oOo
"I'm a damsel; I'm in distress; I can handle this. Have a nice day." -Megara, Hercules
oOo
"Naruto! What's Sasuke's password?"
Naruto looked up from the building plan he was hunched over with Shino, eyes wide. "Sasuke has passwords?"
Without the restraining influence of sleep, Hinata's glare was hot enough to melt steel, and Naruto ducked back behind the plans for cover while Hinata glared at the log-in screen, company logo still in place.
Bear stood at her shoulder, slightly singed, and stitching his arm. Breaking into Sasuke's office was apparently not an easy feat.
"Go to bed after you finish," Hinata ordered. "You're no use to us half-dead."
Bear nodded, and Hinata turned back to glaring at the screen. After a moment, a rather crazy thought came to her, and with very little options she gave it a try.
The byakugan pulsed into life. She could see the film of dust across the laptop screen, through the computer and into its inner workings—the lights flashing, the electricity crackling, the raw thrum of power only nature guided by science could produce. Naruto was a beacon of orange light, easily outshining everything else in the room, the glow comforting and familiar.
She tried to focus. The computer keys—q, w, e, r, t, y (huh, so that was where qwerty came from) the wear and tear of everyday life suddenly visible to her eyes. And nine keys in particular that had been typed in day after day after day.
The combination was suddenly so clear to her she laughed. Sasuke was just a big sweetheart after all.
03281987SH
Sakura's birthday, and initials. The sap.
The computer opened up, revealing a simple desktop, without icons. The screen looked fuzzy with the byakugan and she realized she was seeing static. She looked past it, and after a quick search found a program labeled Track.
She positively cackled when it opened up.
There was a list of names, a long list of names, and she was surprised to find not only Shikamaru's, but her own, Naruto's, Ino's, Sakura's… basically everyone Sasuke knew was on the list. It was a little… freaky.
She clicked on Shikamaru's name, and the page zoomed out into a map of the city, triangles ranging over the screen as it tried to calculate Shika's position. After a small eternity, a glowing red dot settled over a housing district. It wasn't Kabuto's main base at all, but a remote location in a borough on the outskirts of the city.
Fear trickled down her spine, and she looked up at Naruto with solemn eyes. He met them, and nodded. They were going to have to split up.
"I've got the address," Hinata said quietly. "I'll take Seal and Bat with me for back-up."
"I would like to volunteer as well, Ma'am," Bear said, by her elbow.
"I thought I told you to go to bed."
"You did. But I took a soldier's pill, ma'am, and I have many hours of energy left at my disposal."
Hinata sighed, but nodded. She bit her lip before asking: "Do you have another?"
Bear nodded, and left to retrieve it, but Naruto squawked. "Hinata! What are you doing? You can't go alone! That nod was not a 'we have to split up' nod it was 'this is going to take longer than we thought but we can get through it together because the world lines up to fall before us' nod!"
"Wow, that bond is really not working like it's supposed to."
"Hinata…"
"Shino, please."
Shino left, and Hinata came over to sit by Naruto on the couch, not protesting when he pulled her into his lap and buried his face in her shoulder. She stroked his head. She felt the dragging weight of his exhaustion, and the muted fear he felt for Sasuke. He didn't want her to go, not so soon after she had gotten back, where she might get hurt, or die, he should have sent her out of the city…
"It's okay," Hinata told him. "It's okay, Naruto. I am not completely helpless, and I'll have back-up with me. And if something does happen-" his grip tightened. "—then it happens. You know we can't allow this to continue. This is the best way, and it's worth the risk."
He muttered something that sounded nothing whatsoever like agreement, but nodded.
She hesitated, but finally added: "If something goes wrong, I don't want you to come after me."
"No way."
"Naruto. If this is going to work, you need to be concentrated on Kabuto. You can send someone else, but you have to stay on him. Promise me."
"Not. A. Chance," he snarled.
"If the situation was reversed?"
He was silent, glaring stubbornly at the wall, the whisker marks on his face in sharp relief.
"Naruto, please, I need you to promise me."
"Why?" he demanded tearfully. "Why do you need me to promise?"
"Because—" she wrapped him up tight. "I can't be the reason you break again. Please."
"You'll always be able to break me," he muttered. He shook his head, snorted, and sighed all at the same time. He sounded like a coughing dragon. "Fine. I promise."
She lifted his chin and kissed him. His hold relaxed slightly, and when she pulled away he was smiling a little.
"When this is over, we're going to laser tag." He said. "I totally would have beaten you the first time if I could have gone all out."
"You're challenging a woman who sees in the dark, through walls, at three-hundred sixty degrees to laser tag?" He nodded excitedly. "You're going down, buster."
"As long as it's you," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "You can take me down anytime."
"Go save the tri-state area," Hinata ordered, heading to the door.
"Yes, Major Monogram!"
"Curse you!"
oOo
Ino managed to stop crying before they put her back in the cell, but it was a near thing. Her entire body ached, stung, or burned. She wasn't even really sure what they had done to her. No visible marks, no bones broken or skin swelling—but she felt exposed, every nerve raw and sandpapered down past the bone.
She landed on the floor, and bit her lip before she could scream. She was not going to scream again, she was not going to scream again, she was not going to scream again. She's already ruined her mascara, no point in tearing up her vocals along with it.
A hand landed on her shoulder.
I am not going to scream, I am not going to scream, I am not going to scream, I am not going to scream—
-a whimper does not count as a scream.
"Ino? Ino, it's Shikamaru. It's me, just me."
Her body was moved, slowly, gently, until her head rested on a folded shirt and she'd been straightened out into a position that didn't make her want to die immediately. Ino opened her eyes to find Shika above her, staring, his jaw so tight it's a miracle his teeth hadn't cracked.
"Your pupils are ragged," Shika informed her clinically. "Psychological torture—what did they do to you?"
"I don't know," Ino admitted, and that scared her. It was one thing to be tortured, but it was another not to have even the memory. "I was… it was dark and…"
She tried to remember. There had been a light, somewhere, in the corner maybe. Faint, yellow, dying. There had been… someone had been there. Someone with cold hands. Those hands had reached into her, pulled and tore and branded, but she hadn't let them in. She had kept them out, hadn't she?
A memory flashed in front of her eyes, of a tiny brown house with windows like broken teeth, a faded rug gravelly with guano, and a curl of smoke rising, rising, rising…
It wasn't her memory.
"…no? Ino, come on, stay with me. Stay with me, Buttercup, come on…"
Ino cracked her eye open with a frown, wondering how long she had been out. Seconds? Minutes? "What did you call me?"
Shika laughed hoarsely, and kissed her forehead in relief. It was uncomfortable. "You're awake, okay, good. You were only quiet for a minute."
"Ugh," Ino said, in what could have been agreement, or just discomfort. "I think I remember something. They were digging in my head…"
"Ino—"
"…and I dug back. Cause I didn't want them there, and it hurt…"
"You dug back? Ino that doesn't even make sense."
"Perhaps to your small mind," Ino said, mustering a smile.
Shika laughed, and it was rather hysterical.
"I'm okay, Pineapple-head," she said, seriously. "I'm going to be okay."
His head in his hands, Shika took a long time to reply. His teeth were still tight, but he managed a slight smile when he said: "What did you call me?"
"That's the spirit. Where's Holly?"
Shikamaru nodded to the corner. Holly was curled up there, her head pillowed on a jacket. It was the first time Ino realized that Shikamaru's chest was bare, and she felt bad. It was cold in the cell, and he had a fine layer of gooseflesh.
"I had to knock her out," Shikamaru explained. "She figured out where they had taken you. We could hear—" he cleared his throat. "I was gentle. She might have a slight headache when she wakes up, but nothing bad."
"Parenting skill 101: How To Knock Out the Kid," Ino said. "I usually favor Benadryl."
Shikamaru laughed, despite the fact that the joke really wasn't all that funny.
"What now?" Ino asked softly.
Shikamaru tilted his head back and closed his eyes. "I need to plan."
"What have you been doing while I was gone?"
It was rhetorical, they both already knew the answer, and she smiled.
"Don't overthink it."
He cracked an eye open. "Did you want me to plan or not?"
"Not if it's going to be a sucky plan."
"Ino," he put his hand over her eyes. "Just… go to sleep."
"Fine," Ino said, knowing it would be impossible. She kept her eyes closed anyway. "But wake me up when Holly comes around."
"Sure."
"Pineapple…"
"Go to sleep, Buttercup."
oOo
It was quiet. That was not a good sign.
Hinata activated her byakugan as she stepped into the building, shoes crunching over tiny bits of gravel and glass. The house was on the edge of a quiet little housing district off Seventh, half-abandoned and redecorated with graffiti and stolen car parts. The windows had been blow out at some point, leaving broken bits of glass clinging to the window frame. It made it seem as though the house had teeth, the darkness within haunted eyes where there were no more happy things.
She shivered, dodging the peeling wallpaper and creaks in the floor. She could see the tiny cracks and fissures in the floor, the yellow smoke stains running down the wall. And there, under the floor, a warren of tunnels with low ceilings and constructed of rough rock. There was only one way in.
"I don't like this," Hinata whispered to Bear. Bat was scouting ahead, and Seal was bringing up the rear. Bear wouldn't leave her side. She wondered if Naruto had anything to do with that. "Where are the guards?"
"Good question," Bear said, and pulled a gun bigger than her whole arm from his back pocket. He handed her a knife about as big, and showed her how to strap it to her waist. She didn't think she would need it but decided not to comment. "You see anybody?"
Hinata stilled, let out a breath, and extended her sense. The house, the street, the tunnels, the glass, the gravel, the people, the wall, the floor—none of that could matter; she pushed it aside. Living things were what she needed. Spiders and rats—no. A raccoon was digging in the garbage can outside, infested with several hundred fleas—didn't matter. The three men around her, tense, shining like beacons—nope. Farther, farther.
The tunnels. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.
Something.
Long, sinuous, with a muted glow that said more of cold than anything she had seen before. It was not just blood, it was intention, sharp and uncaring as a bitter wind. It was a snake, and walking before it a man who was no better, stooped over in the tunnel and coming her way.
Beyond them, three lights shining. They were beautiful, strong, bright—but graying. Dying.
"Attack position please," Hinata said. She moved to the closet and opened the door silently, revealing the trap door hidden under a rug. "There is a man and overly large snake coming this way. Ino and her family are just down the hall from them…"
The snake struck, and the man that had been walking with it fell, convulsing. His light faded within seconds, and the snake turned back the way it had come. Going to quickly, back toward Ino, back toward everyone.
"Man is down, snake is on the move, let's go!" Hinata announced. She swung open the door and jumped down, taking off at a sprint after the snake. She remembered the last snake she had seen. It should have made her frightened, but instead it made her angry. She focused all her attention on the snake.
The byakugan worked best when she was focused. She saw too much, she had to narrow her field of vision if she wanted to track something, or she was so distracted she ran into walls. It was a fatal flaw. Her byakugan saw it, but her brain refused to take notice when the trap door slammed down behind her, locking Bear, Seal, and Bat outside. The second snake came from behind, following her by scent, and she didn't notice.
Hinata raced down the tunnel, warnings going off in her brain that she shut down so she could focus. The snake was just ahead, and she flexed her fingers once before taking a running leap and landing on the snake's back. It hissed, its head snapping back toward her, but she was already moving. Her hands hit once, twice, three times—each one striking a nerve, locking muscles and stopping blood. The snake was frozen, head bent back on itself, fangs dripping clear poison inches from her throat.
She drew the knife Bear had given her, and slashed its throat.
The byakugan let her avoid all the blood, and she landed on the tunnel in front of the dead animal. The cell door was there, and she could see the faults in its construction, knew exactly where and how to hit it to make it fall.
"Back away from the door," she ordered, and knocked it flat.
"Who's there?" a man asked, who she assumed was Shikamaru. She had never actually gotten to meet him.
"It's me, Hinata."
"Hinata?" That was Ino. She sat up woozily, Shikamaru supporting her. There was a third form in the corner, tiny, probably Holly. Shikarmari picked her up and had Ino lean on him as they walked from the cell. They moved slowly, and Hinata realized they probably couldn't see.
She turned on her phone and used it as a guide. Ino smiled at her gratefully. One whole side of her face was bruised.
"Alright, we just need to—"
That's when she heard it. A dry rustle, like fall leaves tumbling over grass, a rasp of scale against stone. She saw it. A snake, much bigger than the last, spilling down the hall with what she swore was a smile. It took up nearly the entire tunnel, leaving maybe a foot of room on any side of it. She wouldn't be able to get up on its back like she had the last one, unless she wanted her head cracked open.
She handed Ino her phone, and took off at a run.
"Stay in the cell until it passes then run for the trap door up the tunnel! I'll be fine!"
Hinata didn't know if they listened or not, she just charged the snake, punched it in the nose, and then took off in the opposite direction. Luckily, it followed.
Unluckily, Hinata did not yet have a full-proof plan to deal with a hundred foot long pile of scales and death.
The tunnel ended abruptly with a small door, and she burst inside. She just had time to lock it before the snake slammed against the other side.
Her byakugan flickered once, and died. She crouched on the floor, breathing hard, hoping the three feet of steel would keep the monster out until she recovered. The soldier's pill she had taken earlier had been good, but it had only done so much.
While she waited, she tried to look around the room. There wasn't much light, only a fluorescent bulb directly above her head, which showed the door and a few feet of smooth concrete. Beyond her circle of light, everything was dark.
Think positive, she told herself, listening to the banging on the other side of the door. Ino, Holly, and Shikarmaru probably escaped, so that's good, and Bear… where is Bear?
"That's enough, my pet," said a voice. "Hold still."
She didn't turn fast enough. A hand grabbed the back of her neck, a needle slipped under her skin, there was a flush of heat, and nothing.
oOo
"—everyone is safe," Neji concluded. "How quickly do you think you'll have this thing cleared up?"
"I'm shooting for tomorrow. You got your family out right?"
"…Yes."
"You sound so excited."
"Have you met my family?"
"I love your family!"
"Trust me when I say that in most cases the feeling is not mutual."
"You love me though, right?"
"…That concludes my report."
"That wasn't a no…"
"Goodbye."
Naruto snickered to himself as he scrolled through his contacts for his next call. It wouldn't have been half so fun to tease Neji if the guy didn't freak out over it all the time.
He hit Sasuke's name. It rang once before he picked it up, and it caught Naruto mid-snicker.
"What's so funny?"
"Uh… sorry. I was talking to Neji. It was—he was—urgh. How's the drive?" Naruto got out, trying to talk while half-choking.
"We're in Ohio."
"Good. Good state that Ohio. They have…" he paused, trying to think. "Do they have stuff in Ohio?"
"Naruto."
"I mean, obviously they have grass and trees and dirt because that's land and that's what states are made of—land. That's why Ohio is called Ohio, because there's land and someone named that land… Ohio. Maybe it was a Japanese person and they were just trying to say ohayo! And the idiot whoever-discovered-slash-named-Ohio was, like, wow! Ohio! Great name for a state! But aside from the land, and maybe that random Japanese dude, I don't know much about Ohio. Or land. Or history. And—and—"
Sasuke was being too quiet. He should have told him to shut up by now. It was so weird that Naruto kept blurting out whatever came into his mind.
"—so Neji loves me in this totally brotonic—that's bro and platonic mixed together, brotonic—way and I'm thinking blue for the wedding. Not the wedding between me and Neji, duh, because we're brotonic, but the one between me and Hinata. You know. Cause blue is nice, right? She totally axed orange. Don't know why—orange is a great color! Honey Boo Boo's mom had it at her wedding—orange and camo. Wait, bad example…"
"Are you still talking?" Sasuke asked, sounding slightly incredulous. "I put the phone down five minutes ago."
"You…" Naruto was at a loss for words. He was so offended he was seeing red. "How often do you do that?"
"All the time," Sasuke said with cutting honesty. "What did you need?"
"I—just—" Naruto spluttered. "Forgive me for calling to check on you!"
"Hm. We're fine."
The line went dead. Naruto was seriously considering stomping on it when the doorbell rang and he had to put his Everything-Is-Fine face back on.
It didn't stop him from grinding his teeth, but he managed. He was in the front hall when he froze.
I could make it all stop, Kyuubi whispered in the back of his mind. Give yourself to me, and I'll make it all go away. I'll drown the whole world.
He hadn't heard that voice in years. Not since he had chained the Kyuubi, and taken its power for himself. If he was hearing it again… what did that mean? Was it getting loose? He steadied himself against the wall, face streaked with sweat, shaking.
He couldn't do this right now.
"Come on in!" Naruto yelled to whoever was pounding on the door. "I'll be right with you!"
He ran back to his bedroom and slammed the door. His heart was bruising his ribs. He sat down on the bed and tried to breathe, but it was hard to get any air through the iron bands around his chest.
Panic attack, he realized dazedly. Have to calm down.
There is no calm. There will never be calm again once you let me free. I will tear them, I will kill them, I will drink in their screams. They will glory in it when I am through.
Naruto grabbed a pillow and smashed it against his face. It smelled faintly of vanilla—Hinata. Hinata had slept on this pillow. She had woken up in his arms, and her mascara had been smudged, and her hair had been tickling his shoulder. His palm had fit perfectly along the curve of her waist, her hand had rested on top of his. So soft, so sweet… He had bought her chocolate scented lotion once. He liked the vanilla better.
He took his first deep breath, and the panic eased. It was enough to remember what he needed to do.
Kyuubi, he thought. He was there, in the cell, and Kyuubi was still chained to the floor behind thick bars, the door tightly locked. Naruto looked him in the eye.
"You're not a threat to me," he said. "You just used a decade's worth of energy on two sentences. I hope they were with it."
The Kyuubi lashed its tails. It was. You want it, Naruto. That has always been the hardest thing—you want all of it.
"What I want is for you to cooperate, or we're going to have to have another one of our little chats. Got that? Now sit down, shut up, and enjoy the ride."
He was gone before the Kyuubi could retaliate, back in his bedroom, a pillow still mashed against his face. Someone was tapping hesitantly on the door.
Naruto put the pillow down. He wished Hinata was here. Heck, he wished Sasuke was here.
"I'm coming," he said. He opened the door, and Bat was on the other side. Her mask had been pushed aside, and she looked tired and pale. Naruto smiled for her. "Hey, what's up?"
Bat told him everything, from Hinata disappearing down a locked trap door to Shika coming up through it minutes later, going on about things like giant snakes and above her pay grade.
Naruto stood there and mostly focused on not panicking.
Hinata was missing. Again. He had just gotten her back, and then he had been stupid and let her go off alone and she was gone.
And he couldn't do anything.
He had to make his move on Orochimaru—the car was prepped and waiting outside, his small army ready to go. The bond told him that she was alive, at least, and she wasn't in pain. He had promised.
Oh, was that feeling his heart being ripped out of his chest? Yes, yes it was.
"Get the car ready," he said, throwing his hands into the air in exasperation. "We'll send someone else to look for her because of course I can't go."
"If she was captured she'll probably be back at their compound, Sir," Bat said, rolling her eyes at his dramatics. "She's too valuable to kill."
That perked Naruto up. If he could keep his promise, and save her…
"Let's go!"
oOo
Author's Note: Almost there, people. The last chapter is next...