The Lesser Of Two Evils
Hien had been observing the Konoha ninja for a few days now, keeping enough distance as to not be seen or detected, not that she really used anything aside from the tree climbing technique to reach a good vantage point. She was currently sat on a wide branch of a tall tree, her knees to her chest with her arms crossed and resting on top of her knees, her face half buried being her arms. She sighed, looking out towards the bridge builders house. The truth was she already had all the information she needed on her particular target, she was the blonde boys team-mate and seemed to be dating the boy, though they had obviously wanted their privacy or their relationship kept secret as they only showed their affections when alone on the rooftop at night.
The woman sighed as she felt a presence "Auntie?"
"What is it Haku?" Hien asked softly, she never bothered to turn her head toward the other girl.
"Zabuza-sama wishes for you to report back" Haku said with a small smile, as she looked off into the direction that Hien was facing off towards.
"I'm not done here yet … why do you even follow that man?" Hien replied, her tone of voice turning dangerously low near the end.
"He saved me from my life on the streets …" Haku started.
"For your bloodline … You are not a weapon Haku-chan … no matter how much he wishes for you to be!" Hien snapped back at her softly.
"Unlike me, you were sold into Zabuza-sama's service … you cannot understand my gratitude toward him" Haku said back calmly as she turned to Hien.
"Haku … our blood is the same … we both carry the icy shards of memories that sting at our very hearts every time we remember our past, have you not paid back your debt to Zabuza-sama … how many lives must you end at the command of that man before you are free?" Hien spoke hotly, her head buried further into her arms, spitting Zabuza's name out as if it were foul to the taste.
"My dream … is to help Zabuza-sama achieve his goals, I will die to defend him an his dreams" Haku recited perfectly.
"You're an idiot … I am sealed into service to that man … you are not and yet you refuse to leave him to be with your own flesh and blood" Hien spoke, her head moving to concentrate on where she heard her niece talking from before.
Haku was and had been conflicted ever since Hien had joined her and Zabuza six or seven years ago. She had been sold to them for quite a hefty price but Zabuza had insisted she would be worth it. Haku and Hien were part of the same clan in water country, though Hien had been living elsewhere when the country began the bloodline purge. Hien had told her that they still had family but Haku had always refused to abandon Zabuza to seek them out.
"Why do you Insist there are more of us? We are the last auntie, accept it" Haku said quietly.
Hien's head turned back toward her previous direction of interest with a look of disappointment on what you could see of her face.
"I have children, Haku … There are more of us" Hien stated simply before she continued "And I will never see my children ever again, never see them grow up, get married, become a grandmother … all because of that bastard you idolise, knowing full well that he will kill you when you outlive your purpose to him" Hien snapped at the girl. Her voice was colder and sharper than Haku had ever felt before and it stung.
Haku straightened her posture and gave her only relative a look of pain "I'm sorry auntie … but if that is Zabuza-sama's will then so be it!" Haku said firmly.
"Stupid girl … you're no tool to be used and abused and finally tossed away with the trash once your broken, leave me be, I will report when I'm done" Hien finished sharply, dismissing her niece.
Haku disappeared via shunshin, finally leaving Hien with her thoughts. A few moments passed by as the wind picked up and blew her hair around her face.
"I'm sorry for what I must do tomorrow … to end such a young life, one in love as well" Hien allowed herself a small sad laugh "I hope you enjoy yourselves tonight young ones, for tomorrow I will have to take everything you hold dear … and destroy it" Hien cried as she spoke, standing slowly before she left.
Tazuna's house, Late evening.
"Zabuza will be back at full strength tomorrow … and he's likely to attack the bridge with the fake hunter nin" Kakashi spoke, ending all conversation around the dinner table and gaining everyone's attention, his lone eye darted between them all seriously.
"We will need to be on guard tomorrow" Shino nodded.
"I'll go with you tomorrow" Naruto spoke up.
"No, Naruto I need you to stay here with Sakura and Shino to protect Tazuna's family, I'll take Sasuke, Kiba and I'll need Hinata's eyes on the bridge tomorrow" Kakashi stated.
Naruto sighed, he didnt like the idea … especially with Hinata being near Sasuke but he was a shinobi, and shinobi follow their commanders order's and as of that moment Kakashi was in command, he didnt have to like it though.
Sakura sent Naruto a glance to try and gauge his current thoughts of the plan, it wasn't too good by the looks of things, she looked over to see Sasuke smirking towards Naruto and then his eyes settled on Hinata … and roam to places the shouldn't. Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly at the last Uchiha before hiding her emotions as trained to do.
Naruto never failed to notice the manner in which Sasuke's eyes seemed to undress his girlfriend. It took all of his will power to suppress his own instinct to protect her and kill him, something he learned was a side effect of having a demon sealed within him. It was even harder to suppress his emotional rage at the insulting way the Uchiha was eyeing up his girlfriend as if she were a trophy in a competition.
"If Hinata is with me she is less likely to be out rightly targeted by Zabuza himself. Its for her own protection" Kakashi said.
It took all of Naruto's willpower not to snort at the man's words. He crossed his arms, leaning down against the table as Kakashi ran through his plans with Kiba, Sasuke and Hinata for if they were attacked tomorrow.
Naruto listened, not that he was very interested. He stared blankly at the table when he felt something … cold. He stood up, looking at Kakashi, before looking to the rest of the group.
"I'm going for a walk … I wont be long" he said and left before anyone could object. He leapt into the nearby forest and travelled through the tree's for a few minutes before he stopped in a small clearing. He stood still in the centre, his eyes closed, a single hand clasped the hilt of one of his Wakizashi.
"Get out here already …" Naruto called out loud. He wasn't disappointed when the fake hunter nin appeared a few yards in front of him.
"Greeting leaf ninja" Haku spoke.
"Drop the pleasantries, you called me out here for a reason … now spit it out" Naruto spoke emotionless and cold.
"I've come to ask you to abandon your mission, Zabuza-sama will kill all who oppose him" The girl spoke, getting straight to the point.
"And does this message come from Zabuza himself … or on his Behalf unknowingly?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"On his behalf, unknowingly … I do not wish to have to kill you all, it would make both our lives easier if only the bridge builder were to die yes? One sacrifice for the good of many" Haku spoke, just as cold and unforgiving as the blonde before her.
"For the good of many?" Naruto snorted "That man is this countries last life line, the country is depending on him to finish that bridge and break Gato's hold on wave … and you want to deny an entire nation the right to freedom?" Naruto's face was one of disbelief.
Haku flinched slightly behind her mask as she looked down to the right.
"Zabuza-sama plans to kill Gato once our transaction is complete" Haku spoke firmly.
"And then what? You leave wave in an even bigger mess, full of bandits without someone to pay their meals … wave country would be consumed by war within days … I cannot … no I WILL NOT ALLOWW THAT TO HAPPEN!" Naruto declared defiantly to the fake hunter nin.
Haku sighed and lowered her head slightly "I will fulfil my master's wishes … even if I have to bring an entire nation of innocents to its knee's in order to accomplish it!" Haku retorted passionately.
"Why? Why serve such a despicable man?" Naruto asked quietly, his face screwed up in confusion as he tried to understand her twisted masters dreams.
"Because he is precious to me!" Haku said simply and quietly.
Naruto's face softened at her reason, he now knew her position and reasons for doing what she had done … Anko wasn't exactly the most respected or sane person in his village but she was precious to him all the same and he'd do almost anything if she asked him too.
"Your loyalty is admirable, but it is misplaced in a man who thinks only for him self and of his own goals" Naruto said, raising his head to look straight into the eye slits of Haku's mask as he shook his head slightly.
"Tomorrow we will fight for our dreams and for our loved ones … and one of us will have our dreams die with them" Haku said with determination.
"Had I met you any place else, we could have been friends …" Naruto spoke quietly and with a sad smile before they both disappeared just as a gentle breeze swept through the clearing.
With Hinata and Sakura.
Hinata and Sakura were sat in the 'main room' of their tent outside Tazuna's house, waiting for Naruto to come back from his walk. They had been talking about what they hoped they would do on their dates when they got back to the village.
"I like ramen and all, and I know Naruto-kun worships the stuff but I hope he doesn't take me to Ichiraku for our fist date" Hinata said hopefully.
"Naruto can be clueless at times, but I don't think he's that stupid … I bet he's gona take you on one hell of a date … the only problem you have is what your gona wear" Sakura said as she smiled at the Heiress.
"Ah ! I hadn't even thought of that! What am I going to do?" Hinata started to panic.
"Hinata! Chill the fuck out! I got this!" Sakura said, eventually succeeding in calming her best friend down.
"I'm chilled" Hinata said awkwardly, though the panic stricken look on her face would say otherwise.
"Hinata this situation calls for a single and basic solution, were going shopping when we get back to Konoha and we will get you the hottest damn dress the village has … or die trying … the fashion world is more vicious than the shinobi world some times" Sakura spoke darkly as she pulled out a map from inside her flack vest and unfolded it out onto the table to show a map of Konoha market district.
Hinata's eyes looked over it and widened, he eyes shot up to Sakura who held an evil smirk "Is this what I think it is?"
"Yes … the fabled map of the Oniomaniac" Sakura whispered.
"I thought it was a myth?" Hinata whispered back, mesmerised by the maps colour-coded shops and neat notations.
"No, It is very real … and to be kept secret at all costs!" Sakura spoke quietly, sending a threatening glare to her best friend at the end of that sentence.
"you have my word I wont relate to anyone what I have seen here" Hinata said, holding her hand over her heart.
"Good … now … first thing is the dress, then shoes, then make-up" Sakura started, pointing to several different locations on the map. This particular conversation continued for another half hour before Naruto returned in a somewhat sombre mood, when asked if he was okay he smiled and told the girl he had been feeling a bit home sick.
And both girls knew his excuse was bullshit but they didnt press him for a real answer, after all he was probably tired and if it were important he'd have told them why he was really so down trodden. He soon had a smile on his face when he made himself and the girls some instant ramen.
"So what did the two of you do while I was gone" asked Naruto curiously.
"Talk" Both girls replied at the same time.
Naruto paused eating his noodles mid slurp. After a moment he bit the noodles, letting them fall back into the broth and swallowed the rest before placing the now half empty, or half full cup ramen on the table and cleared his throat, eyes closed before he chose his next words very, very carefully.
"I see …" He said evenly and smoothly.
"Yes" Sakura replied, her tone just as calm as Naruto's.
There was an awkward silence as Naruto refused to make direct contact with either girl until it was broken by Sakura.
"Which do you pre-fare: Red, purple or black?" asked Sakura.
"Red" Naruto said quickly before going back to his ramen cup, failing to notice the devious smirks on the two girl faces, he always was pretty oblivious to anyone and everything if he had ramen distracting him.
Thankfully Sakura had put away the map otherwise Naruto would have found out exactly what they were talking about, besides, it was fun to mess with him every now and then and the opportunity very rarely presented itself.
Kiba peeked his head into the tent a moment later and smiled "Hey Sakura-chan, up for coming for a walk with me and Akamaru again?"
"Yeah sure" Sakura smiled and got up and left with Kiba, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone in the tent.
"I'll be back in a minute" Naruto smiled as he disappeared into his side of the tent, closing the flap behind him.
Hinata smiled slightly and went into her and Sakura's side, retrieving a scroll she came back into the main room.
"Hello Hyuga ..."
"What do you want Uchiha?" she asked simply, not even looking towards him as she sat back down.
Sasuke sat across from her and stared at her. She looked up at him from her scroll with a scowl "Yes?" she asked with a harsh tone.
"Now, now … there's no need to be like that … you and I have unfinished buisness to discuss" Sasuke smirked as he leaned closer to Hinata.
Hinata looked back up to him, her chest tightening. She didnt like the look he was giving her and her instincts told her to run and get away from him.
"You see I find myself in a position where I need to rebuild an entire clan … which is going to take a long time, now then, I already offered you the privilege and pleasure of receiving me" Sasuke paused as his smirk widened slightly into a sinister snarl.
"But you denied me … the word 'no' isn't something I like to hear … so when I want something, I take it by force!" Sasuke stood, launching the table between them away with a single swipe. Hinata backed away as Sasuke laughed slightly.
"Be Honoured Hyuga … you're going to do me, your village and the world a service by restoring my noble bloodline" Sasuke smirked as he allowed himself a little laugh "Furthermore, if you prove to produce me a strong child then I'll even consider you again to breed plenty more Uchiha" he spoke the last part, his voice filled with lust as he had Hinata backed up against the wall of the tent, his arm level with her head to cut off her escape out of the tent as she shook with fear of what was happening to her.
A dark and cold pressure fell over the tent, Sasuke felt his knee's wobble slightly but grit his teeth and kept himself upright to turn and find Naruto a few foot away from him, shirtless and holding both of his Wakizashi on his shoulder's, crossing each other at the nape of his neck.
Sasuke openly growled at the blonde "You! You're always getting in my way!" he spat before her turned back to Hinata and took a step forward, only to be blasted out of the tent, sending him skidding along the ground.
Naruto made his way over to Sasuke quickly as the last Uchiha slowly attempted to get on his feet. As Naruto reached him, Sasuke quickly lashed out with a kunai hidden in his sleeve, catching Naruto across the chest. Naruto batted Sasuke away before looking at the lucky hit Sasuke had managed "Great … I'm gona need stitches for this one" he growled.
"Good! I hope I can kill you with my next hit!" Sasuke shouted in rage at the blonde.
"You're going to need more than me" Naruto said darkly before he disappeared from sight and appeared behind Sasuke, Sasuke turned, now clutching his bleeding forearm.
Naruto struck again, to fast for Sasuke to follow, leaving two more cuts on his back, making the Uchiha arch backwards and screech out in agony.
Naruto shot past again, leaving three cuts on his chest and stomach before darting past Sasuke over and over again until Sasuke was covered in small lacerations and a few deep cuts. Until finally the blonde appeared in font of the Uchiha, ready for the final blow, but it was not to be as a kunai blocked his swords.
Naruto looked to the left to find Kakashi staring at him "That's enough! … Naruto, go see to Hinata … I'll deal with this trash" Kakashi commanded.
Naruto growled slightly at being interrupted before he spat in Sasuke's face and punched him, sending the bleeding Uchiha reeling to the ground below with a thud. Naruto ran over to the tent and found Sakura was holding on to a shaking Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru close by, watching and waiting to jump in if necessary.
"Hinata-chan … Hinata-chan are you okay?" Naruto asked kneeling down in front of her.
She nodded shakily before she threw herself at him, clinging to him tightly as she cried "I … I'm s-sorry … I f-froze u-up" she sobbed.
Naruto shushed her and stroked her hair "It's okay Hinata … I'll never let him touch you, ever!" Naruto whispered soothingly, holding her tighter.
After a couple of minutes she seemed to calm down whilst Kiba and Sakura helped one another clean up the mess in the tent, including putting the table back in place. Sakura and Kiba left the tent to give the two some privacy.
"Naruto-kun … y-your hurt" Hinata said through her tear soaked eyes as she looked up from his slashed chest to his face.
"I don't care … I want to make sure your okay before I do anything else … right now, let me worry about you" he said as he kissed her forehead, and smiled at her, using his thumb to wipe away her tears.
"It hurts worse seeing you upset then the wound on my chest" Naruto smiled softly at her. She couldn't help but smile at him, he always did care about her thoughts and feelings more than his own. She kissed his lips softly before she pulled away reluctantly and opened her eyes to look at him.
"T-Thank you N-Naruto-kun" she whispered.
Naruto smiled and returned her kiss with one of his own "It's what I'm here for Hinata-hime"
Meanwhile.
"I hope you realise how lucky you are that I stepped in, Naruto was fully prepared to take your head off" Kakashi spoke to Sasuke, who was now bound to a tree with ninja wire, which didnt help his cuts my much.
"Like I needed your help!" he spat back, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"Well fortunately, the village deems you too valuable to kill … unfortunately for you, were not in the village and even worse for you … I HATE rapists" Kakashi spoke, his one visible eye darkening as he knelt down to a kunai embedded into the ground with the wire holding Sasuke tied off to it.
Kakashi pulled the kunai further toward him, tightening the wire around Sasuke for a moment. "Is it painful? Good! … cause im not even started yet" Kakashi said as he gagged Sasuke to silence his protests.
"There are five elements … lets start with my own, Lightning" Kakashi said darkly, holding his hand up as it burst out into violent, crackling lightning Chakra.
With Naruto & Hinata.
Naruto was sat on his camping bed, it was a fairly simple contraption, much like a fold out chair. Hinata sat on a chair in front of him as she stitched his chest as neatly as she could. Naruto looked at the girls medical kit to find it had grown beyond that of the medium sized basic first aid kit he had bought her from Muramasa's.
"I'm definitely going to have to get you some medical training … stitches are uncomfortable" Naruto said quietly as Hinata pulled the threading through his flesh to tighten the wound gently, even with his regeneration ability it had been a deep cut and would have needed medical attention eventually.
"I kn-know, I'm almost d-done Naruto-kun" Hinata said quietly, as she knotted the last stitch and cut away the excess thread.
"D-Does it still h-hurt?" she asked him as she put the scissors and threading away and retrieved one of her own ointments. Opening it up, Naruto caught a cent of wild flowers as she gently dabbed it along the nasty cut on his chest, making him wince slightly before it took its effect, dulling the pain and soothing him to relax.
"Not any more Hinata-chan … thank you" Naruto smiled as he watched her unravel some bandages. She looked up at him nervously and back to his chest. She nervously moved forward, wrapping her arms around his waist gently before pulling the bandages around his back and chest, taking her time.
Naruto looked down at her and found she was blushing furiously at such close contact with him. He smiled and blushed himself before he spoke quietly to her.
"Lets hope that next time you see my shirtless isn't when im in need of your medical treatment" he laughed just as Hinata was finishing up and tying the bandage.
"H-Hopefully" Hinata smiled, though blushing.
Naruto blushed, not expecting a reply from that particular comment, he shifted nervously as Hinata sat back on the chair in front of his bed in silence. He stood slowly.
"Its getting late ..." Naruto said quietly.
Hinata's shoulders slumped slightly "I … d-don't want to b-be alone" she whispered quietly.
Naruto smiled softly and knelt down in front of her, lifting her chin to look her in the eyes "I didnt say you had to leave" he said softly with a true smile.
Hinata allowed herself a small smile before she kissed him and pulled him into a hug "Thank y-you"
With Sakura and Kiba.
"when we get back to Konoha … the shit will hit the fan" Sakura commented, sat at the dining table with Tazuna, Tsunami, Kiba and Shino.
"I thought Naruto was going to kill him for sure" Kiba said, stroking Akamaru behind the ears.
"He was" Sakura stated simply, earning a shocked look from Kiba. She had never seen her blonde team mate so enraged … and not show its influence, that in itself must have been hard for Naruto to do as 'It' reacted to strong negative emotions.
"I do not blame Naruto-san" Shino said, causing the others to look at him.
"Last Uchiha or not, it doesn't give him a right to do what he tried to with Hinata" Kiba said in disgust, Akamaru growling in agreement.
"He will get away with it though, the Civilian council outnumber the shinobi council two to one … they will block any form of severe punishment they try to deal to the bastard. Even my own mother will take his side" Said Sakura sadly.
"Haruno-san … though the council may not be able to punish him, I'm sure he will receive adequate treatment from Kakashi-sensei" Shino said quietly as he seemed to be smiling slightly, a single Kikai bug on his finger tip.
"Guys I think we should go to bed, its late and were all up early tomorrow" Sakura said as she stood.
"Sounds like a good plan if you ask me" Tazuna said quietly.
Sakura bid the others goodnight and left the house, making her way into the tent, she was slightly worried to find that Hinata was missing from their side of the tent as she thought she would be well asleep by now. She looked around the tent before she peeked her head into Naruto's side to see if he knew where Hinata was.
The sight that greeted her was one of Naruto and Hinata asleep in each others arms. She could see that Hinata had been crying and assumed she hadn't wanted to be alone tonight. If she was Honest with herself, she wouldn't want to be alone either after going through what Hinata had, it was every woman's worst nightmare. Sakura smiled to herself slightly and left the two alone to sleep. She wouldn't disturb them tonight, besides Hinata would kill her the next morning.
Well there it is, chapter 10.
Oniomaniac : the technical term for a shopoholic.
this took a little longer than I had hoped to write due to me getting drunk , acting a complete dick head, splitting my eyebrow open and impairing my vision for the past two days. Though I did get to meet a really nice girl who uses this site and Is supposedly reading this story. I can only hope I don't disappoint her :3
also like to say thanks to a few people for pointing out misspellings in my work :3
aaaanyway as always I hope you enjoyed the chapter.