Chapter 11: Covetous Hands
Naruto had long since handled the issue in the armory. However, when he had made his way up to the second floor, one of the workers told him that there were family members being held captive as collateral over anyone who worked for the invaders. Naruto worried for his comrades, but the workers insisted that their friends needed help. "Take me to 'em."
With that, Naruto was whisked away from the central building to an outer shack. Naruto was wary of an ambush, but he was also aware that Hinata had scoped out the entirety of the village, and that they had already gotten rid of the guards. One of the office workers from the second floor tried to assuage his fears. "I assume since nobody is here that you have already defeated all of the guards. If they knew that they were under attack, someone would be here killing our family. Still, I don't know how you're going to get them out. They're sealed in." Naruto and the two workers stared at the run-down shack. Naruto observed it carefully trying to figure out how to approach. There was indeed a seal above the door, but Naruto figured that the seal could not be too complicated considering how weak his opponents had been up until then.
Stepping forward, Naruto leapt up and hung himself from the threshold. Carefully, he reached for the seal and touched it. A painful feeling coursed through his body as he felt chakra rushing out of his system. Naruto immediately dropped down, startled by the strength of the seal. 'If someone who didn't have as much chakra as I do had touched that, they might have been instantly drained.'
He looked back only to see the workers looking at him anxiously. Naruto's thought was that he should return quickly to his comrades. The seal was a powerful one, and Naruto worried that there would be more surprises in store for his team. He sincerely hoped that Hinata and Sakura hadn't run into too much trouble. Naruto focused back on the seal. Weighing his options, Naruto decided on the most direct path.
Once again, he hung himself from the threshold, and bracing himself, he reached for the seal. Peeling the seal from the wood of the doorway, Naruto could feel the drain on his reserves. Grimacing through the pain, Naruto continued to pull until the seal came completely off, knocking Naruto to the floor. One of the female workers hurried forth and helped Naruto up. Naruto dusted himself off, and went to the door.
Opening it, he hesitantly peered inside. Huddled inside the shack were at least fifteen people. The space was not nearly enough to comfortably accommodate them all. The room smelled awful; of human waste and despair. The light shining in blinded the people inside momentarily, and they began to shout in fear. Naruto pushed the door open more, and his heart sunk.
"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. You can come out." Nobody inside the room budged, instead they stared at Naruto's dark figure with great fear. Naruto waited patiently for them to gather their courage and escape. Finally, one small child sprang up, and rushed at Naruto in tears. Naruto lifted the girl in his arms holding her tightly as she cried. Her mother soon followed, worried for her daughter. Naruto carefully handed the child back despite the small girls' wails of protest. Spurred on by the actions of the toddler, one by one the people stood and left the darkness of the shack.
Some of the captives came out and embraced the two young female workers who hugged them in turn, crying tears of joy. The rest of them stepped out cautiously looking around in fear as if they thought that someone was going to come and send them right back. Finally, some of them simply began to teeter away on filthy and unused legs. "How long have they been in there?" Naruto wondered out loud. His train of thought took a violent turn from the terrors of the captives when he realized that his teammates were probably still battling it out against unknown assailants. Glancing at the two reunited families, he shouted to them.
"Gather as many people as you can and take them to a safe open field. My friends and I will meet you there when we have finished taking care of the threats." The two families looked at him with trepidation. Sensing their wariness, Naruto tried to ease them. "I'm sorry about what has been done to you, but if you want to reclaim your village, things will need to be different, and you will need help."
Hoping that they would listen, but knowing that he would not have the time to convince them any more of his validity, Naruto left them to make their decision as he raced back to the central building.
Sakura and Hinata had not initially made the first move to begin the battle, Hinata had made Sakura aware of the fact that she should absolutely avoid being touched by this man at all costs. Unfortunately, since they were both close-range fighters, their job became exponentially more difficult.
Hinata knew because of her Byakugan that Naruto was no longer in the building. His extensive knowledge of a myriad of jutsu would have been helpful, but she could not take the time to concern herself with 'what if's'.
The man had transformed into a large wolf-like humanoid, and with that his strength and agility had also magnified. Due to their smaller stature, Hinata and Sakura had a relatively easy time avoiding his swinging, grasping limbs while they tried to strategize.
Frustrated, Sakura discreetly took out a kunai, and tossed it at the transformed man. The kunai met its mark, sinking deep into the monster's bicep, but this only served in making the monster more enraged. He roared at them in anger.
Attempting to take his distraction as an opportunity, Hinata cut in and struck the monster's thigh muscle. The beast staggered, but managed to remain upright. Seizing the moment of weakness, Sakura leapt up and punched the beast in the right side of his face sending him flying. He attempted to skid to a stop, but his damaged thigh crumpled, and he was unable to catch himself instead crashing into a wall. Angered, the monster again roared.
He pulled himself out of the destroyed wall and staggered towards the young kunoichi who stood prepared for his next attack. What they didn't expect was a sneer as the monster opened his mouth wide and allowed a cloud of steam to escape him.
At first, the cloud of steam was small, but the monster continued to release steam creating a humid and blinding environment. Hinata was fine because her Byakugan was activated, but she knew that Sakura would have no visual input.
"Sakura-san, please stay behind me. I will try my best to defend us." Hinata was frustrated with the turn of events. Her clan techniques were meant for individual users only, meaning that any attempt she would make at blocking attacks from all directions would damage Sakura as well. Still, she was team leader, and she couldn't let anything happen to Sakura.
Hinata knew that the monster could see them, and she knew that he was aware that Hinata could also penetrate the fog. When he didn't attack, Sakura took it as a mutual blindness.
"Hinata-san, you have to let me strike again. You saw how much damage I was able to do with one blow. It wasn't even a strong one. I can make it stronger. We can end this." Hinata shook her head.
"He can see you. He'll drain you." Sakura took offense. Did Hinata think that she was incapable? Sakura was sick of being considered incapable, especially by a mouse of a girl like her team leader.
"Then why hasn't he attacked?" Sakura hissed to Hinata. Before she even gave Hinata a chance to reply, Sakura leapt over the girl and aimed an attack at where she heard the monster breathing.
"SAKURA-SAN!" was Hinata's panicked cry.
Had the monster been unable to see, Sakura's blow would have found its mark. However, this was not the case, and Sakura was not his real target. Bringing his hand back as though he were about to strike Sakura, he quickly snapped his arm forward, and his hand soon found its true target.
Seeing that Sakura had recklessly leapt right at the monster, Hinata had panicked when the monster simply stepped back, and Sakura missed. Hinata didn't know what the monster-man was capable of, but she knew that they would find out as soon as his hand made contact with Sakura. When his arm pulled back as if to strike Sakura a blow that she could not see, Hinata acted on instinct, and leapfrogged over Sakura as Sakura had done to her previously.
Her descent was roughly interrupted by a strong grip around her throat. She clawed at the large hand that managed to completely encase her neck. Sharp claws cut into the back of her slim, pale neck. In that instant, Hinata knew that she was done for.
"Hmmm, this fog is bothersome." Came the man's hideous voice. "I want to see your pretty face as you die." With no command from him, the fog dissipated, and Sakura looked on in horror at Hinata as she hung a foot off the floor, her neck completely encased by an enormous furred hand. Before Sakura could do anything, the monster stepped towards her, lifted her off the ground by her arm and slammed her into the floor so hard that she lost consciousness.
He turned his attention back to the Hyuuga girl in his grasp and smiled as he tightened his grip. Hinata began to kick and struggle for breath, but the worst had not begun. Suddenly, she felt intense pain as all of the chakra within her body, from the tips of her toes to the end of her nose began to slowly flow out of her body.
The man stared at her face intently as Hinata began to turn purple from the lack of oxygen and chakra. Her nails left deep gouges in his hand but he paid her no mind. She could not perform Jyuuken because he was draining everything from her. Hinata wasn't certain what it was that was making her feel light headed, the chakra depletion or the lack of air. Before she could black out however, a jolt shook her to awareness, and she suddenly fell to the floor, the monstrous hand severed from its body, but still attached to her.
Naruto stood before her in a cloak of bubbling chakra that he had bartered with Kurama for. His hand was extended by a claw-like projection of chakra. Hinata tore the hand off of her neck and started sputtering and gagging. Breath flowed into her lungs like water down a desert traveler's throat. Her larynx was tortured, and her body had been nearly completely depleted of chakra, but she was alive, even as she wheezed for every breath. Naruto did not directly address her, not daring to take his eyes off his opponent, but his threat to the unknown man made his feelings clear.
"I will kill you." Hinata remained on the floor unable to move, but she watched, fear in her heart for the boy that she loved.
The transformed man chuckled. "Well, well, well. Who do we have here?" He stared uncaringly at his stump of a hand. "A Jinchuuriki, hmm?" The man chuckled darkly. "You know. Last week I ran into a man who could regrow every limb on his body no matter how many times I chopped it off." Blood had stopped rushing from the terrible wound. "And trust me, I did that a lot. Unfortunately, then I learned that his head was not so disposable." The man's stump suddenly began to swell. He locked eyes with Naruto. "Luckily, I took his chakra before things escalated to that point."
With those words, the man's new hand formed. He flexed it to test it out. "And now, I have the fascinating chakra of your friend there." The man stared at Hinata who lay on the floor wheezing for every breath. Naruto shifted to block his view of Hinata. The man flickered his eyes up to Naruto and smirked. "You look like you'll be a problem. Maybe I should show you what that little bitch is truly capable of."
Naruto bristled, but he said nothing. He still wasn't completely sure that what he assumed this man was capable of was real. Talk was one thing, but for all Naruto knew, the man may have already had the skill to regrow limbs. "You and your friends should be proud, I've never had to burn through three skills in one fight. But then again, there's never been a skill that I've been so eager to try…as the Byakugan." With those words, the man's arteries around his dark brown eyes suddenly bulged. Naruto looked on in horror as the man examined the world as Hinata saw it.
Naruto felt sick. He knew that no ninja were spared in battle, but it felt so wrong to see Hinata beaten so mercilessly. Sakura looked no worse for wear despite the bump on her head, but there was something so vulgar about the man using the skill he had just stolen from Hinata right in front of her as she lay on the floor immobile and struggling for breath.
The blonde prepared himself to kill this man. He had never felt so much hatred before. The monster he faced still only looked around in amazement. "This is amazing. I wish you could see this." He fixed his eyes on Naruto's when he said that line. "You don't know what you're missing." He stated conspirationally. He still seemed unconcerned with battling Naruto.
Finally unable to contain his anger, Naruto sprung forward and jabbed, but the man dodged. Naruto jabbed again, and simultaneously sent out a tendril of bubbling chakra right to where he had heard of the Byakugan's blind spot being. The man sprang away to the side. "Whoo, you almost got me there." The joking tone of this man's voice unnerved Naruto to his core. He continued to slash and jab wildly at the man who simply dodged every move Naruto made. The man had made an attempt to counter, but had lost a leg which he simply regrew.
As the fight continued on and looked more like a dance, Naruto grew more and more enraged. The man was a maniac. He seemed to enjoy everything about the situation. He would occasionally glance at Hinata who remained struggling for every breath, and every time he did, his face would light up with a sick pleasure. The two were at a stalemate. Naruto's blind range in battle was preventing him from figuring out a way to land a blow. And the man seemed to be content with the visual limits of his borrowed talent.
The fight came to a stuttering end when Naruto heard a horrifyingly rattling breath. Naruto turned to Hinata, alarmed by the sound that came from her. She began to writhe on the floor, and grasped her damaged neck. Naruto's opponent tisked. "Uh oh. Looks like her trachea is so damaged it has gotten inflamed. That's a shame."
Naruto took another stab at him, but the man stepped back. "Ah-ah-ahhh~. You should probably stop wasting time on me and take care of your little friend. She's gonna die if you don't do anything soon." Naruto glared at him, but noticed that the Byakugan had faded from one of his eyes. The man saw that Naruto noticed and grinned wickedly.
"You should take care of that. Besides, I'm all out of that regenerative chakra, and I'll never be able to use that skill again. Drawbacks of my kekkai genkai, you understand." The man continued with his infuriatingly nonchalant tone. Naruto could hear Hinata's rattling breaths become more desperate, and his eyes kept flicking to her, but he wasn't willing to give this man his back. Naruto started yelling for Sakura.
"Sakura! Wake up!" The pink haired kunoichi remained still. The wolf-man looked amused by the predicament that Naruto was in. He gave the blonde a toothy smile.
"Don't worry. I'll leave, and you can take care of her. I want her to get better anyway. Her Byakugan is delicious, and the fact that she's unsealed makes it even better. I'll be back for her." Naruto yelled for Sakura again, while he listened to the monster speak.
"I can imagine all the possibilities. I cooouuuld take her eyes and kill her. Honestly that's the nicest option." The man held up a clawed finger. "I coooouuuld take one eye for myself, sell the other one, and then kill her." The man grinned at Naruto's disgusted, terrified face as he raised another finger. The man chuckled. "Or. I could rip out her eyes, keep them for myself and make her bear my Byakugan wielding children." The man chuckled darkly.
Rage. Intense rage was what Naruto felt within his soul. He had never felt hatred so deeply. He could hardly contain it. Kurama grew restless and uncomfortable. He had never wanted to kill anyone until that moment. He's not worth it Naruto. You need to keep it together while you're not in my jurisdiction. Kurama's warning went unheard by Naruto.
The man backed away laughing evilly. Naruto's words at first came out in a hoarse whisper. "I'll kill you." His anger then spiked dangerously. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!" But before he could spring forth, a small hand braved the burning, boiling, chakra and tugged weakly on his pant leg. Naruto glanced down to see Hinata had crawled to him and was now completely choking, her eyes glassy as they stared at him in desperation.
Naruto glanced back to his opponent, but the monster was gone. Although Naruto's anger at letting the man get away was strong, he released the chakra cloak to keep from giving Hinata more burns. Hinata stared up at him with glassy eyes that blinked shut as she lost consciousness. Instantly, anger turned into fear as Naruto took in the severity of Hinata's injury. Cursing his stubbornness, Naruto knelt down beside her and lifted her off the floor careful to cradle her head.
'Kurama, help me save her.' The fox demon growled. First you ask me for my chakra and abuse it, now- 'HELP ME SAVE HER, DAMNIT!' Kurama was stunned into momentary silence.
'This isn't good. The boy can't get too attached.' Kurama growled. Knowing that denying Naruto this would be potentially disastrous if Naruto freaked out and alerted the area's Shinigami.
Fine. I'll put a little chakra into fixing her throat. But it will only be the bare minimum. Any more and I risk corrupting her chakra pathways. She'll have to deal with the pain and bruises.
'Just do it.' As Naruto held Hinata's limp body in his arms, a thread of chakra leaked from his seal and flowed into Hinata's slightly open mouth. Naruto held his breath for a moment before he suddenly saw Hinata unconsciously gasp for air. The blonde carefully watched her take a few more deep breaths before he allowed himself to let out the one he was holding. He lifted her body and hugged her tightly. He didn't know what he would have done if she had died. Gently he laid her down and went to wake Sakura.
It was ten minutes before Naruto was able to shake Sakura awake. Sakura awoke to her head pounding painfully, and a concerned Naruto looming over her. "Are you okay?" Sakura stared up at him for a second before nodding. Suddenly she remembered about Hinata. She sat up too quickly and looked around, ignoring the sharp pain that lanced through her head.
"Where's Hinata-san? Is she okay?" Seeing Hinata on the floor, she scrambled to the girl. Anxiously, she waited for Hinata's chest to rise and fall with her breath. Seeing that the young girl was breathing, Sakura examined her neck closer. The bruising around her neck made Sakura grimace. Naruto stepped over to them quietly.
"She'll be alright. He didn't take all of her chakra. He did choke her until she passed out though." Naruto didn't want to have to reveal to Sakura how he had healed Hinata. Naruto watched Hinata as she lay, glad that she was still alive. "What happened? How did he manage to catch her?" Naruto knew that Hinata was skilled enough to have evaded almost anything. It should not have been so easy for the man to catch her. His eyes trained on Sakura when he realized that he was still waiting for an answer.
"I-I…." When Sakura fell into silence, Naruto's eyes narrowed, but Hinata suddenly stirred, drawing the attention of the two to her. She opened her bloodshot eyes slowly, observing her surroundings. Her eyes immediately trained on Naruto's. In her eyes he saw a wariness that he had never seen before. Instantly he was reminded of the fact that she had seen him in his transformed state with a cloak of bubbling chakra around him.
He expected her to scream at him. He expected her to scramble away in fear. He at the very least expected to see fear in her eyes, but all he saw was the initial wariness turn to a slight look of curiosity in her tired eyes. She tried to sit up, but lay back down instead, her eyes scrunched in pain. She swallowed a bit before trying to speak.
"We need to make sure that the villagers are okay." Her voice came out in a raspy whisper, and she grimaced, revealing that there was more than a bit of pain that she felt. "I don't think I'll be able to move for a little while. You guys should just go gather them until I can make it out of here." She closed her eyes again, but it was obvious by the tension in her body that she was still in pain. Sakura leaned over her, and spoke to Naruto.
"If you want, I can work on her a bit to get her voice box repaired, and restore some of her chakra. I won't be able to do much about the bruising though. That is, if you want to just go take care of the villagers." Naruto looked down at Hinata and sighed.
"No, it's okay. I'll stay until you fix her up. I already asked the villagers to find an open space to gather. Besides, the bastard that did this to her got away, and he promised he'd be back." Naruto heard Hinata whimper, and she opened her eyes trying to blink the tears away. Sakura immediately got to work on Hinata's throat. While Sakura was busy with that, Hinata caught Naruto's eye.
"Thank you." She mouthed, and smiled. Naruto smiled sadly back before Hinata closed her eyes in pain as Sakura prodded a particularly sensitive bruise on her neck. It was a painful couple of minutes before Hinata's larynx and trachea were completely healed.
"Okay, you should probably take some soldier pills." Sakura sat back and extracted a bottle of pills and water from her pack. Naruto knelt down and helped Hinata sit up. Tossing back a couple of pills, and sipping some water, Hinata rested into Naruto's arm that supported her while she waited for the pills to take effect.
"We need to get out there as soon as possible. I don't want the villagers to think that we abandoned them just because we're taking too long. I'm going to need some help getting out there though. I'm still too exhausted to go very quickly, and the soldier pills are really only temporary. Hopefully the villagers will allow us to stay here for a couple of days so that I can recover before we head back." Sitting all the way up on her own, Hinata began working her way to standing.
Before she could even get to her knees, Naruto scooped her into his arms. She went up with a squeak of shock to find herself in her crush's arms. A vibrant shade of red bloomed onto her cheeks, but Naruto didn't see it as he addressed Sakura. "We'll be faster if I just carry her." Sakura nodded in response. He turned his attention to the petite girl in his arms.
"I know it might be a lot to ask, but I don't want to waste time. Do you think you can find the villagers with your Byakugan?" Hinata nodded without meeting his eyes. She activated her dojutsu for a quick spurt, after which she rested her head on Naruto's shoulder in exhaustion.
"They all gathered in this clearing on the inside of the village gates in the easternmost part." Naruto nodded his thanks, and without another word, the trio were off to the place where Hinata had seen the survivors.
As soon as the villagers saw the ninja, they cheered. Naruto and Sakura were saddened to see how few people there actually were. Hinata asked to be put down. When Naruto did, she nearly fell over, so she settled for leaning heavily on him upright, while he supported her. She whispered to her blonde companion.
"You already established good rapport with them. Why don't you let them know that Konoha relief will be coming? Oh, and please ask if someone is willing to let us stay while I recover for a couple of days. I shouldn't need more than a couple of days to be good enough to get home. The relief should be here only a couple more days after that anyway." Naruto nodded, but before he could begin shouting to the crowd, someone ran up to them.
Hotaka ambled up, a lopsided, overjoyed grin on his face. However, when he saw up-close the condition that Hinata was in, he halted a bit. Still, he proceeded with his greeting. "I'm so glad that you guys survived! We could never thank you enough. If you need anything, feel free to just ask. The villagers are willing to give anything that they can." Naruto nodded, but then leaned closer to Hotaka.
"Actually, do you think you could tell them a couple of things for us? They'll probably trust you more since you're one of them. All of the bandits are gone from the village, but Konoha will be sending relief that should get here within the next four days. Also, if anyone could house us and help us get Hinata back to traveling health, that would be good." Hotaka set his eyes on Hinata again.
"Are you okay?" Naruto immediately thought that was a stupid question but said nothing. Hinata smiled tiredly at the young man.
"I'm okay. Just some chakra exhaustion. I should be okay within a couple of days, and we'll be right on our way. Anyone who could take us in would be much appreciated." Hotaka nodded, and turned to the crowd.
"As you all know, the bandits are gone." He allowed a moment as the group broke out into renewed cheer. "Ninja from Konoha will be coming to help us rebuild our home." Murmurs broke out within the crowd. Some people sounded excited, but some sounded wary. "They will be here in four days, hopefully. In the meantime, the heroes will be staying with my family for the next couple of days while this young lady recovers from some damage she took during the battle. If anyone would like to express their gratitude, you know where to find them." Hotaka turned back to the three ninja.
"My household will be happy to have the saviors of the village residing in our humble home. Please follow me, and I will take you there." Hotaka began walking off, and Naruto scooped Hinata in his arms again. She was too tired to struggle, or even blush, and simply allowed herself to be carried. The rest of the villagers scattered to begin picking up the pieces of their tattered town.
Hotaka walked confidently to his home. His step was light and cheery despite everything that had gone down so far in the day. Naruto looked down at Hinata and noticed that she had fallen asleep. He tried to make his steps land softer, but when he nearly tripped, he settled for simply following Hotaka.
Sakura walked next to Naruto, and both of them looked around at the destruction within the village. Homes had been torn down or burned, and the ones that hadn't were simply falling apart because of neglect. It was about five minutes of walking before Hotaka began to walk up to a house. Like all the other homes, this one was in shambles, but the way Hotaka was looking at it, it seemed as though there was no paradise more beautiful.
The tall young man turned to the ninja. "It's the first time in months that my parents have been home. Now all we need to complete the family is Daisuke. He should be here with your friends though, right?" Naruto and Sakura nodded in reply. Hotaka took notice that Hinata was knocked out and opened the door. "You can bring her in here to rest.
Inside, the home was cozy. It was in fact a lot larger than it had looked on the outside. Also, the inside was a lot brighter and cleaner than the outside. The four young people stood in a short hallway that later opened up into a living space. A petite, dark haired, dark eyed woman came out of another space, and looked a bit startled by the additional people standing in her doorway.
"Hotaka, who are these people?" Naruto and Sakura shifted uncomfortably, but Hotaka glanced back at the team, and turned to his mother proudly. She stared warily at the strong looking figures.
"These are the ninja who freed our village!" Hotaka's mother showed her shock on her face. "They needed a place to stay while one of their teammates recovers from exhaustion, and I offered to let them stay here since we have plenty of room until Daisuke gets back with the relief from Konoha."
Hotaka's mother moved forward and grasped Sakura's hand in her left, and touched Naruto's arm that still held Hinata with her right. A look of deep sincerity in her eyes as she spoke to them. "Thank you for freeing our village. I'm sorry that we do not have much in this time of difficulty, but what we have you are welcome to." She looked down at Hinata, and then looked up at Naruto. "You can rest her in Daisuke's bed. It's closest to the living room any way so you can all stay close."
"Mariko! Where'd you go? I don't know how to cook! Oh? Hello there!" A loud man came from the same room that Hotaka's mother, Mariko had come from. He was averagely tall, and had a full head of graying hair. His face was aged, but his eyes had a twinkle. Mariko stepped away from the teens and went to her husband.
"These are the heroes of the village, Hisato. Hotaka brought them to our home. One of them is injured, and needs to rest a couple of days. She'll be staying in Daisuke's room until she is well enough to head out." Hisako observed the three ninja before smiling jovially.
"Well, welcome to our home!" He grabbed Mariko happily, nearly lifting her off her feet. "We're glad to have the heroes of our village. You guys have brought us together again." Mariko smiled lovingly at her husband before bringing her attention back to the ninja.
"I'll help you with your friend now. You can follow me." She motioned for Naruto to follow her, which he did, still holding Hinata gently in his arms. Mariko led him to the first doorway, and opened the door for him. She turned on the lights inside quickly, and rushed to pull aside the covers of a bed that was there. "I can assure you that Daisuke was always very clean." Naruto smiled at her and gently lay Hinata on the bed. Mariko observed as Naruto pulled the blankets over Hinata's sleeping form.
"What a poor little thing. She hardly seems like the type to be a ninja. You and that other girl are taller and seem a lot stronger. Her frame seems so slight, and a bit frail." Naruto stood upright, and watched as Hinata fell into a deeper sleep. He smiled at Mariko's words sadly.
"She's deceptively strong, actually. She never ceases to amaze me." Mariko studied Naruto as he turned back to Hinata again. A knowing twinkle lit Mariko's eyes.
"Well, what do I know about the lives of you ninja? You should come out to the dining table, dinner will be ready before you know it, and I had already made more than enough since it was our first day back." Naruto turned to her and the two made their way out, shutting off the lights as they went. When Naruto came out, he found Hotaka chatting merrily with Sakura, and Hisato looking clueless as to what he was doing in the kitchen.
When Mariko walked in, she handed some vegetables to her husband. "Slice these and roast them, please." Hisato looked happy to have been given a task, and quickly set to work. The equality between husband and wife was clear to Naruto, and it made him happy to see the well-functioning family dynamic. He walked up to the two and hesitantly asked.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Naruto wasn't used to family dinners like that one, and it made him anxious to do the right thing and to behave properly. Mariko turned from the pot she was tending on the stove and smiled warmly.
"No, you should just go relax with Hotaka and your teammate. This will be done soon, and we'll sit down to eat." Naruto nodded and went to join Sakura at the table. Sakura glanced at him, but then turned her attention back to Hotaka who was telling a story about his childhood. Naruto sat and listened to Hotaka telling his tale enthusiastically. It was not long before Mariko returned bearing the first of the meal that she had prepared. It was a big pot of seasoned rice. She looked at Hotaka.
"Why don't you help by bringing out the food?" Hotaka sprung up and followed her to the kitchen. Naruto and Sakura didn't exactly know what to do. They sat patiently while more food was brought out. Finally, a fine meal of fish, vegetables, a simple soup and seasoned rice was laid out on the table. The two young ninja were astounded by the kindness of their hosts.
"Are you guys sure that you wanted to use all of this food?" Sakura looked at the food in amazement, concerned by the selfless generosity. Mariko and Hisato shrugged their comments off.
"Oh surely. I'm sure we're just as hungry as you if not more so. We were in that awful shack for weeks. It was terrible. Now, we can finally enjoy a real meal, and that is all thanks to you. This is not even everything that we have, so don't worry and just enjoy." With that, everyone dug in. In the back of his mind, Naruto worried for Hinata. He wondered if she should also eat something with them. He wanted her to get some food, but he didn't want to wake her.
Mariko noticed that Naruto continually glanced at the room where Hinata was resting, and a small smile touched her lips. "Your friend is fine, young one. Right now I know that she is only concerned with resting. She'll probably wake tomorrow, and be ready to take some food. For now, don't worry about her and just let her be." Naruto turned back to his food, and ate without question. Sakura's green eyes studied Naruto and Mariko's exchange.
After dinner, Hisato and Mariko immediately retired to their rooms, with a gentle smile and farewell to the two fair-haired ninja. Hotaka remained, and turned excitedly to his new friends. "Unfortunately, we don't have another room available for guests, but if you would like you could stay in my room. I don't mind sleeping in the living room." Naruto was the first to answer.
"If possible, I would like to just take a blanket and pillow and stay on the floor in Daisuke's room with Hinata. I was supposed to keep her safe in the first place. Obviously I didn't do a very good job. I don't want to mess up again." Sakura didn't know if Naruto had intended to sting her with his words, but what he said struck a chord with her as she remembered what part of her mission had been.
Hotaka went to a linen closet and pulled out a thick blanket and a pillow for Naruto. Naruto took them with a smile. Hotaka turned to Sakura. "What about you? Do you want to take my bed?" Sakura glanced at Naruto who had left to get ready for bed in the bathroom. She shook her head in reply and smiled.
"No, I think I'll just take the couch. Do you have another extra blanket?" Hotaka nodded and pulled another blanket and pillow for her. A yawn overtook him suddenly.
"Well, if you guys don't need anything else, I think I'll be going to bed. Feel free to get anything from the kitchen if you need it." It was hardly a minute before the young man was gone. Naruto turned to Sakura and gave her a tired smile.
"If you need anything from me, I'll leave the door open for you. That way you can also come in quickly if someone tries to break in. I don't know where that guy went, or if he'll be coming back soon. But I don't want to take the chance. Have a good night Sakura-chan." With that, Naruto quietly cracked the door to Daisuke's room and slipped in.
The moonlight illuminated Hinata's pale skin and deep blue hair. She had shifted into the fetal position, and had the covers pulled to her nose. Naruto thought that it was cute the way she had stuck one leg out of the blankets as if she were trying to ventilate. Naruto set the pillow down and pulled off his dirty jacket and shirt. The carpet and blanket were scratchy on his skin as he lay down, but he didn't mind the slight prickle. He yawned and began to relax.
You almost lost her today.Kyuubi's deep voice came from the depths of his mind, and Naruto had to fight back his groan.
'But I didn't.' Naruto's curt answer indicated his lack of desire in maintaining a conversation.
No. But remember our deal, boy. You're not allowed to bind yourself to anyone. She's a ninja. There's a high probability that she could die in battle. Or your little friend Sakura. Any of your friends could be there one moment and gone the next. Don't get too attached. Although, maybe you won't have to worry about that, seeing as she's already seen you in your true form. We'll see what she thinks of you when she awakens in the morning.
Naruto said nothing in return to the Kyuubi's reminders and taunts. He didn't want to think about what Hinata would think of him once she completely processed exactly what she had seen that day before completely succumbing to her exhaustion. Naruto suddenly painfully remembered something and jolted upright. Making his way stealthily to the bed, he gently took one of Hinata's pale hands and pulled it open. Her smooth palm reflected the moonlight. Dread then filled Naruto's heart as he gently pulled and turned the other one.
His sharp intake of breath dried his throat. Inside of Hinata's left hand were angry red blisters that had resulted from when she had managed to reach out to him through his bubbling cloak of chakra. Disgusted with himself, Naruto tucked her hand back and retired to the floor again. Remorse filled his body as he thought of how he could have prevented those burns.
If he had just let the other evil man be and taken the time to calmly care for Hinata, she never would have received those burns from him. She also may have never felt the torture of losing the air from her lungs and not being able to get it back. In his pride and rage, he had inadvertently hurt one of his precious people. The injury was small, but it weighed heavily on Naruto's conscience.
Imagine what she'll think of you when she sees that in the morning. Kurama's words didn't help the way Naruto felt in any way. Bitterly, Naruto turned away from Hinata and struggled to fall asleep. Hinata slept soundly, while Naruto battled with himself on the floor. Sleep did not come easily, but when it finally did, Naruto welcomed unconsciousness with open arms.
At around two o'clock in the morning, Hinata began to toss and turn. In her dreamland, darkness had permeated every corner, and it was torturing her. She felt like she was running from something but she couldn't get away. At every turn she would find her attacker, and they would lunge or tear at her trying to capture her in any way that they could. Eventually, the dead ends became scenarios. Turning one corner she would see her eyes being plucked out of her head, or perhaps those of her sister. Turning another corner she would find herself dead, eye sockets already empty and her body deposited unceremoniously in a dumpster.
Suddenly she seemed to be getting on the right path. For a while she ran in her dream along the maze, seemingly being very successful in her search for the way out. But suddenly something stopped her dead in her tracks. Naruto was there in this new dead end, but he was suspended from the wall. His body was riveted to the wall by the bubbling red chakra that she had seen cloaking him earlier when he had actually saved her in the real world. Hinata ran up to him wanting to help him get loose. As she drew close, Naruto began to shout to her.
"Don't come near here. You'll only get hurt!" Hinata got closer.
"But I just want to help you get loose." Naruto growled, and his eyes turned red.
"No! You can't help me." His voice began to change, as did his appearance. His face became feral and wicked. "You're useless and weak. You stand no chance against me." The bubbling chakra left Naruto and formed an animal like monster in front of her that glared at her threateningly. Naruto still hung attached to the wall, but he had passed out. The monster in front of her began to slowly step forward. Hinata matched its steps back. The monster coiled and lunged. Hinata hardly had the time to scream before she felt herself being consumed by what felt like fire.
Hinata gasped as she awakened. She could still feel the searing remnants of her dream as she gasped for breath. Her skin prickled with sweat. She felt a burning sensation in her hand, and looked down to see that her left hand was scorched from where she had touched Naruto before. Hinata flexed her hand experimentally as she examined the red, angry blisters. She was alerted to another presence in the room by loud snoring. Leaning over the side of the bed, Hinata saw Naruto sprawled out on the floor. She smiled softly at the sight. He would never hurt his precious people. She almost felt badly for even dreaming negatively about him while he lay on the floor in order to protect her in case something should happen.
'I know whatever that was, it wasn't you. But what is your secret?' Hinata had to admit that she had witnessed something strange, but she didn't care to think about it at the moment. It would be a topic that could be left for Naruto to discuss when he wanted to discuss it. She was not going to push him.
Having calmed down from her nightmare, Hinata laid back down into the unfamiliar but comfortable bed she had been placed in, and tried to fall asleep again, hoping for no dreams at all.
Here's another chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I spent way more time on it then I should of when I have so many other things to work on, but c'est la vie I suppose. Let me know what you think