Just a quickie update…schoolwork got the best of me and with two ongoing fics at the same time—time is a little tight. : )
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
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Chapter Twenty Nine
Naruto opened his eyes to see a pretty face hovering over him. With a grimace, he realized that he was lying down on some kind of fluffy, soft material. He could also smell the unmistakable scent of medicine and drugs.
He hates medicine and drugs.
"Ino-chan…?" He said huskily as he recognizes the face.
Ino smiled, relief flooding her and showed on her half covered face. She has been waiting for the Uzumaki to snap from his unconsciousness for an hour now. It was hard to tend to his bruises if he was stiff and unmoving as a log. "Thanks goodness your awake…baka Naruto…You have me worried for an hour. You're in the hospital right now…Lady Shizune brought you two—"
"Why am I in here? Hospital? You mean Konohan hospital? " The Uzumaki scratched his head, trying to remember what happened. He remembered punching Sasuke…and he remembered that his best friend punched him back…
And what happened next was blurry.
Ino's right hand flicked her long blonde hair behind her as she fixed the sheet that covers the guy. She was on medic duty today and it was quite a surprise to see Naruto—the future Hokage—being brought in here for some brawl with his best friend. "Well…you fought with Sasuke-kun…"
"I know that…what then?"
"Lady Tsunade gave you each something that could clear both of your heads. Sasuke-kun is in the other room by the way." The Yamanaka managed a smile. "Your head must be sore right now."
Naruto's hand shot to his head only to wince in pain. "There's large bump on my head…"
"Courtesy of lady Tsunade of course." Ino said. "You should know better than to create a scene with Sasuke just outside the Hokage's office." Removing the elastic medic gloves off her hands, Ino focused her chakra into her fingers. "I'm going to heal the sore spot on your head now. Can you tilt your chin up a bit for me?"
The Uzumaki felt Ino's soft fingers tilt his chin up gently. "Arigatou…Ino." He muttered, lowering his eyes. It was not as if he was awkward…Ino was just a little too close.
"Don't mention it…It's my job as a medic."
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Her smile belongs to me…
Hinata stole a glance at the man who was pulling her right arm firmly. Matching his long stride, she let him led her to their assigned room in silence. It was rare for Itachi to act like this—and if she was right in describing it—protective in a possessive kind of way.
Just like Sasuke used to be.
"Don't go anywhere near Tobi without me." She heard him say.
"Why?" She can't help but ask.
"Because I said so…and you agreed to trust me." When they reached the room, he let go of her arm and he closed the door with a gentle swing of his arm. Redirecting his gaze from the door to the Hyuga, Itachi noticed that she was staring at him in silent amusement and her lips were curled upwards.
"So you're like Kisame-Niisan now?" Hinata asked and there was a subtle hint of hilarity in her voice. It was like she was joking…
Itachi decided to take on the ride. Sometimes, when you are Akatsuki, simple luxuries like smiles and jokes are the rarest treat. "I am more than your Kisame-Niisan." He took slow but firm steps towards her. Slowly, he bends down—Hinata is shorter than him by a few good inches—until their faces almost met. With a smirk on his face, he looked into her eyes.
Her smile vanished.
"I am your lover."
When he said those words, Hinata's face turned bright red and he even heard her squeak. If all Akatsuki members where to be this innocent looking and cute, Itachi silently wondered if people would still brand them as rogues. With a shake of his head, he straightened himself up again and ever so slightly—his lips curled upwards too. "You forgot to breathe…" He told her, noticing that she was so still. "And your face is…too red."
Hinata's eyes refocused and she swallowed a large gulp of air upon realizing that Itachi was right—she stopped breathing. "I…I never knew you j-jest…Itachi." As she was recovering from her surprise, there was a gentle knock on the door. There was no hint of chakra signature so she guessed that it was Tobi again.
She was wrong.
"Hinata…Itachi…Pein wants to meet you right now." It was Konan's voice. "It seems that you will be given your first mission Hyuga."
The Hyuga's head snap to the Uchiha—her rosy blush gone and was replaced by sudden paleness. She was scared and her head was suddenly filled with dreadful thoughts…dreadful and bloody thoughts.
She was not ready for an official Akatsuki mission. There were times that she can hear Kisame or Deidara talking about their past missions and it was plain bloody. Even by just listening, she could picture out images that could even make the most hardened Shinobi to throw up.
This is bad…
Itachi's face became stoic—the girl was frightened, he could tell. Slowly and unconsciously, his hand crept to entwine with hers. At first, Hinata looked at him strangely, but when he gave her clammy hand a gentle squeeze—a sign that she was not alone in this adversity—she gave him a grateful smile.
They came from the same village after all…
They share the same will of fire.
Unconsciously, their fingers entwined as Hinata took a deep breath. She knew sooner or later something like this would happen—she was just hoping that she won't be ordered to kill innocent people or do something cruel and against her will.
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Kakashi scratched his head.
Looking at the seething Sasuke, the jounin wondered how long it will take him to persuade the Uchiha to join him on a newly given mission— with Naruto to complete their three man squad.
In normal days, this would have been easy as breeze, but after hearing that his two students fought each other for some unknown reason outside the Hokage's office—not to mention that the Kage has to intervene before they destroy the tower—he has a feeling that this would be not as easy as he thought it would be at first.
In fact, he suspects that it would be much easier to fight an S-rank Shinobi than to persuade one of the most proud and hard headed human he ever has the chance to know. "Yo…Sasuke-kun."
"If you came here to scold me about what happened with Naruto, forget it." Sasuke said bluntly.
Kakashi seated himself next to the sharingan user. "No…I came here to ask if you want to join me in an S-class mission. I'll fill you in with the details later if you're in."
"Two man squad?"
"Uhm…three."
"Who?"
Kakashi thought for a few seconds before giving his answer. "As I said, you have to be on the mission first before I can tell you the details. S-class remember?" Mentally, he gave himself a pat on the back. That was one good excuse.
The Uchiha's eyes narrowed. Knowing Kakashi, Sasuke knew there was a catch. After a short pause—he realized what it was. "It's Naruto."
"So what if it's Naruto? You two make one hell of a good team."
"Forget it."
"It's a mission…You can't say no to an order."
"You're the one who received the order…not me. It was not ordered by the Hokage that you drag an unwilling Shinobi to go with you." Sasuke replied impassively.
Sighing, the Hatake looked at his former student. He doesn't want to use such a manipulative approach but he has no choice. Sasuke was the perfect member for a squad in an S-rank mission… and along with Naruto—it would be a hell of a team.
This mission might also help his two students to mend whatever issues they have with each other…Besides, aside from wanting a good Shinobi on his team, there was something that he knew would help Sasuke in a very personal way—and because of that, he knew that the raven haired Uchiha would have no choice but to agree.
"Sasuke-kun…" Kakashi started in a more serious note. "It's been a year since you have been trying to remove Itachi's jutsu in your body right?"
Sasuke's body turned rigid.
"And this mission might help you…"
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"Your mission is simple." Pein said as he stood beside Konan. His violet colored eyes glued to Hinata as he studied her expression. She was not looking at him, but on the floor—which he found odd for an Akatsuki. Uchiha Itachi was next to her—normal for a lover so he did not bother to say anything.
"You have to retrieve an important relic." The Akatsuki leader continued. "It's a book that holds a lot of undiscovered forbidden jutsus. It was rumored that the book belongs to Konoha's second kage. Tobirama Senju…"
"The kage who created almost all of the forbidden jutsus…" Hinata muttered to herself.
"Hai. And I need you to get hold of that book before anyone else does. Kill anyone in your way and don't hesitate to do all the things necessary…just get that book. According to Tobi, after a few months of searching and inquiring...the book of forbidden techniques is hidden near the healing waters of Kumo."
Hinata nodded weakly. So Akatsuki wants to retrieve a book with dangerous forbidden jutsus—somehow, the thought scared her. Glancing at Itachi, she noticed that his face remained impassive. "I'm alone in this mission?" She asked when she found her voice again.
Itachi's dark eyes focused themselves on Hinata, just in time for her to give him another glance.
"No. You have to do this alone. Itachi will be assigned in another mission."
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Here ends the chapter…
Whew…I think I'm about to reach the climax part of this story. Well, not really so sure but basing on the plot inside my head, I think I'm going to reach forty chapters.
Btw…I checked the poll and Gaara is the top choice for Hinata's next fic…Kakashi is second (which was a surprise for me…) so to others who haven't voted yet…please do.
Please review I promise a longer chapter next update…
-crazygurl12
