Disclaimer: Naruto and Shippuden belong to Masashi Kishimoto, this is a work of fiction not for profit.
Theme song: Eluveiti – A Rose for Epona.
Infinite gratitude to: Lady Veilchenblau my beta reader! *hugs*
Chapter 11: Uzumaki Naruto
The sun shone dimly, hidden by the thick grey clouds which were the only things ornamenting the wide sky. A little girl was sitting on a rock, contemplating the shrine in front of her; distant voices were heard chanting.
Time passed, but the scenery never changed. The girl looked right and left, there was no-one around; she sighed and closed her eyes, it was about time to go back to the shrine. She got up and walked slowly, listening to the rage of the waves against the hard rocky shore. Before getting through the shrine's orange gate, she took a last glance at the sky- empty of seagulls.
She climbed the endless stone stairs one by one, slowly and carefully. The Shinto Shrine had been her clan's home for centuries; it was a sacred place next to the sea, hidden by the woods. It was their sacred home.
Suddenly an odd golden butterfly flew around her. Not minding the insect, she continued her road, but the butterfly stuck to her left shoulder as if it wanted to talk to her, to warn her. Feeling uneasy she raised her hand to remove it, only to find it had disappeared.
She hastily raised her head looking for the golden insect, but in vain. It was gone.
Anxiety stuck her. Today, everything was eerie.
She rapidly climbed the stone stairs and ran through the pathway decorated with lighted stone lanterns; both the Kagura-den and the administrative office were empty, there was no one.
She passed through the lion-dog guardians of the place and entered the oratory without taking off her sandals or saying her prayers. She called and called but no response was ever spoken.
How could an entire clan suddenly disappear? Earlier that afternoon, she heard them chanting. So how?
A golden light went past her, and she stopped in her tracks. It was the butterfly! The girl turned around and ran behind it; the insect flew through the many corridors before exiting the oratory, with the girl right behind it.
It flew and flew, never stopping; and no matter how fast the little girl ran she seemed to never get close to it. Then it finally, almost miraculously, stopped and landed on the fence surrounding the main hall enshrining the God of the shrine, the Honden.
Breathing with difficulty, the girl stopped for moment before walking to the gilded butterfly. The insect stopped moving and seemed to gaze at the Honden, as if it was telling her to get inside.
The child looked up at the Hoden and walked towards its entrance. But, she hesitated to go inside; after all, the Honden was the most sacred place of the shrine and getting inside was prohibited; only the elders were allowed inside, and this was only to perform rituals.
Taking a deep breath she closed her hands on the doorknobs, and with full force pulled it open.
It took a few moments for her eyes to get used to the dark, finally noticing what was inside.
Her legs trembled violently as she tried to walk, but she fell miserably on her knees with eyes full of tears. Her cries were trapped in her throat, and helpless sobs echoed in the Honden.
The main hall, which she had never stepped inside, was full of lifeless bloodied bodies; on the floor, one on top of one; two, three, ten…hundreds. The entire clan was slaughtered inside the Honden.
She found with her eyes, despite her blurry vision, the bodies of her sister, father, cousin, aunt, distant relatives... Everyone; everyone was present. Everyone was dead.
On top of the pile of bodies shone a bright golden light.
Lifting up her tired head, her eyes widened seeing the golden butterfly.
"Your final judgment shall be delivered from the sea."
"Hinata-sama," a voice called, "Hinata-sama!"
Opening her eyes, a young Hinata hastily sat up, looking around her as if frightened.
"Hinata-sama, are you alright?" A young boy asked as he sat beside her, "You're sweating!"
It took her few seconds to come back to reality, giving the boy next to her a tired smile.
"It was just a nightmare," she said softly, "do not worry, Neji-onii-san."
The brown haired boy knew what was past her smile, but preferred to give her some space, "Shion-sama is waiting for you." He said as he got up to leave the room.
"Yes, I will prepare myself."
The young princess watched her cousin walk towards the door and murmured before he slid it closed, "Thank you."
As far as she remembered, Neji had always been by her side, he acted as her brother, mother, advisor and bodyguard all in one despite being only two years older than her. He was the only person who stood by her after she was chosen as successor of the current Hyakume princess. It was not as if she was neglected, she was in fact supported by all her clan, but Neji was the only one who provided her with emotional strength.
For that, Hinata was very thankful.
Upon finishing preparing herself, the indigo haired princess-to-be left of her room and started walking towards Shion's personal office, alongside Neji. The paternal cousins walked next to each other in silence, and the boy could not help but be worried about Hinata.
As they arrived, Neji notified the princess of Hinata's arrival and brought her in before leaving the room. The two maidens exchanged casual talk while taking their breakfast. Everything was supposedly normal.
But then, Shion spoke in a silvery tone, "We will be leaving for Fuji in few days. Prepare yourself."
Hinata was not surprised. These past months Hinata and Shion had been going quite frequently to Nurarihyon clan's mansion, which was situated in Fuji. Even though the princess never opened up the matter, the indigo haired girl knew about the tensions amongst Ayakashi.
"Yes." Hinata responded, slightly nodding her head, and without further discussion she bowed and exited the office.
Closing the door behind her, she gazed at Neji, who had been waiting for her at the door. She did not need to say it, he understood.
At that time, Hinata had yet to understand the dream she saw that day.
"Your final judgment shall be delivered from the sea."
Painfully opening her eyes, Hinata was not able to move, as she was in pain. Remembering the latest events, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath; the princess cursed her luck, so much was going on with her life at the moment and she had no idea how to deal with it.
The whole story of Sasuke and Naruto had nothing to do with her, but she ended up caught up in it anyway.
Not to mention she still hadn't finished what she was sent for by Chiyo-baa-sama,
And just now, the dream from which she had just woken up from was not a vision nor an apparition, rather, it was a memory. A distant memory from her past; at that time Hinata was anxious about her future, the tensions of her clan with both the Nura clan and the Kitsune clan, and her own powers. On top of that, the frequent dreams she had had about the golden butterfly ended up happening with the Sixty Days Carnage.
Remembering those days was never easy; she was still not over the massacre of her clan. She probably never would be.
Suddenly, she realized something important and vital. She had missed an important detail in her past visions of the butterfly, and the genocide which happened in their clan's shrine, all she could hear was: "Your final judgment shall be delivered from the sea," but the actual Sixty Days Carnage did not happen there, as when they became Nurarihyon's allies they left that shrine under his demand so that they would be positioned closer to his mansion, and their judgment did not come from the sea.
'Then… why?'
Hinata turned her head in the direction of the door as she heard it being slid open. When a blond figure appeared, she was disappointed, as if she was expecting someone else.
The Kyubi smiled when he noticed that the princess had woken up, "Good morning sleeping beauty! Or should I say, good evening!"
"How long have I been asleep?" She muttered, looking at him as he sat next to her futon.
"For an entire day!"
Sighing, Hinata looked pensively at the ceiling, not minding to ask what happened after she fainted. Naruto grinned sheepishly and broke the silence,
"I believe we haven't had the opportunity to officially meet, my name is Uzumaki Naruto, the second head of the Kyubi no Kitsune clan."
"Yes, that is true," the lavender eyed woman replied, "I am Hyuga Hinata, the sixteenth Princess of the Hyakume clan, but I am sure Konohamaru already told you everything. Am I right?"
Hearing her, the Kitsune was shocked, and his face became serious- he did not expect her to know about it this soon. If Konohamaru told her everything, did he mention Sasuke and…?
"I have not said anything to Sasuke about it, so be at ease." She added, after seeing the shocked face of the blond.
'So she knows about that too.' He sighed profoundly.
"I should thank you, I guess;" the blond said, "for not telling Sasuke, and saving him."
"I did not do it for you." She cut him sharply.
Hinata sat down- with difficulty- to face Naruto, who helped her against her will and gave her a cup of hot tea. She did not like looking weak in front of people, she hated being helped.
"He needs to know." She said, out of the blue.
"He won't understand." Naruto responded with a sigh, "and that Konohamaru is such a blabber! I told him not to say a word!"
"Even if..." She objected, "he's his brother, Sasuke has to know!"
"The day when he finally understands my actions will never come, so he has no choice but to hate me." He smiled bitterly.
"Stop playing the victim and start taking responsibility for your actions, rather than thinking he is too weak to handle the truth! The weak one here is you! You prefer to be hated by your dearest friend instead of making him suffer."
Naruto looked at her with amazement, with barely any effort she was able to see through him and was actually standing up to him, something no one but Tenten has even done. Hinata was beautiful externally and internally, she believed in Sasuke whom she had only known for few weeks, more than him, who had known the Inugami for centuries. But still, what she asked for was impossible.
"It is not only because of that." He confessed, "If he ever finds out, he will be in great danger and I promised I would protect Sasuke."
"Is it worth it?" She breathed, defeated.
"It is."
Smiling, he understood why Sasuke liked her that much.
"Sasuke sure is lucky to have found someone like you." He grinned as he got up, preparing himself to leave, "I'm going to tell him you woke up."
He stopped at the door. "Oh, and one last thing, don't take his angry words to heart. He really was worried about you –dattebayo!"
Left alone in that room, Hinata was sure she was as red as a tomato.
-:-:-:-:-
Konohamaru was anxious and worried; Sasuke and Hinata were nowhere to be found. It had been more than twenty-four hours since they were last seen.
Something had happened, he was sure of it.
As soon as the young head received a notification about Hinata, who had disappeared from her room, by Kurenai, he asked Genma to search for her, but the latter had yet to contact him.
Sighing, he pushed away work he was doing and exited his office, heading to the gardens. On his way, the last person he expected to meet in the hallways stood before him.
"Nura-sama, I have new information you need to know." The blond man said.
Apparently, Konohamaru was not going to catch a break.
To talk freely, Konohamaru had no choice but to go back to his office, much to his annoyance. He sat in his usual spot with the blond in front of him.
"So," the youngster started, "what is it that you have found, Inoichi-san?"
"It is about the female yokai murders." The older Baku stated.
"Did you find the culprit?"
"Not yet, but apparently he is known as the Demon of the Hidden Mist. I do not know his aim, but…"
At that point, Inoichi kept silent, trying to find the right words. And Konohamaru feared the worst. 'But?' He repeated mentally, waiting for a continuation.
"But up until now, all his victims were only young blonde women."
-:-:-:-:-
The evening was calm, calmer than usual.
Sasuke sat in the garden listening to the endlessly repeating sound of the bamboo water fountain; he drank his tea, wondering what he should do next. In his left hand rested an old pipe; he sighed and looked at the wide sky.
The raven haired man slightly tilted his head as he heard approaching steps getting nearer and nearer; Sasuke grimaced and hastily got up to walk past the blond who stood next to him.
The raven haired man did not want to talk to Naruto, not now; not yet. Because if he did, he knew what would happen and he had promised Hinata to trust this man. So he waited for her to wake up before settling his important revenge.
Naruto sighed as he watched his former friend disappear into the house, "He must know that she's woken up."
Climbing the stairs, Sasuke tried his best to hide his current emotions, anger and relief overwhelmed him in the same time and up until now, he still hadn't understood himself.
The only thing he was sure of is that he was happy she had survived.
Ever since last night's events, Sasuke had not left the princess' side. He could feel and hear her heart beats and her breathing, he knew she was awake the exact moment she opened her eyes, but preferred waiting for her to talk to the blond before going to see her.
There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but as soon as he slid open the door and his dark eyes fell on her lavender ones he had forgotten everything he wanted to say.
Sasuke closed the door and walked towards the window, opening it. He breathed in the fresh air, as if her presence was suffocating him.
Hinata kept silent, as if prompting him to speak first. Glancing at her, he noticed that she was rather pale and tired, almost at the verge of shattering.
The princess looked at her entwined hands, biting her lower lip. She was ashamed, and did not exactly know why.
She half expected him to shout at her and half expected him to act like he did not care, but what she had not quite expected was for him to talk in a caring tone.
"How are you feeling?" He asked, locking his eyes with hers.
'I almost died, I am scared, but I am happy that you are here…' there was so much she wanted to say, but none of it came out.
"Just fine." She faked a smile, which was a mistake.
"What you did was unforgivable. Do you know the severity of your actions?! You could have died!"
"Y-you could have died too."
"My life is not as important as yours."
"It is!" She objected. It took her a minute to understand what had just said, "I-I mean…"
"As long as you breathe, you will live."
Sasuke paused, and then smiled. "Thank you, Hinata."
Her cheeks reddened; somehow, she felt that the Inugami was opening up to her, little by little. She stiffened as she watched him approach her. When he sat, his tender gaze fell on her wound; he stretched an arm, fingers hesitant to touch it; she encouraged him to do so, an overwhelming warmth filled him as he put his hand on her.
Closing her eyes and lowering her head, she trembled a bit when he slowly traced her hidden bandage; she wondered if he could feel how hard her heart was throbbing against her rib cage. She pondered if he felt the same.
Suddenly she felt a tender hand cupping her face, forcing her to gaze at reality; her reality.
She did not hesitate, not even once; she could feels his breathe on her as he closed the distance between their faces… slowly… surely.
There were two things Hinata was sure of. First, was her growing feelings for the raven haired Inugami. Second, she was giving up herself into him, but she was not sure that embarrassment could kill.
Embarrassment did give her a little heart attack, though, when the door of her room was slid open at the exact moment when his lips were meeting hers.
At that moment she did not know what was worse; the pink haired girl who watched the scene with shock; Sasuke, who did not care about the disturbance; or simply her, who, under such circumstances, pushed him away as hastily as she could.
Sasuke growled, "What are you are doing, chibi?"
Hinata's brain stopped functioning, her blood rushed in her veins, and her eyes were stuck on the woman at the door who openly glared at her. Sighing, Sasuke got up and looked at her.
"What brings you here, Sakura?"
With difficulty, said Sakura took her eyes off the princess to raise a brow at the Inugami, "What brings you here, Sasuke-kun?"
As he did not response, Sakura took a deep breath, and turned her head- giving Hinata a stern look, "I am glad you are okay; my name is Haruno Sakura, I am the person who saved your life."
The indigo haired princess regained her composure upon feeling the iciness of her interlocutor and savior.
When Hinata was chosen to be the next princess, the first lesson Shion gave her was dignity; "Amaya dear, you first need to know your worth, and then add tax." And even if Hinata was regarded as the sweet innocent child, she was, nevertheless, prideful.
"Thank you for both your concern and hard work, Sakura-san. I am Hyuga Hinata, pleased to meet you."
Sakura faked a smile in her turn. "The pleasure is all mine."
On the other hand, Sasuke watched the exchange with a grin. Women were sure entertaining.
Noticing his smirk, the doctor spoke, "Aren't you going to leave?"
"Why?" Sasuke asked, not quite understanding what she meant.
"Why?!" She retorted, annoyed, "I came to change her bandages."
After a moment, his lips formed a small 'o' as he understood, "There's no need, I've seen her already and there are things I need to disc-"
Hinata was not sure if what had just seen was reality, in the speed of the light, Sakura got up and punched the Inugami out of the window, making a hole in the wall. Her mouth hung open as she watched the pink-haired girl fill the hole with pillows, murmuring to herself.
Finished, Sakura walked back to Hinata and sat down next to her, asking her to open her kimono. The princess averted her eyes, red from embarrassment she stuttered, "I-It's not what you think it is!"
There she was again, stuttering.
"Just save her! Please save her! She cannot die!" The pinkette bit her lower lip remembering how Sasuke panicked last night and she glared at the princess,
"I don't care if you are his lover or one of the courtesans he sleeps with at Yoshiwara, I'm not giving up on him."
Taken by surprise, Sasuke was easily kicked out, "Damn that cat, her hits are harder than before."
He got up with difficulty, rubbing his aching back; he was clearly annoyed, not only did she disturb their would-be kiss, but she also dared to hit him. His annoyance was replaced with a witty smile as he thought about how that indigo haired maiden accepted his sudden action; how she willingly accepted him.
Yet, that smile faltered when his eyes met sky blue ones.
"I wonder what you did to make Sakura-chan so angry!" Naruto smiled, his arms crossed behind his head.
"Do not think that I've come to like you because you saved Hinata; you should be thankful, if it wasn't her, you would be dead."
"I know."
Omake:
It was a hot summer day; the little boy was supposed to be training… or sleeping… better! Swimming, but no, God had other plans for him; ah no, not exactly, the perverted man with him had other plans for him.
"Can't we just leave it at this for today?" The blond boy said quietly, as if afraid to be heard.
"Stop being lazy Naruto!" the elder man responded, "A man should always grab the occasion to achieve his dreams!"
"Damn pervert." The blond murmured.
What dreams was he talking about? All they were doing was peeping on women through the bamboo of the onsen.
"What did you say?"
"No, I said nothing, nothing!" Naruto sighed, looking tiredly at the nude women, "Oh yeah, by the way Pervy Sage, I made a new friend."
"Really?!" The perverted sage responded, never taking his eyes off the candies, "what's he like?"
"He's a jerk!"
"What?" The older man raised a brow, looking at him; Naruto had never talked like that about a person, let alone a friend.
"Yes, a jerk! And a prideful idiot; he's shithead who thinks he's the best. He annoys me a lot!"
"Well, that's an interesting friend you made; what's his name?"
"Sasuke."
A/N:
* Even though Hinata's clan are Ayakashi they lived in a Shinto shrine, but that does not make of them priests; furthermore, I wanted to point out that the rituals that are held in the Honden are not for worship purposes.
*Kagura-den: is the building within a Shinto shrine where the sacred dance (kagura) and music are offered to the God during ceremonies.
Kill Bill: Thank you for the usual support! *oh believe me, I sensed it! that's why I hurried and wrote them!* yeah... Kabuto is that kind of character, gotta make him do funny stuff x) well, you can say that the cultural knowledge is necessary for this fic as it is a historical one! I like to insert flashback here and there randomly from time to time tbh XD all I can say is that all my charas (kishi's) had, have and will have it tough in this fic lmao. Itachi is coming next chapter so stay tuned ;D YES! That man and Konan are here :DD I can't say that, can I? thanks! good luck to you!
Lotus Flower: Ahum ahum... yeahh a while... *hides* truth is that I started a chapter, got tangled up, started the next one, and got tangled up, again... But I'm back! well, always expect the unexpected; yeah poor him, family problems where ever he goes x)) don't worry, Itachi will be coming soon :3 and his mother, I guess she prefered being killed by the one she loves (protecting the other) instead of killing him... that's love for you! Since those two appeared, I guess it only means ones thing! :D thank you! DGM will never stop torturing meh.
Here we are again! the chapter everyone had been waiting for is here! I guess you can say that all these chapters are only... the preliminaries, the other part of the plot still has to be introduced XD *this is going to be a long journey!* (one I hope you will share with me :) )
Finally a little something (almost) happened between our favourite pairing :3 I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Kudos to all those who got the Umineko no Naku Koro ni reference! the golden butterly and the line "Your final judgment shall be delivered from the sea."
Thank you for liking, following and reviewing! Constructive criticism is always welcomed.
Until we meet again!