Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
AN/ Special Thanks to chibi beary, Hyuga09, kurenai cakes, 4Evr.-A.-fAIlUrE, Refrigerator-Burn, Wannabe-Temari, Happy Now That You Updated, nerd4ever243, and AmaiNeiko for reviewing…I truly, truly appreciate it! They really made me smile =)
I also wanted to thank everyone for their sympathy and their support. Your words helped me and they made me smile.
Heads up! This chapter to put it simply…is completely chaotic! I want to tell you more, but I'll just let you read it for yourselves.
Questions/
What is the meaning of stray? Gaara may be Hinata's boyfriend, but because she is a gang member, he is above her and therefore she needs to obey him. Gaara had suggested that she stay away from Sasuke and was told to stay away from Naruto, but she didn't listen…She completely disregarded his authority due to their relationship; hence she strayed.
Why is it so important if Hinata is a seinn? In this world, the only females associated gangs are nagaremonos, the fact that Hinata is an actual gang member will cause some…problems. Also, I did say that Kankuro was a seinn, but I never mentioned anything about Temari's direct involvement…
Well…I hope you enjoy! Onward!
Hinata scrambled up behind Gaara, strategically placing her hands flatly against his back. Instinct warred with trust in her mind before trust won out. Confident in Gaara, the bluenette closed her lavender eyes in concentration.
Outwardly, Gaara's expression didn't change although inside he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. What the hell was Uzumaki doing here? The former leader wasn't stupid; he saw the way Naruto looked at Hinata along with Sasuke's curious glances. Just thinking about it made his blood boil.
"What do you want?" Gaara asked flatly.
Naruto snickered gleefully and smiled widely, flashing his full set of teeth. "I just told you; I wanted to join in on the fun." His eyes flashed for a split second, (something that seemed to occur more and more often) before turning his attention to Hinata.
"You're very talented, Hinata-chan," the blond stated and casually added, "for a nagaremono, that is."
It took all of Gaara's iron control of his emotions not to lash out and bash the fucker's face in. He casually tilted his head back, showing his blood red tattoo. His sharp aquamarine eyes seemingly staring off into the distance. The red-head absently noticed when his muzai's hands slid away from him.
Hinata looked around and grimaced when she saw her black tank top lying next to where Naruto was standing. Unconsciously placing her hand on her left hip, the bluenette attempted to move from behind her boyfriend.
Gaara subtly blocked her with his eyes remaining on Naruto. He grabbed his girlfriend's slender wrists and wrapped them around his waist causing her to hug him from the back.
There. It was so quick; anyone else would have thought they had imagined it. Gaara simply smirked. Maybe this would be fun after all. He turned his head to look into Hinata's confused expression. The red head simply tilted his head behind her.
"My shirt is behind you," he said lowly, "Stay behind me and go put it on." His voice brooked for no arguments, so Hinata simply nodded her head and began to move.
A shiver raced down her spine when a growl reverberated through her body. The petite teen withheld a gasp as she continued to move, but with more difficulty.
The two leaders were already fighting and they haven't even moved yet. Gaara remained in his stance with his arms crossed his chest and his face holding a bored expression. He stared intensely into blood red eyes and his mouth cracked into a dangerous smirk.
"You seem to be having trouble controlling that little temper of yours, Naruto-kun." A bearing of sharp teeth was his only reply. Gaara simply narrowed his eyes in irritation. "No control," he murmured although he was positive the blond could hear him.
"I don't need him to kick your ass, Kyuubi."
That seemed to be the starting gun before Naruto and Gaara simply disappeared. A sharp crack was heard in the middle where the bodies had seemingly collided. From there, it was a complete blur.
Hinata, with Gaara's shirt hanging loosely off her frame, was stuck. She didn't know if it was simply smarter to stay put or to risk trying to move out the danger zone. The answer was given to her when a hand roughly gripped her arm and began to pull her.
The bluenette tried to jerk back in surprise only to hiss when she saw who it was. "What the hell are you doing here?" Hinata asked, although she knew she shouldn't have been surprised. Wherever Naruto was, Sasuke always seemed to follow.
Sasuke, in turn, gave a sneer along with a deadly glare. "I'm trying to save your sorry ass, but if you want to be in the middle of this fight, be my fucking guest."
Hinata gave him a quick glare and tugged once more. "Let go of me," she stated with more calm than she felt. Inside, she was trembling. If Gaara lost control again, she shook her head; she didn't want to think about it.
She needed to stop them. She knew that the tension between the leaders would eventually end up with them fighting, but not now. It was too early. Hinata tugged her arm with more earnest, though it seemed as if Sasuke wasn't going to let her go anytime soon. She was too panicked to put much speculation into it.
"Please let me go," she pleaded; her voice thick with panic. Another crash sounded throughout the room followed by the sound of laughter. Another shiver ran down her spine as she felt Sasuke's body tense through his arm. "They're going to kill each other!" she shouted.
Shit! What do I do? What do I do? She couldn't use any of her moves. Naruto may have claimed to see the fight, but everyone in the room knew he was bluffing. Nagaremonos were only allowed to know the basics to defend themselves when it became absolutely necessary; however, most gangs didn't even bother with that since they deemed nagaremonos expendable.
Sasuke simply shrugged. His eyes holding a dangerous gleam; the pale seinn smirked viciously. "That bastard is getting exactly what he deserves. It's too bad I can't join in the fight."
Hinata fiercely bit her lip as she clenched her hands into fists tightly. She hadn't realized Sasuke had released and slid behind her until she felt his body heat. She fought a shiver as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back against his firm chest.
"What the hell are you doing?" she hissed as she began to struggle.
Sasuke didn't move an inch. He didn't even flinch when she sunk her teeth into his arm. "I have a…theory that I would like to put to the test," he whispered into her ear causing the bluenette's body to tense and her lavender eyes to widen. What theory?
She tensed even further when comprehension sank in. "You're insane," she murmured dazedly. "You must seriously have a death wish if you're even thinking about it."
"No," Sasuke replied casually, "I'm just a curious person and when I find something of my interest, I usually stop at nothing until my interest wanes."
"It's unfortunate that you, my dear nagaremono," he continued while he simultaneously held her tighter causing her to squirm in anger, "have become quite an interest."
He squeezed once more before loosening his hold slightly; unknown to her, just as he planned. Hinata broke from his hold and quickly spun around; her hand already in position to strike his chest before she froze.
Damn it, she cursed in her mind. I should have known better. He's an Uchiha, she mused absently as she looked into the slowly rotating Sharingan with faux fascination. Her arm lowered slowly and she made her way back towards him as if she walking into his embrace.
"Bastard," she tried to say, though only a soft whimper slipped through her lips. Sasuke smirked giving himself an almost demonic appearance.
"Good girl," he murmured as she tilted her head up, "now let's give your master a good performance, shall we?" And with that he kissed her.
All hell broke loose.
Sakura fidgeted from one foot to the other as she stared at the door in indecisiveness. She forced her hands apart when she realized that she was wringing her hands so hard, that her skin was becoming red from the rubbing.
She took one step forward before shaking her head and taking a step back. You are such a coward, the pinkette thought to herself miserably. Just go in and apologize. It's not that damn hard!
Either she didn't know that she was receiving weird and confused looks as she continued to talk and nod to herself or she simply didn't care.
"Oh, for the love of Kami!"
Sakura jumped about a foot into the air in surprise. Placing a hand over heart, emerald eyes narrowed heatedly at the owner of the voice. Ino ignored her glare with her arms crossed her chest and her hip out.
They had a staring contest for a moment before Sakura lowered her eyes guiltily.
Ino sighed wearily before making her way back inside her family's flower shop. She turned her head to see her best friend frozen in the same position.
Light blue eyes rolled in irritation before the owner of them spoke, "Look, either you come in or leave. You're freaking out my customers."
Sakura looked up in surprise and slowly began to follow her friend inside the building. She cleared her throat, "Anoo, how long did you know I was standing there?"
Ino gave an unladylike snort and gave her disbelief. "You must be really out of it," she muttered as they made their way to the small but cozy back room. A wry smirk came across her glossed lips. "Two words. Glass. Windows."
Sakura's bright green eyes widened in horror and her cheeks turned a bright shade of red in embarrassment. At the moment, she really wanted to slap herself for this latest act of stupidity. No wonder people were looking at her crazy.
Ino gave her a weary smile causing the pinkette's heart to lurch painfully. Right, embarrassment aside, she came here with a mission; to apologize. Although it was becoming a little bit harder than she realized. She bit her lip and began tugging a pink lock nervously.
Sakura opened her mouth, "Ino-chan, I-."
"Hold that thought," Ino interrupted almost hurriedly and made her way out the small room. Sakura frowned at the action before slumping down on the small couch.
Yup. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.
Temari sighed as she relaxed further into the couch, her eyes absently watching the moving pictures on the television. She jumped when a block hit her square in the face.
Her head spun to the little girl she was currently babysitting and scowled when Murasaki looked at her with a wide innocent look in her eyes. Temari's scowl deepened when she simply turned her attention back to the blocks currently surrounding her. You're Gaara's kid alright.
"You know you're not supposed to throw blocks, Mura-chan." The dirty blonde sighed when she was completely ignored. Turning her attention back to the television, she picked up the remote to change it from some bright kid's show only to be hit with another block.
Temari glared at her with Murasaki laughing in reply. She pointed to Temari and said some things in her language before pointing to the television. "No. Mine."
"You're not even watching it!"
Murasaki narrowed her eyes in anger. "Mine!" She reached behind her…
"Don't even think about it, Murasaki," Temari stated sternly; not that that did any good. The little girl maintained eye contact as she deliberately grabbed the soft block behind her and set it in front of her.
Temari crossed her arms in exasperation. Her lips twitched in amusement when Murasaki began to innocently play with her toy, as if she wasn't planning anything diabolical. The model almost snorted over the thought. It was a shame she wasn't exaggerating.
"Murasaki," the aunt started, "you're going to your room if you even think about it." She sighed again when the little…angel didn't even flinch. Her jaw dropped when Murasaki muttered something unintelligible under her breath. I think she just cursed me out.
Temari loved her niece with everything she had, but there were times when the one-year old clearly reminded her why she decided to postpone the whole 'motherhood' thing. The girl simply took her to her limits at times, but maybe that was just because she was Gaara's kid. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by, low and behold, another block.
She let out a frustrated closed scream before gently throwing the block back in retaliation. She laughed at the shocked look on Murasaki's face as the block bounced softly on top of her head.
The shock faded into anger. The little girl wobbled to her feet all the while screaming things that only she could understand. She made her way to Temari and hit her with a tiny fist. "Bad! Bad! Bad Baa-Baa!"
"No, Murasaki. You don't hit people." Temari took the hand and gave it a sharp smack causing Murasaki to yelp. She began to cry a split second later. The young woman shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You really need a nap and I really need a shot."
Shikamaru sighed as he stood in front of Naruto's apartment door. He really didn't want to be here, but apparently he was doing some "male bonding" with the traitorous bastard and needed someone to play babysitter.
He snorted in irritation; his face contorted into a scowl that was starting to become his usual expression lately. He opened the door and immediately ducked his head as a bat met the door with a loud crack.
"Shit!" Shikamaru exclaimed in surprise before dodging the lethal weapon once more. He held his hand up and was rewarded with a surprised yelp and the sound of the bat falling on the ground.
"What do you want?" a soft voice asked somewhat calm underlying with panic.
The brunette turned around; his mouth already open for some smartass comment before shutting it with a click. For a split second, red clouded his vision before he forcibly pushed it back as he openly stared at the frozen girl in front of him.
It wasn't the wiry scars that lazily wrapped around her neck and down her small arms that caused him to clench and unclench his hands repeatedly and made his usual lukewarm blood boil. No, it was the small tattoo marked on her neck.
How the hell did he not know about this? What was Kyuubi doing? Kumori ran his hand roughly through his head snagging his ponytail holder causing his hair to fall around his shoulders.
"Son of a bitch," he murmured before he shot a quick glare at his current problem. The girl's eyes were wide with fright although she was still trying to move from her frozen position. Kyuubi's second in command simply sighed and tilted his head to the side causing her to involuntarily do the same.
"Who are you?" Shikamaru asked tiredly. Kin didn't respond making him roll his eyes. "Fine, if I release you, promise not to scream," before sarcastically adding, "and don't even think about picking up that damn bat."
Since she couldn't nod her head, she settled for a whispered, "Yes."
Shikamaru relaxed his hand and made his way towards Naruto's kitchen. He opened the fridge and grabbed a beer. Peeking up, he glanced at his temporary charge, "You want anything?"
Kin shook her head and took a small step back. Shikamaru simply shrugged and shut the fridge. He made his way towards the couch and without looking towards her said, "Step away from the fucking bat…please. Sit down before I make you do it."
Kin cursed in her head. She walked to the opposite side of the couch and sat down cautiously.
Shikamaru snorted. "Relax, if I came here to kill you, you would have already been dead. I'm your babysitter." Kin nodded her head slowly although she still kept her guard up.
Since the interrogation, Naruto had let her roam his small apartment, but not once had he let her leave. The only people she had contact with in the last few weeks had been Naruto and that bitch, Tsunade.
She tried to escape once and that was one lesson she never wanted to learn again. The nagaremono had tried to leave right after Tsunade had healed her from Naruto's little…talk. She waited a couple days and when Naruto had left for school, she slipped out through the window.
Five minutes later, it was with horrible realization that Kin understood that Naruto, the Kyuubi and leader of the gang she was currently running from, was her tracker. She shook her head to banish the dark thoughts that ran rapidly through her mind. Kyuubi didn't let Tsunade heal her for a week.
"What's your name?" Shikamaru repeated bringing Kin out of her thoughts.
"Kin," she absently stated.
The seinn nodded. "And how exactly did you end up here in my leader's home?" Kin remained silent at the question, instead staring at him in cautious curiosity. She didn't feel the need to say the first thing that came to her mind.
She lowered her eyes, half in shame and half in relief. "He caught me."
"Thanks," he deadpanned, "that explained everything; I know exactly what's going on."
Kin bit her lip, but nonetheless remained silent. What was she supposed to tell this stranger? "Well, what do you want to know?"
Shikamaru took another drink before replying. "Look, I didn't know about you until the phone call a couple hours ago. How did you become a hostage for Kyuubi?"
Kin crossed her arms defensively. "I've been left alone before," she began warily; avoiding the question, "Why all of a sudden do I need a babysitter now?"
The lean brunette sighed in irritation and took another swig of his drink. Man, what he would do for a cigarette right now. He watched the young girl with indifferent chocolate eyes as his mind continued to turn.
She had a point. Apparently this "Kin" had been hiding in Naruto's apartment for the past few weeks and considering the blond has been going to school and coming to the meetings and runs; the girl has been left alone quite often. So now, why all of a sudden did his leader need him to watch her while he bonded with the traitor? Hime was the word that ran absently through his mind causing him to snort softly.
Kyuubi's second-in-command frowned at his sudden turn of thoughts. He clenched his drink tighter before loosening it. His whole body slumped further into the couch; more in exhaustion than actual defeat. When did he become so bitter? He was always so laid back and never stressed about…anything, really, but that all seemed to change overnight.
Shikamaru mentally shook his head. Putting his personal problems to the back of his mind to sort out later, he turned to Kin and began to focus on the main problem. He ignored the way she watched him warily.
There's a reason the bastard did this. She never needed to be watched before, so why now? With those thoughts, Shikamaru began to do what he did best. He began to plan and strategize.
Gaara opened his eyes slowly as if waking from a long sleep. Momentarily disoriented, he took a look around him. His brow furrowed in confusion as he pinpointed his location.
He was in his mind.
"What the hell happened? How did I end up here?" he murmured to himself. Though he spoke softly, his words were painfully loud. He looked beyond the vast desert, absently feeling a small breeze. He knew he was inside his mind, yet everything felt so real.
He could feel the sand shifting through his feet and the warmth of the sun. He never really bothered to question why his mind resembled the Suna desert.
Gaara shook his head hard; he was losing focus. It always seemed to happen when he was here. He would lose track of time. He searched around him once more, searching for the one responsible for bringing him here.
"Shukaku!" Gaara shouted. No one answered. The red head clenched his fists in anger. Why was he here? Something extremely bad had to have happened for Shukaku to just take over without any warning. But what? It was in the back of his mind, but when he tried to grab it, it jumped out of his reach.
"Shukaku!" Gaara shouted angrily. "What the fuck happened? Why did you put me here?" Silence. "Answer me, damn it!"
"Kyoui would have died had I not taken over."
Gaara reeled his head back as if he'd been struck. The scenery changed slightly and a small oasis appeared beside him. He leaned against a tree and closed his eyes. His hands ran through his blood red hair while his mind continued to race.
"Did you block my memory?" The former leader asked his counterpart. "What happened? I need to know."
Shukaku didn't even bother to appear. "All you need to know is that I am handling it. I will reveal all later; for now, rest. We both know how taxing it is to be pulled without warning."
Gaara snarled in reply, but he knew wasn't going to get anything until Shukaku was ready. Despite his worry for his daughter and his muzai, he slid down the base of the tree and drifted off.
Sakura bit her lip in worry; maybe this was payback. Twenty minutes have passed and Ino still had not come back into the room and Sakura was becoming a little fidgety.
The pinkette sighed in frustration and anxiety; she just wanted to apologize and leave! Well, maybe not leave, but she really didn't like being in awkward situations. Sakura closed her eyes and ran her hands through a hair before standing up and making her way to the door.
Just as she reached for it, the door opened on its own causing Sakura to stumble forward before she caught herself. Ino walked through the door slowly, relaxing slightly when she sat on the couch.
Sakura stood there for a moment before sitting back in her previous position. No one talked for a few minutes and the tension was so thick, you could cut it with a blunt knife.
Just as the pinkette opened her mouth, Ino spoke before her. "What's the definition of a whore?"
Sakura answered with an intelligent, "Huh?"
Ino leaned forward, her pale blue eyes intense. "What is the definition of a whore, Sakura-chan?" she repeated slowly.
Shifting uncomfortably in her seat, Sakura opened and closed her mouth repeatedly. "Anoo, someone who sleeps with a bunch of people?" The statement sounding more like a question than a fact.
"A whore," Ino began, "is a woman who engages in promiscuous sexual intercourse, usually for money."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sakura waved her hands in front of her. "I never called you a whore!"
"You implied it."
"Look," the pinkette sighed, "I'm sorry about what I said, but I wasn't the only person aiming to hurt that day."
"I was giving you facts, damn it!" Ino snapped, angrily slapping her hands on the table. "I wasn't aiming to hurt you; I'm blunt and you already know that. I was trying to fucking help you!"
The blonde didn't even realize she was in her best friend's face until she saw her lean back slightly. She backed up slightly, but never lost the anger and hurt in her light blue eyes. She held up her hand when Sakura opened her mouth to speak.
"No, let me finish." Ino went back to her previous position. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.
"You hurt me," she whispered, unknowingly causing Sakura to flinch.
"I'm sorry, I thought you knew about the rumors-"
Ino let out a humorless laugh and turned to Sakura. "You think I give a fuck about what anyone thinks of me? Come on, Sakura. How long have you've known me?"
Blonde locks swayed as Ino shook her head back and forth with a small smile. "Sure it stung a little bit to think that my best friend actually believed all that bullshit, but hey," she shrugged, "I could get over that easily. No, it wasn't that at all."
Ino remained silent, seemingly lost in her thoughts. "I put my ultimate trust in you when I told you about what happened between me and Shikamaru."
She looked over to see Sakura biting her lip and with eyes filled with regret.
"I think I'm a pretty strong person when it comes to my emotions, but when it comes to Shikamaru," Ino cut herself off and clenched her fists. "You were the one aiming to hurt, Sakura; all because you couldn't handle the truth."
Tears spilled down Sakura's cheeks as her heart swelled with regret. "I'm sorry, Ino-chan," she whispered, her voice breaking. "You're right, okay? I'm sorry; I just got so angry and…and…I didn't mean to hurt you."
Ino watched as Sakura put her head in her hands to hide her tears and sighed. No matter what, Sakura was her best friend; they've been through so many things since they were little girls. The pinkette had her flaws, but who didn't?
The beautiful blond slowly made her way towards her friend. She knelt until she was at eye level and gently removed Sakura's hands. She wiped off the tears on her best friend's cheeks and looked directly into her eyes.
"I forgive you and I'm sorry for being so blunt. I'll try to tone it down a bit, I promise." She grabbed Sakura's cheeks more firmly. "But if you ever pull this shit again, just know that I will be kicking your ass to Suna and back."
They both laughed at the threat. Ino backed away and Sakura hurriedly wiped her eyes with a small smile on her face.
Ino smirked. "Alright, alright, enough with this emotional crap. Let's go."
"Where are we going?" Sakura stood up with Ino and they both made their way out of the small room and into the main floor of the flower shop. A man with long blonde hair in a ponytail was standing behind the door and seemed to writing inside a book.
Ino waved her hand to grab his attention but kept walking to the glass doors. "Thanks for covering, Tou-chan. We're heading to the dojo; I'll be back in a couple hours." She grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her toward the exit.
"I'll see you later, Yamanaka-san," Sakura called as she was tugged out the door.
"Yeah, yeah." The man grumbled as he continued to focus on the book in front of him. "You owe me," he mumbled although Ino was probably halfway across the parking lot.
For one split second, there was the simple thought that maybe this was not a good idea; but only for a split second. What followed after was excitement, with a hint of fear and a tinge of bloodlust.
Kyuubi was having a field day. His red eyes took in his prey and couldn't help but tremble in excitement. He should have done this weeks ago! If this was all it took to push Shukaku over the edge, he would gladly do it again…though he wouldn't bring the traitorous bastard along. It seemed that he had had a little too much fun with his prize.
A fist to his stomach interrupted his musings and caused him to double over as air escaped forcefully from his lungs. He quickly brought his forearm up to block a kick to his side and dropped to the floor. He rolled on the floor and stood up when he felt he had enough distance between him and his opponent.
A low growl slipped past his lips when Shukaku ignored him once again. It's been like that for the past five minutes. Ever since Sasuke had kissed his prize, Shukaku had been trying to reach his seinn, and he has been trying to become the main focus ever since.
The moment Sasuke's lips touched Hinata's, hell had broken loose. Kyuubi had literally hit the ceiling from Shukaku's abrupt entrance and Sasuke was unconscious and in the wall before he could even comprehend that he was hit. It seemed as if Hinata had simply fainted from the shock of being controlled.
Kyuubi had gracefully landed on his feet and intercepted Shukaku before he could put a hole through his seinn's chest. He did it with a terrifying smile on his face the whole time.
Kyuubi snickered gleefully as he flickered before Shukaku and tried to slam his leg into his head…emphasis on the word tried. That damn shield. He felt a sharp tug on his leg before he landed sharply on his back.
Blood red stared straight into solid gold. "I should kill you right now, Kyuubi," Shukaku hissed with fury.
Kyuubi simply smirked at the statement, showing off an enlarged canine. "So you're finally showing yourself, Shukaku." He chuckled again only to be cut off by a fist to the face.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you and the fucker that's currently lodged into the wall behind you." Shukaku shook him roughly, only to be slammed into the ground. He wasn't quick enough to shield himself from the fist that ended up in his stomach. Kyuubi's body prevented him from doubling over. He coughed roughly as he tried to suck in much needed air.
"I can give you two reasons actually," Kyuubi said in sing-song voice before he took a dark tone that would have made lesser men lose control of their bladder. "One; this is my territory, mother fucker. You think this is it? Keep fucking with me and you'll see what I can really do."
He grunted when he received a punch in his side but held firm. "Two; she," he pointed his head in the unconscious girl's direction and licked his lips, "doesn't belong to you."
Shukaku snarled at the statement and was able to kick Kyuubi in the stomach, throwing him off. They both stood up and faced each other off. They were silent for a few seconds before Shukaku spoke.
"Does he even know why you want her? I've seen you a lot lately, Kyuubi. You've been fighting for control, haven't you?" Shukaku smirked when he heard a low growl. "Is he even conscious that you've taken control?" Shukaku shook his head with a terrifying smile on his face before he laughed. "You fucking foxes are the same."
Kyuubi let out a loud snarl before attacking. The next few seconds passed in intense tai-jutsu before giving each other space.
"So how'd you do it?" the blond asked calmly. Shukaku didn't bother with a response; his body stiffened letting his opponent know that he understood the question. Kyuubi laughed at his body language. He smirked in triumph, although he didn't relax his guard.
"Does she know how she came to be with you?" The silence caused Kyuubi to laugh hard. "Well, isn't that a bitch? She doesn't know does she?" He grunted and landed into the wall hard, courtesy of a fist to the face, but he kept that damn smile on his face. "She doesn't know that you kidnapped her, does she?"
That was the last thing spoken before the room exploded.
Temari sighed as she sat in the rocking chair with Murasaki asleep in her lap. It had taken an hour, but she was finally able to get the little girl to take her nap.
The dirty blonde was slightly concerned as she stared at her niece. Murasaki was always a little cranky when it was her nap time, but today she was unusually stubborn.
After the block incident, Temari had tried to get the little girl to walk to her bedroom, but Murasaki wasn't having it. She screamed and yelled while throwing her body on the floor. Temari had finally just picked her up and realized how hot she was.
"Shh, shh, Baby," Temari cooed to Murasaki as she tried to get her to calm down. They had finally reached her bedroom. The young woman placed the baby in her crib and stripped her of her shirt and pants. She forced Murasaki to lay on her stomach and when the little girl protested, she placed Shu-Shu next her.
Temari rubbed Murasaki's back soothingly as she checked for anything unusual. Her sharp eyes caught a slight glow behind her niece's ear. There behind it; a small symbol for love was glowing.
"Damn it, Gaara!" The older sister muttered furiously as she picked up her niece, who was starting to aggressively fight her sleepiness. She sighed once more as she sat in the rocking chair with Murasaki in her lap and began to slowly move back and forth.
What the fuck is going on and how the hell did I get dragged into it?
Hinata groaned softly and put her hand to her head. What happened? Where was she?
She heard a snort to her left along with a soft, "Weak." The bluenette turned her head to see Muzai leaning against a heavily branched tree, causally flipping what seemed to be a…knife.
Lavender eyes took in the surroundings before they lit up in recognition. What was she doing in her mind? What exactly happened? She slowly got up from what seemed to be a forest floor and cautiously made her way to the tree opposite of her…persona.
She took another look around her. It looked as if they were in the middle of an extremely dense forest. Little bits of sunlight created spots here and there. The clean scent of earth and rain permeated the air and the sounds of animals were background music.
She looked at Muzai, who was currently staring her in what seemed to be half disgust and half boredom. Hinata bit back a groan as she leaned against the tree. "What happened?" she asked.
Muzai gave her a small sneer as she continued to flip her knife in the air and catch it. After a few minutes of tense silence that felt like hours to Hinata, Muzai decided to speak. "You're pathetic, you know that?"
Hinata frowned. "And how exactly did you come to that conclusion, Muzai-chan?"
Muzai sneered at the name and turned disdainful eyes to the petite girl in front of her. "You let that bastard take control of your body without so much of a struggle. If I had been in front, that son of bitch would have been through the wall if he so much as touched me."
Hinata frowned at the explanation. Who was she talking about, Gaara? She couldn't seem to remember anything after Gaara and Naruto collided in explosive power. After that, everything was pretty much a blank. "What did you expect to me to do?" Hinata burst out angrily, thinking she might have been talking about the fight. She glared at her counterpart. "We're supposed to be laying low, not-."
"Well, you were doing a pretty shitty job of that," Muzai interrupted, "Whenever shit hit the fan, courtesy of you by the way; I was the one that needed to pull your ass out the fire. So don't come to me with that 'laying low' bullshit, alright?"
The main bluenette just let out a long sigh and slid down the tree and into a sitting position. She brought her legs to her chest and closed her eyes and she laid her head on the makeshift table. "So what are you doing here?"
"What?"
"I said," Hinata spoke as if she was speaking to a small child, "what are you doing here with me? It's obvious that you're not going to tell me anything considering you suppressed my previous memories. Apparently I'm in big trouble to be pulled into my mind with no warning, so why aren't you saving our ass, hm?"
The young girl swiftly rolled to the side, barely avoiding the knife, now quivering harshly in the tree, which seemed to be aimed towards her chest. She stared up at the other occupant in pure disbelief. "Have you lost your mind?" Hinata screamed. She wasn't sure wounds and death in her mind connected to her actual body and she sure as hell didn't want to find out anytime soon.
Muzai simply shrugged as another knife mysteriously appeared in her hands. She began to toss it in the air and catch it as she stared at Hinata in disinterest. "Relax; I knew you were going to dodge it. Geez, I was just having a little fun; stop being a pussy."
"To answer your previous question," Muzai shifted uncomfortably; flicking the knife a little harder than necessary, "Notice anything different about me?" She mockingly did a small twirl letting her long blue hair fly out around her.
Hinata cautiously took a couple steps back though she curiously gave her a once over. She paused and froze when she reached Muzai's neck. A small leather choker was wrapped snugly around her neck with Naruto's symbol shining brightly whenever she moved.
Lavender eyes widened in angered disbelief; her hands flying up to her own neck. Her hands began to shake when she felt the smoothness of the small leather choker. They moved on their own accord, feeling the cool metal and the engraved symbol of the Kyuubi.
"A leash?" she asked, somewhat hysterically, "I'm on a leash? When did that happen? How did that happen?"
Muzai smirked humorlessly. "It's pretty isn't it? I can't wait to see what happens when Shukaku-sama finds out." She sighed dreamily, "I could tell you what happened, but I think it's more fun to watch you panic and run around like a chicken with its head cut off."
"Damn it, Muzai!" Hinata shouted angrily. She jumped up and made her way to her slightly taller companion until they were mere inches apart. "This isn't just about us or even Gaara," she stated quietly, ignoring Muzai's scowl at her casual use of her boyfriend's name. "Naruto can track me anywhere. Do you know what that means?"
Muzai pushed Hinata back hard enough to slide a few feet. "Of course I fucking know what it means!" she shouted angrily, pulling on the choker, although it didn't budge. "But unlike you," she spat with distaste, "I will do anything to protect what's mine."
With that statement, Muzai turned away from her companion and began walking deeper into the forest leaving Hinata staring at the empty space. She leaned against the tree once more and slid down into her previous position.
Hinata sighed and ran her slender hand roughly through her hair. She simply just wanted to throw her hands up in defeat. She didn't know what to do anymore! Everything was simply spiraling out of control. She and Gaara's relationship were starting to feel some pressure, Naruto and Sasuke's suspicion of her true status; she now had an unbreakable leash around her neck, she seemed to be currently trapped inside her mind, and Muzai was hiding something big from her.
Could anything get any worse? She really should have just kept her mouth shut.
Ino crossed her arms angrily, ignoring the leering looks she was receiving due to her outfit: a simple blue sports bra and black biker shorts. Sakura, sporting a bright pink sports and white yoga pants, was standing next to her somewhat bored and amused as the female teenaged clerk shrank back in fear.
"You still haven't given me a reason as to why we can't have a room," the blue-eyed beauty stated flatly. "You just told us five minutes ago that you have three empty rooms to spar in and now you're saying we can't go in. What the hell?"
"I'm sorry, -."
"My beautiful, Ino-chan!" A loud but deep voice sounded through the hallway. Both girls turned to see Lee sprinting down the hallway, making his way towards them. He gave them a blinding smile when he stepped behind the desk. Sakura gave him a polite smile while Ino narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
Many people probably would have dropped their jaws in disbelief if they knew, but Ino was really close friends with Lee and she could tell when he was hiding something from her. "What's up?" the blonde asked, making Lee drop his smile a fraction before it returned full force.
"What makes you think something is up?" Lee laughed boomingly and gave Sakura an obvious wink. Sakura flinched slightly; she thought Lee was a really nice person, but he simply wasn't her type.
Ino crossed her arms and stared at Lee with disapproval. "Out with it, Lee-kun. What's going on? Your, obviously new, assistant told us there were three empty rooms to spar and five minutes later says we can't go in at all. Nobody has come in nor out through that hallway, so what's the deal?"
Lee gave an unusual frown and blinked his round eyes slowly. "Ino-chan," he stated somewhat seriously, causing Sakura to blink in surprise (since when has Lee been anything but annoyingly chipper) and Ino to uncross her arms slowly.
He smiled sheepishly. "You're right; this is -," he blinked in surprise at the empty space behind him and sighed. "You scared her, didn't you?"
Ino chuckled slightly and shrugged. "It's not my fault girls find me intimidating."
"Anyway, you're right. That was Megumi-san and I just hired her. She knew that three rooms were open, but she didn't know that they are currently being revamped until I told her."
Ino sighed dramatically. "Well, why didn't she say that in the first place instead of whining and stuttering like a little bi-."
"You promised," Sakura interrupted as she jabbed her elbow in her best friend's stomach. "Tone down the bluntness."
Ino glared at her mockingly as she rubbed her stomach to soothe the sting. "I'm sorry! Geez, this toning down shit is going to be a lot harder than I thought," she muttered.
She looked up at Lee with big blue eyes. "So are all of rooms full?" she asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side and letting her long blonde hair to fall over her shoulder.
The young man leaned forward with a rare smirk on his face. He opened his mouth to respond but froze when he felt a small tremor throughout the building.
Sakura, who was watching the whole scene with something akin to amazement, paused when she felt the small tremble. She and Ino turned toward the still statued young trainer.
"Lee-kun," Ino began, "What was that?"
Lee blinked a couple times before looking straight into Ino's eyes. "Nothing," he stated lowly, "I told you that those rooms were getting revamped; it comes with a few tremors. Look, it's kind of full today, my beautiful Ino-chan. You and Sakura-chan should come back some other time, ne?"
He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'll call you later, okay?" Ino nodded her head and turned to her friend, only to find her missing.
"Damn it," she muttered and began to make her way down the hallway, never noticing that Lee had disappeared also.
This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder, though Sakura as she slowly made her towards the end of the hallway. She knew she probably shouldn't be back here, but her curiosity got the best of her.
Everyone was acting…out of the norm and that conversation between Ino and Lee caused her head to spin. How much didn't she know about her best friend? She didn't Ino was even friends with Lee! And Lee, who was always flirting with her, barely noticed her existence. His seriousness and explanation of the tremors made her suspicious.
She paused in front of a closed door. Maybe she shouldn't be doing this; after all, she wasn't even allowed back here. Another tremble traveled through her body, strengthening her resolve.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door. Smoke assaulted her senses, causing her to rub her eyes roughly and to cough intensely. When the smoke cleared, her emerald eyes widened immensely at the sight before her.
"Oh my god," she whispered before her world went dark.
A/N So let me know what you guys think…pretty please =)
For those who have read, reviewed, and alerted to me or my works…Thank you so much, I truly, truly appreciate it.
Until next time,
Tw33ty JR.