Chapter 13: An Unwinding Thread

At some point she realized she wasn't in the same room as her mother anymore. Hoshimi had faded away in front of her along with every intricate detail of the room that she had been standing in. Leaving nothing behind but well lit white walls, paler than the Hyuga's skin, and with no means of escaping.

But Hinata could still hear the voice of her mother ringing in her ears like the aftershock in the wake of an explosion.

"I'm free."

That's what her mother had said but behind the string of notes that laced itself as Hoshimi's voice, Hinata could feel that she knew it wasn't completely true, even after she said it. Hoshimi was free from the demon, but its embodiment was still attached to her like a second layer of skin.

Hinata's legs folded beneath her and she clasped her hands on her lap. How many times was it now? Fainting, collapsing, blacking out. The amount of synonyms that one word had probably didn't even tally to the amount of definition Hinata lived up to.

Her slender fingers wrapped around the folding of her lavender sweater, twisting until the skin of her fingers hurt. How she hated it, all of it. How all she did was get in the way. What was Lady Tsunade even thinking? Sending her- someone weak- on a mission as important as they were on.

A S-ranked mission.

Wouldn't it have been a good team just Naruto, Kiba, and Sakura?

Kakashi would have been enough alone.

Her mind was swirling with thoughts and she tried hard to clear it and fight the whirlpool forming in her head. What was going on? Who were they fighting against? Who were they fighting for? What was their target? Stopping the prince? Azukitogi? Madara? Everything was slipping from their fingers, the mission- which had been well thought out and organized-three times- was now disintegrating into something beyond troublesome.

And why hadn't she known about her mother? Why didn't Hoshimi tell her, or even her father.

The question marks were just synthesizing one after another. One thing led to something else until finally she burrowed her head in between her legs.

Hinata found herself to be someone optimistic, how many times had she been put down? Just as Naruto, her life was designed with struggles. Maybe not as extreme, but they were there. And while the on-looker might see her as weak and fragile for complaining, they didn't understand what it was like to be in the situation she was in.

Problems are hard and it's always easier to say someone has it easier when they don't share the same eyes.

But now, as she curled up into a ball of self-loathing, she didn't feel optimistic. No matter how hard she tried to be the way she was, it was just not happening. This mission is different, this problem was different, she didn't fit. Her mold just didn't confine itself to what the Hokage was trying to wield.

Something warm hovered over her shoulder and she was on her feet, legs firm and ready to lunge, hands raised in their designated stance.

It was just Hoshimi Hyuga.

Shoulders pushed and tall, her hair draping down her back like a plum curtain. The skin around her full lips was raised, just slightly, to accommodate the same smile she had given Hinata before under the sakura tree.

It took some time for Hinata's eyes to adjust to her full body. If she hadn't look closely it was as if her mother's body was part of the white surroundings and all that stood out was the purple on her head.

But it was the white gown she was wearing that played tricks on her eyes. It fell around her, kissing the ground lazily. The bodice and hem of the gown were encrusted with thousands of minuscule crystals in the shape of blossoms. It was the only color on the dress and it exintuated the white of it. A pale pink. It reminded her a bit of Sakura's hair. A sterling gold lined the neck in a pattern of lace and provided slender sleeves that only covered her shoulders, if Hinata hand't known better, she would have belived the gold was embed onto the skin of her mother.

The dress was the last thing Hinata wanted to focus on. "Why am I here?" she asked, trying to keep her tone as neautral as possible.

The soft corners of Hoshimi's mouth faltered. "There's things you need to know."

"Did you bring me here?" she asked.

Hoshimi nodded, Hinata swallowed whatever she was going to say.

"I know you may feel anger towards yourself and now maybe anger towards me because I've hindered you more on this quest. But it wasn't all my doing." Her mother stepped forward and pushed Hinata's hair behind her ear, "there's things I have to tell you."

While her mind was at ease, as much as it could get in the middle of a mission, her body was separated, abandoned and still on the mundane Earth. Her head rested limply on the trunk of the tree Kiba had left her under, her hair obscuring her face from the luring darkness.

Silence was imminent.

As far as quietness went, Hinata was indulged in it. Her soul had been captivated by the spirit of her mother and as her body lay unprotected and deserted, the young shinobi was completely helpless against the creeping shadow moving towards her.

Azukitogi drew power from veiled light. The twilight was his billet and the darkness his closest friend. But twilight and dusk were far from them, tallying up into hours away from any glimpse of the sun. No, there was no light. The eclipse made sure of that.

The moon had strolled its way passed the Earth and into the depths of its shadows, shielding itself behind a red face guise. A true phenomenon but placed in a life threatening situation it couldn't be admired to its potential. And that was minus the fact that, that phenomenon was feeding more power into an ancient demon.

The girl, its designated target and soon-to-be next vessel, was absolutely unaware of the dangers beginning to lurk above her. It only made it that much simpler for it. The atmosphere grew cold and even though their surroundings were already as dark as it could get, an even darker shade of black was standing over Hinata's body-

Naruto swooped down, like a bird diving into the sea for its meal, lifting the unconscious girl into his arms and away from whatever it was that was wrapping its silhouetted tendrils around her. In the split of that moment, Kiba with his loyal companion and Sakura on his tail ran out of the temple, their eyes wild and darting from the now decaying tree and Naruto.

Kiba warned Naruto to get back and it only took him a blink towards the direction where Hinata had just been to see that whatever was going after her, was coming after him.

Swinging Hinata over his shoulder as gently as swinging went, his hands moved effortlessly and quickly, every second wasted was another jeopardized life. Slamming his palm into the spotted grass it activated a black chain to circle around his hand with lines cutting it through into four. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

To his surprise it was Gamakichi rather than Gamatatsu. But his efforts were too late. Azukitogi was upon him as the smoke revealing the toad vanished and blended into the dark sky. His eyes squinted shut as he jumped back, fighting till the end to avoid being taken by the alien.

But nothing happened. He peered down to where the sleeping girl lay in his hold, she was fine. And he was fine, no injuries, no bruises, or opening wounds. He was perfectly-

Looking above him the black shadow that had been running towards him was pushing against an invisible barrier. Naruto stared in bewildered amazement as Azukitogi slammed and pushed against the bubble surrounding him and the blue haired girl.

He had to move- another pound on the force-field- and fast.

"Where's Gamatatsu?" he asked, shifting Hinata from his shoulder to his arms.

"Brother was stuck in a hole."

"How did he-"

"Quit wasting time, idiot!" Kiba scolded.

"Look, Gamakichi. I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure thing, Naruto."

He gestured the over-sized toad to extend his arms. "I need you to take her to Mount Myōboku, keep her there until I summon you."

"I don't know if I can-" another slam, a crack in their defense. Naruto looked at Gamakichi, pleading in his eyes. "I need you to do this for me," he said as he lay the girl on the pink tongue.

The yellow frog took her with rigid arms and nodded before disappearing.

"Protect her," was the last thing Naruto said before looking up, the force-field disappearing.

And Azukitogi crashing down on him.

The thing about battles, war, life as a whole, it goes on. Whether you're involved or not, in the present, living in the past or in the future, it moves with or without you. While one person is moving right, someone is moving left without them. There's more to it than just what you see. There's billions, trillions, of eyes watching it move, watching it prosper or fail.

And they're always connected.

In a strange and theatrical kind of way, it's all connected. Those glimpses, the gazes, the stares. They come together as one into a broader picture. While one blinks another has caught the glimpse and kept it.

The constant struggle between good and bad was finally coming to an end. At least in the internal situation Inoichi was in. But was it always a battle between light and dark? Inoichi had seen deeper into Kiyoshi's thoughts, more than he had probably looked into himself. If Kiyoshi were to tell the story, would Inoichi been the bad?

Kiyoshi was someone to no longer worry about as Inoichi's body curled over and coughed up the last remnants of purple liquid. Thick as blood and tacky like dropped juice left over night. There was an empty feeling inside of him as his mind drifted towards the Kirigakure shinobi and it wasn't because he was the only mind, only 'soul', inside his body.

Kakashi's eye darted from the prince to Madara, every move counted for something just like it could jeopardize everything.

But Madara could sense everything he was doing before he even planned it.

"Unseal the body," the masked man said. Kazuhiko hesistated and looked towards Kakashi, for fear or an apology, he didn't know. "Don't forget the reason you've agreed to join. Think of that girl you are so fond for," Madara said, his voice harsher and more refined.

Kazuhiko took a step toward the encasing that held Azukitogi's physical form, his body rigid. Kakashi took his stance to dart, but Madara was at his throat. His gloved hand wrapped around him and pushed him further away from the boy. Kakashi, half expecting the attack, glided his foot under the man, only to have it go through him.

The grip on his throat was gone and he was dashing towards the prince. The temple's floor seemed to have stretched out before him like taffy, expanding and becoming more narrow. Kakashi was a shinobi, running should have been something at first year level but his feet weren't moving as fast as they were supposed to. Then Madara was at his back again, kicking his legs under him and pinning him down, arms folded behind his head.

Kunai at Kakashi throat he said, "I should kill you now. After all my plans gone to ruin, I should end your pitiful life as shinobi right this second." Madara pressed the blade deeper into his neck but Kakashi didn't grimace, "but where would the fun be?"

From across the room, Inoichi rolled on his side and coughed the last of the poison inside his body. His eyes locked on Kazuhiko's back as he gestured his hands in the unsealing ritual. The Yamanaka lifted himself just enough to get into his mind-transfer position and then all he could see was the marble of the floor.

Madara had a heartbeat to flip the kunai to his left hand as the air around them saturated itself with the whisper of thousands of birds.

Chidori.

He cocked his wrist and let the kunai fly, hitting its designated target without much effort. A clean shot. He was dissolving and slipping through Kakashi's body the next beat. Unscathed.

And as Kakashi lifted himself from the ground and darted towards the prince, Madara smirked beneath his mask.

It was too late.

The prince threw his arm across the the casing, finishing the last of the ancient chant.

The case began to open and Kazuhiko stood back.

They didn't wait long before Azukitogi was back inside the temple, reclaiming his body again as his own, Naruto and the rest of the party in tow.

Naruto's eyes darted from the prince to the unsealed case, running towards him, hand at his throat before anyone could stop him. "What have you done?" his voice was raw, coerce.

And then a silence followed, were a pin or a leaf fallen onto the marble floors, they'd hear it.

Then followed chaos as Azukitogi, drumming soul in his classified body, shattered the casing that held his true form. His skeleton body rose past the height of the Chief Toad Naruto could summon with his bare hands. The black ink that stratified the lake Naruto had fought Daiksuke in, was layered across the demon's skin as well. It tightened around its naked face and jutting bones. Four horns, a bleached white against the black of the demon's body, protruded out and curved inward at the side of his neck and then again at his waist. If what you could call what he had of his body a waist. He had the built of a man but the bones of a monster. Wings, none that anyone could have ever imagined, ripped apart his back, a tacky liquid stubbornly moving at the action. And his legs, curled with razor-edged claws, curled inward like his hands.

It took everything Natsu had in him to not throw up whatever his stomach could cough up at the sight of the grotesque thing emerging.

Azukitogi took a step, diminishing the remainder of the thing that had been housing him for so long.

"Reunited at last," his voice slithered through the atmosphere. He moved his eyeless face towards Kazuhiko who had fallen from Naruto's grip and was trembling on his knees. "You have my thanks, Prince."

Author's Note: I'm sorry if there's a lot f grammatical and spelling mistakes, I quickly proof read it. I'll be back to fix it tomorrow when/if I post the new chapter tomorrow.