CHAPTER 8: Bright

"Kagemane no Jutsu," Shikamaru said with a smirk, "Complete." He let go of his hands that were previously forming the Rat seal.

"W – What is the meaning of this?!" Gato yelled as he found his body unable to move. "W – Where are my bodyguards? You won't get away from this, kid!"

"Sadly," Asuma smiled as he entered the tycoon's office, "They're incapable of going anywhere as of the moment."

"You'll pay for this!" Gato yelled, "Zabuza! Zabuza!"

"Zabuza is not here." Shino calmly said as he appeared from the window.

"Nor is that accomplice of his," Sakura said as she shunshined beside Shikamaru. She looked at the ugly looking businessman with a grimace before turning to Asuma, "Sensei, three thugs have apparently left to go to the bridge builder's house."

Asuma nodded. He turned to Shino, "Can you get your insects to check if they did anything? In case something went wrong, I'll go immediately."

Shino nodded back and immediately, his bugs appeared from under his jacket and left the office from the open window. "It'll take a while." He said.

"No problem." The jounin said before he turned to look at the frozen businessman, "We have to take care of our mission first."

"W – What do you want from me?" Gato stuttered.

"Our first option is to ask you to abandon the Land of Waves. Your influence has caused the people here nothing but misfortune." Asuma began with a puff of smoke, "The poverty rate here has dropped and even the middle class family can barely afford food for their meal twice a day. Trading has also, with your control, gone down. The villagers can't freely trade their resources because you've kept this whole land under lock."

"It's my business! I can do whatever I want with it."

"Gato Trading isn't a trading business anymore." Shikamaru cut in, "We have substantial evidence that suggests your involvement in drugs and underground smuggling rings."

At this, the businessman gasped in shock. "S – So?"

"If we take this up to the Water Daimyo, your entire 'trading' business could freeze up. Furthermore, your accounts would be handed over to the Daimyo, along with all the property and money under your name." Sakura shrugged.

"You can also end up in civilian prison with a minimum sentence of five years." Shino added, "I'd inform you that ruffians don't like businessmen like you. The guards don't care to whatever happens inside the cells as long as you're still alive."

"When Zabuza gets here - !"

"He won't." Asuma clicked his tongue in frustration, "Don't you realize the situation that you're in?" He gazed at the stubborn tycoon.

"I'll pay you! How much do you want?" Gato was frantic, "I'll pay you to let me go!"

"Pay us?" Sakura frowned. 'Just how dense is this guy?' She thought as she scratched her neck with a gloved hand.

"How much do you want? One million ryo? Three? I'll pay you, just name your price!"

Shikamaru groaned as he placed his hands into his pocket, Gato mirroring his movements. "Troublesome. Sensei," He turned to Asuma, "This guy's being annoying. We should just move on to our other mission."

Asuma was silent for a few moments as he surveyed the crazy businessman. He sighed, "I did say that our first option was to ask you nicely." Gato cracked a small smile in relief, "Our second is to dispose you." He walked towards him.

"W – Wait! Please, have mercy!"

X

Hinata was never one for yelling. Having grown in a reserved clan, shouting was strictly frowned upon despite any circumstance. As the heir of said clan, she was expected to remain calm at all times. But now, seeing as how Sasuke and Naruto were half – dead with hundreds of senbon littered on their bodies have caused her to abandon her upbringing.

"Naruto – kun!" Her voice was hoarse and sounded desperate to her own ears, "Sasuke – san!" The need to abandon their charge was so great and she was so tempted to make a run for her team mates. Even with the Byakugan, she wanted to physically assess them and be able to provide immediate first aid care to make sure none of those weapons were poisoned. But Tazuna needed her. Their mission needed her to stay where she was.

"Those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." That was what Kakashi had told them back when they passed their bell test. But having engrained the Shinobi Code in her ever since she was a child, could she really abandon their charge for the sake of her friends?

"Oi, t – this is bad!" Tazuna yelled out, directing her attention to where the young hunter nin, Haku, had suddenly appeared to take a hit for Zabuza.

'I – I can't move!' Hinata thought in frustration as she watched Kakashi's chidori slowly make way to Haku's chest. "Sensei!"

"Kagemane no Jutsu: Complete!" The blue haired girl gasped as she watched the three men freeze with Kakashi's hand a mere few inches away from the younger boy's chest. Behind Haku, Zabuza's Kubikiribocho was also a few inches away from beheading the Copy Nin.

Hinata turned around to find Team 10 a few meters behind her. Leading them was Shikamaru, whose hand held the Rat sign, his shadow fully extended towards the three shinobi. "And just in a nick of time, too." He grinned.

Asuma approached Kakashi, posture not at all wary of the other two rogue ninja, "You nearly got in trouble again." He teased, "Have you lost your touch?"

"A – Asuma?!"

"Yo!" He grinned before he turned to Zabuza and Haku, "Being enthusiastic is good and all, but I have a letter from the Godaime Mizukage." He waved a scroll. "Keyword: Godaime."

"Did you say 'Godaime'?" Zabuza uttered out.

With the fight coming to an end, Hinata's world slowly dimmed and everything seemed to be muffled. She could barely hear anything and it was as if she was underwater. It took her a few moments before she realized that she was trembling. Her chest burned and seemed heavy… was it because she was frustrated in her lack of action? Or was it because she realized how lucky that she survived her first C – turned – A ranked mission?

"Hinata, are you okay?" Sakura asked as she watched the usually composed Hyuuga slowly sink down to her knees. With the byakugan inactive, the shorter girl's eyes were clearly in shock and unfocused. 'Is she… dissociating?' She thought. 'Or is she just shocked?'

"Shino, I'll take care of the Idiot Duo." Shikamaru gestured to the injured blonde and black haired boy by the bridge. "Take the bridge builder somewhere safer in case there are any more thugs that we missed."

Shino nodded, "Understood." He turned to Tazuna, "Please follow me."

"Y – Yeah… sure." Tazuna nodded slowly before he allowed himself to be escorted away from the bridge. His eyes lingered to the injured genin by the bridge as he slowly walked behind Shino.

"You can handle Hinata. I'm not really the best with handling people…" Shikamaru told the pinkette before he made his way to his self – assigned task.

Ignoring the pineapple haired boy, Sakura slowly waved her hand back and forth in front of the shocked girl's eyes. "Hinata, can you come back? You're safe now." With the lack of response, Sakura decided to try again, "Hinata, I'm going to touch your cheeks, okay? Can you focus on the warmth of my hands?" Taking her gloves off, she gently placed her hands on the girl's cheeks.

A few moments later, Hinata's eye twitched which meant that she wasn't that far gone yet. "Hinata?" Sakura snapped her fingers near the girl's ear while she kept one hand on the cheek, "Can you focus on the sound, please? You're safe with me now. There's nothing to worry about." She spoke softly.

Sakura waited for Hinata. She wasn't an experienced medic despite having read all those medical related books and scrolls. She could remember a few protocols to follow when a team mate was having a mental breakdown, but she wasn't confident in her ability to take care of an actual person. Reading and actually doing it was harder than it seemed. The pinkette was hesitant in moving the Hyuuga, afraid that the girl might break down even worse.

Emerald eyes widened in relief as Hinata started to sob softly. The Hyuuga's face was immediately flooded with tears and promptly turned red. "I – I couldn't do anything!" The heiress stuffed her shaking hands to cover her face.

"H – Hinata?" The pinkette was startled with the girl's words.

"S – Sakura – chan! I couldn't do anything! Naruto – kun and Sasuke – san got injured while I… I couldn't even do anything!" Hinata sobbed as she folded her body with her shaking hands cradled to her sides. Her forehead reached the ground as she tried to fend off the guilt of how useless she was.

"You will never amount to anything. Unlike your sister."

"It's such a shame that you are the heir of the clan."

"Onee – sama, is that all you've got? Don't tell me that you're tired already?"

"Those eyes of yours are wasted on a talentless nobody like you. For shame."

"Oi, oi. Don't you dare say that. Don't even try to go that line of thinking, Hinata!" At the pinkette's outburst, Hinata lifted her head to look at the burning emerald eyes of her friend and longtime savior. "This is your first mission outside the village, right? You protected your charge, right? No one died, right?"

Hinata hesitantly nodded as she choked out a sob.

"Then you did just great, Hinata." Sakura smiled – a total contrast from her usual apathetic demeanor. "You did amazing."

Suddenly, Hinata thought she was facing the sun with how bright Sakura looked with a smile.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

HIIIII, College's been hectic so I might update the next chapter a lil' later than usual hehe... Anyways, I got a question:

What do you think of my writing style? - I get a lot of compliments about the way I write, both with my stories and school essays / papers, and I don't really see it as anything special?