First, I'd like to say that I'm super sorry for updating so late.... Blame my AP class and my lame a*s school system for giving us the even lamer and a*sier graduation test... Seriously, that was a waist of time cuz I already knew everything... cept chemistry but that's different... I hate chemistry....
Sigh...
Anyways, I can't promise that my updates will be quick and thorough since I still have my AP class to deal with and a research paper and my BETA is a little too busy.... So yeah, sorry, this chapter is not edited... Please be nice!
Well, hope ya enjoy it!
"Most men pursue pleasure with such breathless haste that they hurry past it."
~Soren Kierkegaard
Chapter 14: The thunder brother's and the mission...
I don't own Naruto or Inuyasha or the quotes I put in my chapters/stories...
Naruto arrived at his apartment and headed for the kitchen. He opened the cabinets on the far left, reached out and pulled out seven pairs of shirts and pants. Haphazardly throwing them in living room, Naruto walked into Kagome's room and took out a bag he got for long trips.
He threw his clothes into his bag and put it on his back. He looked around and shrugged his shoulders before leaving and locking the door on his way out. Naruto looked at his wristwatch he had gotten from some old guy who was mean to him. He forgot exactly what the man did but Naruto knew his actions were justified… somehow.
He still had time to kill so he summoned a clone to take his stuff to the gate and wait there. Before the clone could ask what he was going to do, Naruto disappears, leaving a cloud in the shape of him. The clone looks at the cloud until it disperses and leaves, mumbling about himself being rude to himself.
Naruto appeared in front of the bridge where his team usually meets in the mornings. He walked to the middle of it and stared into the water, watching his reflection dance as the river's water went downstream. He sighed and leaned on the bars that kept people from falling into the river. Naruto closed his eyes and let the sounds of the river calm him; his golden fox ears twitching at every sudden sound.
"Hey dobe." Naruto grunted angrily at having his peaceful time ruined by the teme.
"What teme?" Naruto turns around and sees Sasuke with his pack on his back. What he didn't like, however, was the small, devious smile on Sasuke's face.
Sasuke shook his head and continued to walk away, his hands in his pockets and his head held up in pride. Naruto, with an eyebrow raised, watches him leaves before shaking his own head.
"Weird…" Naruto commented with a roll of his eyes before sniffing the air and his ears twitching as they heard the sound of something flying in the air… headed for him. Naruto turned and rolled out of the way just as three balloons appear and hit the spot he was just in. He looked up and noticed three different coats of paint covering the bridge.
Movement to his left captures Naruto's attention as he sees a seething Sasuke jump down from his position on a tree only a few meters away. Naruto growled as the last Uchiha causally walked in Naruto's direction.
"The hell's up with that?!" Naruto yelled and Sasuke continued to walk past him.
"Supposed to be payback but it back fired. Don't worry though dobe, I'll get you back another time." Naruto glared at Sasuke as he continued to walk down the path where he saw the previous Sasuke walk down. Naruto sighed; he guessed the first Sasuke was a clone or something.
"Might as well go with him; seeing as I'm bored now." Naruto said to himself as he walked to the main gates, meanwhile thinking how Inuyasha was fairing on his quest to save Kagome.
[*.*.*.*]
Kagome's eye fluttered as she felt a slight breeze fall upon her face. She yawned and stretched as she sat up, blinking repeatedly as she saw the land beyond the Fire country in a bird's eye view. She rubs her eyes, thinking that she was obviously still dreaming but when she opens them again, she looks down and notices that she was sitting on a pink platform.
She shrieks when she feels the pink platform shake, as if struggling to stay in the air. She looks around, for something to jump on or something; sadly, only the hard looking ground was there. She slammed her hand on top of the pink platform and huffed.
"OW! Not so hard!" She gasped and moved to the edge of the platform to see and remember being kidnapped by Shippo.
"You jerk! How dare you kidnap me? INUYASHA!" Shippo inwardly flinched at the pitch of her tone. He then groaned as he felt her hit the top of his head with her fists.
"Hey, quit it!" He whined but Kagome ignored him; instead, she continued to pummel his head while continually calling out Inuyasha's name. At least until they were confronted…
"Well, well, such noise this girl makes." Kagome stopped hitting Shippo and turned to see a demon that appeared to be flying in the area next to her. He looked like something out of a bad fairy tale. She scolded herself for not sensing his demonic energy earlier.
"So, this is the girl you decided to bring me, eh kitsune?" The demon asked and Shippo nodded slightly, more afraid of the demon in front of him then of dropping Kagome from their height. Then he noticed something that made his thoughts disappear; his father was wrapped around the waist of demon. Shippo glared at the demon and did the first thing that came to mind; attack the demon.
He poofed out of his pink balloon form and got in the demon's face, scratching it as he hung on. Kagome, however, was sent hurling into the ground, screaming and hoping for someone to save her.
[*.*.*.*]
Inuyasha grunted as Kagome's scent was barely noticeable. Where ever the kitsune took Kagome, it would only be a matter time before he loses her scent all together. He growls and cracks his knuckles as the obvious feeling of helplessness over takes him and he punches the nearest object, which happened to be a tree.
"INUYASHA!" Inuyasha's ears perked up as he heard Kagome yell his name.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha ran in the direction where he heard her yell and suddenly picked up a third scent; the scent of a demon. He ran as quickly as he could and saw Kagome falling from the sky in frightening speeds. His mind solely focused on her, ignoring Shippo fighting a losing battle. His speed doubled as he was pushed to his limits to reach Kagome in time.
He climbed up a tree and pushed himself off it, grabbing Kagome and rolling on the ground to get rid of the extra momentum. When he stopped, he looked down on Kagome as he stood over her. She stared into his amber eyes in shock as he looked back in concern.
"You ok Kagome?" He asked and Kagome nodded. "Good."
"Ugh!" Inuyasha and Kagome turn their heads to see Shippo land near them and on his back. He struggles to sit up as he looks up at the sky.
Up in the sky, Manten, the demon, holds his face in pain and then tenses when he feels two strands of his hair fall out. He whimpers as he sees the only few pieces of hair he has gracefully floats down to the earth. His body spasms from rage and he lets out an angered yell.
"ARGH!" Inuyasha and Kagome look up and see from within Manten's mouth a bright yellow light. His head smartly moves down and a large blast of thunder heads for Shippo who's too scared to move. Inuyasha curses under his breath as he unsheathes Tessaiga and blocks Manten's attack. He deflects the last portion of the blast and then grips Tessaiga with both hands.
Not in the best mood, Manten is angered by Inuyasha's interference and unleashes another blast; this time however, he aims for the ground in front of Inuyasha. This surprised Inuyasha as he and Shippo were blown back from the blast.
"Hmm, worthless fox." Manten then turns his gaze on Kagome who was nervously looking at Inuyasha, hoping he was ok. "Guess I'll claim my prize." Manten then goes to Kagome who jumps away from him but was knocked out by Manten before she got too far.
"Kagome!" Manten looks up and see Inuyasha running to him. He quickly picked up Kagome and started to fly away, with Inuyasha right behind him. He jumps in the air and reaches out for Kagome. Manten turns his head and blast Inuyasha with a thunder blast.
Fortunately for him, Inuyasha still had Tessaiga out and blocked the blast but the momentum made him crash through three trees before hitting the ground.
"Augh…" Inuyasha moaned as he got out of the pillar he created. He heard someone else's groaning and saw that it was Shippo. He walked up to him and lifted him up in the air by his tail.
"AH!"
"Where is he taking her?" Inuyasha growled and Shippo looked at him before crossing his arms.
"Why should I tell you?" Shippo asked smugly. Inuyasha growled but let him go.
"Fine then, go, run like a coward. I'll find him myself." Inuyasha started to walk and Shippo watched him before getting up and going after him.
"Wait! I just want to know why you want to find him. Is it because you like Kagome?" Shippo said, his moving eyebrows suggesting more than what he said. Inuyasha blushed and looked away.
"Naruto wouldn't forgive me if I let her get kidnapped. So are you going to help or what?" Inuyasha asked and Shippo laughed.
"Sure half-breed." Inuyasha growled and kicked Shippo, sending him face first into a tree.
"I'm telling Kagome!"
[*.*.*.*]
"Where is he?!" Naruto groaned as he sat down on the bench near the main gates. After he and Sasuke made it to the main gates, they saw that Hinata was already there. He saw her blush as stuttered her hellos, which they both returned. Now, an hour later, the three of them were either lying on the bench, pacing around the gates or doing nothing.
"H-He said he would be here f-fifteen minutes ago." Hinata commented. "M-Maybe he got h-hurt." She finished, starting to get worried.
"Hn, he probably got lost; I wouldn't doubt he'd get lost 'cause that stupid book of his." Sasuke said, adding his two cents.
"AH! I'm getting sick of waiting." Naruto yelled, pulling on his blond hair.
"Calm down dobe, he'll be here." 'At least, he better come…' Sasuke said and thought.
Half an hour later, team 7 hears the sounds of laughter coming down the road and sees Kakashi holding a hysterical looking drunk.
"No…"
"Freaking…"
"Way…" The last was said by both Naruto and Sasuke as Hinata watched in speechless shock.
"H-He's drunk." She stated and Kakashi chuckled nervously.
"Sorry we're late; our client got lost on the road of life." Kakashi excused and the drunken client looked at him oddly.
"Looks more like he got lost in a bottle of sake." Naruto whispered to his teammates which made Hinata giggle a little and even made Sasuke crack a smile.
"So, these brats are supposed to protect me. Ha, looks more like they'd wet themselves before they'd run." Naruto and Sasuke glared at the man and Hinata looked in a different direction. He pointed at Sasuke,
"That one looks like he'd rather cut himself in a dark bathroom." Sasuke sneered at him but let it go.
"That midget looks like he thinks its Halloween." Naruto chuckled as he looked around.
"Who's the midget who thinks… it's… Hallow…" He finally noticed that he was the shorter of his teammates; Hinata was only an inch or so taller than him.
"WHO YOU CALLING A MIDGET, YA OLD DRUNK!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke held him back. The client then looked at Hinata who flinched under his intense yet drunken gaze.
"You, ha, you don't look in the least bit frightening. You actually looked frightened and frail." The man's words struck home as Hinata looked at him before looking away.
"Hey! You can talk about the teme like that all you want but leave Hinata-chan out of it!" Naruto yelled and the client laughed but Kakashi didn't let him say anything else as he stood in between his charges.
"Ok, I think we should go now, we're burning daylight." Kakashi said as he started to head out the village. Naruto glowered at his client as he followed after him with Sasuke and Hinata next to him. He turned to Hinata was in her, as Naruto calls it, doubtful pose. Her hands were against her chest, playing with her hands and she wasn't looking up.
Even though her eyes were being blocked by her bangs, Naruto knew she had them closed and was biting her lower lip.
"Come on Hinata-chan, don't let what the drunken idiot said get to you. What does he know; he's probably nothing but a lonely, old drunk who lives under a bridge." Hinata looked up and stared into his blue eyes. Naruto forced a smile, hoping to make Hinata smile as well.
Seeing the forced smile, Hinata forced a smile of her own, just for Naruto's sake. He saw the false smile and he sighed; he guessed she knew his was false too.
"For your information, brat," Naruto looked up and saw his client looking back at him with his head slightly turned. "I am a super bridge builder and after I finish building my super bridge, my homeland will finally be able to become prosperous." Naruto stared deadpanned at the bridge builder.
"I bet you're only building it so you can live under a fancier bridge." He said and the bridge builder grunted.
"Tazuna, Naruto, calm down. We need to stay focus." Kakashi said from behind his team. "Naruto, when you're off on a mission, you can't be distracted, it could cost you your life or the life of your client." Naruto hesitantly nodded and looked at the trees around him. Tazuna looked at Naruto for a second longer before looking ahead again.
After walking for fifteen minutes, Kakashi hummed to himself as he passed by a puddle. Naruto's nose caught a scent and his right arm tensed, his claws clenched and his ears twitched.
'Poison… but where…?' He was brought out of his train of thought when his ears picked up the sounds of chains.
"AH!" Team 7 turned to see Kakashi tied up by a shuriken chain.
"Too easy." The cloaked man on the left said as he and his companion pulled on the chain, mercilessly cutting Kakashi to shreds. Team 7 and Tazuna gasped.
"One down." The two cloaked shinobi then turned their sights to team 7 and Tazuna who, at one point, ran behind team 7. Naruto looked at Sasuke and nodded his head twice, giving him the signal. Sasuke relented but took out two smoke bombs and threw them to the ground as the two other shinobi ran at them. They stopped a few meters away from the smoke and waited for it to disappear.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The two shinobi's eyes widened as five Naruto's appeared from the smoke and charged them. The two jumped back and separated, confusing the Narutos. By the time they realized what the other two shinobi were going to do, the Narutos were tied together by the shinobi's shuriken chain. The last thing they heard was the two shinobi's laughter before they were killed and turned to puffs of smoke.
The two shinobi went to deal with the rest of team 7 but noticed that they were gone, along with Tazuna.
"Damn, that brat distracted us." One of them said.
"Let's find them, we don't' want to make him mad." The other nodded and they disappeared, looking for their target. In the shadows, Kakashi thought to himself, wondering who he was.
"Damn it dobe, you know we could take them out easily." Sasuke said and Naruto glared at him. Surrounded by sturdy trees and dancing leaves, Naruto opened his mouth.
"Teme, the old drunk can't fight! What if he was attacked?" Naruto asked and Sasuke looked at the old man who was sweating bullets.
"Hinata would've protected him while we attacked." Sasuke persisted.
"It's not that she couldn't but can we really take that chance?" Naruto asked and Sasuke thought it over before begrudgingly grunting in agreement.
"N-Naruto-kun," He looked at her and she blushed. "W-What do we d-do now?" She asked.
"First, we have to know the two shinobi are after." Sasuke said and Naruto nodded.
"Teme, do you remember that trick I played on you the day we had to take our survival training?" Sasuke blushed but nodded. "Well, here's what were going to do…"
[*.*.*.*]
The Demon Brothers, Gōzu and Meizu, wandered the forest area, looking for any trail of their target. In a tree not too far away, Kakashi studied their movements, long ago realizing that they were two Chūnin missing-nins that were known as the Demon Brothers from Kirigakure. What he wanted to know was who they were after.
He would hate to think Naruto had done something to provoke them while on his travels with Inuyasha. However, he suspected that Tazuna was more likely being targeted. That would mean that Tazuna hired them under false pretense of protecting him from bandits.
Kakashi decided to watch them a bit more before going off to search for his team; no reason to jump to conclusions just yet. Though Kakashi was surprised to see Naruto and Sasuke running towards the Demon Brothers with Hinata and Tazuna out of sight, hiding behind a tree.
Naruto moved in front of Sasuke on all fours and remained still. Sasuke used Naruto's back as leverage to jump into the sky and throw a shuriken at their chain. It buried it to a nearby tree and was secured by a kunai that went through the shuriken's hole.
Sasuke landed in between the two shocked Demon Brothers and stood on his hands while kicking his legs out. The two brothers were kicked in the chin and the chain disconnected, causing them to fly into opposite sides of the trail. However, Naruto and Sasuke weren't expecting the two to dissolve into water. Naruto cursed under his breath when he was kicked into a bush and was followed by Sasuke.
The two brothers nodded, reconnected their chain and surrounded the tree where Hinata and Tazuna were hiding behind. They tightened the chain and tied Hinata and Tazuna to the tree.
"Y-You wouldn't hurt two p-pretty girls would y-you?" Hinata stuttered and the two Demon Brothers cocked their left eyebrow up before seeing Hinata and Tazuna disappear in a puff of smoke an being replaced with two busty and naked blonds with ponytails and whisker marks on their cheeks.
One blond winked and the other freed her hand, grabbed something from behind her back and blew a kiss to the two shocked Demon Brothers. They watched as a small heart floated near them until it started to light up. A closer looks reveals that the heart was actually a paper bomb that was now in between the two brothers and exploded.
The two blonds dispersed right before the paper bomb went off; the Demon Brothers, however, were not so fortunate. They were sent back until they hit a tree and were knocked unconscious.
Naruto laughed as he got out from the bushes and leaned on his knees. Sasuke walked out after him with a smirk of his own.
"It worked!" Naruto shouted as Hinata and Tazuna appeared from the same bushes as Naruto and Sasuke.
"G-Good job, N-Naruto-kun." Hinata praised and Naruto chuckled nervously with his hand behind his head.
"Hn." Naruto guessed that was Sasuke way of saying the same thing Hinata said.
"Not bad." Tazuna said with a reluctant praise.
"Not bad at all; I'm very proud of you three." The three turned to see Kakashi with the Demon Brothers tied on his shoulder.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto and Hinata said with relief.
"So you aren't dead huh?" Sasuke rhetorically asked.
"Nope, not yet anyways." Kakashi answered with an eye smile.
"K-Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi looked at Hinata who was fiddling with her finger tips. "W-Why are you p-proud of me? I-I didn't do a-anything." She asked and he chuckled.
"Because, Hinata, you protected Tazuna while these two attacked. Even if you didn't do anything, that only means everything went well." He answered and hoped that would put the girl at ease; it sort of did.
"Yeah Hinata-chan, if we didn't beat those two, then I'm sure you would've protected the old geezer from those two." Naruto said, trying to help bring Hinata's confidence up; this one had a larger effect and he knew it when he saw Hinata's face brighten.
Naruto looked at Sasuke who had his arms crossed over his chest. Naruto cleared his throat and Sasuke looked at him with his left eyebrow raised. Naruto nodded his head towards Hinata and Sasuke shook his head. He elbowed him in the ribs and Sasuke doubled over.
"Hn, I guess." Sasuke said after recovering. "So, why did they attack us, Kakashi?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, they didn't go after you two, but they did try to get Hinata and/or Tazuna." Kakashi put the Demon Brothers on the ground next to him after tying them up and walked to Hinata and Tazuna, who both were nervous. "So, any of you ou two hiding something?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile, waiting for either for the two to snap.
"O-Ok, I confess, I took the c-cinnamon buns from K-Kurenai-sensei." Hinata said, hanging her head in shame. Everyone looked at her strangely.
"THAT WAS YOU?! She almost killed me when she thought it was me!" Kakashi said before calming down. "Ok then, you hiding something Tazuna?" Kakashi asked, this time, his eye's intense stare was torturing Tazuna.
"Ok, ok, I'll tell you." Tazuna said and Kakashi relaxed his stare.
"Do tell…"
[*.*.Don't really feel like explaining that… You should already know why Tazuna lied.*.*]
In a distant place, inside a hideout, a man with long, black hair and wheel like things adjacent to his ankles, sat leisurely with his vixen, enjoying her company. However, his enjoyment was put on hold when the entrance to his hideout was opened and three shadows stood in front of it. The man snarled.
"What the hell do you want?" Hiten, one half of the Thunder Brothers, asked as the shortest shadow stepped forward into the light.
"I assume you are Hiten, part of the Thunder Brothers." The man said and Hiten stood along with his vixen.
"What of it, who wants to know?" Hiten asked, his voice becoming less stable with every word.
"I am a wealthy man, Hiten. My word is law around here and my influence knows no limit." The man smirked as he saw that he had caught Hiten's curiosity.
"Join me, Hiten and we will make all the nations cower before our feet." Hiten looked at the short man and then sat down on his couch again.
"What do you expect from me?" The man titled his head slightly to the left which made Hiten assume he had a confused look on his face. "Do not take me for a fool. I know you don't want me just because I have power, you want me to use it; either for something… or someone."
"You are very clever, ha-ha, yes, I do want you to do a small service for me." Hiten scoffed at the man. "I don't need it to be down now but at a later time. It should be no problem with a man-excuse, demon, of your stature." Hiten smirked.
"Indeed, if that is all, then we have ourselves a deal." The short man walked up to Hiten and was about to shake his hand but Hiten retracted his hand. "However, my services don't come cheap." The short man seemed to glare at him before nodding.
"Of course, of course, I can assure you, you will receive your payment for your services. I will discuss the details of your job at a later time."
"Pleasure doing business with you." The short man was about to let go but Hiten still held onto the man's hand. He brought him down so he could whisper to the man's ear.
"Deceive me and I will take your head." The man gulped and nodded. Hiten let him go and watched in amusement as the man quickly ran out the door.
[*.*.*.*]
Naruto walked with anxiety and anticipation. After Tazuna confessed about lying to Konoha and telling them about how badly the Land of Waves needed the bridge he was currently constructing, team 7 just didn't have the heart to say no. That and the old man guilt tripped them into helping by telling them of his young grandson and daughter.
Now that they knew the truth, Naruto and his teammates couldn't help but be alert and just a little bit jumpy. The fact that the ferryman that brought them across the ocean was just as anxious didn't sit well with Naruto.
"AH!" Naruto shouted as he took out a kunai and threw it to the bushes where it started to rustle.
"Dobe!"
"What?! I heard something behind the bushes and caught someone's scent." Naruto said in his defense. He went to see what he had hit and gasped when he saw a white rabbit narrowly escaping the kunai's path. Its ears were spread apart and if Naruto didn't know any better, he thought it just used the bathroom.
"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata walked over to the white rabbit and held it in her hands, hoping to calm it down as it shook with fear.
"I-I'm sorry!" Naruto apologized as he stood in front of the rabbit. Kakashi was watching the rabbit as his single, visible eye narrowed.
Naruto's ears twitched at the same time Kakashi's instincts went on red alert.
"Get down!" Naruto and Kakashi shouted as Naruto gently tackled Hinata down and Kakashi brought Tazuna and Sasuke down with him as a giant zanbato fly over them and got itself stuck on a trees bark. Kakashi looked up and saw a man with his back turned to them standing on the hilt of the zanbato.
"Kakashi Hatake, fancy meeting you here." The gruff and harsh man said as he turned to face Kakashi.
"Zabuza Momochi, the feeling is mutual." Kakashi greeted but his tone was anything but welcoming.
"Sorry but I'm not here to fight you." Zabuza sets his sights on Tazuna. "That old man is mine!"
"Yeah right, over our dead bodies!" Naruto shouted and Sasuke hit him over the head.
"Don't give him any ideas, dobe!" Sasuke scolded and Naruto glared.
"Stay back, he's on a whole other level." Kakashi said as he walked in front of the group and had his hand on his headband over his left eye. "Zabuza, you're going to have to get past me first." Kakashi removed his headband from his left eye and revealed his hidden Sharingan eye. Zabuza smirked.
"Ah, I already get to see the famous Sharingan eye. I'm honored." Zabuza mocked from his place on the tree.
"You know Kakashi, when I was still in Kiri's ANBU Black Ops, I kept a bingo book on me at all times." Zabuza tilted his head back with pride. "The man who copied over a 1000 jutsu… Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake." Everyone exluding the two jonin looked at Kakashi in awe.
"A-A 1000 jutsu." Hinata stammered as her mind tried to register this fact.
"Enough talk!" Zabuza grabbed his zanbato and jumped off only to land on top of the water. "Let me kill the old man, Kakashi or do I have to get past you to get to him?" Kakashi didn't react to his question, just taking out a kunai and felling into a battle stance.
"Fine. Ninja Art: Hidden Mist jutsu!" A dense mist rolled over the land like the light of the morning sun.
"Stay close to Tazuna and be on guard!" Kakashi ordered. "In this fog, my Sharingan will be almost useless." Team 7 nodded as they huddled around Tazune, taking out kunai to defend. Kakashi looked around and Zabuza's laugh echoed around them.
Tired of the mind games, Kakashi surrounded himself with a lot of chakra and dispersed the fog around him and his charges. Sasuke was shaking with fear, the intensity of the two jonin's insane chakra surrounding him was making him wish he was dead; just to escape the pressure.
Hinata, though still scared, wasn't as bad as Sasuke. After being in the presence of a true demon like Sesshōmaru, Zabuza seemed to be another genin by comparison. Still, Zabuza was stronger than her and could kill her without so much as a second thought; that's what scared her.
Naruto, like Hinata, wasn't as frightened, especially after facing Sesshōmaru. Hell, he wasn't afraid at all; with his hanyō speed and reflexes, he didn't doubt he'd be able to get away alive. Though in a one on one fight, he knew he would be screwed. With his body ready to defend, Naruto waited for Zabuza to mess up somehow.
"Where to strike?" Naruto growled as his ears couldn't pinpoint where exactly Zabuza was. "Liver, lungs, spine, clavical vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart."
"Come out you coward!" Naruto yelled but was immediately silenced when he felt someone appear behind him. He turned and stared wide eyed as Zabuza had his zanbato positioned to kill them. Kakashi turned and rushed over to them right before Zabuza could swing his zanbato. Kunai in hand, Kakashi thrusts it in Zabuza's gut and caused everyone to back away.
The Zabuza burst into water and fell to the floor.
"Sensei, behind you!" Naruto shouted and Kakashi looked back to see Zabuza right before he sliced him in half. He chuckled before stopping at seeing Kakashi turn to water as well.
"What?!"
"It's over." Kakashi placed his kunai on Zabuza's neck. Zabuza chuckled, confusing everyone.
"It's not over until somebody dies." Zabuza disappeared after turning into water and appeared behind Kakashi while swinging his zanbato. Kakashi ducked under the swing, barely avoiding it before Zabuza used his momentum to change his hold on his zanbato and kick Kakashi.
Zabuza ran after him and jumped, flying until he appeared before Kakashi and back handed him to fall into the ground. Kakashi groaned and let out an inaudible cry of pain when Zabuza brought his zanbato on his gut. The expression on Zabuza's face showed just how glad he was for doing what he just did. He wasn't that surprised when Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke but he wasn't really expecting Kakashi to leave a log with a paper bomb in his place.
Zabuza jumped back just the bomb went off and looked around for Kakashi.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Zabuza turned in time to see Kakashi running towards him while firing a fireball at him. Zabuza made quick hand signs and brought his right hand to his mouth.
"Water Style: Raging Waves!" A stream of water rushed out of Zabuza's mouth and intercepted the fireball. Steam arose from the conflicting elements and impaired Zabuza and Kakashi's vision, though Zabuza felt right at home.
Zabuza used this opportunity to sneak around Kakashi's defenses. He brought his zanbato to finish the job and would've succeeded if it wasn't for Naruto.
"Iron Reaper Soul Stealer!" Through pure instinct, Zabuza jumped away at the last second though not without getting a scratch on his left leg.
"You brat." As the steam cleared, Naruto was seen standing straight and stretching his hand.
"That was luck." Naruto said and would've attacked but Kakashi pushed him out of the way before charging at Zabuza.
"Stay back Naruto!" Kakashi ordered as he jumped in the air and tried to kick Zabuza multiple times before failing and having to retreat for the meantime. He was taking long breaths as he tried to catch his second wind, trying to think of a plan to end it before his team and Tazuna got seriously hurt. Kakashi jumped back onto the river and started making some hand signs.
"Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" Zabuza was about to move when he felt something hold him down. He looked at his feet to see two Narutos holding on to them.
"Damn it!" He looked back up to see a giant vortex of water head for him. Kakashi smiled when he saw Zabuza get hit by his jutsu. However, he was shocked to see a dome of ice protect Zabuza. The ice disappeared and beside Zabuza appeared a hunter-nin.
"I know you said not to get involved Zabuza-sama but I just couldn't see you get hit by that attack." The hunter-nin said. Kakashi's eye widened.
"Hn, whatever." Zabuza looked at Naruto who was seething. "Just deal with the brats."
"Actually Zabuza-sama, I think its best we retreat for now." Zabuza looked at the hunter-nin like he was crazy. "I have discovered some news that concerns us."
"You two aren't going anywhere." Kakashi ran at them with hand signs at the ready. Naruto was also running to them, his hands glowing as he prepared to attack them while trying to ignore Hinata and Sasuke's protests. However, Kakashi stopped first when he saw the Demon Brothers appear from the trees and throw some kind of smoke bomb on the floor.
"Naruto wait!" It was too late, Naruto couldn't stop fast enough as he disappeared into the smoke before Kakashi heard a thud come from the smoke.
"Until we meet again… Hatake." The smoke disappeared and Hinata gasped when she saw Naruto face down on the wet ground.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata ran to him and bent down next to him. She softly shook him to wake him but he was unresponsive. "Please wake up, Naruto-kun." Hinata pleaded. Kakashi walked over to him and checked his pulse.
"It's ok Hinata, I think he's been knocked unconscious by the smoke… probably just sleeping gas or something." A second later, Kakashi's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell next to Naruto.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke and Tazuna walked up to the three.
"Come on, my house should be nearby." Tazuna picked up Kakashi and Sasuke picked up Naruto before heading for Tazuna's house
[*.*.*.*]
Kagome yawned and felt herself amiss in her current location. She looked around and noticed that she didn't know where she was. She got up and walked to the nearest exit, which happened to be a door leading to another room. She looked through the open door and saw Manten sitting on a couch with another guy and a woman beside him, talking about something.
"…we can have as many women as we want Manten. Why waste your time kidnapping that wench?" Kagome puffed her cheeks and would've marched into the room to slap Hiten but she remembered that she was in no position to do so.
"It matters not brother, we at least have dinner now." Kagome gasped silently as she headed back to the room, trying to find a way to escape. With no windows or other means to exit, she was pretty hopeless at this point. She decided to use a different approach as she concentrated her spiritual energy to her hands. She positioned both hands in front of her and pulled the right one back, parallel to the ground. Light appeared in the form of a bow and arrow…
BOOM
Manten and Hiten were surprised when they felt their hideout spontaneously shake from an explosion. They ran to the room where they heard the explosion come from and stopped at the entrance when they saw a giant, gaping hole on the farther wall and no girl.
"Manten," Hiten grabbed onto his brother's collar and glared at him. "This is your fault." Manten was sweating bullets.
"How is it my fault?" He asked, not really showing any bravery in his words or actions. Hiten's arms lit up with electricity and brought it up in a position to stab Manten, only for it to change position and go through his vixen's chest.
"Damn it!" Hiten let go of Manten and paced around the room. He let out a frustrated sigh as Manten composed himself.
"Do not worry brother, I will go search for the girl." Hiten shook his head.
"It's pointless now; she was really no use to us anyway. For now, we should rest, our employer said we might a big day ahead of us soon." Manten smirked, getting what his bother meant.
"I'm heading out brother; I am bored and need a new vixen." Without another word, Hiten left and left Manten alone.
Kagome ran as fast as she could, not risking looking back to see if she was being chased. She just ran as fast as her legs would carry her, right beside a river. After what seemed like forever, her legs finally caved in and she fell into the river, exhausted and almost unconscious. Kagome's last conscious thought was as followed,
'Inuyasha… where are you?'
Kagome, after losing consciousness, drifted away for a couple of seconds before the water around her froze and brought her above the frozen water.
A figure wearing a pink kimono walked over the frozen water and bent over Kagome. The figure put a gentle hand over Kagome's forehead and felt the heat radiating off it. The figure also noticed that she was shivering so he took off his shirt and put it over Kagome before the figure picked Kagome up in his arms and started to walk into the dark forest that refrained from being illuminated from the crescent moon.
[*.*.*.*]
Inuyasha smirked victoriously as he spotted a cabin only twenty meters ahead. He had found Kagome; her scent was strong and radiating off the cabin. Inuyasha walked up to the cabin and with his superior sense of smell, he could smell the stench of demons coming from the front of the door and sweet smell of Kagome coming from the back.
Instead of confronting the two demons and saving Kagome, Inuyasha decided to try and sneak Kagome out before bursting in and randomly attacking things until he sees Kagome. He guessed his new, developed common sense is all thanks to the chronically late scarecrow.
Moving to the back of the cabin, Inuyasha was surprised to see a gaping hole on the back of the cabin's wall. Kagome's scent was still fresh but oddly enough, it was going away from cabin. He guessed she was the one who made the hole and managed to escape.
"Kagome." Inuyasha muttered before following after Kagome's scent.
Multiple thoughts crossed Inuyasha's mind as he followed after Kagome's scent. One of many was if she was ok; she was kidnapped by the idiot brat on his shoulders and was kidnapped from him by the demon. Inuyasha growled at that thought; Kagome would be ok if it wasn't for the idiot on his shoulder.
Another thought was if it was possible that she was hurt somewhere. His heart skipped a beat at that thought and his thoughts stopped altogether when he imagined the possibility of her being dead. His feet stopped as he stood still beside the river, his heart raced and he tried to compose himself. After taking deep breaths, he realized that Kagome's scent was gone. He turned back and walked until he found Kagome's scent again.
"The river." He watched as the river flowed south and he began to wonder if, when she fell into the river, the river carried her south. With this as his only lead, he continued to follow the river with lingering hope that he would find Kagome.
He would never admit it but he needed to find Kagome, if only to calm himself down. Since she was taken by Shippo that fateful day a few days ago, Inuyasha could feel his restlessness starting to affect his thoughts. Kagome was the only thing that occupied his mind in every shape and form. He thought about her health, her wellbeing, and her in general.
It confused him to no end why she did; he had never felt such strong emotions before, not for anyone…
At least, not since…
"Hey you." Inuyasha stopped walking when he heard someone call him out. He turned his head slightly to see five men smirking at him, each wielding a type of sword or katana. Inuyasha scowled at them as they surrounded him.
"This is not a good time; leave me alone…" Inuyashe growled at them but the five only chukled.
"Oh, some white haired punk thinks he's so tough." One guy said and other agreed. It was at this time that Shippo rose from his slumber and yawned.
"Who's that? Are you babysitting?" Another guy asked and Shippo glared. He then felt Inuyasha pick him up and place him on the floor. The five men surrounding Inuyasha took out their weapons and fell into a battle stance.
Even in his bad mood, through his worry for Kagome; Inuyasha still managed to smirk as he took out his Tessaiga; finally, something to relieve his stress…
[*.*.Next Day.*.*]
Hinata sat beside Naruto, worried that he was suffering from whatever was in the gas he ran into.
After making it to Tazuna's house, he had graciously let team 7 stay at his house and gave Kakashi and Naruto a room to recover in. Kakashi had yet to awaken from his confrontation with Zabuza, the dangerous and still breathing missing-nin from Kirigakure. Naruto was in worse shape than Kakashi and that was saying something.
Hinata's eyes moved from Naruto's slowly rising chest to the other side of the room where Sasuke was staring intently at their sensei. Since finding out of Kakashi's Sharingan eye, Hinata noticed that Sasuke was less talkative than normal and more vigilant of Kakashi, almost like he'd disappeared if Sasuke took his eyes off him.
She assumed he was just curious about Kakashi's possession of his family's dōjutsu. No one besides Sasuke and his brother should have the Sharingan considering that his brother had massacred his entire clan but oddly enough let Sasuke live. Hinata shuddered as she wondered what would happen if someone in her family snapped and started to kill everyone.
It was a frightening thought so Hinata shook it out of her head. She turned her attention back to Naruto who's shallow breath was the only sound heard in the room. Her eyes fixated on Naruto's fox ears that remained uncharacteristically still; she missed when they twitched at every sound.
She looked back at Sasuke who was still staring, almost glaring, at Kakashi as he slept. When she thought it was safe, she bent over Naruto and started to rub his soft fox ears between her thumb and index finger. When she heard Sasuke sigh, she removed her hands from Naruto's ear and sat straight near Naruto, just staring at him, hoping Sasuke hadn't seen what she was doing.
She heard footsteps walk to the door, the door open and then the footsteps leaving and closing the door. When it was quite again and she was sure no one would notice, she continued to play with Naruto's ears while she silently prayed for his and Kakashi's recovery. Her eyes drooped a little as sleep tried to consume her; she hadn't slept since the night they arrived at Tazuna's house which was twenty-four hours ago.
She momentarily blacked out and came too when she felt herself falling. She opened her eyes but wished she didn't because now she was almost face-to-face with him. Her nose was only two inches away from his nose and she could hear the air escape his nose.
"Ah, young love." Hinata's face blushed as she sat up and saw Kakashi with his head turned in her direction and was eye smiling. "The most innocent and oblivious love there is." Hinata's mind raced as she tried to come with an excuse for being so close to Naruto.
"It's ok Hinata, you don't need to explain, everyone already knows." Kakashi said as his only visible eye moved to the ceiling and stayed there. "Everyone but the knucklehead himself." Hinata just stared with disbelief as Kakashi seemingly ignored her incredulous stare. With a serious look, Kakashi turned his eye to Hinata who flinched at the intensity.
"I'll tell you this from experience Hinata; if you don't tell him soon, one day, he might not be here to tell him anything at all." For a brief moment, Hinata saw regret and sadness flash over Kakashi's glazed eye before he refocused his vision and looked away.
"Ba…boon…" Hinata and Kakashi looked at Naruto who slurred out the almost incoherent word and was sweating bullets. "Bees… Se… Sesshōmaru…" His incoherent words spooked the two in the room as they sat in silence, waiting for Naruto to continue. As Hinata watched with a sense of helplessness, she noticed that Naruto's once calm expression changed to a sad and angry one. His brow was scrunched and his eyes under his eyelids were constantly moving from his vivid dream.
"Akatsuki… GET AWAY FROM HER!" Naruto shouted the last part as he sat up and panted heavily. Hinata put a hand on Naruto's shoulder and tried to calm him down. Naruto flinched and raised his hand to punch whoever was touching him but stopped when he met Hinata's worried face.
"Hi-Hinata-chan…" Naruto's words were hoarse and soft, almost like a whisper. The look on his face and the tone of his voice scared Hinata because he sounded like a person who's broken and saw his world being taken from him in front of his own eyes.
"I see you finally woke up Naruto." Naruto looked passed Hinata and saw Kakashi looking at him. "Must have been some dream." Naruto looked down at his shaking arms and took deeper breaths to calm himself down. He closed his eyes and tried to reduce the amount of thoughts racing through his mind. Hinata was just staring at him, hoping that he would be ok soon.
After finally controlling his breathing and shaking, Naruto opened his eyes and he looked away from Hinata. He stared at the empty, egg-shell white wall in front of him with his slitted, blue eyes.
With her lavender eyes, Hinata watched as Naruto stared at the wall with a pensive and disturbed look. She wanted to talk to him, ask him if he was ok but she decided to wait until he felt ready to talk. Her blush, which had slowly receded, returned when once in a while, Naruto's eyes moved to her for only a second before quickly looking at something else.
Hinata thought she was going delusional from the lack of sleep because she saw Naruto's tan cheeks color with his blood from under his skin. Finally, after becoming anxious from her worry, Hinata cleared her throat.
"Ano… N-Naruto-kun?" Naruto was hesitant to look up but after finally meeting her eyes, he found it hard to keep the contact. Hinata noticed that and was hurt by it.
"Y-Yeah," Naruto cleared his throat, punched his chest lightly and mentally scowled himself for stuttering. "Yeah, what is it?" Naruto asked, his voice still hoarse.
"A-Are you ok?" Hinata asked and Naruto once again hesitated.
"Yeah, why shouldn't I be?" Naruto asked, laughing and smiling nervously while rubbing the back of his head.
"Because you were knocked out by gas." Naruto glared at Kakashi who was still eyes smiling but was looking at the ceiling instead of him.
"I-It's just that," Naruto looked at Hinata again when she started talking. "Y-You seemed… t-troubled. A-Are you sure you're o-ok?" She asked and Naruto couldn't help but think of his dream. This caused him to look away with a blush matching Hinata's.
"I just have to use the bathroom." Naruto tried to stand but his legs gave underneath him and he fell on his knees. Hinata moved to help him and used herself as leverage for him to stand. "Thanks." Hinata nodded with a shy smile; Naruto immediately looked away causing the smile to go away.
As Kakashi watched the two leave, he turned his head to the window and stared at the semi-cloudy sky. His mind drifted off to Naruto's unconscious words; one word in particular made the back of his hairs stand up.
"Akatsuki, what does that mean?" Kakashi mumbled as he sat up though not without regretting it as he felt his world spin. Shaking off his feeling of nausea, Kakashi flexed his hands and arms, watching as his muscles moved under his skin.
Putting aside Naruto's odd occurrence, Kakashi began to plan out a training schedule for his team. With the threat of Zabuza and his three lackeys still out there, it would only be a matter of time before they would attack again. In which case, it would be better that while they didn't guard Tazuna, they might as well get some training done.
Letting out a sigh, Kakashi struggled to stand and leave the room as well and hopefully avoid Sasuke's predictable questions. He stopped and placed his left hand over his right eye that was covered by his headband. The story behind his Sharingan was not a fond one.
Naruto sighed as he came out of the bathroom. He was glad Hinata was waiting outside the bathroom for him. He knew she was worried for him but sometimes, it could go a little overboard. Still, he was glad at least someone really cared for him.
With his mind back on Hinata, his mind replayed the scene from his second dream that managed to make him feel multiple emotions.
The setting is best described as the aftermath of a giant war. Nothing stood above five feet off the ground and the trees that once stood tall and proud were laying the floor, scorched and in pieces. Smoking craters decorated the barren battle field along with pebbles that were once strong and sturdy boulders.
Indigo colored the eastern side of the sky while an angry red and orange colored the western side. Just as the sun was about to be swallowed whole by the horizon, two shadowy figures lay on top of a single hill, one in the arms of the other. Off to their side, at the base of the hill, were sixteen other silhouettes, two of which were holding on to each other.
Tell her not to go…
"Don't go." Of the sixteen silhouettes on the base of the hill, five were crying while the rest mourned. "Please don't go."
"I-I won't…" From the small amount of sunlight left, lavender orbs were seen, moist and full of love. Cerulean eyes stared back, with just as much love and moisture but also had regret. With a dry chuckle, an older looking Naruto wiped his eyes with his left sleeve while still holding an older looking Hinata in his right arm.
Tell her not to cry…
"Don't cry." He said with a faint smile which was replied with a giggle from the girl in his arms.
"I-I won't…"
Tell her I'll be by her side, all she has to do is call…
"You know I'll always be there for you… right?" Hinata nodded slowly and shakily raised her hand to place it on Naruto's cheek. "All you have to do is say the word."
Tell her something in my heart needs her more than even clowns need the laughter of the crowd…
With a deep breath, Naruto lost himself again as more tears flowed from his eyes.
"I need you Hinata… more than the air I breathe." He felt his heart break when her eyes were starting to close a little.
Tell her not to go…
"Stay with me Hinata-hime… please!" Naruto hugged Hinata as he felt her become colder. He ignored the warm blood running down his arms from her chest and back.
Tell her nothing if not this; all I want to do is kiss her…
"Naruto-kun…" Naruto moved back from Hinata to see her crying eyes and beautiful smile. "I l-love you."
"I love you, too." Naruto sobbed as moved down and captured Hinata's lips for what he feared was the last time. Her cold yet inviting and luscious lips felt heaven to Naruto. However, heaven on Earth, like hell on Earth, didn't last as long as the real thing when he felt Hinata's body go limp.
"AH!" Naruto felt something pierce his heart and gut. The momentum caused him to be flung away from Hinata and against the fallen tree's bark. He looked down and saw two kunai piercing his skin and possibly his organs. Looking up, his world turned red when he saw a man wearing a orange-swirled mask and a torn up black cloak with red clouds.
"Akatsuki." Naruto growled as he tried to stand but his body was unresponsive. The masked man ignored Naruto as he bent down and caressed Hinata's cheek. Naruto's blood boiled when he heard the man chuckle to himself.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Naruto shouted as his he felt his demon blood start to overcome him and his world became dark…
His hands started to shake again as the scene went blank and his was back in the real world. He took deep breaths again and put his hand on his chest, trying to ease his quickly beating heart.
"Is that… is that my imagination…?" He asked no one in particular and if he were honest with himself, he hoped the answer would be yes. He walked down the hall and saw Hinata outside their temporary room. With the image of Hinata's future self in his mind, Naruto could barely look at Hinata without seeing that. For some reason, it always made his heart race.
When their eyes connected, he could feel his heart race faster, his palms start to sweat and his mind think 1000 thoughts per second. It was very faint but Naruto's sensitive nose caught a smell coming from Hinata; it was different than he remembered and… and he liked it. It was sort of similar of how Kagome smelt like when Inuyasha was near but it was still different and wasn't as alluring as Hinata's.
Naruto sighed; why was his life getting so complicated…
[*.*.*.*]
"Alright guys, time to train." Kakashi said while his charges yawned or stared indifferently at the ground.
"What are we doing up early Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked as he stretched his arms. He then looked around. "The sun's not even up yet. You know it's too early to do anything when you're up before the sun."
"I agree with the dobe." Naruto glared at Sasuke who still looked at the ground indifferently.
"Alright, alright, calm down you two. I know it's early but you know what they saw: 'The early bird gets the worm'." Team 7 looked at Kakashi like he just told them the Hokage had gone crazy and was handing out pictures of burnt toast.
"Look, I'm tired too but we need to train; there's no telling when Zabuza will show up again." Kakashi didn't really want them to know that but it was still too early in the morning to be thinking clearly. No matter how many times he pulled an all-nighter or woke up early during his years in the ANBU Black Ops, after three years of not doing that, he was a little rusty, so to speak.
"If you cooperate, that only makes this so much easier, got it?" Team 7, now more awake than they were a minute ago, nodded. "Ok, since we finished the tree climbing practice last week, I think it's time we went up a notch." Kakashi turned and walked up to the edge of the land where the beginning of the water started.
"This is the water walking practice and as soon as you three finish this, we'll begin with the real training." Kakashi said after he turned and eye smiled.
"So, how do we do this?" Sasuke asked.
"It's fairly simple; unlike the tree climbing practice, the water walking practice involves emitting a constant stream of chakra from the bottom of your feet and using the repellent repellant force to walk across the water's surface. This is a lot harder than the tree climbing because you'll be constantly changing the amount of chakra you're using to stay on the surface.
"At one point, you'll get so used to walking on water that it'll be instinct." Kakashi finished explaining and his team nodded, except for Naruto. He managed to fall asleep while standing, his head tilted to the left and a snot bubble coming from his nose.
"Zzz… zzz…"
"Naruto-kun." Hinata lightly tapped Naruto's shoulder and his snot bubble burst as he babbled while looking around.
"Huh? Oh, Kakashi-sensei, are you done?" Kakashi sweat dropped. "Don't worry, I'll get this down in no time at all." Naruto declared with a thumbs up and a closed left eye.
"Right… ok then, whenever you're ready, you can start." Team 7 nodded and walked to the edge near Kakashi and watched as the small ripples moved the water in front of them. None moved or made a sound as they continued to do nothing but watch.
"You go first." Naruto said, nudging Sasuke.
"Hn, why don't you?" Sasuke said, pushing Naruto forward. Naruto moved his lower body back and his upper body forward while flailing his arms around, trying to keep his balance. After successfully not falling into the water, Naruto let out a relieved sigh. He turned his sights to Sasuke and shoved him. After doing the same as Naruto, Sasuke glared back.
"Don't push me." Sasuke growled and Naruto pushed him again, putting some distance between them.
"Stop acting like a badass and just go." Naruto demanded and Sasuke pushed him back. They got in a short fight before they stopped from the sound of laughter. They look to see Kakashi eye smiling and looking out to the ocean. Before they could ask, Kakashi pointed to the ocean. The two males followed the finger until they saw Hinata barely above the surface of the water.
Her ankles were submerged and her balance looked like it could be lost by a gentle breeze. Nevertheless, she managed to get the concept of the task and was taking baby steps as she slowly walked away from land.
Naruto was about to yell something when Kakashi appeared over him and slapped a hand over his mouth. Naruto's muffled cries were heard from underneath Kakashi's gloved hand as Hinata continued to keep her balance. She suddenly lost her balance and was about to fall when Kakashi suddenly appeared behind her and kept her from falling into the water.
"T-Thank you, K-Kakashi-sensei." Kakashi nodded and brought her back to land. Hinata shook the water from her shoes and felt the cold air brush against her toes.
"Well, good luck you guys and try not to get too wet." Kakashi said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other before nodding and both immediately knew; loser has to sleep outside for the night.
-Ten Hours Later-
Hinata panted heavily as she sat on the base of a nearby tree, watching as her other teammates continued to try to outdo each other. She had gotten better at walking on water since she first started; she could now keep her ankles out of the water. Her steps were slow and careful and since the beginning, she had only fallen in the water about twenty times.
After her last fall, she decided to take a break and rest. She was amazed that she was better than the other two but she figured that it had to do with her practice of the Jyuken. For once, she was glad her father forced her to do other chakra control exercises.
Once again, Hinata was inspired by Naruto's persistence and never-say-die attitude. She had lost count of how many times he had fallen but the last number she remembered was fifty-two. Still, he kept going without stop and could now successfully keep his ankles five inches under the surface. Many would not see the accomplishment there but when he started out, Naruto was up to his knees.
Granted, Sasuke was somewhere between her and Naruto, at least Naruto kept trying and trying. Sasuke took a break after being able to stay above the surface for a good five seconds, which was about three hours after they started. Since then, the only break Naruto took was to use the bathroom, eat the food delivered by Tazuna's grandson, made by his daughter, and so he could think more clearly though those never lasted too long.
Her eyes never left Naruto as he coughed out some water and stood on all fours just a few feet away from her. His dark orange shirt clung to his body and Hinata would find herself staring at his chest and back at random times. For a thirteen year old, Naruto was pretty muscular in Hinata's opinion, and so was Sasuke. She supposed it was because they always trained in their free time.
'Oh, there he goes again.' Naruto moved to start again and Hinata saw the smirk on his face as he was able to walk three feet into the ocean before falling. Hinata shivered as an unseen breeze past by and brushed against her wet clothes and exposed skin.
When Naruto came out of the water, he saw Hinata shivering from the cold. Even though the sun was out, that didn't really mean it was warm. It was decent out but after spending ten hours plus in water, it could get pretty cold. Besides, sometimes the sun would hide behind passing cloud and a strong breeze would come.
Naruto moved to his warm and dry, navy blue jacket and placed it over Hinata who jumped at the sudden action. She looked up to see Naruto's smiling face.
"Don't want you to get sick." He said, answering her unasked question before going to continue his training. Hinata watched him go with a blush and a smile; he was always there for her.
'He's always so nice to me; I have to do something for him, to show him I care. But what?' She thought as she stood and leaned against the tree. The warmth of Naruto's jacket made her feel warm as well; almost up to the point that she forgot she was wet.
"Alright guys, you can take a break." Hinata jumped at hearing Kakashi speak. Sasuke walked back to land and took off his blue shirt to remove the excess water. Naruto did the same except he got on all fours and shook his body of the water, like a dog would do. Hinata giggled as she turned her head away and put her hand up to stop the water from getting on her face.
"Yes, well, good job you three. Especially you Hinata, you've improved the most." Hinata blushed at the praise.
"Take this time to recover and do what you want and we'll start this again tomorrow after Tazuna's shift." The three nodded and walked back to their temporary home, two were going to get some rest and one was going to go out on the town.
[*.*.*.*]
Hinata stared in awe and sadness as she walked by so many people sitting on sidewalks. Majority were adults either drunk out of their mind and unconscious and others that were too tired to even stand. There were a few kids and she was surprised that some were as hyper and playful as others. Considering how tragic their life seemed, they still found a reason to smile.
That was a characteristic she liked in people; that was one of the many characteristics she liked in Naruto.
Walking into a store, Hinata saw very little that she could get for Naruto. Of course, at first she thought of getting him ramen till he puked but that wasn't a very attractive idea. With no other ideas, she decided something else would suffice; the question, though, was what his gift would be.
There were a couple of dirty plush toys, candles, plates, cups, home essentials, and others in that category. With a sigh, she walked out of the store and continued to find something to buy Naruto.
After five stores, Hinata still had no luck finding anything to give Naruto. Occasionally she would buy something, just so the town's economy could flourish if only a little, but nothing she could give to Naruto. She had bought a toy cat that had the softest fur she had ever felt and ended up giving it to a little girl she saw eyeing the toy. It didn't bother her that she was wasting some of her allowance; she was happy to if it meant making at least one person happy.
"Ey you." Hinata stopped to see a rather crazy-looking man with a brown jacket covering his entire body looking around suspiciously. His black, curly haired moved with ever movement the man made.
"Need sumthin'?" The man asked and Hinata was a little wary of him. Even though some were too weak to steal or even act, the state of the economy could reduce people to do desperate things. Hinata knew this and it was not fear that gripped her, just caution. As his eyes scanned the area around him, he opened his coat and Hinata saw a sword.
The sheath wasn't anything special, just really long and black. The hilt was wrapped in white cloth and the pommel was a blood red.
"This sword is said to be made years ago by a master artisan. He was said to be an old man riding a black bull and carrying a hammer as long as he was." The man told as her eyes continued to scan the sword.
"I-I don't know." Hinata said, unsure of what to make of the man and the sword. The vibe she got from the sword were anything but pleasant; if anything, it felt corrupted and evil, powerful, yet tainted.
"Come on, I'm practically giving this sword to you. If you are not happy with that then how about this…?" The man grabbed something from his pocket and when he opened his closed hand, he produced a round, pink jewel that shone from the sun above them. This immediately caught Hinata's attention.
Even with its pink tint, Hinata saw darkness inside the jewel, almost like it was tainted with years and years of evil and corruption.
"W-What is that?" She asked and the man smiled.
"This, young lady, is the legendary Sacred Jewel." Just by the name, Hinata was astonished by it.
"This is said to be worth thousands, even millions of ryo but for now, both the jewel and the sword can be yours for fifty-five ryo. What do ya say?" The man asked and Hinata looked at the jewel and the sword. Reluctantly, Hinata nodded and gave the man the last of her money and grabbed the sword and jewel. Immediately, the jewel's darkness disappeared and its glow brightened but Hinata wasn't looking at the jewel but at the man who ran away as soon as Hinata got her items.
Hinata started her trip back to Tazuna's house to hide her new things and give them to Naruto later.
Meters away from his last customer, the man ran to the back of the various buildings where he saw no one. He laid down beside the back of a building and started to count his new found fortune.
"You." The man flinched as he hid his money behind his back and searched for the random voice.
"Me?" A silhouetted appeared in the shades of the trees and long, silver hair was seen among the silhouettes pants. To the man, the silhouetted looked oddly dressed, much like a foreigner.
"I heard you hold something I want in your possession; the Sacred Jewel." The man scoffed as he brought out his money and continued to count it.
"Sorry, you're too late, someone already bought it off me." The man said and then laughed. "Besides, the Sacred Jewel is only a myth. It does not exist." Before the man could tell the silhouette to leave him, he was pushed against the wall and was held up in the air by his neck. When looked down, the last thing he saw before his world went black was a crescent moon.
That's it... Sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes....
Again, sorry that its taken me too long to update and when it does take me a while to update.... Can't wait till spring break next week... I'm gunna type my fingers off!
Sorry if the time is off but basically, Inuyasha is following Manten's scent even though its faint and where their hideout is at... well, I'll tell you later..
Seriously... its hard to type up chapters when you got school breathing down your neck... Does any one want to do a research paper on the Auschwitz and then send it to me so I can work on my stories? If you do, let me know...
As far as I can tell, the Naruto manga is going down hill... After Naruto FINALLY comes back home, he's only a few feet from Hinata but they don't say a word to each other... I blame hinata too for not saying anything but she's shy so she has an excuse... Naruto though, I'm starting to lose my patience with him... I personally can't see how Naruto will save Sasuke... I don't know why he tries anymore...
Bleach... Well, it's moved up, right over Naruto since it's actually getting more interesting than Naruto... Seriously, Kishi is babying Sasuke... The fact that he gots Itachi's eyes now doesn't help... AH! He needs to die... unless I know for sure Naruto is going to end up with Hinata and either Sasuke dies horribly or becomes good again, the anime is going to slowly, but surely let me down...
One thing, and don't judge me for this but, I am starting to think that hinata won't end up with Naruto............. I really hate myself for it but its getting harder to see....
EVER FREAKING TIME NARUTO AND SAKURA ARE TOGETHER, SAKURA IS LOOKING AT NARUTO WITH FREAKING GOOGLY EYES!!! STOP LOOKING AT HIM SAKURA! YOU HAD YOUR CHANCE!!!!
Sorry for that but it just angers me... Sakura had more than a lifetime's worth of chance with the idiot and only until now, only until Sasuke has gone insane, only until Hinata FINALLY confess, only until the world is in the brink of enslavement, Sakura FINALLY decides to give Naruto the googly eyes...
AH! so infuriating...
Sigh....
OH the dream! Haha sorry, couldn't help but put at least some Naruhina-ness... AW! I just want it to happen so badly! Should you think that Naruto's dream will come true? Who's to say... Maybe it'll happen just like the dream tells... Its less work for me... Eh.... By the way, the words that are not italicized are song lyrics of "Tell Her This" by Del Amitri....
Mad that I went with the Wave mission? Too bad, I was going to make one up but I decided that it would be better to use it later.... When relationships have been established and stable....
So yeah, I had my doubts but I finally decided to get the Shikon Jewel involved... Why? Cuz I don't know how to get Naraku involved without it... And the sword.............. *yawn* I'm tired... I'm gunna sleep for *looks at wristwatch* twelve hours or so... night! or morning... depending on when you read this...
Anyways, I'm done ranting...
Next Chapter: Good v.s Evil; the bridge that connects them...
Till next time!
Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it!