Resident Evil: The Naruto Project

Episode 2: The Hearts That Burn

Chapter 1: Come To Life


The room was deathly still. Only the occasional beeping of the monitors made any slight noise in the darkened atmosphere of the Holding Room, deep in the recesses of Umbrella's new laboratory. The large, glass tank in the middle of the space threw off an eerie glow, creating a small amount of luminescence that the scientists working in the cramped space were able to use. All extreme or harsh light was forbidden in the area. All the overhead lights had been taken out or left burned. Each of the men and women in the room could feel the heaviness of burden upon them. Their eyes were sore and sullen after spending countless hours upon hours in the area, watching monitors, taking notes, and reading information with light that could hardly count as adequate.

"Status report please." The chief engineer and scientist, Kakashi Hatake, stood in the center of the room, staring at the rounded tube of glass. A woman floated there, her raven colored hair floating slightly in the suspension fluid. Hundreds upon thousands of microscopic nanites floated in the mixture. They had been at work for almost a week, repairing damage to skin, enhancing the musculature system, and re-establishing vitals.

"Health seems to be at one-hundred percent, or as near to one-hundred percent as possible, sir." Another scientist. Another drone.

"Good, good. Let's keep up the pace." He turned, walking a distance before stopping and pointing at another of the workers. "She is at one-hundred percent health. Why isn't she awake?" The man gulped, turning to his monitors.

"Her brain-wave activity is less than perfect, sir. She has the ability to re-awaken anytime. But...it seems that she doesn't want to." Kakashi sighed.

"Why wouldn't she want to awaken? What reason could possibly make her stay in that tube?" He walked to the glass structure, placing a hand on it. Inside, the young woman was floating, still and lifeless. Her organs and body were repaired...but her mind was still working at only a fraction of what it used to. In her diluted fantasies and nightmares, one thought persisted.

She lay on the floor, gagging on the blood that was threatening to overwhelm her. Above her stood a young man. The man that she had loved...the man that she had given up years of her life to stay close to. A young man...named Sasuke Uchiha.


"I am Sasuke Uchiha...and I need no one." He had said that to her before stabbing her in the heart. She could feel the intense pain of it. It welled inside her like a coiled snake threatening to strike.


"Come, Sasuke." The other man, that Orochimaru. He was the cause of all this. He was the reason that Sasuke had left her. She had tried to cry out, to tell Sasuke to come back. To...to reason with him. He had turned cold, turned and left. She didn't have the strength. She couldn't get up and follow him. She...she...


She was cold inside. She didn't have the will anymore. Why would she want to stay alive?

"Sasuke? Why Sasuke? Why...why did you do this to me? I thought...I..."

Her eye twitched slightly, and Kakashi watched it closely. "Sir! We have something!" He turned, running to the monitors.

"Hmm...brainwaves just picked up for a moment. I wonder if..."

"Sasuke...why did you betray me? Why..."

"Sir! Heart signs are jumping!" The silver-haired man ran to the other side of the room, staring at that screen.

"Is she...is she trying..."

"Why Sasuke? Why did you choose him over me? Why?"

"Sir! Muscle activity coming back on-line!" The lead researcher turned back to the tank. He walked to it, eying the woman floating there.

"Yes, Hinata. Yes..."

"I hate you, Sasuke Uchiha. I...hate...you!"

He gasped, stepping back slightly. Her eyes opened, and she glared about her, staring at the multitude of small nanites still repairing her body. As if she commanded them to, they all exploded at once, sending a rippling shock wave bursting through the containment pod. The glass began cracking in the center, spreading out in a spider-web effect. Then, it burst altogether, sending shards of glass ripping through the air. The men and women around the lab ducked and dodged, finding protection from the projectiles. Kakashi didn't even flinch as a piece of glass embedded in his arm. He was too excited by the fact that the girl still floated as if by magic, staying suspended where nothing held her up.

"What on Earth has become of this?" He stepped gingerly over larger chunks of glass, stepping within a few feet of the woman as she descended to the ground, landing lightly on her feet. "Welcome back Ms. Hyuuga." She gazed up at him, standing. Only then was she aware that her body wasn't covered. Nor did she care.

"Where am I?" He smiled. So, she was capable of transient thought now as well. Good.

"You are in the heart of Umbrella's Lab, my dear. You have been in an isolation chamber for nearly six days, now. Your injuries were horrific...but those seem to have been taken care of." He gestured to a woman on his right. She nodded, grabbing out a box and handing it to him. "Your clothes, my dear. We took the liberty of updating your equipment slightly." She took the box almost grudgingly, opening it and staring at its contents. "I hope it suits your needs." She huffed slightly, but didn't complain out loud.

Soon, she was dressed. Tight leather skins hugged her own comfortably. Dressed almost nearly in black, she looked at herself in a full-length mirror that had been erected in the lab for the moment. "It suits you, my dear." She looked at the silver-haired man for a moment before going back to her wardrobe. "So...?"

"It's tight. I like it." She stooped, zipping up the long, leather boots that matched the outfit nicely. "So...what has been happening in the past six days?" She turned, a questioning look on her face. Kakashi took a breath. It wouldn't be easy to explain.

An hour later, Hinata Hyuuga sat in a chair, taking in the information fed to her. A week ago, Orochimaru had announced that the world belonged to him under extortion and threats of total world annihilation. He had concocted a form of T-Virus that worked on the instant level. No need to wait for large, mass outbreaks to occur. With the O-Virus, as he so called it, he could infect an entire city in less than an hour.

"You see, Ms. Hyuuga. We need to stop him. He needs to be brought to justice. This is Umbrella's fault, and Umbrella will see to it that he is stopped." She nodded. It was indeed Umbrella's fault. Creating a stupid device such as the T-Virus was all Umbrella's fault.

"So what do you want of me?" Kakashi smiled. This was where the fun began.

"We want you to lead a squad into the depths of Orochimaru's labs. Your squad will be in charge of eliminating him...and everyone that follows him. I know this may seem drastic, and that...a certain someone is with him, but..."

"My team. Who are they?" Kakashi frowned slightly, but went to a clipboard, gazing at it.

"Your team has all been subjected to the T-Virus. However, unlike most of the victim's, they chose it for themselves. All have become stronger from it, and have given themselves to Umbrella because of the power they have received. You will meet them all later, but I can tell you who they are now." He went to the board nearby, pinning up pictures. One, a boy of about sixteen, with short, cropped brown hair. On his head rested a small canine, white with spots of black intermingled. "First off, we have Kiba Inuzuka. His parents and family all died in Konoha during the last major outbreak. He was quite willing to undergo treatment for a canine wound. However, it seemed to have changed him. He has excellent hearing now, far greater than any human ever could. Also, his olfactory nerves seem to have changed as well. He can smell things that only canines ever could."

"He's like a human bloodhound, then?" Kakashi smiled, turning and nodding.

"Yes...you might say that." Turning back to the board, he posted another picture. "This one, a boy named Lee. He didn't have a last name, or one that we could trace, so we gave him the nickname Rock. He seems to have undergone major physical changes as well. His body is much stronger, and he is far faster than he would seem. He excels in attack strength, but lacks in thinking up complex plans. He is more of a human juggernaut than anything." Hinata nodded, taking in the boy's horrible looking bowl cut and white, flashy smile. Rock...Lee? Interesting name. "The next one, member three." He put up another picture. This one was much different...much different indeed. "He seems to be impossible to kill. No matter what we throw at him, he just shrugs it off. In fact, we've even gone so far to cut off his head...but he just laughed at us."

"His...head laughed at you?" Kakashi nodded, turning to face the Hyuuga once more.

"Yes. He thought it all very funny. It seems that the T-Virus has created a mini-system in each of his cells, allowing them to function on the cellular level as well as any person functions in the whole. Each cell seems to have a heart, kidney's, liver, etc. It makes him almost resistant to death." Hinata nodded again. Almost resistant to death? Almost?

"Lastly, you have member number four." He smiled, placing the picture on the wall. Hinata looked at it, getting up and grabbing it in her hands.

"This man...who is he?" Kakashi smiled, leaning back.

"He is, by far, one of the greatest achievements that Umbrella has ever had. His name is Kimimaro Kaguya. He has the ability to change his skeletal structure. Somehow, the T-Virus has given him complete control over it. He...he can create insane items with his own bones." The woman cast one more glance at the photo before leaving it tacked to the wall. "These four are your task force, Ms. Hyuuga. You are the leader. You will go in and destroy Orochimaru's base of operations." She blinked a few times, comprehending the information. "I know this may sound difficult...and it may pose problems to you as you have..."

"Fine. When do I leave?" Kakashi was taken aback slightly. He didn't think that she would mind assassinating Orochimaru...but Orochimaru had taken...

"Ms. Hyuuga. You're well aware that Sasuke Uchiha is with him? In fact, he's the second-in-line. You...you should think about this a little."

"I have thought about it. Sasuke Uchiha is my primary target." The man blinked a few times before going on.

"What do you wish to do once you find Sasuke Uchiha?" She took a breath. Then another. Slowly, she reached down to her chest, placing a hand on her heart. She felt its rhythmic beating. However, it beat strangely. One beat, followed closely by another beat. It did this constantly. Almost as if...

"I have two hearts now, don't I?" She looked up at the man, who sighed, nodding.

"Yes. Well, not exactly two hearts. You see, the nanites couldn't repair your heart fully. To do so would have killed you. So, instead of putting your heart together, they kept it separate, merely healing the wounds. You have a left side and a right side, both working separately but functioning as one heart." She sighed, feeling her pulse again.

"I wish to find Sasuke Uchiha. I will find him, and I will kill him. Why?" She smiled, still feeling the rhythmic beating of her twin hearts.

"Yes, Ms. Hyuuga. Why?" He was waiting for the answer. She looked up, her eyes full of righteous indignation.

"Because, Mr. Hatake. Sasuke Uchiha broke my heart...and he'll pay for it."


Next time: Hinata meets her teammates, and begins the mission. Will all of them see eye-to-eye? Can they possibly work together to solve this international crisis?