Chapter X: "Friend of the Devil"

"Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game." -Voltaire

Sakura walked into the modest house with a weary sigh. Between Sasuke's apathy, Naruto's eccentricity, and Kakashi's beatings, life as a shinobi was beginning to take its toll on the young girl. More and more, she was learning to love the quiet moments like these where she could kick her feet up and let her hair down.

Figuratively, of course.

It's kind of hard to totally relax when there's a shinobi with a giant sword eyeing your head, after all. Nevertheless, Sakura groaned appreciatively when she was finally able to take a seat at the small dining table. "How was your training, Sasuke-kun?"

"Acceptable." the boy grunted, pushing off the far wall and taking a seat at the table opposite of his pink haired teammate whilst they waited for their sensei and third teammate to arrive. "Did you or Naruto find anything of note on patrol?"

"No," Sakura answered with a shake of her head. "We basically walked around in a big circle while Naruto vomited words." The kunoichi pulled out a scroll from her pouch. "Same old shit as usual, honestly."

"Hn."

"Right?" Sakura agreed casually, eyes beginning to scan the theory of intermediate earth chakra manipulation.

"Hn."

Sakura gave another long suffering sigh and looked up from her reading. "Oh, please, Sasuke-kun. I know you two are like family– a pair of idiot brothers, if I ever saw one. I don't understand why you two can't simply play nice in public?"

An aggrieved Sharingan eye met Sakura's green ones. "You presume too much, Sakura."

"No I don't, you two just don't know how to properly express your feelings in a healthy manner." Sakura snapped back. "Boys."

"If you say so," Sasuke dismissed, closing his eyes once more. "Where is my so-called beloved brother, anyway?"

"Said he wanted to squeeze in a bit of extra training with his chakra control; he was gonna camp out in that clearing to the South for a bit."

"And you believed him?"

"Not my concern," Sakura shrugged nonchalantly. "In fact, as far as I am concerned, he could use the extra practice. His chakra control could use some fine tuning. Yours, too," she added.

"Mine?"

"Yes, yours," Sakura parroted. "It's not as good as mine, and you know it, Uchiha. That means you could do better."

"It could also be said that your 'everything else' is not as good as mine, and could therefore be better, Sakura." the Uchiha returned evenly.

"Well he's got you there, Sakura-chan!" Kakashi greeted jovially as he entered the dining room. "But how about we let me do the critiquing," he offered while taking a seat at the table, "seeing as I'm the one qualified to do it?"

"Har har."

"Hn."

"Great!" the Jounin beamed. "So does anyone have anything interesting to report?"

"Naruto and I didn't find anything out of the ordinary, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura dutifully reported. "Naruto is training just south of this location, and should be along soon."

"Yes I shall!" the aforementioned Genin called gaily as he entered Tsunami's house with a jaunty wave. "What are we having for dinner tonight?"

"Couldn't tell you," Sakura offered dryly, "but it sure is swell of you to join us, Naruto."

"Oh, sweet gods above and devils below, the sarcasm is strong in this one!" Naruto bemoaned theatrically. "Save me, naw!"

"If you're quite done now," Kakashi interrupted with a pointed cough at his two bickering students, "might we get on with the evening reports?"

"Nothing suspicious so far, Sensei," Naruto confirmed. "but there was something of note…"

Kakashi quirked a brow. "Oh?"

"Yeaaaah," Naruto meandered, rubbing the back of his neck, "see, thing is…" he chuckled awkwardly. "I'm not exactly what you'd call 'Naruto'…"

Thick silence filled the room as everyone's eyes widened marginally.

"I'm actually a clone of the boss, I was supposed to check in on him where he was practicing!" the bunshin hastened to explain. "I'm the last to dispel before he was supposed to come here and make fresh troops…"

"What… what was Naruto doing?" Kakashi finally managed.

"Training in a clearing just south of here, like Sakura-chan said. But he wasn't there when I arrived."

"Were there any signs of a struggle?" Sasuke asked, Sharingan whirling hypnotically.

"Of course not, I'd be a lot more panicked. As far as I can tell, there are no signs of any struggle or altercation. No abandoned equipment or blood, either."

"I see." Kakashi mulled for a second before snapping his gaze to Sasuke and Sakura. "Sasuke, can you make any kage bunshin?"

"I can manage two."

"Make them and send them on a patrol ten miles out around this location. If they see anything, they are to observe then dispel."

Sasuke nodded before proceeding to do as ordered.

"Good. You two will stay here and protect our client and his family. I will begin a preliminary search for Naruto. If he should return before I do, ascertain his condition and determine the exact cause for his tardiness. Should everything check out, wait here for my return on a rotating guard schedule. Two on, one off." the Jounin ordered before disappearing in a shunshin.

A pregnant silence followed Kakashi's departure before Sakura finally spoke.

"I don't think Naruto's gone AWOL…"

"Neither do I," Sasuke quietly agreed.

xxxXXXxxx

*splash*

"Huooouuugghhhh!" Naruto gasped in shock.

He couldn't see and water was pouring over his cloth-covered face.

"One: A-assess your situa–"

It was impossible to breathe or get his bearings.

"–situation!"

He has secured to a chair, stripped of his weapons and every article of clothing, save for his pants. His chakra was unresponsive– either he was sealed or poisoned. Maybe both.

"And I'm being water-boarded…" Naruto concluded as the deluge of water finally relented. His breaths were desperate grabs at oxygen that only found purchase on soaked cotton.

*splash*

It started again, streaming into his mouth and tricking his brain into think he was drowning. Nothing he could really do about it–

"Huogh–!"

It had moved on past being tricked into drowning and well into actually being drowned–

—andhewasactuallydrowningand!ohshit!hewasactuallydrowning!—

"Huoahhhhh!" Naruto gasped when it suddenly ended and the cotton sack over his head was finally loosened and removed.

The bare lighting washed out his vison and his eyes strained as he choked up water and spit like a pathetic mess.

"Good evening!" a soft voice greeted. "I do hope my gentle introduction into this evening's proceedings will encourage you to be cooperative," Haku said, kneeling next to Naruto's head with a shy and almost cheerful smile. "I don't enjoy all this… unpleasantness," she sniffed disdainfully. "I'm a simple person, I like picking flowers on walks. You saw that– that was adorable."

Naruto blinked and the sight of a barn ceiling came into focus behind Haku. The shack appeared to be lit with candles.

"I would hate it if the civilian gloves had to come off."

The jinchuuriki was secured with shinobi wire to a wooden chair and from the sack-of-potatoes feeling in his body, he assumed his captor had done something to restrict his ability to mold chakra.

All in all, everything seemed to be standard procedure for doing this sort of thing in the field.

But the whole androgynous angle and cheerful host routine were definitely not S.O.P.

"I can imagine how that might get unpleasant." Naruto waffled. He was more concerned with escaping before Zabuza showed up with his sword.

"Off to a good start!" Haku chirped, before righting Naruto's chair with a soft grunt. "Now, I believe you are the Genin named Naruto, yes? Zabuza-sama said you had blonde hair and a sword," the nuke-nin explained, pointing towards the Ebony Blade which lay nearby on a wooden table next to all his other equipment. "Sasuke-san was black hair and Sharingan, and Sakura-san was pink hair and kunoichi."

"'Pink hair and kunoichi', eh?"

"It's so rare for Genin to make an impression on us, so you and your Uchiha friend should be rather proud of yourselves if you think about it!" Haku smiled. "We're all making history together here, what with the famed Sharingan no Kakashi and his crack team of super Genin," she(she, right?) gushed enthusiastically, "here to fight the reviled Kirigakure no Kijin! You couldn't write a story that good, but we get to live it! How exciting!"

"For us, maybe." Naruto offered. "But a lot of Gatou's henchmen aren't going to be enjoying themselves when this is all over– the small timers tend to become pretty disposable in such times of strife." Naruto gave a sunny smile of his own before adding, "So do the losers."

"Oh my, how absolutely vicious, Naruto-kun." Haku purred silkily. "You'd think you weren't the one tied up to a chair with all that confident bravado."

"I play to win, Haku-chan," Naruto laughed, "and I fucking love the game of shinobi."

"I just bet you do, Naruto-kun. But I'd advise you to just tell me where we can find your team and the bridge builder." Haku insisted nonchalantly. "Otherwise I might have to seriously hurt you," the nuke-nin frowned distastefully, "how unpleasant."

"Is this your first time, Haku-chan?" Naruto asked with moderate concern. "Surely you know that I can't just tell you everything that I know before we even start? I mean, you haven't even– AUGHHH!"

Naruto's sentence was cut off as Haku suddenly drove a kunai through the middle of the jinchuuriki's right hand.

"Was that more your speed, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked innocently. "Seems a little formal for my taste, but you seem to be familiar with the situation…"

"Mighta' taken a lesson or two…" Naruto grunted, breathing heavily and trying to tear his gaze away from his wounded appendage.

"So it would seem," the nuke-nin hedged. "So how about you drop the tough guy routine and cooperate? If you give me some useful information, I might be able to stop Zabuza-sama from cutting off your legs…"

Naruto looked up in spite of himself.

"Maybe." Haku answered innocently. "No guarantees."

"Gonna take more than a thorn in m-my paw to get me to roll on my village, Haku-chan," Naruto managed with laborious effort. His brow was now drenched in water and sweat from the effort of ignoring the feeling in his right hand. "Gotta say, you're v-very eager tonight, Hak– ugh!"

Naruto began screaming as Haku twisted the kunai, widening the hole in Naruto's hand considerably. The jinchuuriki rocked in his chair violently as his captor continued to reveal muscle and sinew by peeling back his skin with her free hand.

"Hard way, eh?" Haku replied dispassionately, not bothering to remove her eyes from their scholarly inspection of a freshly revealed tendon in Naruto's hand. "Here I was starting to think you might be smart, Naruto-kun. You seem intent on proving me wrong," Haku pouted, walking over to a bench behind her captor.

"…y-you wound me like… no other, H-Haku-chan…" the blonde ground out.

"What!?" the kunoichi asked, scandalized. "If that was special to you, then I don't believe you've been doing this for very long, Naruto-kun…"

"I usually get to l-lead Haku-chan…"

"But not tonight, Naruto-kun." Haku replied before returning with a rag and chair, the latter of which the nuke-nin promptly sat in. "Tonight there is only you and I," she began, wiping her hands of Naruto's blood with her now-soiled washcloth, "because Zabuza-sama is off running errands and your comrades haven't a clue as to where you are…"

"Joy…"

"Isn't it?" Haku asked brightly. "But there's no reason this has to be unpleasant, Naruto-kun– that's more Zabuza-sama's department, anyway. You and I just need to have a little chat beforehand, is all!"

Naruto snorted. "Your bedside manner is impeccable, Haku-chan—"

"—thank you!—"

"—but your technique is leaving a bit to be desired…"

"Nonsense!" The kunoichi dismissed with a smile that wouldn't have been out of place on a banker. "We simply have a chat, get to know each other, and pass the time with minimal fuss."

There was a brief pause, more of a lull, where Naruto was able to ponder the decisions that had landed him in this particular situation in life. Hamaki-sensei had always stressed accountability, with a particular emphasis on applying the philosophy to one's own actions.

It really boiled down to a trust issue. Naruto could have quietly meditated in his assigned quarters at Tsunami-san's, he didn't have to do so in remote isolation.

But how does one explain the desire to communicate with a demon—a sentient one, no less—to a person like Sasuke…?

"…or Sakura, or Kakashi-sensei, for that matter…"

"Everyone who knows about me is terrified by the possibility of me corrupting you– people will literally kill themselves in order to prevent me from having an influence on your little world, Naruto."

"Kyuubi… you're not healing my wound…"

The bijuu smiled to itself. "You're right, I'm not."

Naruto sighed. "You know, Haku-chan, I really fucked up today…"

"Oh?"

"…yeah. I should have given my team a little more credit, trusted them, even respected them a skosh more." Naruto explained, dutifully not looking at his mangled hand. "I didn't, and it got me… here," he finished distastefully.

"It's important to trust those you care for," Haku commented after a few moments of contemplation. "The opinions of your team obviously hold sway over you– otherwise you would not have attempted to hide whatever it was you were doing in that clearing, Naruto-kun. If you survive this, you should put more faith in them."

"Right on all three, Haku-chan."

Haku nodded. "Indeed." She smiled. "Does this mean you'll cooperate and spare me the grisly mess that would be 'forcing you to comply?'"

"Oh, Haku-chan, I've made quite a few mistakes on this mission…" Naruto smiled in response. "…but betraying my village and singing for you isn't going to be one of them, I can promise you that!"

If his right hand wasn't impaled with a kunai and his left tied down, that smile would have come with two thumbs up.

Haku giggled. "I like you, Naruto-kun. Far too many shinobi lack personality, you make up for it in spades."

"Aw, shucks. Real– AUGHHHHH!"

"Really." Haku finished, dragging her kunai through the chair's arm and bisecting Naruto's hand in the process. "You aren't boring," she continued over her captive's howls of pain. "But I'm afraid I'm going to have to torture you now, and there isn't enough time—nor do I have the patience—to do so psychologically, Naruto-kun."

"…how fortuitous…"

"If one was inclined towards a glass-half-full-type of world view, then, yes, I suppose so." Haku agreed, flipping her kunai into a reverse grip. "So, you pick," she smiled eagerly, "stay with the hand, go to the body, or swing by the face?"

"I thought we didn't have time for psychological torture tonight, Haku-chan…" Naruto responded, recognizing the tactic and stalling for time.

"Naruto-kun, I lied." Haku answered good-naturedly. "There's always time for psychological torture."

"Then you should know that I'm not gonna choose for you, Haku-chan."

"Well, Naruto-kun…" Haku sighed, walking over to the bench and returning with a brick.

Naruto steadied his breathing and ignored the horrible pain radiating from his mangled right hand.

The kunoichi placed the ring of her kunai against one of Naruto's molars. "…in a week of bad decisions, you've managed to follow up with another," she finished, hammering the kunai with her brick.

Naruto screamed as he tasted blood and his mouth exploded in pain. His captor used the opportunity to pluck his dislodged molar out of his mouth.

"Because I pick all three, Naruto-kun," Haku responded, examining the extracted molar briefly before tossing it aside.

"Fuck you!" Naruto spat.

"Only if you let me call you 'Zabuza-sama!'" The kunoichi countered as she grabbed Naruto's left hand and removed his thumbnail with her kunai. "You have nine more fingers and ten more toes, Naruto-kun. Tell me where Tazuna-san is."

"Wasting… your breath, Haku…" Naruto panted.

"Not as flippantly as you waste fingernails, it would seem," the kunoichi answered. "And it's 'Haku-chan'." Haku insisted, slowly sliding her kunai between Naruto's index finger and nail.

xxxXXXxxx

"Nara-san."

"What a drag…" "Evening, Hyuuga-san. I have an appointment with Hinata-sama…"

The rest was a troublesome blur that had repeated itself ad nauseum over the years anytime Shikamaru had ever come to collect Hinata.

Though they didn't usually hang out at the Hyuuga compound, the girl wasn't exactly known to be close with her family.

And Naruto was… disagreeable to the proposition of loitering in a compound full of people who hated him.

But here Shikamaru was, making pointless small-talk with a man who would no doubt be a vacuous mouth-breather if Hiashi Hyuuga permitted him to use his mouth for anything other than repeating rehearsed greetings accompanied by disapproving glares.

At least the tea would be good, Shikamaru considered as he waited outside what he assumed was Hinata's venue-of-choice while his escort informed the honorable "Hinata-sama" that her guest had arrived.

"All this for tea…" The Nara lamented in silence. "How very troublesome."

"…thank you, Arata-san, I c-can handle things from here…" Hinata muttered, wilting under the doorman's disapproving eyes.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed dangerously. This is the opposite of cloud watching. This man would never dare to glare at a Main Branch member for fear of having his brains scrambled with the Hyuuga's little fuuinjutsu that is somehow still not forbidden to use on a fellow Konoha citizen.

If Arata looked at anyone else the way he looked at Hinata—pinched eyes, and a minute downturn at the corners of his mouth—he would be a drooling vegetable shitting into a pan for the rest of his days.

But not Hinata.

Hinata would never do something like that. Spiteful as he is, Hinata still sees Arata as a human being, not a servant.

"Hinata-sama." He intones without so much as a ghost of a bow before silently exiting and closing the door with a soft click.

The disdainful disapproval is still a heavy presence in the room and Shikamaru is reminded of why he both dislikes the Hyuuga and absolutely loathes this place.

But, troublesome as all this nonsense is, Shikamaru will put up with it if it helps Hinata with her confidence. She really is a sweet girl, if not hopelessly enamored with Naruto.

Not like Ino.

Who is a bitch. A bitch who is loud and likes Sasuke.

"Arata-san d-doesn't approve of me preparing our tea and room personally…" Hinata offers, breaking her friend's train of thought.

"…no, he doesn't," the Nara agrees, "but that doesn't mean he should be an ass about it."

"He's a traditionalist, that's all," Hinata answered, kneeling down to pour their cups. "But I don't need help to entertain a friend."

"Is that what you told your retainer you intended to do with this room?" Shikamaru questioned with a raised brow. Hyuuga's don't "entertain." Or have friends.

"…no," Hinata admitted with a faint blush at being put on the spot. "I told Matsumi-san that I was discussing matters with a fellow heir… I informed her that I wished to begin strengthening some business relationships with a few of the other clans…" the shy girl explained after offering Shikamaru his now filled cup.

"Strengthening how?" Shikamaru prodded after his first sip of the liquid bliss that was Hinata's tea. Jasmine today. If only he had some of her rice balls.

"W-well, you see, your clan always provides high quality furs and leathers, enough that you could part with excess stock that you aren't already selling to or for Konoha…"

Shikamaru grinned in spite of himself. "Go on…"

"The Hyuuga have several merchant outposts in foreign countries, I believe that the Northern ones could supply a healthy demand…" Hinata answered after pouring her own cup, pleased at her lack of a stutter. "…it wasn't terribly difficult to convince Matsumi-san of the fact. She might even mention it to Father."

"And you're sure you want the two of them scrutinizing you further and poking around in your business? All for the opportunity to have tea here instead of at any of Konoha's numerous tea shops?" Shikamaru asked. "Are you sure you aren't moving a mountain to get around a molehill?"

Hinata set down her cup. "There are d-different ways to add strength to the clan, Shikamaru-kun. There was never a Hyuuga who didn't think the clan coffers could be fuller."

"Fair enough," the Nara could give the girl that, "but I don't believe for a second that all of this is for a few furs and a gold sticker… spill it, Hinata."

The girl blushed.

"…I've been training with Naruto-kun and I want to prove that I'm capable of doing better– that I can be better." Hinata sighed and sipped her tea. "But position in the clean isn't exclusively earned on the battlefield…"

"Troublesome…" "So you're getting into politics," the word was acrid as it tumbled out of the Nara's mouth, "to what, overtake Hanabi or something, then?"

"That… may be something to be addressed f-further down the line… for now I would settle for getting Neji-san to look at me like I wasn't something found underneath an upturned stone…" the heiress admitted.

"So this 'meeting' is your opening play…?" Shikamaru hazarded.

"You make it sound as if I'm intent on usurping power," Hinata frowned. "Is it so hard to believe that I just want to feel like I belong in my own home?"

Shikamaru set down his cup before eyeing his friend speculatively. "No, no it's not hard to believe that. This place doesn't exactly scream inviting– not to mention the potential lack-of-privacy issues," he began. "But I can't help but wonder how much of this is for your family, and how much of this tremendous effort—because that's what this is, once you start you'll have to see it through—is for Naruto? How much of this is you trying to embody what you think he wants?"

"Shikamaru! I'm not– I don't know, that is to say… I don't know what you m-mean…" the girl blustered. "Naruto-kun and I are only f-friends."

"How stupid do you think I am?"

"I– Shikamaru-kun… I don't know what you're talking about," Hinata insisted, no longer looking Shikamaru in the eye.

"Troublesome…"

Shikamaru didn't want to deal with this particular inevitability today, much less Hinata's own political scheming. Today was supposed to be tea and cloud watching. Now, here he sat between a rock and a hard place.

Hinata and Naruto were his two closest friends not named Ino and Chouji. The four didn't often intermix, but Shikamaru had grown quite fond of his two loner friends. Hinata was smart enough and contemplative, a merciful break from Ino's screeching.

Naruto was an ass, but by no means stupid. And he was a decent person, in spite of his best efforts, in a world of traitors, sharks, usurers, and monsters. It was refreshing.

But Hinata had a soft spot in his heart because she was both quiet and not a dick.

He was going to help her, if she needed furs, he was going to make it happen at a prime price. Shikamaru would make the Hyuuga the face of Nara Furs if he thought such a thing was what Hinata truly needed.

"Hinata… I'm not our friends, I can see how you look at him when he's distracted– which is often, by the way." No, Hinata could have her furs and political gains, he was here for a different purpose.

"Stop trying to deny it," Shikamaru continued, forestalling Hinata's protests to the contrary. "I'm telling you that it won't be enough."

Hinata swallowed thickly, she could feel her forehead now slick with sweat. "W-what do you mean?"

"You want Hanabi's place, you want this to impress Naruto because you love him and have loved him for quite some time. Your strategy isn't that bad, it'll take some refining from minds more refined at these things than yours, but it's doable." Shikamaru offered with a lazy grin. "But, it's also going to take, in my opinion, a troublesome amount of training on your part…"

"Y-yes," Hinata admitted, finally looking at Shikamaru again. "Hanabi-chan is v-very talented in the clan's Jyuuken."

"But Naruto's got that covered, he's training you for whatever reason. And you're a competent ninja in your own right, when you aren't selling yourself short… Hanabi is literally your only competition, you'll destroy her when Naruto is done with you," the Nara surmised aloud. "But Hanabi-sama isn't the real challenge for you anymore, is she?"

"No," Hinata admitted, her tea now forgotten. "Getting the support of the Main Branch and clan elders will be like climbing the mountain walls of Kumogakure."

"You're right, Hinata." Shikamaru agreed. "There will be those within the clan that try to stop you. Sides will be taken." The Nara paused to watch Hinata's eyes go wide and sip his tea. "You will paint a target on your back like never before, inside and outside the village."

Shikamaru drained his tea and set down the cup. It was supposed to be tea between friends, not the start of a long and potentially fruitless endeavor.

"You are gambling everything you have—even your life—on something that can't be won with a grand display of social maneuvering." Shikamaru elaborated. It was best to handle this like a band-aid. "You very well might become the Hyuuga clan head, your friends will help you in any way they can and you know this," he looked her in the eyes, chocolate meeting lavender, "but you can't make Naruto love you, not the way you want, no matter how hard you try, Hinata…"

There was the briefest flash of pain behind those expressive, Byakugan-wielding eyes, followed by a terrible understanding that slumped Hinata's shoulders in a manner that had Shikamaru terrified he'd stolen the last of her will to fight with his words.

But the Nara understood– she knew.

His words weren't some grand revelation, more along the lines of her nightmares given substance. Shikamaru had merely voiced what she knew to be true in spite of how much she desperately wished otherwise.

There was a shaky breath. "I know…" Her hands trembled. "I know I can't force Naruto-kun to do anything, no one can and it is part of why I lo– f-feel the way I do…"

Hinata swallowed thickly, her eyes slowly rising to meet Shikamaru's once more.

"But I can't help how I feel, Shikamaru-kun…" she whispered. "He has never once looked at me in contempt for merely existing, and he has never once asked me to be someone I am not…"

"But…" Shikamaru prodded.

"I don't want to be weak anymore, I don't want to be a failure, I don't want to be a branded slave for the rest of my life," the girl babbled before finally taking a shuddering a breath. "Shikamaru-kun, I don't want to be sealed by the clan. I would rather die than tell Naruto I've become a slave."

"That won't ever happen, Hinata." Shikamaru answered without hesitation. "Naruto would die before he let that happen– and I wouldn't exactly sit on my ass, either," he added.

Hinata smiled in spite of her turmoil. "I know, Shikamaru-kun, I know." She sighed and Shikamaru wondered how life could burden one small girl so. "But how are two Genin supposed to stop something that can happen before they realize it has happened? How can they stop an entire clan acting lawfully?"

Shikamaru looked around, for once wishing he possessed Hinata's ability to see through walls. "How could one clan hope to stop the power of the bijuu that killed the Fourth Hokage if it were to ever be pointed at them? Surely your father and his elders have some form of a survival instinct?"

Hinata paused as a chill ran down her spine.

She knew of Naruto's status as the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki, but it was never something she ever gave much thought to. To her, Naruto would always be Naruto– the boy who became her first friend. Who introduced her to her second friend.

Hinata was also of the opinion that her disregard for his tenant was one of the reasons Naruto valued her friendship, the same was probably true of Shikamaru. The young Hyuuga could recall on more than one occasion the looks some of the village's older shinobi levied at Naruto.

Like he was an exploding tag primed to detonate.

The kunoichi imagined it wasn't as bad as the blind hate the civilians had occasionally displayed, but being seen as weapon couldn't have been good for her oldest friend.

Naruto would never harm her, of that Hinata was one hundred percent certain. But what of everything around her? Would he truly turn the power of the bijuu against her family if provoked?

Could he actually do so?

"I don't want it to come to that, Shikamaru-kun…" Hinata finally managed.

"So this plan of yours is how you intend to stop it?"

"It is the only way." The kunoichi insisted. "If I can prove myself to be a capable leader in the eyes of the council, Father will have the support necessary to name me his heir. Everything will depend on that."

"The cynic in me is reminded of the man who was cursed into rolling a boulder up a hill, only to see it roll back down every time for all of eternity," Shikamaru responded. "But you're almost as stubborn as Naruto, in your own way, and he could make a square wheel spin if he were ever inclined…"

The Nara sighed overdramatically. Speaking of wheels, this was Naruto's wheelhouse. No one had ever looked to Shikamaru for advice on how to stop the sun from rising or how to make cats chase dogs. No one ever looked to the lazy Nara when they needed to force water to travel upstream.

Yet here he was.

It would be up to Naruto to see Hinata through this, Shikamaru's keen intellect at least granted him that much foresight. His truly fearsome mind also possessed the wisdom to understand that it would eventually be Hinata would have to actually see this insane plan through.

Many people the world over have died for far less than attempting to seize control of one of the most powerful clans in the Elemental Nations.

But, maybe, it could all begin with a handful of furs that Shikamaru already had. Maybe he could play his part and offer his friend a leg up. And, dare he hope, impress his own mother by securing a financial relationship with the Hyuuga.

"You'll have anything you need of me that I am capable of providing, Hinata." Shikamaru finally concluded, pretending not to notice the small sigh of relief he was sure Hinata hadn't realized escaped her. "I just hope you to know what you're getting yourself into…"

Hinata knew she should be terrified, rightfully so, but the knowledge of her friend's faith in her left the young girl feeling ten feet tall.

xxxXXXxxx

"All things considered, I believe we're actually doing rather well…"

Gatou grunted. "So you'd say that the assassination of some of my higher ups meant to manage the day-to-day of the village and subjugate the locals is considered 'doing rather well'? When do you believe I should grow concerned, then?"

"W-well, what I meant was," Gatou's subordinate stammered, "that considering the locals have managed to hire Konoha shinobi to oppose our operations, we are still in a rather enviable position. The most recent shipments to the mainland have all departed unmolested, leading us to believe the shinobi are either unaware of our off-the-books practices or content to focus on the threat of our own hired shinobi…"

"Then you're an idiot." Gatou concluded, silencing the man responsible for his evening update. "You are only focusing on the immediate future, unlike the Konoha-nin. They will, are, attempting to subvert our authority and rally the villagers against us. Something that, if not handled sooner rather than later, will entice more foreigners to come to these shores seeking opportunity to profit from the turmoil." The business magnate scoffed at his employee's shortsightedness. "Wherever there is a rotting carcass to be stripped, carrion birds are sure to swoop in."

"I see…" the capo responded. "This is why you have agreed to let Zabuza-san recruit more nuke-nin to our ranks?"

"It is," Gatou nodded. "But make no mistake, his people are not our people. Zabuza's only loyalties lay with money and bloodshed; he could care less about the organization's success or goals. He will turn on us if the opportunity presents itself."

"Gatou-sama…" the capo struggled, "then why allow him to bring more nuke-nin to this island?"

The shipping magnate withdrew a small bottle from his desk. "This poison is made from a plant with purple flowers and dark leaves– it is flavorless and odorless, even in water." Gatou returned the bottle to his desk. "That was given to me by one of our more important benefactors; I've only shown you because you will have a part to play in our wayward nuke-nin's demise."

"I-I will?"

"Indeed." Gatou chuckled as he lit a cigarette. "You will find some mules to slip it into their food and water. The poison itself is not instantaneous, it will be some time before Zabuza and his boy realize anything is afoul. They, along with any of their friends, will have ample time to dispatch the Konoha shinobi. For now, we need only wait and manage our side of the operation."

The capo frowned. "Do they not prepare and inspect their own food?"

"I would say it is safe to assume they do, but this conflict will be one of attrition. Shinobi are predictable in that both sides will attempt to prepare and game the field to their advantage before striking." Gatou

"Hai, Gatou-sama. I will see it done when the opportunity presents itself." The underling replied.

Gatou exhaled a drag. "See that you do, and see that you don't breathe a word of this to anyone." He warned, causing the capo to swallow thickly. "Because if you fail, know that after I die, my friends will come for you and they will find you." The rotund drug dealer smiled behind whorls of smoke. "And when they do, you'll find yourself a little fly trapped in a spider's web with no hope of escape."

"I will not fail you, Gatou-sama, I swear it!"

"Excellent. Now go and tell the men to be on the lookout for Zabuza and his friends, they should be arriving any day now– it's probably best if everyone was instructed to give them a wide berth." Gatou instructed before turning his chair around in obvious dismissal.

"It's a dangerous game, but if we win I'll own this quarter of the world…"

Gatou grinned at the thought before sobering.

Winning was not guaranteed, especially in matters such as these. For the magnate to own this part of the world, he would obviously be taking it from someone.

And if there was one thing that the people who owned this world hated, it was when someone upset the status quo.

They would come for him from every front. Ninja assassins, embargos, tariffs, sanctions… the possibilities were endless. But was that not why he had chosen his friends well? The aforementioned roadblocks were nothing but everyday symptoms of living in this world– the ninja included.

His thoughts turned to the poison in his desk and its origins, causing Gatou to smile.

The Universe was a big place.

xxxXXXxxx

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHGGGGGG!" Naruto howled.

Haku looked up from her handiwork, hammer still in hand. "I'm pretty sure that's not the location of your team's base, Naruto-kun." She smiled and grabbed a second carpenter's nail, Naruto's mangled hands long forgotten. "Just like I'm sure your answer before that wasn't factual either." Haku placed the second nail next to Naruto's impaled left, big toe, just above his right one. "Now, I'll let you choose: where is your base of operations or where can I find Tazuna-san and his family?"

Naruto panted, his chest rising and falling in an irregular rhythm as he futilely attempted to reign himself in. A task that was horrifically impossible while his captor continued to brutalize his extremities.

All the while, the demon inside him—long taken for granted—refused to use its chakra to heal him.

The rookie Genin knew that there was a test involved in all this somewhere, but the notion was becoming more and more laughable with each little bit of him Haku destroyed and/or removed.

And now? Now all Naruto wanted to do was tell this insufferable bitch what she wanted to hear so he could begin plotting how to kill her.

Slowly.

But, alas, he could not.

There was a test going on somewhere and he wanted…needed…to pass it.

"Naruto-kun…" Haku whispered before hammering the second nail into her captive's toe, "my patience is wearing thin!"

"AHHHHHHH!" Naruto raged from his chair, each yell tearing at the wounds in his feet. "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!"

Haku smiled. The little leaf's eyes were rabid and wild and his blood-soaked skin was taught with adrenaline. "I'm honestly not sure you could survive the experience at this point, Naruto-kun. But I do know that we aren't going to find out until after you've told me where the bridge builder is– even better if we can collect the bounties on your friends, but I'm not picky."

The kunoichi dragged her stool closer, seating herself across from the struggling blonde.

Attempting to master himself, Naruto quieted his breathing and leveled a glare comprised of all his loathing for the shinobi smiling back at him.

"When we kill the bridge builder, Zabuza-sama and I get to leave this fetid dung-heap behind us," Haku continued with a chuckle at Naruto's expense, "that also means no more glorified drug-dealers with delusions of grandeur to pester us as well. Do you know how many of Gatou's droogs I've had to kill since we washed up on this gods-forsaken island?"

That certainly gave Naruto pause. "…no."

The Kunoichi smiled, pearly whites that dared him to continue defying her. "Oh, yes," Haku purred, "some can't keep their hands to themselves, some can't follow orders, some can't complete assignments…" she sighed theatrically. "…but most just think they're going to be the first ronin-wannabe-thug to kill a shinobi and actually matter."

"Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale…" Naruto mentally chanted, it was all he had left. He'd never betray his team, talking was out of the question…

But if Haku didn't stop maiming him, he was probably not far off from going into shock.

"Why are y-you telling me this…?" he finally managed between gulps of air.

"Because there have been sixteen foolish men who let their ego dictate their actions," Haku replied as she leaned forward, dark eyes glimmering in the candlelight. "Are you so entrenched in the idea of being the seventeenth, Naruto-kun? For what? A bridge builder?"

"And you expect me to just sell out my village, eh, Haku-chan?" Naruto shot back. "Fuck you, Kyuubi…"

"Of course, he is a bridge builder, Naruto-kun." Haku stood from her seat and moved the stool aside. "Give me the bridge builder before Zabuza-sama returns with his friends. Do this, and I don't have to keep hurting you, Naruto-kun. I've no love for Gatou of all people, what is the life of one bridge builder compared to the head of the snake!"

"You'd all just leave?" Naruto asked, suspicion lacing his words.

"With a lot of his money and inventory, of course!" Haku laughed. "We might even kill a few droogs on our way out if Kakashi-san doesn't harass us and you start being sweet to me," she giggled. "But the clock is ticking, your friends won't find you before Zabuza comes and starts hacking you to little pieces, Naruto-kun… and we won't exactly be cuddling in the meantime, either…"

Haku began forming hand seals Naruto did not recognize, causing the jinchuuriki to swallow involuntarily as the temperature in the shack began to plummet.

"This is a jutsu I've created using my bloodline, Naruto-kun." Haku elaborated. "I may abhor killing, but this jutsu has helped me kill many men, civilian and shinobi alike: Hijutsu: Makyou Hyoushou." The kunoichi's string of seals ended and she pressed her right hand to the ground in front of Naruto. "I would have taken that deal if I were you…"

Ice bloomed, life-like, from her palm and rapidly crept out in all directions to form a near-perfect disc around captor and captive.

Naruto watched the frost begin to painfully creep up through his crucified toes to begin icing over his feet. The temperature had crashed and swallowed all of the pathetically minute amount of warmth generated from the candles, causing the blonde to begin shivering violently even as his soaked pants began to freeze…

"…w-w-what is this-s?" Naruto asked, staring transfixed at his surroundings– it had begun to snow inside the tiny shack and the captive Genin could even see his breath now.

"Even I'm not sure, Naruto-kun…" Haku admitted with a whisper and Naruto realized her breath wasn't fogging like his. "The Hyouton is a kekkei genkai but I couldn't honestly tell you what it is about my physiology that allows me to combine wind and water chakra."

"…so why th-the mirror…?" Naruto asked just as softly. His feet were simultaneously on fire and detached, the rest of his legs an arctic wasteland where cloth was frozen to skin– Naruto dutifully blocked how that situation might resolve itself from his mind.

Much to the Kyuubi's amusement if the low, rumbling chuckle reverberating at the back of Naruto's skull and in the pit of his very soul was anything to go by.

"Because this mirror is where the magic comes from!" Haku smiled, a frigid mockery that cut into his bones like winds howling on a desolate tundra. "Besides being wholly indestructible, this technique allows me to control my opponents on the field of battle. It lets me be in many places at once."

The kunoichi stood gracefully and stepped closer. "But tonight… I'm going to use it to break you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto was shivering violently, helpless as the ice creeped passed his knees, each agonizing second threatening his continued enjoyment of his legs. How long did he have before frostbite set in and he became useless to his team?

"Do you want the power to make this one suffer, boy?"

"YES!" Naruto practically howled in his own mind.

"Then you must be my avatar– the vanguard of my legacy, stalwart in your defense of its memory." The demon whispered to its host. "You will remind the world of my continued existence."

"You might be resilient…" the kunoichi continued, drawing Naruto's attention back to the rapidly deteriorating situation outside of his head, "but I can only imagine that it will be a small matter of time until you lose enough of your legs to frostbite before you sing and beg me to stop…"

"I will!" Naruto insisted with a frantic nod at his own reflection in the mirror below him. "I'll do it, I swear–"

A bark of laughter reverberated throughout Naruto's skull. "Don't say it with your words, mortal, say it with your soul…"

"Don't make me ruin you, Naruto-kun…" Haku requested earnestly, effectively pulling Naruto's attention away from the demon's grasp. The soft fingertips she was ghosting along the Genin's jaw accomplished what the creeping ice and bargaining demon could not.

Because you caught more flies with honey than you did with vinegar.

And because a fat carrot always accomplished more than a rigid stick.

"…you're powerful, Naruto-kun. I've seen it," Naruto's captor insisted. "You don't have to die on this meaningless island for one, insignificant bridge builder. Surely you care about your sensei and teammates more than that, yes?" Haku leaned in close and placed her free hand on Naruto's thigh, halting the ice as it began to greedily eye his hip. "I offer you this opportunity as a token of respect: you've impressed me, Naruto-kun," Haku purred. "Tell me where I can find Tazuna-san and I will make his death painless, I will free you, and allow all of you the opportunity to run as far away from this place as you all can before my master returns…"

Naruto was silent as he contemplated Tazuna's life and its place in the Universe. He also took note of Haku's new deal…

"Fuck…" "That seems kind of one-sided, all t-things considered…" he waffled.

Haku smiled and it was an absolutely predatory thing as she used her hands to sweep back her ice before seating herself on Naruto's now considerably more hospitable lap. "Oh, I've another request or two…" she answered as her right hand once again made its way to Naruto's face before venturing down his neck, its touch just as divine as he recalled. "It's not often that a boy impresses me…"

In a brief moment of erection-induced clarity, Naruto couldn't help but wonder if this very feeling isn't how Tetsuo might have ended up in some of the more regrettable situations that plagued his life.

"The pathetic excuse you have for a phallus has doomed many of your kind," the great chakra construct chuckled. "But I desire godhood, and my needs are great. Swear your existence to me and let me leave this pathetic plane of existence to wage war on beings beyond your understanding."

Naruto couldn't help but notice that one of Haku's hands had made it to his left thigh and was now languidly making its way up and down him, inching ever closer…

The Kyuubi roared with laughter, his prize was won. "Small minded fool, consider this your lesson as my disciple: why have her when you can take her? What have you to gain, strapped to this chare to be used for her gain and her pleasure? You behave as a vixen that is to be mounted and discarded? She values your power and you offer her your weakness?

"You will learn to think bigger. You will bun everything she loves before you bend her over and fuck her on the ashes. If she loves your power so, give her a war…"

The shift happened instantly and in the blink of an eye Haku was standing on the edge of her ice mirror, senbon in hand.

"…yes…" Naruto intoned.

It started with convulsions, he captive's head slipping back has his body was wrecked with spasms, his breathing now erratic and labored.

At the spike of chakra, Haku readied the three senbon in her hand and made ready to prime the explosive tags lining the shack the two shinobi were currently occupying.

When the killing intent broke like a wave against the cliffside and she caught a glimpse of burning red eyes and slit pupils, she threw her senbon straight into his heart just as the candles died.

Naruto stilled for a moment before the chakra seal she had placed on his head quite literally burnt to ashes before her eyes, forcing her to action.

Time slowed as the now awoken Genin destroyed his bonds with a scream and a massive pulse of chakra that was sure to attract his comrades and made to leap at her, black claws gleaming in the moonlight peeking through the cracks in the roof.

But it was not to be- the game was only beginning, after all, and the moment his right foot touched the mirror below him, instead of pushing off, it simply sank right in.

Haku caught a glimpse of crimson, one that promised retribution, and thought she rather like "the chase" as the kunoichi watched her former captive disappear into the ground before activating the exploding tags and disappearing into a mirror of her own.

A/N: So many things I could say, but life is life and we'll just move on. Forgive the rust, but I'm practicing getting back into the swing of things. Also, some people don't like that Naruto is tricked and/or fails. Well, he's 13. We fail a lot at that age. And the story would be pointless as hell if he just went around succeeding all the time- he's going to have to earn it. As to kekkei genkai, I'm taking liberties with how they work. Expect them to be more powerful and have an air of mysticism about them.