Seeing Is Believing
BY show.me.the.stars
Disclaimer : Tch. Haha, I sound like Sasuke-kun! :giggles:.
21. Loathing.
The ceremony was to be huge.
The treaty signing was a huge occasion, of course, something that would go down in history--thus explaining the reason why each Daimyo of the Elemental Nations under the Third King all vouched for their countries (and armies) to be used for the obscenely grand event.
The Third King--after much deliberation with himself and his family members decided on having the epic function in the small village of Sakura (the stunning village that was known throughout for its beautiful sakura trees that lined every street and village wall) in Fire Country, something which had the Fire Daimyo in a drunken stupor for days--not that the people of the Fire Country really cared all that much.
The people of Sakura celebrated for a full week before getting to work preparing the village, something every member young and old, rich and poor of the small village partook in, and soon enough the month preparation period came to an end, and the three Kings began to gather in the renovated village. As expected, the third King arrived first to survey his surroundings.
The third King was actually quite young if you looked closer, if Akane could guess, she would've assumed that he was a few years older than Hikari himself. Akane couldn't deny that the King wasn't handsome either, with flowing silver hair that ended at the man's mid back (which was what made most assume that the man was old) and warm amber eyes that looked far older than he was. The King was dressed entirely in red, the colour of his people--the colour of what was most precious in the world.
"The village looks simply splendid, excellent job, Daimyo. I'm sure the other Kings will be very impressed." The King murmured to the Fire Daimyo upon gazing at the village, the Daimyo's grin growing so large it easily could've split the entire Fire Country in two.
The Daimyo nodded. "The villagers were truly honoured that you chose this fair village to use for the treaty--so it was expected that the village was spruced up a little more to impress. What do you think of the decorations?"
The Third King smiled. "They look wonderful, Daimyo. Black, red and white symbolising the three different nations--the candles are a nice touch as well, aren't they, Kohaku?"
The young amber eyed child who gripped the Third King's hand nodded in agreement. "The candles look very beautiful, Father."
The Daimyo looked from the King and his son to the hordes of people standing in their finest kimonos in front of the flowering Sakura trees, the pink flowers detaching from the branches and fluttering away in the gentle breeze before nodding shortly. "Please, follow me, Milord, and I shall take you to Sakura Manor."
Nodding, the Third King and his son followed the Daimyo toward the towering golden castle with stunning pink roof tiling, acknowledging the villagers bowing as he strode past them.
Upon reaching the entrance of the truly grand castle coated entirely in gold or so it appeared, the Daimyo and his "guests" were met with an instant salute of shinobi dressed in a sea of red, their faces blank but all had eyes burning with respect.
"My shinobi army have been gathered here to protect you and the other Kings from the freedom fighters, if they are foolish enough to show." The Daimyo stated proudly in response to the Third King's unanswered question, grinning again upon seeing the King's impressed expression.
"I see you also have a monk here, Representative." The King stated upon seeing Hyuuga Hikari standing proudly beside his wife, standing out in his flowing navy robes.
Hikari left the group, ignoring Akane's fearful glance, approached the King and bowed. "I hope it is not a problem that I am here, your Highness, but it was the Fire Daimyo's request that I be here in case some freedom fighters are not...of this world. It is not...uncommon, for demons to attack at a period like this." Hikari's voice had a sudden cocky tone, something in which made Akane instantly wary, red eyes narrowing as she watched the interchange between the two powerful men. The young woman brushed her fingertips across her kunai pouch--ready to give her life if needed to save her husband.
Violet locked with amber as the King nodded slowly in agreement, a wide smile appearing on his lips as he suddenly brought Hikari into a bear hug, a large hand thumping him on the back. "It is most wonderful to see you again, Hikari-sama! How long has it been, two years almost?"
Hikari let out a quiet chuckle. "It has, Kyo-dono. A long time, no? No more demons attacking the castle?"
The King grinned. "Not since you dealt with them, Hikari-sama. Once again, I am eternally grateful. And it was most interesting spending time with you, Hikari-sama--not many people have treated me the way you did."
Hikari beamed. "Well your actions were quite annoying, Kyo-dono. It was embarrassing to be seen with you."
The group all gaped as the King roared with laughter, wiping a stray tear from his eye as he finished up. "The same could be said of you, Hikari-sama--shameless flirt. I was embarrassed to be seen with you!"
Hikari smiled and then looked down at Kohaku, bending his knees so he could look the royal child in the face. "You have grown since I last saw you too, Kohaku-dono."
Kohaku grinned. "Not as much as you, Hikari-jii! Look at your hair! It's almost as long as Father's!"
"Oh, but your hair has grown quite long as well, Kohaku-dono, it is almost trailing the ground! It will be longer than my and even your father's in no time at all!" Hikari chuckled, raising an eyebrow at the King's highly amused expression.
"Shall we be on our way inside, Kyo-dono?" The Daimyo questioned hesitantly, fearful to interrupt the cheerful reunion.
The King nodded. "Oh, yes, yes. Hikari-sama, please, you must come inside so we can reminisce!"
"Of course, Kyo-dono, but may I bring my guard?"
The King raised an eyebrow. "Your guard?"
Hikari nodded. "Un. Would it be any trouble? Plus, Kohaku-dono would like someone to play with while we talk, no? Akane-san is most fun to play with."
"Akane-san?" The King questioned. "Hm, I don't see why not. Where is this guard of yours?"
Akane stepped forward from her line, her hand instantly up in a salute. "Your highness." The dark haired woman stated shortly, red eyes narrowed.
The King's eyes curved into a smile. "I see, Hikari-sama. Why am I not surprised that this Akane-san is a woman?" He chuckled.
A wide grin crept across the monk's face and he nodded. "You know me too well, Kyo-donno!"
"Aa, indeed I do. Now please, Akane-san, Hikari-sama, come with us."
-+-
A gentle breeze swung the red paper lanterns back and forth from their posts as Sasuke, Hinata and Juugo quickly made their way toward the Akatsuki hideout hidden in an ancient shrine on the other side of town. Fitting. The atmosphere surrounding the trio was heavy with excitement as the sun slipped below the horizon, signifying the beginning of the festival. While Juugo appeared excited by the festive air of the village, Sasuke's spotted a look of steely determination and Hinata wore a slight grimace under her mask.
The wails of women and children from years past still echoed in the heiress' ears as she gingerly put one foot after the other, a small gasp escaping her lips as her foot slicked in a dark puddle, a metallic scent drifting up her nose. The heiress barely managed to prevent herself from gagging. This village was a horrible place.
-+-
Maito Kai had relocated to Kamengakure under the orders of the Third after the Kyuubi attack on Konohagakure, "to show that while in despair Konoha would still prosper", or so the old man had said. Kai, being as loyal to the Fire Country as Rock Lee was a Genius of Hard Work, the man had happily obliged (well as happily as a man would after recently losing both his wife and unborn child in the fight against the King of the Bijuu), though Kai's younger brother (by a good thirteen years) Gai had remained in Konoha and quite frequently popped up in Kamengakure, dragging his perpetually lazy and rather perverted "Eternal Rival"/best friend Hatake Kakashi along with him.
Hyuuga Hinata's mother wasn't at all pleased upon hearing that her teammate was being shipped off to the infamous Village of Masks, actually getting in a verbal argument with the Hokage to try and prevent Kai from being sent away, though the Hokage had ultimately refused her argument in the end. She never wanted to enter the village again after her first encounter in it at age fourteen while on a simple B-rank escort mission with Kai himself and their final Genin teammate, the weapons specialist Quing, who was sadly killed also during the Kyuubi Attack. Hinata's mother, upon witnessing the horror of what had happened in Kamengakure promptly had a nervous breakdown--being brought back to Konoha on the back of a screaming Kai, a clearly shaken Quing close on their tail as their rear defender.
As the Hyuuga Matriarch watched her daughter and nephew stare at the hidden shinobi village with looks of pure, unadulterated horror on their small faces with her Byakugan, the woman knew instantly that the innocence of the two children were lost forever, though Hinata and Neji had taken it a lot better than she had. Hinata had instantly collapsed in a heap in the arms of a Branch House guard, while Neji clung to kimono sleeve of Hinata's mother, his quiet sobs loud enough only for Hinata's mother to hear.
The Hyuuga Matriarch gathered the boy in her arms, turning the masked boy's face into her chest and smiling weakly behind her mask as the seven year old clung to the woman for dear life.
"I'm sorry, Neji-chan, I'm so sorry."
-+-
The sounds of children both laughing and crying were warped in the Hyuuga heiress' ears as the trio turned and ran alongside the river, the candles in red tinted jars lining the riverbanks creating looming shadows behind the trio, the music of the festival growing softer as they grew closer to the Northern end of the village--closer to the hideout where no Jinchuuriki ever wished to enter.
"Kagome, Kagome, kago no naka no tori wa,
Itsu itsu deyaru?
Yoake no ban ni,
Tsuru to kame ga subetta.
Ushiro no shoumen daare?" (1)
Hinata's head shot upward upon hearing the old nursery song she and Neji used to sing as children, pale eyes widening in horror and she clenched her fist, searching the quiet alley for the children singing to make an appearance. Chills ran down the Hyuuga heiress' spine as the children's voices grew louder, their seemingly innocent cheer lured unsuspecting children toward their deaths in Kohaku River...Hinata began to shake.
It had been a long time since she had encountered the Po children of Kamengakure, but unfortunately, unlike last time Neji wasn't there to save her.
-+-
The five children draped in white stood opposite Neji and Hinata and in front of the riverbed at the back of Maito Kai's large garden, and though the white hoods shielded their faces from view, Hinata gathered that the children were not all that much older than her, about Neji's age, maybe older.
"So, we've never seen you around here before...what're your names?" The one on the far right inquired, his voice slightly haughty.
The others all nodded or hummed in agreement, taking deliberate steps forward.
Hinata gripped her cousin's sleeve tightly, peering around the older boy's waist to get a better look at the five. Hinata didn't know why, but she felt uneasy around these children...she couldn't see their faces underneath those hoods of theirs, but without even activating her Byakugan they had creepy smiles on their faces. Hinata knew that Neji was also feeling uncomfortable, the child effectively blocking Hinata from sight.
"I was taught that it is impolite to ask for a name without giving your own first." The Hyuuga Branch member stated calmly, an odd, almost stoic look that appeared quite unnatural on his handsome yet somewhat feminine features.
Hinata knew that this confidence coming off her cousin in waves was a farce, if the five had looked closely enough they would see that Neji was shaking slightly.
The tallest one in the middle laughed.
It was a truly eerie sound.
"Well I knew they were loaded, Haru, I mean, look at their clothes! That's not cotton they're wearing--those are silk robes! And that symbol on the sleeves--they gotta be a ninja family like your Mum!"
The one to the left of the boy in the middle made a whining sound. "Shut up! Just 'coz I don't see very well don't mean you can laugh at me! You know I aint smart!"
The two in the middle began to argue in loud tones while Hinata drew closer to her cousin, her grip tightening further still on Neji's kimono sleeve. "Lets run, Neji-nii... I don't like these people...I'm scared."
Neji looked over his shoulder at Hinata and nodded once, instantly gripping her hand and making a break for it, the boy using recently learnt skills at the Academy to boost his speed, only to let out a gasp of surprise as the other three in white suddenly encircled the cousins, effectively boxing them in.
"Oi, oi, we just wanna play...where're you going?" Three voices chimed, their cheerful voices from before not sounding so anymore.
Their voices were cold, most definitely sinister. Chills ran down both Neji and Hinata's spines.
It was then that Hinata could smell them.
Bile rushed up her oesophagus and her small breakfast made a reappearance, the heiress collapsing to her knees behind her cousin, Neji crying out in surprise as two of the three gripped his arms tightly enough to leave indentations, and they attempted to drag Neji toward the water.
"Come on, Neji-chan, come swimming with us! It's most fun!"
"N-Neji-nii!" Hinata screamed, only to cry out as the tall one from before, taking advantage of Hinata's sudden bout of illness grabbed the heiress by the hair and yanked her to her feet, laughing cheerfully.
"You can come with us too, Hinata-kun, so Neji-chan wont be so lonely!"
"Yah," the other one nodded as he pushed back the hood of his cloak, turning sunken and rotting features to look Hinata in the eye.
Hinata let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"Now, don't be so mean, Hinata-kun! You'll be just like us soon!" The rotting boy stated with a pout, puss dribbling down his chin.
Hinata almost threw up again.
"Hinata-sama!" Neji hollered as he too thrashed against the three who were dragging him toward the water, his hands glowing blue with chakra as he pounded at the people holding him, but they seemed to just shrug it off, much to the Hyuuga Prodigy's horror.
"Chakra doesn't hurt us anymore, Neji-chan...hasn't for a long, long time. Don't worry, when you become one of us, it wont hurt you no more either."
"I don't want to be like you!" Neji screeched, "Hinata-sama!" The boy's hands glowed an odd gold in his desperation and the boy slammed a palm into the face of one of his captors, Byakugan eyes widening as the thing let out a shriek of terror, the skull exploding in chunks of rotting flesh, brains and clotted blood that sprayed across the Hyuuga boy's face.
-+-
"Kagome, Kagome, kago no naka no tori wa,
Itsu itsu deyaru?
Yoake no ban ni,
Tsuru to kame ga subetta.
Ushiro no shoumen daare?
HINNNNNAAAAAATTTTTTAAAA!! COME ON, HINATA-KUN, WE'RE WAITING FOR YOU!! YOU'D THINK AFTER ALL THIS TIME WE'D LET YOU GET AWAY!?"
Hinata subconsciously moved closer to the Uchiha as the children's calling grew louder, until the voices were screaming in the heiress' ears, calling for Hinata to get closer to the river, calling for her to replace the one that Neji had slain all those years before. A soft whimper escaped her lips, a noise, while quiet was still enough to attract Sasuke's attention.
The Uchiha paused for a moment. "You think its scary now? You haven't seen anything yet." His voice was cold, harsh.
Sharingan eyes bored into Hinata's own and the heiress squirmed under the Uchiha's glare, not wanting to deal with the annoyance of Uchiha Sasuke and the sinister calls of the Po Children all that the same time.
She didn't need this.
Tears suddenly sprang to her eyes as a voice screamed for Neji's blood.
Seeing Hinata's tears, Sasuke let out snort of derision shot ahead of the Hyuuga and Juugo.
'Pathetic.'
Tears slipped down the heiress' cheeks as she saw Sasuke's retreating back, before Hinata let out a quiet gasp as Juugo suddenly drew her onto his back, speeding up to catch the Uchiha.
"I don't like this place, Hinata-san." Juugo murmured softly as a candle near his bare feet flickered out, "This is a horrible village...I can feel it in my bones. No doubt you are feeling this too...I was told once that Hyuuga are very sensitive to these things." Juugo ignored Hinata's second gasp. "I'm assuming by your surprise at my statement that its true?"
Hinata nodded weakly, drawing her arms tighter around Juugo's neck. "...This place...it's horrible, Juugo-san. I feel like I'm being suffocated here. It's trying to swallow me whole..."
An old shrine loomed into view in the moonlight, looking as if it had been there since creation itself and standing tall above a long stone stair, lit up by vanilla scented candles. The sweet smell was pretty close to being overwhelming...but Hinata liked it. The temple was made entirely of white stone, the moonlight giving it a shimmering look. Juugo suddenly shuddered.
Hinata felt eyes all over her as she and Juugo drew closer to the ancient looking shrine, and upon seeing Sasuke waiting at the first stair at the bottom of the tall hill that the shrine stood on, Hinata swallowed.
"Activate your Byakugan and tell me what you see. Is anybody inside?" Sasuke asked coldly.
Hinata could see that the Uchiha's chokuto was clamped tightly in his hands, his knuckles white from the tightness of his grip. The boy's expression was blank but Hinata could see the smouldering flames of his Sharingan eyes...anticipation and pure loathing were present in those bleeding orbs.
Not wanting to upset the boy any more than she already had, Hinata nodded once and activated her kekkei genkai, eyes widening as she cast her all-seeing gaze toward the looming temple.
She couldn't see what was inside.
The shrine was shimmering a brilliant golden colour...a barrier?
Hinata had seen this barrier before...but here, in Kamengakure?
It made no sense.
What was a Hyuuga Charm doing all the way in Kamengakure...in a temple of all places!?
Seeing the heiress' surprise, Sasuke spoke. "What is it?"
"...I-I can't see inside..." The Hyuuga whispered, her voice hollow.
She couldn't see.
"What do you mean you can't see inside!? You have the fucking all-seeing eye, how the fuck can't you see inside a fucking shrine!?" Sasuke hissed, eyes flashing dangerously.
Hinata teared up again, avoiding his glare. "I-It's a Hyuuga Charm, Sasuke-san. W-why is there a Hyuuga Barrier that only a Hyuuga C-Clan Head c-can break be in this place? H-how? It makes n-no sense...no Hyuuga i-is of the Akatsuki! No Hyuuga would e-ever do this to m-my clan or I w-would have their head!" Hinata's voice was suddenly harsh, her own eyes smouldering.
No Hyuuga would ever dream of joining the Akatsuki...Hinata would kill them with her bare hands.
No Hyuuga would ever harm Naruto, regardless of who and what he was.
Hinata was an incredibly strong individual if Naruto was involved.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed upon seeing Hinata's furious expression, and he watched as the heiress performed a flurry of seals, before whispering the name of her kekkei genkai once more.
"I-Itachi..." Hinata suddenly whispered in shock, eyes widening in shock at what else she had found.
Ignoring the calls of Hinata to come back to her, the Uchiha shot up the stairs and with a slice of his chokuto, the wooden door splintered to pieces. Sasuke's eyes instantly bled Sharingan as they locked with the equally red gaze of his older brother.
"Itachi..."
-+-
A/N : And there we have it...chapter 21! OMG, it's been ages, hasn't it? At least three weeks. :sighs:
(1) - This is a game that Japanese children play...ever heard of it? Anyways, the translation of the lyrics are as follows :
Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage,
when will you come out?
In the evening of the dawn,
the crane and turtle slipped.
Who stands right behind you now?
I'm sorry for taking so long, you guys, but like I said...updates will be few and far between. :sighs:
Special thanks go to puertorrican-babe, chocoGONEsushi, winterkaguya, Diablo's Heir, Tw33ty JR., Lex07Gaa, HopeoftheForgotten, Bullwinkle's Lady, dark aura132, Madama Baiwu, OCQueen, twilightpath, Comfort Food, TaichiSpirit, HeartBrokenHinata, july's winter, Nimiko, MoonIdiot, SilentKiller1, Piisa, Melodramatic Writer, deception-M, daydream14, Sphyma, xoSaffiRe, Kei the Incarnadine Goddess, emzly, Miss-Tulip, JayleeJ, Kawaii Kabu and dumdeedum for reviewing...31 for one chapter, amazing! Hope this one didn't disappoint.
Preview for Chapter 22 - Nostalgia:
"SASUKE-SAN, IT'S A TRAP! GET OUT OF THERE!!"