TRICKY SLEEVES

CHAPTER 23

'As long as they're alive it's okay,' Hinata kept telling herself. She did not cry. She did not yell for help. She knew better. There were no friends in this forest, and she didn't dare risk drawing the attention of a hostile team (or anything else) while they were in such vulnerable condition. The only person she might have appealed to was Neji-niisan, and every time she had used her Byakygan to scout out for enemies he had been nowhere in sight. There was nothing she could do about that. She did not think for a second to leave Sasuke and Naruto for any reason, even to look for help. While she was not entirely confident that she could protect them on her own, she was unshakably resolved to try. No matter what happened to her. This was partly her fault anyway. What happened last night was something she could never allow to happen again.

Her body was still shaking. Whatever that thing was, that horrible snake-shifting creature she had saved the boys from, was unlike anything she had ever encountered. She didn't know if it was a person or a thing. It spoke the tongue of a person fine enough, devilish, manipulative, spiteful. Instead of attacking her in her sleep it had purposely woken her up and said . . . what did it say? Something about Sasuke and Naruto . . . All she really remembered was being horribly scared for them. Whoever the creature was—it knew things about her. About her clan. That had been alarming in itself, but then she saw its eyes. They were terrible reptilian eyes, and when she made the mistake of looking in them . . . she saw death.

It scared her into paralysis. What had brought her out of it was a scream—Sasuke's scream—cutting out of the forest. It brought her back to reality, shot energy back into her limbs, and allowed her to rush to the assistance of her friends. But it shouldn't have had to come to that! She should have arrived sooner . . . Now Sasuke and Naruto were wounded. There was something black and inky on Sasuke's neck, like a tattoo, but it shocked her when she touched it. It pained him even in his sleep, made him feverish. Exactly what kind of mark was it? And Naruto . . . Kami, Naruto—what was that on his stomach? Had that mark always been there? It was red and swelled, and appeared much too sensitive to touch.

Cooling creams did nothing. Ointments, herbs, elixirs, smelling salts . . . no matter what she tried they stayed asleep. Obviously they would need time coming out of it on their own, so she had to provide that time. Whatever was wrong with them went beyond the scope of an ordinary cut or bruise. She couldn't help but wonder if this was really part of the test. Everything about it seemed wrong.

Concealment was her top priority now, so Hinata cocooned the boys in a tree. She had sliced away at the tree trunk with her chakra blades and fashioned the bark over the hole. Hinata would have done the same for herself, except there wasn't enough room for her, and there would have been no way to secure the covering from inside. Daytime was preferable to night, but it did make them more susceptible to ranged attacks. No matter who found them Hinata was sure to be discovered first, and she knew that if she were to encounter a dire situation (which was more than likely) her first objective should be to lure the enemies away from the cocoon.

Just in case, she left the kunais with the boys; the Sound one with Sasuke, and the Leaf with Naruto. That way if she were to be caught or killed, at least the two of them might still have a chance of passing. Being the only one in sight, the enemy would naturally think that she'd be the one to have it anyway. That's what she wanted.

She used the Byakugan as often as she thought necessary. The fight with her father had blinded her months ago, but the counter results had left her with amazing vision. She was able to see a hundred and forty meters now, and that was a great help. She was aware of every movement, whether it was something as tiny as a squirrel or a frog. That's why she saw the Sound ninja before they arrived. 'I should move away from the tree,' she thought. 'If they see I'm protecting it, they'll get suspicious.' As long as she didn't travel outside of the range of her Byakugan she'd be able to keep an eye on the boys (not that she intended to go that far). She checked once, just to make sure their chests were still rising and falling—they were—and climbed the canopies.

She watched the Sound nin intently. Shockingly, it was the pair who had gotten eaten by the snake. It looks like they had made their way out after all, filthy, angry, and searching . . . For what, though? Their Sound kunai was gone, along with one of their team members. Could they be determined enough for revenge? Possibly. The speaker ninja was the one Hinata observed the most. He was doing something with the weapon on his arm, sending out waves of chakra. It was a harmless amount, more of a carrier for the sound produced by the holes. With her Byakugan it was possible to see the waves it created, the range they covered, the way they behaved, and it became apparent almost immediately what he was doing.

'Is he using echo-location?' she thought. If that was the case, Naruto and Sasuke would still be fine, but her position might be compromised. They were, in fact, already heading in her direction. She jumped to another tree. 'I can't take the both of them. Even if I impair the speaker ninja, I have no idea what the other one is capable of. He didn't really do much in the last fight. 'My best chance is to hide, but they're already heading in my direction. I won't stray too far from the others.' She took a breath. 'If it has to be done, it has to be done.'

When they appeared Hinata hid herself in the branches above. They didn't seem to notice the covering in the tree, but they did sense that someone was nearby. The packs and everything else were in the tree with Naruto and Sasuke; that way she didn't have any extra weight to carry. "Someone made camp nearby," the speaker ninja said. "I can still smell the burnt wood. It looks like a giant crashed his way through the forest over there."

"Sounded like it too," said the other one, snorting. "Did you see the snake trails all over the place? Orochimaru wasn't messing around. What the hell's he even doing here? We weren't supposed to have any trouble with snakes. Those brats were lucky to catch us off guard like that. I swear when I get my hands on them . . ."

"Me too. They still have our kunai with them, not that it matters much anymore. I just want the satisfaction of wrenching it from their corpses. Especially that little one."

"The girl?"

"She'll pay for this."

"Let's worry about Sasuke first. He's obviously the strongest one out of the three."

"Hmph." The speaker ninja held out his arm again. Only this time he didn't use the echo locating device—he used a sonic wave. It struck a tree and punched a hole right in it. Hinata's heart seized up. She watched, trembling, as he pointed it toward the canopy and shot another wave. It punched through every single branch, stripping every leaf and twig, and disappeared into the sky. Daylight streamed through the large gap like a spotlight. Hinata had to move away from it to keep herself concealed. That's how close the attack had been.

"I know you're here," he taunted. "I can hear your heartbeat." Another sonic wave, this one was much closer to the cocoon. Hinata stifled a gasp. If he was trying to lure her out, he was doing a great job. If only she had moved the boys further from the camp site! In their sensitive condition she had been so scared to move them at all, but . . .

She had to do something. He was now aiming at every tree and bush. It would have been preferable to let him waste energy doing this, but Sasuke and Naruto were in danger. Hinata turned her sleeve inside out. There was a tiny fold inside she had stitched herself, a little hiding place for one of Shino's friend's. He'd let her borrow it in case of an emergency, and she thanked Kami that she actually remembered. "Go on, little one," she whispered, and it flew off. With all the commotion it wasn't really convenient for her little friend to land properly, so she pulled out a couple kunais and launched herself into the air. "There!" cried one of them. She chucked the kunais at the speaker ninja, but he dodged. 'Playing a distraction to a beetle,' Hinata couldn't help but think in amusement. 'This is what it's come to.'

"Found you, pest!" he cried, and aimed for her. She dodged the attack swiftly, dropping in a few yards away. She assumed the Gentle Fist. They laughed.

"And what do you think you're doing?" said the cocky one. "Are your friends waiting to ambush us, or did they abandon you?" Hinata pulled her eyebrows together.

"You mean like your teammate abandoned you two?" Their grins disappeared.

"She was useless anyway," snorted the cocky one. "She got our kunai taken like that." He snapped his fingers. "But she's gone now. The snake's got her, if you know what I mean." Hinata parted her mouth. What was he talking about? Was she eaten by another snake, or . . .

"Who are you guys?" she demanded.

"We're Sound ninja, idiot girl," said the speaker ninja. "And we'll be taking our kunai back—and yours—if you don't mind."

"I do."

"Heh. I was hoping you would. So tell your buddies to come out of hiding already. Or are they waiting for you to die first?"

"That won't work on me." They chuckled.

"No?"

'Stall,' she commanded. Her eyes saw the beetle land. 'Go on, little one! Go on . . . there we go. Thank you, Shino-san!' "Was that a friend of yours last night?" she asked them.

"What friend?" they demanded, smirking.

"The one with the long neck."

"I've got no idea what you're talking about, but it's obvious you're trying to stall. I'm curious to see what for, but I think we'll just kill you now." Hinata had another compartment hidden in her sleeve. She pried it open with her fingers and caught the little rubber plugs that fell out.

"I don't know what you're trying to pull," said the speaker ninja, "but it won't work!" He opened his palm at her and the device pulsed. A strong wave shot out, but she was already making her way in a circle. The other ninja jumped in front of her, both palms flattened out. There were holes in them, sucking in air like a vacuum. He expelled the air pockets like laser beams, and unfortunately she was caught by it. Her back hit the side of Sasuke and Naruto's tree, slightly cracking the covering she'd made. 'No!' she cried.

She seized the opportunity to wedge in the earplugs. Only half a second, and then the speaker ninja was practically on top of her. Hinata spun on her back, using her legs for torque in order to thrust herself forward on her hands. She caught him in the chest with the soles of her feet, but his sound wave was too fast for her Gentle Fist. She went flying toward the canopy. Her back hit one of the thicker branches and her body bounced to ground. The speaker ninja chuckled. "You sure are light, aren't you? Like a piece of paper tossing around in the wind. How did you manage to give us so much trouble before? It must have been Sasuke." He stomped on her abdomen and she cried out in pain. His speaker pointed toward her face, palm out. "Just tell us where he is."

"Wh-why do you want him?"

"Oh, look-it that, she stutters. How adorable." He leaned in close, smelling acridly of snake bile. Hinata closed her senses as best she could, feeling numb. "You scared, little one?" His laugh was like shifting gravel. It was a great relief when he pulled his face away. "Maybe I can draw him out. You Leaf nin are all so buddy buddy, aren't you? I find it hard to believe he'd just sit by and watch your face get blown apart. What do you think?" Hinata reflexively turned her face away, trembling. She saw the speaker's schematics with her Byakugan, saw what was happening inside it, and still shook with fear. 'Shino-san . . .'

"Wha—" The Sound nin drew his hand back. His one visible eye was open wide, boggling.

"Dosu, what's wrong?" his teammate yelled.

"M-My arm—it's—" Hinata pushed his foot off and reacted accordingly. She struck him hard in the stomach with her Gentle Fist, watched him stumble, and then struck him again just above the right elbow in the brachial artery. He screamed and backhanded her into the tree. The force was enough to knock the cover all the way off, giving her no time to save it.

"What the hell?" Dosu's teammate rounded the tree to get a better look. "Sasuke! There he is! And his runt of a teammate, too! Dosu!" Unfortunately Dosu was having problems.

"What the hell did you do to me, you—" He had to grip his arm to keep it from shaking. His fingernails raked over the holes in a frenzy. Beetles started pouring from them, stuffing them, crawling over each other in uncountable numbers.

"It was a gift from my teammate," Hinata said, panting. She wiped the blood from her mouth and assumed the Gentle Fist. "How do you feel, Speaker-san? Are you . . . itchy?"

"What is this!"

"It's a type of blister beetle, specially bred by the Aburame clan. They invade bee hives and eat their larva. This one seems to have taken a liking to your weapon. Looks like she called a few friends." Dosu was shaking all over now, swiping at the beetles madly. "I'm afraid that won't work, Speaker-san. They are called blister beetles for a reason. What they do to the skin . . . it's not pretty. That's why I only wanted to use it for an emergency. I am sorry." She could see them crawling under his clothes, biting madly at his skin, and even burrowing under it. Blisters were already beginning to form on the backs of his hands and arms. The bandages on his face were like brail, jutting with little bumps protruding from his face.

"You little bitch!" cried his teammate. "Hold on, Dosu!" Hinata was ready with her Gentle Fist, but his palms held more range than hers. Air rushed out in a reverse vacuum, and in so profuse a manner that she only barely managed to dodge. 'I cannot get close this way!' she thought. In any case, her main priority now was drawing the air blasts away from the others. Unfortunately she wasn't proficient in ranged attacks. Kunais and throwing stars were useless, and even proved to be more hazardous to her. The vortex spat them right back at her. She thought she had him from behind at one point, but he forced her against a barricade of trees. Trapped on all sides she was forced to endure the whipping winds blasting from his palms.

The pressure was like that of water, crushing her. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't scream. She couldn't move at all. He was really trying to kill her! He did stop, surprisingly, to let her fall to the ground. He swore at her and stomped on the small of her back with his heels. Again. And again. He then picked her up by the back of her jacket and pinned her to the tree. "You're going to die, girly," he spat. "Dosu, are you all right?" Dosu was on his knees, hunched over screaming and swiping at his skin. His teammate clacked the back of his tongue, turning on Hinata fiercely. "That speaker is attached to him," he snarled, slamming Hinata against the tree. Her back screamed in pain, still badly wounded from hitting that branch earlier. "He can't even take it off! Oh yes, you're going to die. But first you're going to watch me kill your friends. How about the blond one? You seem especially protective of him. I'm not blind."

He let Hinata slump to the ground. 'No!' she cried. But she couldn't move. She tried so hard, but her body . . . 'Stay away from him! Naruto—!' Dizziness did not encroach on her like it should have. The earplugs made sure of that. The only thing she could manage was a limp, so that's what she did. The Sound nin watched her move to block the hole, arms spread wide. "S-Stay away," she panted. "Away . . ."

"You gotta be kidding me." He grabbed her by the neck this time. His right palm was flattened toward her head, already sucking in air. "You know what, how about you die first? Yeah, that's it. I'll kill you, and then when your boyfriend wakes up I'll enjoy the look on his face when he sees you beheaded. Meanwhile, Sasuke—"

"Don't touch Sasuke-san!" The anger spurred just enough energy for a resounding slap. Time stopped for a second—one dreadful second. The only thing which moved was his head, turned sharply to the side. She saw the mark it made on his face. He smiled slowly, chuckling. When he turned to her his eyes were full of malice.

"I'm going to enjoy this." Hinata closed her eyes tight. Her chest ached for Sasuke in a vain hope for him to awaken. But the push she waited for did not come. No wind shot out to behead her, like was promised. She opened her eyes. The Sound nin was looking at his open palm, eyes wide with confusion.

"What the . . . hell?" Hinata saw what he was talking about. In all the commotion she had missed it with her Byakugan. Sand! A cluster of sand blocked the hole in his hand, and with more and more pushing in every second. Hinata dropped to the ground like a ragdoll. When he looked at his other hand and saw the same thing happening, he turned on her in a rage. "What the hell did you do?" His jutsu was useless now.

"I guess I'll just have to do this the old fashioned way!" He picked her up with both hands this time, fists dug into her collar. Her arms were so very heavy . . . she couldn't lift them. But again, he did not strike. His eyes caught something over her shoulder. Whatever it was scared him badly. His eyes were almost popping out of his head, wide with unrefined terror. "Wha . . ." Hinata could not turn her head to see what frightened him so.

The only thing she saw was a hand reaching slowly over her shoulder. The white arm had black marks all over it, blazing, raging with a chakra she had never seen before! The hand grabbed the Sound nin's face, fingers contracting gently. Electric sparks formed, crackling, sizzling, and before there was even a scream, his head was gone.

Gone.

The hands disappeared from Hinata's collar. Her knees gave out and she collapsed, but an arm snatched her around the waist, holding her up. She looked up to see somebody staring down at her with tender red eyes. "S . . . Sasuke-san?"