Author's Note
Well here it is gents chapter 15! I know it's not much but it does serve a purpose. I wrote this in my little village in Italy, so if the grammar seems off i apologize. I tend to lose my English when i return home. Anyways enjoy.
Chapter 15: All For One
The group was shocked. They had not expected this to happen. Hinata immediately became very worried for Naruto. They were already in a bad position with no aid or even a plan and the Soul Society decided to move up the execution date. What were they going to do now?
Yugito punched the wall of the sewer in frustration. "Damn them. We're at such a disadvantage and now this" she said.
"We need to move now" said Kushina taking charge of the situation. "Time is of the essence. The more we waste whining over things we have no control of the less time we have to correct the things we can control."
"My wife is right" said Minato, "Things have probably calmed down on the surface; if only a little. We should use it to our advantage."
Hinata and Gaara nodded in agreement and let Yugito lead the group down through the sewer to the nearest exit. They stopped at a ladder which went upward to the roof of the sewers. Yugito climbed up first and lifted the tile slightly to see if the coast was clear. She signaled the others to follow her as she removed the tile completely. Hinata was the last to exit but to her poor luck hit her hand leaving a small cut.
"Are you alright?" asked Gaara.
"It's nothing" said Hinata with a small smile, holding up her hand, "It's just a scratch."
Gaara looked at the wound and blinked several times. However he didn't get any time to inspect it properly as the Yondaime encouraged them to split up to cover more ground. The group agreed and broke off into the original three couples leaving Hinata on her own. As she ran off Gaara looked over his shoulder and gazed at her. Was he over thinking this? Either way, he could not ponder on the issue more intently as Yugito was egger to find her lord and Hinata was already out of sight
xXx
Hinata slowly made her way back to the Towers. She had a feeling in her heart that Naruto was nearby but wasn't sure where. She looked around till she saw a flight of stair leading upward. Betting it was the only way up she dashed across the open walk way to reach it but stopped in her tracks. Down from the steps came a Shinigami with red hair tied into a ponytail and wore black tattoos. Abarai Renji.
Hinata froze for an instant but quickly recovered from the shock. If she wanted to get past him she would have to strike him down quickly, not to mention her wounds, though healing rather nicely would hinder her in an extended battle. However, when her hand grasped the hilt of her zanpakuto, Renji raised his hands.
"I didn't come to fight" he said. Hinata stared at him in confusion. What kind of trick was he trying to pull? But to prove himself he sat in a seiza position and laid Zabimaru in front of him. "Please hear me out. I'm not your enemy. I need you to answer one question."
"And what question is that?" asked Hinata, still not convinced Renji was telling the truth.
"Do you really love Uzumaki Naruto?"
Hinata's cheeks began to burn. Why was he asking her this? What did it matter to him? She quickly regained her composure and spoke up. "Yes I do."
Renji then stood up and returned Zabimaru to his waistband. "Please follow me" he said walking away from the Towers. Hinata stared at him, once again confused. What was going on? She knew however that the only way she was going to get an answer was by following the lieutenant.
As they walked, neither of them spoke. Hinata had countless questions to ask him but didn't know where to begin. She watched him carefully knowing his abilities and speed could wipe her out in an instant. However, something inside her was telling her that he wasn't a threat. If he was going to kill her then he wouldn't have bothered to win her over, but kill her where she stood. Despise this, her patience was running thin.
"Where are you taking me Abarai Renji?" she asked.
"To a place" he said without looking behind him.
"Where specifically?" she asked
"A special training ground located underground" replied Renji, "Urahara Kisuke and ShihōinYoruichi built it when they were young and used it for private training. Of course a lot of people have some other ideas to what else those two used it for."
"A love nest?"
Renji grinned. "Ya that's pretty much what were all thinkin'. They deny it of course but it's pretty obvious."
With the mood lightened, Hinata decided not to bother the older Shinigami with questions. She would follow her instincts and her judgment of character. Abarai Renji was a very skilled and very powerful Shinigami. Killing a novice like herself would be something he could do in his sleep, so pretending to be an ally would be nothing more than a waste of his time.
They continued to walk in silence till they reached a cliff. There was no vegetation growing there which gave them a rather nice view of the Soul Society. But they weren't here to site see. Without warning Renji grabbed Hinata's wrist and jumped off the edge of the cliff. Hinata shut her eyes in terror and was so shocked she didn't scream. However, the impact she was expecting never came, she opened her eyes to see she was in a rock tunnel. Renji began to walk towards the end of it and told her to follow him. When they reached the end, it opened up to a very large cavern that illuminated by an unknown source. Hinata was amazed at what she saw. She wondered how two people could have built such a place.
When she looked in front of here, she saw a rather large group of Shinigami that were huddled together and speaking amongst each other. Hinata froze. She was wrong. Her instincts were wrong. He had led her into and ambush.
The group turned around sensing their presence. To her surprise they greeted Renji and asked him who she was. Renji replied a little too happily.
"She's Naruto's woman!" he said. Hinata's face began to burn crimson. Why did he shout that all of a sudden? All she had said was that she loved Naruto, she never once said they were romantically involved. But there was nothing she could do as the others began to praise her, calling her hot and cute, and began congratulating Naruto for finally getting his whistle wet.
Now so embarrassed she could die, Hinata wondered why on earth Renji brought her here. Her question was soon answered.
"You're Uzumaki Naruto's woman?" asked a young voice. Hinata turned around to see a boy with white hair and captain's robes standing next to another captain, a woman, with short black hair and wore clothing that reminded her of shinobi gear. "Strange. He never once mentioned he had a girlfriend."
"Don't worry Hitsugaya-Taichou, Soifon-Taichou" said Renji, "They're crazy about each other, I can promise you that."
Hinata was blushing more than she ever had before but was also happy with the lieutenant's words. She was in fact crazy about Naruto, but was it the same the other way round, she could only hope so.
"Hmmm. Oi girl" said Soifon to Hinata. "You came here with a large party to rescue Uzumaki correct?" She nodded. "What kind of plan did you devise?"
Hinata swallowed, "We haven't really had time to plan-"
"As to be expected" muttered Soifon.
The group of Shinigami began to discus their options but Hinata felt that something needed to be cleared up. Something that she had been wondering about for the last few years.
"Excuse me" she said getting their attention, "May I ask you all something? How are you all acquainted with Naruto-kun?"
The questioned seemed to take the group off guard, but at the same time made the group seem to understand where it was coming from. One of the Shinigami spoke up.
"Naruto's our friend" said a black haired man with a 69 tattoo on his face. "And we take care of our friends."
Hinata nodded understanding the situation perfectly. Naruto had made friends here, friends that were willing to sacrifice their lives and go against their authority figures. Fortunately she was ready to do the same and was glad to have them on her side. "Arigatou gozaimasu" she said. "I want to help as best I can but I know my skills as a Shinigami are nothing compared to yours."
"You shouldn't sell yourself short little miss" said a deep voice. Hinata turned around to see two older Shinigami standing side by side. One wore a straw hat another while the other had long white hair. Their presence immediately caused the others to straighten; even the other two captains.
"Kyōraku-Taichou! Ukitake-Taichou!" shouted the other Shinigami.
"After all" continued Shunsui, "You did defeat Zaraki-Taichou."
This caught the others by surprise. They had all heard that Kenpachi had been defeated but there was no information on who has his opponent. They once again began talking and mentioned Kurosaki Ichigo's name more than once. Hinata heard this and frowned. She decided she would finally have her long awaiting question answered.
"I need to know!" she said loudly grabbing their attention. "Who is Kurosaki Ichigo? Ever since I've been dragged into this world of Shinigami and Hollows I hear his name constantly. I ask you, just who is he?" She waited for her question to be answered, her eye shifting over the faces of the Shinigami. Finally it was Renji who spoke up.
"Kurosaki Ichigo is a substitute Shingami that attacked the Soul Society when Kuchuki Byakura-Taichou's sister was placed on death row. Since then he has helped us with the betrayal of three top ranking officers, odd jobs that the Soul Society doesn't normally handle, and ultimately won the largest war we have ever fought. You're almost following in his footsteps as he only gained his powers two years ago. I hate to admit it but that damn brat is stronger than all of us next to the Commander-General."
Hinata was amazed. It all made sense to why this Ichigo was so highly praised. To accomplish so much in such a short amount of time; it was truly something that legends were made out of. And for her to follow in his footsteps. Was this a sign that there was hope for Naruto and herself? Was there still hope that she could save him and finally return to their village? It almost seemed like it was a guarantee even if a little farfetched. However Hinata did feel a little ashamed. She had grown so impatient and had caused such an outburst, when all she needed to do was ask.
"Don't think that means you're on his level" said Soifon folding her arms. "We can all tell you need serious training. Everyone here is doing just that to prepare for the worst. You should do the same."
Hinata nodded knowing that with only three days till Nartuo's execution, she would have to make use of every second.
xXx
After some training, the group decided to take a small break. This worked in Hinata's favour as she was still curious about Naruto's friends. She wanted to know more about them as well as her beloved. What did they think about him? Why were they his friends? And what was the blonds' attachment to the Soul Society?
The indigo-haired woman began talking with a short female Shinigami with black hair tied in a bun. Her name was Hinamori Momo and was a friend of Naruto. It only took a minute of conversation before they hit it off.
"Did Naruto-kun really do that?" asked Momo laughing.
"Ah. He was always like that as a child" replied Hinata, giggling herself.
"I know this isn't really my place to say this, but, I'm really glad Naruto-kun has someone like you."
Hinata blushed at the compliment. Lately many who knew of her relationship with the Jinchuriki seemed to approve of it instantly, saying she was perfect for him. She hoped that things would change for the better and let them have the relationship she wanted. She thanked Momo for her kind words, saying they meant more to her than she could express. Hinata then had a question for the other Shinigami.
"Ano Momo-san, is it really true that everyone here is a friend of Naruto?"
Momo blinked at the question before answering. "Just about yes. Naruto-kun is rather eccentric and out-going. He's loyal to his friends and has a fierce sense of pride and honor. It's these qualities that everyone here admires and respects."
Hinata, though glad her love was getting the respect and appreciation he deserved, never really saw him as the proud type; at least not to the point of it being fierce. When did he start developing such a trait? Was it here in the Soul Society? She wanted to question Momo more on this but Momo mentioned something that caught the Hyuuga heiress' attention.
"Two people especially liked those attributes. Toshiro-kun and Hisagi-kun. They actually become close friends with him" she said pointing. Hinata followed her finger to the Shinigami with the tattoos on his face and the young captain with white hair. She thanked Momo and began walking towards Hisagi, intending to ask him a few questions about himself and Naruto.
"Sumimasen Hisagi-san" she said grabbing his attention, "May I ask you something?" Hisagi nodded allowing Hinata to continue. "How did you and Naruto-kun become friends?"
Hinata became a little worried when Hisagi gave her an almost annoyed expression before telling her.
Flashback
Hisagi was sitting on his own playing his guitar, enjoying a little peace and quiet. However his tranquillity was disturbed by an unwanted guest.
"Hey you're pretty good" said a blond Shinigami with red fox ears and tail. Hisagi flinched as he hadn't sensed the blonds' presence and looked at him annoyingly.
"Who the hell are you?" he demanded.
"Uzumaki Naruto. You're Lieutenant Hisagi of the Kyu-bantai right?"
"Ya. Uzumaki Naruto. I've heard your name before. You're the new Shinigami that came from a different world" said Hisagi studying Naruto carefully. "What do you want?"
"Nothin'. I just heard someone playing guitar so I decided to check it out" he said with a smile. "Hey…could you teach me?"
"Nani?"
"Could you teach me how to play guitar?"
"Why the hell should I!"
"Please?"
"No dammit!"
"PLEASE?"
"I said not!"
End of Flashback
"He was rather annoying at first but he turned out to be a rather good guy" said Hisagi, sighing as he was still a little annoyed by that memory. Hinata on the other hand was giggling as she found it rather adorable. She also found the idea of Naruto playing guitar to be quite attractive.
'I wonder if he can play it now?" she wondered. She hoped they could rescue him so she could ask him herself.
"So he annoyed you too, the first time you met him" said a voice. Both Hinata and Hisagi were surprised to see it was Hitsugaya speaking to him.
"You're Toshiro-kun correct?" asked Hinata. A small throbbing vein appeared on the young captain's forehead. Was he ever going to be called by his proper title?
"It's Hitsugaya-Taichou to you!" he said sternly, "You may be Naruto's woman but you still address me with the same respect as any other Shinigami understand?"
"Ah gomennasai!" apologized Hinata, "Demo, aren't you rather young to be a captain?"
"I'm easily 7 times older than you. Let's leave it at that" Hitsugaya replied bluntly. Hinata, though surprised at the age gap nodded and politely asked him about Naurto and himself.
Flashback
Hitsugaya was walking on his own through the Soul Society when he bumped into someone.
"Watch where you're going fool!" he snapped.
"Opps. Wari kodomo" said the Shinigami.
"Kodomo?" repeated the young captain, completely insulted. "Who the hell are you? What's your rank and barrack?"
"Me? I've got none of that. The name's Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you."
Hitsugaya looked at him in confusion. The young man in front of him had blond hair, blue eyes and a massive zanpakuto on his back. He also had a pair of fox eyes on his head and a long red tail.
"Hey…" said Naruto, "You got a captain's haori. Since when did they start making kids captains?"
Hitsugaya was drawing nearer to releasing his bankai on this mysterious and rude Shinigami when he spoke up again.
"Well I don't really get it but you should calm down a little an enjoy being a kid" he said turning his back to the captain and walked away. "If you rush through your childhood wanting to grow up, you'll lose it forever. Unless you had one like mine, take it easy."
End of Flashback
"I wasn't sure what he meant by that until later" admitted the young captain.
Hinata nodded. "Naruto-kun's childhood was terrible. I don't know everything about it, but I saw enough to understand why he went bitter. I just wish I could have been there for him."
"Don't worry" said a voice, "These will definitely make up for it!" Suddenly, the person peaking snaked their arms around Hinata and cupped her breasts. This immediately caught the attention of the male Shinigami. Hinata cried out in surprise.
"I wonder whose are bigger? Yours or Orihime's?"
Hitsugaya clenched his teeth, "MATSUMOTO!"
The female lieutenant laughed and ran from her captain who was greatly annoyed by her antiques. Once again Soifon cut in telling them all to focus on training and preparation.
xXx
Hinata was on another break from her harsh training. She was truly amazed by the level of tenacity of her fellow Shinigami. The Yondaime was surly correct about them being at a different league than the ninjas. Despite this fact, Hinata did not complain. She knew that every gruelling second of her training inched her closer to saving the man she loved. If loosing her life for him meant nothing, then what were a few bumps and scratches?
After catching her breath, she was about to return to the training when a very tall Shnigami walked up to her.
"You are Uzumaki Naruto's woman correct?" he asked.
Hinata looked up to see a captain ranked Shinigami with a wolf's head. She blinked in surprise but nodded to confirm his question.
"May I have a word with you?"
She nodded again and followed him away from the group so that they had some privacy.
"My name is Komamura Sajin" he began, "I am the captain of the Sanban-tai and a friend of Naruto. I need to ask a question. Why did you come to save him?"
"Because I love him" she said without hesitation.
Komamura recoiled slightly from the girl's response, not expecting it to come out so suddenly. He had heard from a few of the lieutenants that Naruto's girlfriend has come to save, but knowing Naruto was well as he did, wasn't sure it was true. When he looked in her eyes however, he knew she as telling the truth.
"May I ask you something?" asked Hinata, to which the captain nodded. "How did you become friends with Naruto-kun?"
Komamura nodded and began to tell her what happened.
Flashback
"Thank you for you hard work" said Komamura.
"It was nothing Taichou" said Iba.
Komamura left his barrack and walked towards the Commander-General's office to hand in his report personally. On his route, he stopped and sniffed the air. There was a scent he had never smelled before. And it oddly smelled like a…
"Sugei!" someone shouted. Komamura turned quickly to see Naruto looking at him with amazement. "Are you an Ookami no kami? (Wolf Spirit)"
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Uzumaki Naruto. So what's a wolf kami like you serving the Soul Society?"
"I'm not a kami."
"Then what are you?"
"I have a better question" said the wolfman, "Why are you not afraid of my appearance?"
Naruto blinked at the question. "Scared? Why should I be scared?"
"Ever since my birth I have been called a monster, due to this appearance" he said. To his confusion, Naruto began to laugh.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! A monster? You? I think I should be taking offense to that!" he laughed. "I'm the one here who is worthy of that title. I'm the reincarnation of the Kyuubi no Kitsune."
Komamaru flinched. "If that is true" he said noticing the blonds' ears and tail, "Then what lies on the surface is nothing compared to me. You at least appear human."
"That just made it worse" said Naruto, "My village has wanted my head for years. You may look less human then I do but I'm more of a monster in their eyes. Hell I bet you get more girls then I do. Which would is none is you're wondering."
End of Flashback
When he had finished telling Hinata about his first encounter with Naruto, there was pause of silence. Once again Hinata heard about her loves painful past. Before the guilt could set in she buried it deep in her mind and thanked the captain for telling her his meeting with Naruto. But before she could return to her training, she had one thing to ask him.
"Could I feel your ears?" she asked. Komamaru was surprised by the request but allowed her to feel his ears.
"Arigatou" she said after having her fill, "I'm sorry for the trouble."
"Don't be" he said. "I take it your not afraid of me."
"Why should I be?" Hinata said, "You're like Naruto-kun; cute not monstrous."
Komamaru was shocked by her compliment, having never been called that before. "Naruto…is very lucky to have you, Hyuuga-san."
"Arigatou" said Hinata was a sweet smile. She was really starting to like hearing that.
"I'll leave you to your training. Gambate Hyuuga Hinata-san."
"Thank you and same to you Komamaru-san."
"Iie" he said, "You may call me Sajin." With that, he took his leave. Hinata watched him go and smiled. Naruto truly did have loyal friends in the Soul Society, and she was glad that they were here for him in his time of need. Now all she needed to do was do the same.
"Slacking off again Hyuuga" said a voice behind her. Hinata spun round to see a very annoyed Soifon.
"Ah gomennasai Soifon-san. I was just speaking with Sa- Komamaru-san."
"I saw" she said flatly, "Get back to your training, if your serious about saving Uzumaki Naruto."
Soifon put her back to the girl and walked to inspect the training of the other Shinigami. But before she was out of ear shot, Hinata spoke up.
"Ano Soifon-san!" she called out causing the Shinobi like Shinigami to stop. "What is your connection with Naruto-kun?"
"Telling you is nothing more than a waste of time" she said bluntly and continued on her way. But Hinata was not going to let her off the hook.
"Please Soifon-san. I need to know."
Soifon turned around and saw Hinata's face. She was almost surprised by the level of urgency in the young woman' face and actually had a moment of pity for her. She returned to her normal self and took a breath.
"Uzumaki Naruto and I have a strictly professional relationship" she said strongly, "He has neither the skill, talent or instinct for being a Shinobi, but he does have a vast amount of knowledge that has proven to be quite valuable to the Onmitsukidō. I want to return the favour so I too will fight for him."
Though Hinata was glad to have her on her side, she frowned at her comment on the blond jinchuriki's lack of skill. When she began to defend him, Soifon decided to clarify her comment.
"Uzumaki Naruto does possess a great amount of skill, talent and instinct, just not for the art of stealth. It's a good thing he has finally abandoned it" she said before walking away without looking back. Hinata on the other hand was still confused and worried over what she had said. What did she mean he had abandoned the art of stealth? Did she mean he had given up on being a ninja. Impossible! That wasn't the Naruto she knew and loved. But she knew that this would have to wait as all her focus was to be set on saving Naruto and her training. She prepared herself as she knew the real training began now.
xXx
As the sun in the Soul Society began to set, Sasuke made his was through the growing shadows to remain undetected. He noticed the setting sun and cursed himself for his stupidity. How did things turn out like this? He and Sakura had been travelling through the maze when they had been discovered by a large group of Shinigami. His first instinct was to lead them away from his girlfriend and then meet up with her later. But to his dismay he could not find her. He was starting to worry, as he had no idea if she had been captured or was even still alive. Things could not get much worse.
"What do we have here?" said a rather unpleasant voice.
Sasuke turned around to see a man wearing an odd headdress, a pained face, gold teeth and captain's haori. To his right was a quiet young woman in a short robe.
"One of the ryoka no doubt" said Kurotsuchi. "You don't look like much but I suppose one should not be wasteful. I shall add you to my list of experiments."
Sasuke didn't know what the captain was talking about but he knew it wasn't good. He quickly activated his Sharingan and prepared to defend himself. This however caused a reaction he was not expecting.
"Ooooo. That is the Sharingan of the Uchiha clan!" said Kurotsuchi in delight. "If my data is correct there is only one member still alive. An extremely rare specimen. Congratulation ryoka, you have just made yourself the first on my list. Nemu."
Nemu nodded understanding his order and lunged at the Uchiha. Suddenly, large balls of fire fell from the sky between them causing her to jump back to safety.
"What was that?" said the scientist at the large plume of smoke and ash. As it began to clear, a second figure could be made out.
"I'm sorry" it said, looking up at the Shinigami, "But I just can't let you do that."
Standing before them was Uchiha Itachi.
Omake 1:
"After all" continued Shunsui, "You did defeat Zaraki-Taichou."
"Well about that…" said Hinata.
"So ya survived Hinata!" shouted Kenpachi from behind. "Want to settle the score?"
Hinata looked behind her and screamed.
"Nice to see you again Bigboobs 2!" said Yachiru happily as she rested upon her foster father's shoulder. Hinata began to run for her life as the battle-crazed captain chased after her, sword in hand.
Omake 2:
Hinata slowly made her way back to the Towers. She had a feeling in her heart that Naruto was nearby but wasn't sure where. She looked around till she saw a flight of stair leading upward. Betting it was the only way up she dashed across the open walk way to reach it but stopped in her tracks. Down from the steps came a Shinigami with red hair tied into a ponytail and wore black tattoos. Abarai Renji.
Hinata froze for an instant but quickly recovered from the shock. If she wanted to get past him she would have to strike him down quickly, not to mention her wounds, though healing rather nicely would hinder her in an extended battle. However, when her hand grasped the hilt of her zanpakuto, Renji raised his hands.
"Capture her!" he shouted. Before Hinata could react, several Shinigami casted binding spells and pined her to the ground. She was then taken to the same holding cell as Naruto and thrown in.
"Hinata-chan!" shouted the blond.
"Naruto-kun!" shouted back Hinata. The young lovers ran to each other and fell into a tight embrace.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, though extremely happy she was still alive.
"I-I came to save you" she said, eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry that I failed. I love you Naruto-kun!"
"I love you Hinata-chan" he replied. They then began to kiss and hold each other tightly. But to Hinata, it was not enough.
"Naruto-kun…" she said opening up her kimono revealing her large breasts. "If we are going to die, then please let me love you with everything I have. I can't hold back any longer. For years I fingered myself thinking about you and stayed a virgin for you to make me yours. Use me any way you want. I am yours forever."
Naruto didn't need to be told twice as he took of his clothes, pulled the rest off Hinata and began the most intense four hours they had ever experienced. The next day Renji returned to their cell and told them they were free to go as the others as well as the ryoka that came with Hinata managed to get the Commander-General to release them with full pardons. Nine months later, the first child of Naruto and Hinata was born.
Next Chapter: The Cruel Truth