-I have one embarrassing mistake. Remember the title from the past chapter (Gaara of the dessert sand?) It's supposed to be desert not dessert. Sorry! As I said, I don't edit….Oh, and I have a poll guys go visit my profile.
-also…thank you for the comments! Forgive me for being a drama queen last chap. I realized how nice and supportive my readers are.
-btw…for those readers who don't like my story…just skip reading it and don't be a meanie… I don't live in a country that breathes and speaks English. I have to learn it…so if I have errors...Please excuse those. I also love suggestions for it helps me to improve…suggestions and not harsh words.
Brace yourselves…this is a long chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… I just borrowed the characters from the great Kishi.
Chapter Eleven: Lightning and Lavenders
"Did you hear that?" Kiba stopped and his ears twitched. He focused and tried to make full use of his extraordinary hearing. The sound of an explosion seconds ago has alerted him and his small group of four. They listened and felt the small vibrations from the leaves and tree branches. Akamaru whimpered beside him, the Giant dog's head snapped and Kiba looked over apologetically. He knew how sensitive dog's ears are.
The small group consisted with one Hyuuga prodigy, a Nara genius and a deadly Aburame.
"I cannot reach the scene where the explosion happened with my Byakugan…it is not far from where we stand." Neji gritted his teeth as the veins near his temples began to appear more strained. His forehead was also starting to sweat. "There was some barrier that hinders my ability."
"Maybe a jutsu or something…" Nara Shikamaru inserted both of his hands inside pockets as he looked around. "No one has passed in this part of the forest yet. There are no trails… Sasuke and Hinata did not reach this part yet." The spiky haired shinobi looked at the silent bug wielder beside him. "Have your bugs found anything out Shino?"
"No." Shino answered, half of his face hidden inside the high collar of his coat. "Not yet."
Two days ago, the group has been dispatched by the Hokage for a preventive mission after Neji and Shikamaru returned from their peace emissary jobs. Both Konohans reported about the unusual encounter with the thieves and about the ambush that awaits Hinata on her way back. They also brought back with them one wounded masked thief for any information.
Hatake Kakashi has been a little hesistant about sending them out first. He believes that Sasuke Uchiha can handle the situation with ease, not to mention that the lady Hyuuga was also a high ranked kunoichi. Any kunoichi brave enough to face Pein alone in a sure death situation can sure handle a bunch of black market thieves without problems…
However, after Ino's mind reading jutsu, everything changed. The Yamanaka found out that the masked men are not ordinary thieves or robbers. They are excellent trap makers and weapon weilders. The masked men are once part of a town that has been destroyed by the Shinobi wars and politics in the past. The clashing of such great Shinobi nations was hard and a little town cannot survive with such competition and bloodlust. Some of them lived in the mountains while some became rogues that accepts assassination jobs and performs robbery. There was also one information that made everyone worried. The group that have tried to ambush him and Shikamaru were just newbies, the ones who are reserved for the other Hyuuga where much experienced and mostly skilled trap makers.
They are as good as any Shinobi after all. What's worse, they are rogues. And people like them don't follow any shinobi protocol or any law. They do whatever they want and whenever they wanted to. That intel made Neji worried, he hastily declared to volunteer himself for the preventive mission. However, three more did the same, to that, he was thankful.
Actually, Rock Lee wanted to volunteer himself too. Declaring that he would not like to let Neji down in times like this, but due to some random mission that he was assigned, he cannot go. TenTen has to drag the teary eyed Gai fanatic by the ear just to stop him from muttering emotional apologies to his declared rival. Neji knew that his teammate was very emotional in almost everything; however, after the fourth war and his so called death, it was as if Lee's emotional side has been twice multiplied. There was no passing day that Lee would not checked on him, making sure that he was still alive and breathing.
"That explosion must be near for the earth to vibrate like that… there's just a jutsu that hinders any dojutsu like the Byakugan, that's why Neji cannot see anything beyond this place." Shikamaru scratched his chin and looked at the clear blue skies. "They must have put something around here to be able to do that…They have prepared really well for this… They knew that they are facing a Hyuuga, so they wanted to disable the kekkai genkai first if they don't want to be found out…but…"
Before continuing his words, Shikamaru kneeled and performed a few hand signs for a shadow jutsu. Almost immediately, a thin line of black with a shadowy appearance appeared under his knees and it stretched into the far corner hidden by the trees. "Just as I thought…now that would be troublesome for them." The Nara muttered.
"Oy Shikamaru…don't keep things to yourself. Tell us." Kiba's face looked annoyed. Out of the group, he was the most impatient. Actually, Neji was….but he kept it under a calm demeanor. Kiba on the other hand, was louder and more aggressive. He pestered the rest if they did something he doesn't like.
"Those rogues must have not expected for an Uchiha to be with Hinata. They only set a jutsu to disable the Byakugan…nothing else. If they knew, I doubt that they would be easy on Sasuke."
Silently, Neji breathed a sigh of relief. Well that's a good thing. At least, lady Hinata would have someone who can use the sharingan if she can't use her own eye ability. He just hoped that the Uchiha brat would have the decency to see Hinata's safety. He knew that disabling a Hyuuga with the Byakugan was like making a person go blind and the rest of his senses dumb.
"We have to hurry…It's getting darker by the minute."
"That explosion…" Kiba muttered and everyone tensed again.
"We are wasting time here." Neji muttered and he leaped on a tree branch, but before he could, the Aburame was already before him, silently leaping from branch to branch. A bark from behind also indicated that Kiba was not having plans of falling behind. The captain knew that even if Kiba did, he would outrun them anyway. Being the fastest one of Konoha eleven has some advantages.
Shino Aburame's swarm of bugs started to fly ahead of them. Shino wanted the bugs to tell them which way to go. They are already familiar with Hinata's chakra so it would be easy for them to track which was which. He knew that Kiba and Akamaru are also good trackers, but the uneasiness that the bug user felt from the moment cannot just leave him doing nothing.
He just hoped that the explosion has nothing to do with Hinata.
A few more minutes and Kiba yelled, he was already on the lead from the rest of the group. The Inouzuka stopped and he sniffed the air, baring his teeth as he did so. "I can smell Hinata…that other smell must be Sasuke's."
Kiba left one thing out though, he can smell blood. Lots of blood. The rusty smell was almost intoxicating. He did not mention it yet because the rest of the group was already tensed and worried. He can feel Neji's panic vibrating from him. Besides, he was not sure whose blood it was, it could be of the enemy, maybe Hinata and Sasuke have defeated them all, hell, it might even just an animal trapped in an explosion or something.
Out of habit, Neji activated his Byakugan, only to be reminded by Shikamaru that he was just wasting energy and chakra. It was futile anyway, his vision is now limited because of an unknown barrier that surrounds them.
Hinata-sama…please be safe. The Hyuuga prodigy thought as he bounded from the branches. She better be safe and sound.
"There!" Kiba pointed as his pace became faster. He was pointing at a small clearing which was still wrapped in dust and smoke. Everyone's face became deadly pale as their eyes starts to see everything around them when the fumes start to ebbed.
There were dead bodies of masked men clad in black and gray that littered the small clearing. In the middle of the ambush-turned-massacre scene, they saw two figures lying on the ground, one on top of the other.
When four pairs of eyes fixed on the long blue tresses and the tattered gray vest of an Anbu uniform, it was then that the tiniest thread of self control and calmness of the four well-trained shinobis was destroyed. Neji yelled Hinata's name and ran to the unconscious form, he almost stepped on a few dead bodies but he did not care.
Shino did not mutter a single word, but ran as the same time as Neji did. Kiba stood still for a few seconds, still unbelieving at the scene before him, he did not want to reach her first for he cannot bring himself to discover if she was alive or not.
The Nara genius looked around and checked the clearing. There could still be danger nearby, he wanted to see if Kurenai's beloved student was okay, but the shinobi side of him wanted to secure the area first. He did not want anything to catch them unaware.
"Hinata-sama!" Hyuuga Neji kneeled beside Hinata as he tried to lift her body from Sasuke's. Despite his panic because of this dreaded scene, a small part of his mind studied the whole area and noted that his cousin was on top of the Uchiha brat.
Don't tell me she protected…?
He checked both of their pulses and managed to breathe again when both of them did. He really wasn't a fan of the Uchiha, but Naruto has sacrificed many things just to bring him back…no, a lot of them sacrificed many things. It would be wasted if Sasuke's life ends here.
Hinata's back was almost bare; the vest was destroyed and burned. The smell of burnt flesh did not escape his sense of smell, he was sure that Shino also noticed. The Aburame helped him remove the pack that was still attached to her side and placed it in his back, he also took off his coat and wrapped it around Hinata's upper body, he pressed it a bit to help prevent the bleeding from her wounds. The Blue haired Anbu was still breathing, thank the gods. Shino signaled for Kiba that Hinata was alive and the Inouzuka almost melted with relief.
The Uchiha was also unconscious, though his wounds were not as severe as the heiress. His eyes and shoulder wound was bleeding. There were a few minor burns in one of his legs and by the looks of it, a few broken ribs.
"The bomb was designed to maim, not to kill." Shikamaru said as he landed softly beside Neji and Shino. "I found the remains of the booby trap. I guess they wanted to disable Sasuke and Hinata if they were hard to catch."
Kiba followed Shikamaru; he kneeled and also removes the pack from Sasuke's body, planning on carrying it himself. He checked the Uchiha for more damage and winced as he found that the wound in his shoulder was deep and bleeding. He took off his green vest and tore a long strip of cloth from his inner shirt. "I wished we brought a medic." His eyes darted on the limp form on Neji's arms, he returned his focus on the Uchiha and wrapped the strip of clothe around his wounded shoulder. "Akamaru can carry Sasuke…we got to move fast… Both of them are badly wounded."
"But this is a preventive mission…no one thought that it would be something like this." Neji's arm tightened around his heiress as the other one wiped the matted blood from her lips. "We should have been here sooner."
"We got to get going...fast." The Aburame, whose features are now more visible because of his cloak's removal, stood up and lead the way first, while Shikamaru was on the rear. With Neji and Kiba's hands full, they cannot fight freely in case of another surprise attack. The formation was designed to be protected from front and back.
-o-o-o-
(Three days later…)
"How are they Sakura?" Ino asked as she dragged Chouji with her. They have been eating with Sai and Tenten when they saw the pink haired medic passed the restaurant.
Sakura wiped drops of sweat from her brow. "Good… Sasuke is awake and Hinata's injuries have been healed by Lady Tsunade…but she was not awake yet…" The medic smiled. "But they are both stable…no other worries. We just have to wait until Hina wakes up."
Ino returned the smile. "I'll take your shift later…I know you're tired…you have been working at the hospital none stop, and you just returned from the peace mission with Naruto."
"Thank you Ino…" Sakura's eyes darted to Tenten. "Tenten…can you go get Neji out of the hospital? He listens to one…and practically lives there now."
Tenten nodded. "Neji can be a hardheaded, unreasonable guy if he wants to… I will talk to him."
Sakura let out a chuckle. "The other shinobis tried to tell him to get some sleep or something…but no one really dared to mess with him. No one wants to have an Anbu captain on their bad side…He should follow Shino…the guy just stands in a tree, watching Hinata from the hospital window. "
"Teammates…" Tenten shook her head. "I'll come by later to bring Hinata flowers…she loves pressing them."
"That would be great." The Haruno girl stretched her arms and yawned. "I just need to go to Kakashi-sensei and then get some sleep…I am exhausted."
"You better…there are dark circles under your eyes." The Yamanaka girl pointed at her face. "You don't want to be called eyebags instead of forehead do you?" She teased and gives her friend a little push. "Go."
-o-o-o-
Uchiha Sasuke looked at the ceiling of Konoha hospital as he stretched his injured leg gently. He has been lying in this bed too long for comfort. He can feel his muscles started to hurt.
He remembered waking up in this room and seeing Naruto and Sakura's concerned faces. For a moment, he thought that he was under an illusion so he struggled, only to be pinned by the nine tails jinchuriiki and the pink haired louthmouth.
"Damnit Sasuke!" He heard the blonde cursed. "You don't want to have any more injury do you? Tsunade-baachan just fixed you up."
"Where is Hinata?" He growled, He remembered the explosion and the blue haired nin's warning. The last thing he ever remembered seeing was the color of blue and white, covering him before everything went black.
"She's in the other room Sasuke." Sakura gently pushed him back to the soft cushions of the bed. "A team rescued you both… She's still unconscious, but lady Tsunade is with her…she's fine…you don't need to worry."
"I am not worried!" He hissed.
Naruto gave him a look. "Really Sasuke?"
The door creaked and that made Sasuke's eyes snapped to see who the visitor is. It better be not Naruto, the blonde was too loud, and he never stopped asking questions about what happened. If it was Sakura, she was too violent in her treatments and she never stops scolding him like a little kid.
"Yo, Sasuke-kun." A silver haired man entered, carrying a small pocket sized book.
Kakashi…
"Just wanted to check on you."
"I heard that before…" He muttered, remembering small scenes from his mission to Suna.
Kakashi settled himself beside Sasuke on his bed and looked at his former student with an unreadable expression. "You know…everytime I looked at you, I can always remember Itachi. Your auras are very much alike."
Sasuke snorted. Of all the things to say, the copy ninja really has to bring his brother up.
"I don't care."
They were silent for a few seconds. To Sasuke's chagrin, the Hokage suddenly acted as if he was not there. He opened his pocket book and began reading, his eyes concentrating on every word.
"My…my…that guy is lucky." Kakashi mumbled, his hand on his chin. He knew that the young Uchiha was glaring at him with the evilest glare he could muster, but he acted like he saw nothing. He continued to read and ignore the killing aura that fills the room.
Sasuke-kun was too cute not to tease.
Sasuke was about to yell something at Kakashi when the door opened again, this time it was Yamanaka Ino. The blonde girl was breathless as she looked at the two sharingan users. Her eyes darted to Sasuke and a very faint shade of pink appeared on her cheeks.
Chouji or Sai will be having a hard time with Sasuke-kun around. The hokage thought sheepishly as he raised an eyebrow at the only daughter of the late Inoichi Yamanaka. The girl has been a beauty since she was a kid, no wonder she caught the attention of the usually stoic Sai.
"The other medics told me that you entered Sasuke's room Kakashi-sensei…and forgive me for barging in…but I thought you should know." Her eyes darted back again at Sasuke. "Both of you should know."
"What is it Ino-chan?" Kakashi closed the book and returned it to his pocket. He looked at the young man beside him and saw that his expression changed. It was as if he was anticipating something.
"I am on medic duty tonight…and Hinata just regained consciousness." Ino said, her hands crept to clear her face with her long bangs. The Hokage noticed that it was shakey and tense.
The copy nin's face lightened up. "That's good!" It was almost three days and everyone was starting to get worried about the heiress, not to mention that the Hyuuga elders are already bothering him nonstop about the Hyuuga's political state, if the heiress won't wake up by chance.
"But sensei…"Ino's voice was a bit shakey. "Hinata is… fighting us."
Both men tensed. "What?" They also asked in unison. Kakashi stood up from the bed and looked at Ino with a serious face; Sasuke on the other hand helped himself on a sitting position and stared at the Yamanaka with a confused glare.
"Help us sensei… Tenten just got Neji to leave the hospital earlier…there is no one to calm her down. She fights with all her strength and we are afraid that her newly healed wounds would open up…Shino is inside her room now…but he will never use force on Hina… No one of us does…"
"Why is Hinata fighting you?" Kakashi asked.
"We saw something was wrong in her chakra flow…It was actually some kind of drug that flows inside her. At first, we thought that it was just a simple drug that disables her Byakugan, the medics are going to remove it from her body the moment she wakes up….but her abilities are back now. She can use her skills perfectly."
"And?" Kakashi prodded her to continue.
"But the drug was also something else…when it mixes with the Chakra flow; it gives the person some kind of hallucination. They cannot see the people around them, they only see what their minds want them to see…in her case, she thought that she was inside a jutsu or something."
"I'll see what I can do. Lead the way Ino-chan." Kakashi walked a few steps and looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha's face was unreadable; he just stared at the place where the Yamanaka has been seconds ago. "Sasuke…I have to see the matter first."
Sasuke blinked as the Hokage closed the door, leaving him alone in his room.
Kakashi and Ino stopped in front of the door where two medic nins are guarding. They both bowed respectfully and moved as the copy nin gestured for them to open the door. "Ino, can you go and summon Sakura and lady Tsunade here? "
"Hai." The long haired blonde disappeared in a flash.
What Kakashi saw when he stepped inside has almost knocked the breath out of him. The usual calm and silent Hinata was backed up on the wall, like a cornered animal that has nowhere to go. Her hair was messy and her eye bandages have not been removed, the white strips of clothing still covers her eyes. Kakashi knew that she was using her kekkai genkai if she can fight with her eyes covered.
In front of her was Shino, the bug user's signature coat has been torn on the sleeve and there was blood. The Aburame was slowly taking steps nearer and raising his hands as a sign for no bad intention. A few steps back where three medic nins, they obviously wanted to calm her down.
Hinata's head jerked to the direction of the new intruder.
"Hina-chan…"Kakashi took a few steps to where she is, but he stopped after he felt her tense and her hands flared with blue chakra. "It is me…Kakashi."
"Stop using every name I know!" The Hyuuga answered sternly, her stance in defense position. "First Ino, then Shino-kun…and now Kakashi-sensei? I can see you…so you cannot fool me."
"Hinata…"Shino's voice was almost pleading. "Stop this… your wounds are not fully healed. You're bleeding again." The Aburame gestured at the small drops of blood that started to fall on the wooden floor where she stood.
"Get away from me! I will fight you with my life…you cannot take any intel from me." Hinata leaped and crossed the distance between them and her teammate. With fury, she started to fight him with her gentle fist. "Using Shino-kun's voice… but you are not Shino-kun…I can see you!"
"Hinata…" Shino ducked and narrowly avoided one hand flaring with dangerous chakra. He just tries to avoid her attacks for he cannot bring himself to hurt the blue haired nin. How shock he is, when he visited her this evening, to see her wake up but suddenly attacked the medics.
Kakashi leaped and put himself between Shino and Hinata, the copy nin's arms separating the two. With a swift move, he caught Hinata's wrists and tried to stop her struggle. It was hard, for the girl won't give up and continued to wriggle herself free.
"Hinata-chan…calm down." Kakashi winced as one hand manages to free itself from his hold and landed on his chest. He change tactics and pivoted, bringing her arms behind her at the process. "Hinata-chan…I am Kakashi…the drug that has been craftily placed inside you has not been removed from your body yet."
"No…I am inside a jutsu…aren't I?" Hinata struggled, focusing her strength in her hands to counter the strong grip. How horrified she was at the moment. She remembered the explosion clearly. Is Sasuke-kun alright? She hoped so…
She remembered waking up, only to be shocked at how different the place was. She expected to see herself and Sasuke on the forest, wounded and bloody. But maybe there are more of the mask men? Have they brought her to their hidden place and wanted to get hold of information from the leaf?And then she heard Ino-chan's voice…only to be shocked that the person she saw was not the Yamanaka's beautiful face…but a white zetsu.
Hinata can see that the others were coming towards her, good thing her Byakugan was back, with all the strength she could muster from her painful state, she bend her body a bit to face her captor, she closed her eyes as she braced for impact.
Hinata used her forehead and hit the white zetsu with Kakashi-sensei's voice.
For a second of his surprised state, she felt his grip loosen a bit. The Hyuuga seized the chance and ran, knocking a few medics on the way.
I need to get out of here…I need to…
She bounded outside the door, knowing that the zetsu's would be hot on her heels. Suddenly, she stopped in front of a door and kicked it open. She entered without thinking and locked it when her hands groped the door lock.
Her breathing was heavy and she can feel her body ache all over. With her Byakugan she saw one zetsu inside the room, but she knew she could handle one better than facing a lot outside the corridor that smells weirdly of medicines and herbs.
She whirled and faced the white zetsu who was staring at her intently from the bed. He was just looking at her, unmoving.
"Stay there if you don't want to get hurt." She warned, chakra hands flaring.
"Save my life and then gone berserk."
Hinata blinked. She knew that cold voice anywhere. So the zetsu's are also using Sasuke-kun's voice?
"Where is Sasuke?what did you do to my partner?"
The white zetsu stood from the bed and took a few steps near him, she frowned and prepared herself for an attack, outside, the people who are after her was pounding on the door.
"Stay back!"
The zetsu did not listen, he continued to come near her, though Hinata could see that he was limping a bit as he walked, it was as if he was wounded.
"I said stay back!"
He continued, never hearing her warning. Hinata stood her ground and was about to perform the twin lion fist when she gasped and was pushed back to the wall of the room. What happened was just too fast, she did not even have time to do anything.
She blames her injuries…
Her breath was knocked out from her and she winced as her back started to hurt so badly. When she was about to compose herself, strong hands took her wrist into a death grip, then she was turned and was enveloped by a pair of strong, arms.
"Let go…" She hissed.
"Don't struggle. Your back is bleeding like crazy, dammit." Sasuke has to grit his teeth just to control the pain in his shoulder and leg. The Hyuuga is struggling wildly, but his hold was strong and firm. "I said, stay still."
Sasuke'e eyes darted at the door. "Don't enter! I can handle her!" He yelled for everyone to hear outside. He can feel how shakey and tensed the heiress was. A group of people that was unfamiliar to her at the moment might just trigger another panic attack.
The noise outside the door stopped.
"Let go…" The blue haired nin muttered.
"You are still drugged. Your head is playing with you." With his teeth, he pulled the girl's bandages from her eyes, after a few more tug, the white strip of clothe falls to the floor. "Just stay still Hinata."
"N-no…"
"If you won't, I have to knock you unconscious…"
Sasuke can feel Hinata's breathing grew heavy, his shirt was also starting to get wet where her wounded back leaned, drenching his chest with her blood. She was struggling still, but every time she does, she grew weaker, her adrenaline rush ebbing.
Slowly, Sasuke eased both of them on the floor, he was still holding her and he has no plans of letting go. She was still a dangerous Anbu even in her weakened state.
"W-where is S-sasuke-kun…?" Her voice was now just a whisper. "Did you do something to him?"
"He's right here…holding you close."
Hinata frowned; surely they are messing with her mind?
"You are not…no…y-you are…"
She heard her captor sighed. "Rest princess…everything would be fine after they do something about the drug inside your body." The voice was low and sent shivers down her spine.
Looking down at her face, the young Uchiha admitted to himself that her eyes where mesmerizing, They are a bit unfocused and blank, and despite of her messy hair and bloody clothes, the Hyuuga was still beautiful to look at.
Involuntarily, his mind flashed the scenes where she covered him with herself to take the entire blow from the explosion. She never hesitated to save his life…
As if she was reading his mind, the Hyuuga princess raised her face and looked at him in the eyes…
Without thinking, The Uchiha leaned down and pressed his lips on hers.
-o-o-o-
Hi guys! Thank you for the awesome reviews! I read it all over again everyday…It inspires me to write and imagine plots for the next chapter.
(Please review..Review..Review.. )
Ps. Can anyone draw me a SasuHina picture from this story? (puppy eyes)