slowly came into view as they reached the pinnacle of a hill. Kakashi walked ahead of them, whistling gaily with a spring in his step. As they reached the very edge of the city, he turned around in a flurry of unexpected motion.
"I don't know about you two, but I am starving!" Kakashi interrupted suddenly, his curved eyes indicating a smile. "I'm going to find something to eat. Later!"
"Your sensei has all the subtlety of a rampaging elephant," said Asami thoughtfully as she watched the back of Kakashi disappear in the midmorning marketplace.
"And for once, I'm glad he does."
Naruto shifted uncomfortably, feeling the gazes of Tsunade and Shizune heavy on him. He was largely unused to attention; therefore, having the utter concentration of two older women on him – especially two older women who happened to be exceedingly powerful or tremendously skilled or both, in Tsunade's case - was unnerving. The familiar scowl marred his face to conceal his discomfort.
"Yeah? Is there something you need?"
"You… should still be unconscious right now from the beating shishou gave you!" said Shizune in breathy amazement. "Your healing capabilities are incredible…!"
"Yeah, well. I should leave. Thanks for not leaving me on the street."
Underneath the sarcasm was a hint of gratitude. He really was grateful. If he'd been in Konoha…
Neither of the other two failed to pick up on this hint of emotion. Tsunade nodded curtly. "No problem kid. But before you leave, you're gonna have to answer a few questions for me. If you don't mind." Judging by the look on her face, she knew he really had no choice, especially after being beaten so handily by this woman. The loss continued to rankle at him, despite the fact that she was eons out of his league for the moment.
"Shoot."
"First off – if you're really a Konoha ninja, what rank are you? And if you're a genin, where's your sensei? You shouldn't be wandering the countryside of Hi no Kuni."
"I am a genin, and if you know anything about Konoha ninja, you'll probably understand why at least one of my sensei is deviant – it's because his name is Hatake Kakashi."
"One of multiple? How many do you have exactly?"
"Two."
After a moment of silence Tsunade glared at him. "Well? Who's the other?"
"Geez lady, do you want my life story? I don't even know how you relate to Konoha. You could be someone that I should watch out for all that I know."
"How can I prove it to you? Look, do you see this necklace?" Easily forgettable in the proportions of her chest, a glistening green gem rested there, twinkling slightly in the midmorning light. Naruto eyed it warily.
A gem similar to that was supposed to have belonged to the Shodai Hokage, if he remembered from the Kyuubi's lessons correctly. His Furriness talked about that stone with both loathing and respect; he hated it, yet realized the awesome power it must possess in order to hold sway over a bijuu of his standing. A sliver of intuition told him that this was the real deal; he decided to play dumb anyway.
"So you've got a sparkly rock on a string. That don't say much to me," he said with a snort, crossing his arms and turning away. Her eyebrow twitched in warning.
"How about this!" She pulled a scroll out of nowhere and handed it to him. His eyes widened immeasurably – this seal was too familiar, too authentic, to be anybody's but that of Sarutobi. Apparently, this woman really knew Hokage-ojiisan.
"This doesn't prove a thing," he said. "Only that you've been into contact with Hokage-sama. I'm sure that he exchanges letters with plenty of people that he doesn't like."
Tsunade hid her smirk. This boy was a good actor, but he really had to work on sustaining the image. As soon as she had given him a more feasible clue, his voice had decreased in volume and stupidity, and his vocabulary and articulation had shifted abruptly from basic to above average. This boy truly didn't know who he was dealing with – a genius, a student of the Sandaime Hokage, a Sannin. He honestly stood no chance against her comparatively towering intellect! The poor thing.
"After all, who could like an ugly hag like you?" said Naruto with an evil grin, cackling at the rising ire on her face. Merrily he twirled, dancing out of her reach for a split second before her fist of justice came down full force on his head –
Poof.
"A CLONE?!"
Naruto hummed quietly as he scaled the vertical edge of Tsunade's cheap motel with chakra. The echoes of his cackling remained on his face as a stretched-wide grin – the ultimate prankster within him still lived. And now it had this nifty scroll from Hokage-ojiisan to collect for the hoard.
In the balmy hours following midday, Anda Masato and his nephew Kai decided to go for a leisurely stroll around the edge of their territory. To Anko, this rang a warning bell in her mind. Anda knew of Hinata's rather violent interaction with the policemen of the north side. And he wasn't stupid. She quickly came to the conclusion that he was planning something. So the question now was, what? The idea that he might have some sort of alliance with those policemen was unconceivable; she'd been on the north side, and they were some of the most uptight bastards she'd ever been condescended by in her life – and that was nothing to sneer at considering she had shared a village with the Hyuuga clan since her birth.
No, those people would never lower themselves to mix with the likes of Anda. Was he trying to start a fight, and banking on the ninja? Well, he was shit out of luck if he expected something like that. They'd been hired to protect him, not fight his fights for him.
That didn't seem right either. He wasn't one to do anything without weighing consequences first. It was likely to show off his new prizes, and to send a message to the other side.
But it was still annoying, she thought as they rounded a corner. Just walking around this little town, like a show dog being put through its paces. Nothing was happ –
"Walk faster, boy! My granddaughter needs a good strong husband!"
"Grandpa, really, this isn't necessary. We were actually going faster before you showed up."
"No, no, Reika-chan, he needs to know what I expect for him in the next few years. Fifteen is the lowest age of consent for marriage in the Godaikoku, so we've only got precious few years left before his worth expires!"
It took all of her willpower for Anko not to laugh at Sasuke's embarrassed and infuriated face. The slight red hue to his cheeks only made the situation all the more hilarious. The exalted Uchiha was helping an elderly man – obviously the grandfather to the girl on his other side – cross the road, and all the while the older man was making some of the most entertainingly demeaning and emasculating comments she'd ever heard directed at a male. Suddenly walking around with Anda didn't seem like such a chore.
"Ahh, it appears as though one of your comrades from the Hidden Leaf has run afoul of some Uppers," said Anda with a subtly amused grin on his face as he gazed at the strange trio. As if sensing his gaze, the grandfather's head snapped toward the entourage of Devils.
"Boy! Boy! You must protect my beloved granddaughter from those hooligans!"
"But they aren't doing anything," Sasuke hissed in annoyance, unheard by those just several yards to his right – in contrast to the words of the old man, which likely could have been heard by half the village of Shinboku. Anko and Hinata showed no sign of recognition; he followed suit. If they weren't going to say anything, then he wasn't either.
"I don't care! They could do something!"
Sasuke repressed a snarl. This stupid, crotchety old man had ruined their walk entirely. He had literally appeared out of nowhere, demanded why the two young people did not have a proper escort or at least a foot of space between them, and had proceeded to make Sasuke as miserable as possible. The one moment when his back was turned, Asami leaned over to tell him that her half-deaf grandfather had likely been sent out by – surprise, surprise – her father in order to keep her in line. All of the servants he sent out to catch her were beginning to ask for salary raises because of the strenuous exercise required to catch her and bring her back to the mansion successfully. At this point, her grandfather, Okonomokoro Hajime, had turned back from giving a street vendor a mean-spirited telling off and yelled at Sasuke not to molest his granddaughter with his dirty ninja eyes.
At least this was breaking up the monotony. Though he'd catch hell from Anko later, and Naruto would never let him live this down if she told him.
"I doubt that old guy's gonna shut up," said Anko with annoyance. "If you're interested in some entertainment, Anda-san…"
"Oh? Wouldn't it be a little – ah – unethical, or something, to fight someone from one's own village?"
Anko could tell that he was interested anyway, so she pressed on. "For them, it would be something like a training exercise. To the old man? He'd shut up. And for you… entertainment, right?"
This would be perfect. If Anda saw a little glimpse of what was going on here today and liked it (which he would – Sasuke and Hinata were two of the best), he would probably hire from Konoha in the future. And from what she'd seen so far, he didn't do anything illegal, or anything that would be considered taboo by the Hokage. All she was getting done, and all by mere coincidence… Anko smirked a bit.
"Go on, Hinata-chan. Show him your stuff."
Hinata looked up at her sensei, a questioning look on her face.
"Don't hurt him too bad. You know, just make is convincing."
The young girl shrugged and began to walk forward, so that now Sasuke was only separated from her by six footsteps of space. The old man behind him was still yelling and shaking his fist angrily at her and the rest of the people behind her. She looked closer at him. There was a gleam in his eye – he was doing this on purpose. To test Sasuke, maybe?
Hinata slowly shifted into a ready stance, cocking her eyebrow at her secret teammate. He looked past her briefly. Anko was only smirking in her usual way.
Well, if she wasn't going to protest…
Hinata moved first, which surprised him; usually she was the one who was waiting for the attack. But he took it in stride and they clashed, simultaneously reaching to hit with one hand and blocking their opponent with the other. They shared a secret smile, unseen by either Anda or Asami and flew away from each other, poised to attack again.
Hinata took the initiative again, jumping toward him in the air with a basic flying bird kick that would've bruised his sternum. Instead she landed roughly on the ground behind him and left a small crater. His hand shot out to land a blow to the back of her neck but she knew him too well; her flexible form bent under his attacking arm and her fingers struck a pressure point between his shoulder and his other arm. He jumped away, hissing.
"Take me seriously, idiot," she admonished gently.
While he glared at her for inflicting the first injury, he took a stronger stance. "Fine. I didn't know you wanted to lose that badly," he said with a sneer – his automatic reaction.
Sasuke rushed at her again, this time with colder eyes and more force behind his punch when his fist glanced the edge of her jaw. She rebounded quickly and struck his ribcage with her foot. Sasuke's scowl deepened and his leg shot out to trip her. He moved to drive his elbow into her gut but she moved more quickly and twisted his arm around his back instead.
From then on they were locked in a close-combat match with each other, neither breaking concentration from the match.
Sasuke landed his best hit five minutes later. By then they had picked up speed sufficiently so that neither Anda Masato and his yakuza nor Asami and her grandfather could follow their movements with any accuracy. Anko's smirk continued to grow. He had caught Hinata right in the chest with his foot and sent her hurtling toward the stone wall of the nearest building. When she was near to hitting it full force she instead flipped her body and landed on the wall with chakra. Not skipping a beat, she ran up the side of the building, propelled herself off of it using both chakra and physical strength, and then proceeded to rain senbon down on Sasuke as she flipped over him. He raised his arms defensively then took off after her, pulling a kunai from his pouch.
She pulled one too and they were locked in close combat again, this time using metal as extensions of their arms. He was struggling to keep up with her superior speed but just barely.
"You may beat me in ninjutsu and genjutsu, Sasuke-san…but I believe I still possess seniority where taijutsu and close combat are concerned," she said with lilting innocence that disguised the smirk hidden behind her words.
"I can bring them into the mix if you want it that bad – but I just don't think we should risk it with these people hanging around here," he said, keeping step with her as they conversed.
"Ah. You don't want to hurt your new girlfriend, I understand."
"She is not my girlfriend," he said, louder than he intended. The sound carried.
One of Anda's subordinates cocked his ear. "What did that kid say?"
The grin on Anko's face had become positively devilish. "Something about a girlfriend, I believe." Though her voice hadn't changed, Anko's face now resembled the usual manic grin her students were used to her sporting. She stood in front of her client so that he wouldn't notice. That sort of thing tended to hurt business. She zeroed in on the fight once more.
"She's a girl that I met, and then Kakashi decided that we would work under her father as protection for her. That's it."
"I wonder what Ino and Sakura would do if they saw you with her? You two seemed very friendly."
"Just - !" He stopped himself, and blocked her kick. She was doing this on purpose, playing mind games with him. She knew all too well that he would be affected by this conversation, and was thus playing into the scheme. Not anymore, though.
A subtle pout formed on her lips and he grinned grimly at her in response.
"How serious do you think we should get?"
"Knowing Anko-sensei…she won't stop us until we're striking the killing blow."
"Sounds like fun, doesn't it?" said Sasuke, his lip quirked upward. Her acknowledging and slightly sheepish nod transformed his quirked lip into a full on smirk. "Good." There was only a slight sense of dissatisfaction – if only it were Naruto. Now there was a rival he could truly enjoy beating the shit out of. Hinata was a good substitute, but nothing really got him going like a good fight with Naruto… which they hadn't had in weeks…
His nostalgia cost him and Hinata's fist hit him squarely on the nose. "Shit!" That crunching didn't sound good.
"Sorry, but I guess I figured you would dodge that," she replied, her voice quiet voice laced with a scathing undertone. Her earlier warning flashed back to him: Take me seriously, idiot. She wasn't Naruto… that didn't mean she wasn't an opponent he could dismiss.
"If that's how you want it…"
She spotted the tiger seal in the flurry of his hands, and immediately began to back off. He really was being serious.
"Katon: Ryuuka no jutsu!"
Anko glanced to just behind her on her right. Now, Anda's eyes were truly enthralled with the match before him. He drank in the sight of a young boy perhaps a third of his age spit a stream of fire from his mouth like it was child's play. She'd never really considered opening her own business, but if she was this good at selling the product, maybe the idea merited another look…
She turned to the fight again. Sasuke and Hinata rarely fought; either it was Naruto versus Sasuke, or Naruto versus Hinata. (That blonde brat never seemed to tire.) In fact, both of them seemed to enjoy the company of Naruto more than that of each other. Here, she frowned. It was weird how attached they were all getting to that kid…
"Reika-sama!"
"What are you doing in plain view of those Devils?!"
Hinata and Sasuke paused their battle instantly. He noticed that the expression on her face grew colder the second she sensed them. Sasuke no longer possessed her full attention, or even most of it. He followed her line of sight and found that she was eyeing two policemen in particular with venom. On his other side, and further away, Asami smacked her forehead.
"Oh, shit," said Asami, looking very annoyed.
Anko watched the young girl throw her head into the palm of her hand. Obviously the brown-clad policemen from the north side were not wanted here. The tokubetsu jounin could feel the yakuza thugs around her shuffle and mutter to themselves about how that puny girl couldn't possibly take out all of those policemen. She shifted and glared at them.
"Did I just hear you badmouth my beloved student?" Her glare was ferocious. "With your permission, Anda-san…"
"It would be my pleasure to watch Hinata-san at work," said Masato, sounding all the while like a gracious host.
Anko grinned. "Good." She whistled loud, drawing the attention of both genin. "Yo! Hinata-chan! You have my full permission to take them out! Oh, and keep killing to a minimum, would you? I don't want a repeat of the other mission!"
Hinata nodded. She would not let her sensei down… and she would not let Akuseiko control her again. She vanished into the shadow of a nearby building, "initiating full ninja mode" as Naruto had begun to call it. The men in brown panicked.
"Where did she go?"
"She's a criminal, we can't just let her escape!"
Criminal? Sasuke frowned. But what had she done wrong? His eyes gazed over at the gathering behind Anko. All of them men – one boy, he reevaluated. The younger kid and one man stood out – the kid because of his age, and the man because of his clothing, which was finer than anything the others had. Their leader had an eyepatch…
Did they associate Hinata with this looks-like-they're-illegal group because of her single eye? That would make the most sense.
While Sasuke was busy ruminating on this new dilemma, Hinata was taking out the bigoted policemen, who would judge her just by her eyes. One by one she picked them off, using her senbon and a detailed knowledge of pressure points.
"Shit! Where's the girl?"
"I don't knoaaaaahhhhh…"
"Haru, are you alright? Haru?"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!"
Something brightly-colored and screaming was catapulted into the middle of the madness, slamming into the ground at a high speed and making a long, teenage boy-thick line in the ground that came to a stop at Sasuke's feet.
"Owowowowowowowwww!"
Sasuke coughed at the sudden cloud of dust that flew up into his face and several small pebbles struck his body. Whoever it was had dumped a bunch of dirt on his feet and made a pebble hit his tender, still-broken nose. The only possible person who could cause him this much annoyance in a single instance must be -
"Dead last…?"
"Bastard…? Who broke your nose, I should send them flowers!"
Naruto grinned up at his stoic teammate. Both of his own eyes were black and blue, and one cheek looked swollen. His clothes were also in tattered and warn.
"What the hell? Where have you been?"
"When I get my hands on you, brat…!"
An unearthly voice echoed down a side street and into the ears of everyone gathered. It sent chills down the spines of all people, regardless of the separate and warring north and south sides. Naruto's grin disappeared in an instant and was replaced by the face more suited to a terrified child than a ninja.
"Teme – she's going to dismember me – disembowel me - disrespect me, even!"
"Who is going to dis what?"
"Hinata-chan!" said Naruto with relief. He scrambled into a crouch and took her hands in his. "Maybe you can calm her down – you have a way about you – people don't like to be mad at you! At least I don't, but that's not the point - "
"I thought you were taking care of the policemen," said Sasuke, his tone bordering on accusatory as he looked at Hinata. She barely met his gaze.
"I… was worried," she said, even more quiet than normal. "About both of you. I hadn't seen you… in what seemed a while…"
They both turned to stare, the cloud of dust that Naruto had created giving them precious few seconds to spare and to speak. The boys stared a moment too long, and she looked away, the slightest shade of pink dusting her cheeks. "I…don't mean to offend…" Of course, why would they want the concern of a girl like her – a girl who was never really honest with them, a girl who rarely spoke, who was quiet and introverted…
Nobody had ever said these words to Naruto before. He grinned brightly and slung an affectionate arm around her shoulder, leaning closer. "Thanks Hinata-chan! That means a lot to me," he said sincerely, grinning.
"You shouldn't worry about me," said Sasuke with a dismissive snort, turning away. "I don't need it." The dust was slowly clearing. "But…thanks anyway."
The rumbling should've alerted them. Instead, it was only when the ground in front of them collapsed that they broke the moment. They landed next to each other, back to back. Sasuke faced Anko and the Devils; Hinata was looking at the Upper policemen who were still conscious; and Naruto was turned toward the direction of that shout.
"What the hell is going on?" said Anda angrily. Anko only looked at him with a calm demeanor. "It seems as though the unholy trinity of Konoha genin has been reunited… and look at all the trouble they've caused!" There was an edge of glee to her voice that made Anda uncomfortable. The next words spoken halted all action with their killing intent and ferocity.
"I've finally got you where I want you, brat!"
Sasuke stared in something akin to fear and awe. The newest threat was tall, ridiculously buxom, and blonde, and her face was twisted in a fearsome glare that dominated her otherwise attractive features. The chakra radiating from her made her entrance all the more frightening. It was hard to scare a kid like Sasuke. But this woman managed it, even though her killing intent was all directed at Naruto. A shorter, slender companion appeared beside her, with a much quieter entrance.
"You'll never take me alive, granny!"
"I'm not trying to," she hissed, voice lowering an octave.
"Holy shit – it can't be!" Anko whispered to herself.
Hinata blinked slowly.
"Tsunade-san…?"
DUN DUN DUN.
AGAIN.
How long has it been? And to think I once wanted to update this story on a weekly basis... bah.
The last third was hastily written, kindly point out any mistakes that you can. Peace!
