Leaping to the side, Hinata uses Naruto's clone as a support to move towards the huge bull-like creature in front of her, and with her open palm, she destroys both of the creature's huge horns, which roars in pain and anger.
The creature shrinks back, concentrating chakra on its back and forming a protective barrier around its body, and soon, it begins to spin at an incredibly high speed, hurling chunks of stone and debris towards the two children.
They both move away, and Naruto makes a few hand seals, while Hinata prepared to attack again.
- Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!
The blond spits a huge fireball towards the monster, and an explosion of flames ensued. However, due to his protection, he didn't take much damage, but it was the perfect distraction for Hinata to position herself behind him, and attack him at will.
- Hakke Sanjūni Shō.
The girl begins viciously attacking the hard shell of the creature, which could not move. Strikes at extreme speed and precision, not damaging the hard surface of the monster, but destroying its chakra network and internal muscles.
Hinata landed sixteen more consecutive blows, causing an explosion of air around her, and blood to explode inside the creature.
The girl, sensing Naruto's chakra, jumped back and watched him. He was holding a chakra sphere in his hand, and was rapidly advancing towards the creature.
- Rasengan!
The sphere made contact with the creature's head. The bone armor on its head resisted the attack, but cracked more and more, until it broke and the jutsu exploded.
The boy took advantage of the impact of the explosion and jumped to Hinata's side, watching the monster's body fall to the ground.
- Boy, this forest has some weird creatures. Out of nowhere this thing came out of the ground.
He said with a sigh, sitting on his legs and watching the bone armor that covered the monster's body.
He was definitely tough, but he was very slow, and quite big. Plus that white bone armor was visible to any prey in the forest.
But, like everything else in the place, this creature adapted and started moving underground in a way so smooth that it didn't cause any tremors or make much noise. That's how it ambushed its prey.
- What was that jutsu you used?
He looked at the girl.
- It's ... a jutsu from my clan.
She said a little shy, and the boy stood up with a small smile.
- Really? Man, that jutsu was really cool! Even if I didn't hit it with my rasengan, that bug would die for sure! This thing is lethal!
He said somewhat excitedly, and the girl felt her cheeks heat up as her eyes couldn't stop staring at his smile.
- You... think so?
- Of course! A jutsu like this, as simple as it is, is destructive! I don't think I could do something like that, a blow so delicate on the surface, but so brutal inside. It's incredible.
He said, observing the strange thing the girl did to the monster's back. The inside of its body was shattered.
He was so focused on it, he didn't even notice the flushed face, and the small shy smile on her lips.
- Hm... it is getting dark... I wonder how good is the meat of this beast?
He asked with a hand on his chin, and the girl let out a surprised squeal.
- You want to eat that?
- Well, there's no river nearby, so we can't fish. And I didn't see any fruit the whole way... I guess we don't have a choice.
He let out a disgusted sigh. That thing didn't look very appetizing, especially with the inside torn up like that.
Hinata sighed too, agreeing. There really wasn't another food source around, and night was advancing rapidly.
-... Do you know how to skin this thing?
Naruto asked half-heartedly.
-... No idea.
- Oh, great, I'll have to destroy it... it'll bleed like hell.
He grumbled, he had barely gotten new clothes, and they would already be stained with blood.
"Maybe it won't be so bad...I can paint this atrocity of shorts red."
He thought, a little more excited by the very idea.
Naruto being Naruto, a misunderstood genius.
Hinata watched him for a while, making a few faces when the boy pulled out some part in which a certain amount of blood came out, not being able to hold back her laughter when she heard how smart he was when the shorts got bloodstained, and almost throwing up when Naruto ripped the bug's stomach open and its organs spilled out.
Not wanting to see that anymore, she turns around and starts looking for dry twigs and anything she could use to make fire.
Some time passed, the flames of the fire seemed to dance in a gentle, mesmerizing rhythm in which the girl's pearly eyes were lost in their movements.
Next to her, Naruto was fighting with himself to tear off a piece of the creature's flesh, and after managing to tear off a piece, chew, and swallow, he grimaced.
- Tough meat, half burnt, bitter... lacks spice.
He gave his verdict, tearing and chewing another piece anyway.
Hinata stared at him with an arched eyebrow.
For someone who complained, he was devouring that meat with gusto.
- Hm, are you sure you're going to eat only that? It was only one piece, and it wasn't even that big.
The boy asked, making a simple water jutsu to wash his hands and mouth.
-... I'm... not really hungry.
She said, crestfallen, with a timid voice and a slightly trembling body as she hugged her own legs.
Naruto could see her sadness, not only in her face, but also in her heartbeat. Sadness mixed with fear.
-... There's no need to be afraid. I told Nibi that I would help, and make sure you are safe. I won't let anything happen to you.
He stared at her with a certain intensity, a gleam in his red eyes mixed with the glow of the fire's flames. A pure, yet beastly beauty.
An innocent looking being with such dangerous eyes. The girl could not explain very well how she felt when he looked at her like that.
Although she was grateful, and ashamed for what he said.
- It's not only that... my parents... my sister... my family... I miss them. Our village was attacked, I was kidnapped... I don't know who might have survived and that-
- It eats away at you. You can't wait to get back, your eyes start to see the people you love, even if they are not around, and your mind always turns to them, often with negative thoughts because of the fear you feel in your chest.
He said, not looking away, and the girl looked at him in surprise.
A sad smile was born on the boy's lips.
- We are more alike than I thought. We were attacked, an explosion happened, and I fell into these woods. I know my parents are strong, as are my mother, my friends, but... the explosion was powerful... they were up against a huge army of ninjas... even two jinchuurikis. One of them was the cause of the explosion.
The girl's eyes widened, and she controlled her urge to ask questions, letting him speak when she saw the expression of pain on his face. This being the first time she had seen him like this, the little time she had spent with him, he had never taken that look of confidence off his face.
And she couldn't help but be impressed. Two jinchuurikis, being the cause of his separation from his family and with the possible chance of having them killed, and yet he had no hard feelings towards the Bijuus.
Going so far as to even help one of them.
But, she understood. What he had said before still permeated her mind. She had never really looked at the Bijuus side of things. And in this case, those two jinchuurikis had made their own choices, the Bijuus were being used as weapons, without having the possibility to fight back.
- I miss my parents too. I am worried about them, and... I would like to say that they should be worried about me too, a part of me wants to believe that, but... they shouldn't be.
- Why not? Did you fight?
-... Because they must think that I am dead. I have been in these woods for... a long time. I spent most of the time in a cave.
A rather cold atmosphere hung between them, both trapped in their own thoughts, both dealing with their own emotions.
And both knew that silence in that situation would only make things worse.
- Let's stop talking about sad things. I'm more interested in that jutsu from before.
The girl looked at him curiously.
- What do you want to know?
- Can you do it from far away?
- From far away? No. I don't think anyone from my clan can... I mean, I've never seen anyone use this technique from afar. We are a clan that specializes in chakra points and internal damage by hitting vital points. Our combat is very close. Simple, precise and efficient strikes, no unnecessary movements.
The boy looked up, getting a thoughtful expression for a while.
- I see... your clan must be very strong... imagine if they could do this from afar.
- What?
- Do you have any long range jutsu? Medium range, maybe? One that you master.
Naruto asked with bright eyes, and a little agitated.
- Ahm... y-yes, but... it's not very strong.
- Come on, just do it.
He insisted.
- Well, I... need a certain amount of water.
The boy stared at her for a while, and then, he turned, used his chakra to open a hole in the ground, and spat out a certain amount of water molded by the chakra inside him.
- There you go. Show.
He insisted once more, and the girl sighed.
Standing up, she begins to concentrate chakra from her fighting style, and shapes the water into extremely fine needles.
Turning, she hurls the needles toward a nearby tree. The force was so great that the needles went almost completely through the trunk.
Naruto whistled.
- Hard to dodge because they are almost imperceptible, too fast, if your opponent is not careful he will be hit in a vital part. You lied to me, you said the jutsu was weak.
He faced her with a beak, and the girl blushed, looking away.
- Well, my father said it was weak when I created it, so I can't train it much.
- Whoa, you created it? Doesn't your clan specialize in hitting vital points? How could they not realize that this is incredibly useful? A simple technique that doesn't require much chakra. The only drawback is that it needs water, but that's not really a problem.
The girl blushed a little harder at the praise, and couldn't control the small smile from being born on her lips.
- Instead of water, you can use fire. Or even wind, even though it's harder to control than the other elements. Not to mention that you can combine your attacks.
Hinata stared at him. He was ... enigmatic.
And she was surprised at the thought.
- I-I don't control fire... and what do you mean by 'combine'?
- Which element do you have the most affinity for?
- Lightning. But I just trained in the clan techniques.
- Electric needles, even more lethal because they are electric! Think what they can do.
Her eyes widened a little. After her father had forbidden her to train jutsus other than those of her own clan, she hadn't even thought about it.
- If you imbue them with fire, besides hitting the vital points, they could still explode, which would make them even more dangerous.
He said with his arms crossed and one hand on his chin.
Hinata listened quietly, watching him attentively. Just words that were totally different from what she was used to hearing made a big impact inside her. Especially since he wasn't dictating what she had to do, or saying that her jutsus and ideas were a waste of time and that she should focus on her clan.
Without her noticing, a wide smile appeared on her lips and a small tear ran down the corner of her left eye, which she tried to dry quickly.
- Do you know any other techniques?
The girl sighed and straightened up, not letting him see that she was crying.
- My clan has a technique called "Hakke Kūshō", which releases a burst of vacuum from the palm of the hand in a precise direction towards the opponent's vital points. It is a somewhat simple technique, but one that... I have yet to master. Even my younger sister has learned it, but I haven't.
The boy stared at her in silence for a while.
- Hm. This technique... affects the chakra points of your opponents?
- Not exactly. It might, but it doesn't have that purpose.
- Then why don't you make a variant?
She arched an eyebrow.
- You haven't mastered it yet, and since it's a simple technique, you occasionally will. You don't have to be in a hurry, or focus too much on this technique. Focus on improving other things. For example, this technique sends a burst of vacuum through the palm of your hand, how many times can you do it? With what speed? Large or small movements? All of these are important.
- Well... my sister can do it a few times, it doesn't cost much chakra. My cousin can do it about ten times. He does it fast... I think. Simple movements, and easy since in our position our hand is raised.
- So instead of focusing on doing it from the palm and doing it only a limited number of times at a not very fast speed, why not do it from the fingers, a larger number of times, hitting precisely the chakra points at a higher speed?
The girl stared at him wide-eyed.
- It's a variant, the same technique can have several hidden ramifications just waiting to be discovered. It may not be as strong, or as impactful as the "original," but that doesn't make it any less useful.
He explained, raising his finger, and soon, a sphere of wind formed, extremely similar to the one he used to kill the monster from before.
- My rasengan, for example, there are several ways to use it because it's the jutsu I've mastered the most... and it's the one I like the most, I won't lie. All you have to do is, take the basics of your technique, and mold it to your need. In smaller amounts, in the case of fingers. Although it does take some chakra control.
He said, undoing the jutsu and smiling warmly at Hinata, who smiled back.
They talked for a while longer. Naruto explaining some of his own techniques to the girl, and Hinata telling him a little more about the techniques of her clan, and the other techniques that she herself had already tried to create.
Naruto discovered that the girl, because of her own clan, had an inferiority complex, where she always belittled her ideas, belittled herself, and didn't believe in her strength. But she was really strong. The problem was that her mind believed that she was weak because she had heard this all her life, and this prevented her from unleashing her full strength.
He worked on this for a while. The girl was times bigger than he thought she was, and for someone who could see so well, she was pretty blind.
Besides being strong, she had a very advanced mind in relation to jutsus, even creative, without a doubt, she had a bright future in that career.
And Hinata, for the first time in a long time, enjoyed a quiet night where she could let go instead of cowering in her room, listening to the housekeepers, her sister and even her father, saying things behind her back and rubbing her face that she wasn't strong.
Naruto was an extremely easy person to talk to, and it didn't take long before she loosened up a bit, still keeping her reserved manner, of course.
Not to mention, he was spontaneous, which made both of them laugh a lot, both in their conversations and in random moments.
He helped her with the jutsus she had difficulty with, and even helped her create the jutsus he had mentioned that night.
They grew closer and closer, and didn't even realize it.
That night they talked for hours. Those hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks.
And even after all this time, they still hadn't left the forest. Not that it was surprising, and despite the somewhat worrying situation, they were both fine, as one helped the other.
Until after some more time, maybe a few days since they had lost track of time, the colors of the forest began to become a little more... vivid, and they found more and more peaceful animals, and less and less of those grotesque monsters.
Crouched at a branch, Naruto tried to observe his surroundings.
The forest was still dense, which prevented him from seeing very far, but he could feel it.
- It won't be long before we finally leave this place. I won't miss it.
He said with a sigh, huffing as he looked once more at the bloodstained pink shorts.
The thing had gotten even uglier, geez.
He must not have been looking very friendly. He was looking forward to taking a real shower, and cutting that mane he called hair that was already in front of his eyes.
- I can't wait to get out of here... Boy, we have been through so much.
- Do you think so? Well, I fell off a cliff, you were kidnapped, I entered a city of bandits, we escaped from a city of bandits, we fought against strange creatures, we trained, we were beaten, we were trapped in a cave, we were almost impaled alive, we ate raw meat... nah, it wasn't that much.
He said with a certain irony, and Hinata smiled mockingly.
- Hey, why did you skip the best part? The part where you were swallowed by a snake.
The boy grumbled.
- Gee, thanks, I'm traumatized.
His body trembled and he grimaced as he remembered the feeling, while Hinata laughed softly.
- Yeah, laugh at my misery. You don't know how bad it feels to be swallowed by a giant snake.
- Oh come on, it was funny, especially your little scream, and I have some idea. You kept rubbing yourself all over that lake.
She said with a smile.
- You have an idea? The day you get swallowed by a monster you can come talk to me. Argh, gross!
- But you got out of there, didn't you? Haha, come on, you drama queen.
She jumped from the branch she was on, and Naruto rolled his eyes, following her.
- Remember the way to your clan?
The boy asked as he walked, with his arms just behind his head. He didn't hear or feel any dangerous presence nearby, so he was a little more at ease.
- No. I don't go out of the clan much.
- Cool, we went from being lost in a forest to being lost in the world, I don't know which is better.
The girl rolled her eyes in amusement.
- Stop complaining. If we survived this forest, surviving out there should be easy. Especially since not everything out there wants to kill you. Hasn't the fox woken up yet?
She looked over her shoulder at him, and Naruto sighed. He had told her about Kurama, he hadn't told her the fox's real name, but he had mentioned the blood contract.
And he was surprised when he heard the girl say that she would love to know what his blue eyes looked like, this, followed by her cheeks blushing violently and her avoiding looking at him for the rest of the day.
Hm... curious.
- No. How strange... she should have woken up by now. But Nibi should-
The boy interrupted his own speech as he felt hostile chakra approaching from behind him. And in reflex, he jumps away. Hinata did the same, just moments after him. She couldn't sense chakra as far away as Naruto, but her instincts didn't lie.
An explosion of fire happened at the spot they were standing earlier, and they both looked at the spot at which the jutsu was supposedly thrown.
Naruto couldn't hear people's footsteps, much less feel their chakras, which meant that those people were far away. Outside his area of perception.
However, moments later, he felt the presences, and heard their hearts beating.
- Hinata, come out!
he shouted, and the girl did, jumping away a few moments before the tree trunk was cut in half.
Naruto looked at it with some concern, but could do nothing about it, as he was forced to turn and defend a punch aimed at his face.
However, he was hit in the stomach by another person, which caused him to "fly" backwards a few meters.
In the air, the boy recovered, and put his feet on the ground while being dragged some more.
- Holy crap, finally! I thought we would never catch up with these little shits!
A man appeared in a tree just behind them, his back braced against the trunk and his arms crossed.
He had straight brown hair, iron armor on his chest above leather armor, and pants of the same shape. His green eyes seemed to glow as he looked at the two.
Naruto didn't know who they were, but all the chakras there were familiar.
- I swear, you are an idiot, Dae. What would we do if you killed the girl?
A woman appeared in another tree not far from the man. She had a bow on her back. Light brown hair, green eyes too, light armor covering her entire body.
- Why are you worried about her? She has a Bijuu inside her, she wouldn't die for something as simple as that.
The man answered.
- He has a point. Don't worry about the girl... it's the boy we should be careful of.
Another voice was present, and Naruto grumbled softly as he gritted his teeth. He recognized those people now.
The same people who had chased him when he rescued Hinata. Although, one member was missing.
- Do you remember that last jutsu of yours, kid? I never thought a child would be capable of that, but my companion died in those flames.
The leader of that small group jumped a few feet in front of Naruto, his blue eyes staring at him coldly. He was tall, taller than that "Dae" behind him, as well as more powerful.
He had light armor on his torso that left his arms exposed, a scar on his chin, long black hair tied up in a ponytail.
- That jutsu was strong. I wouldn't have come out unscathed myself, the amount of gunpowder his clones spat out was... incredible. No wonder he died. But, you know, he was the weakest among us, and in a way, he deserved to die.
The man picked up a sword that was turned upright at the back of his waist, and Naruto got into attack position, as did Hinata.
- But even though he was weak, he was still my companion.
- Why do you think I care?
Naruto's question silenced the man, who stared at him with a dangerous glint in his eye, mixed with surprise.
- Is that supposed to make me feel sorry? Sorry, I don't care what bugs I kill, I think you understand.
The boy said, hiding the fear and trepidation he felt. He was teasing him on purpose, because he noticed that he was already irritated.
Angry people were careless.
- Hohoho, the kid is tough. How much do you think we'll get for a little warrior?
Their leader just stood still, clenching the hilt of his sword tightly as he stared at Naruto with fire in his eyes, and soon, a sigh escaped his lips.
-I see. I can't say that I haven't already done the same.
All it took was a blink of an eye, just that, moments. Naruto, in pure instinct, used the wind to propel him sideways, and narrowly missed having his stomach punctured by a sword attack from the leader.
His heart was pounding, and sweat trickled down his forehead. That blow was too fast for his eyes to follow.
- You are fast... and your eyes... there aren't many demi-humans. Combined with the jinchuuriki, I think we have found our pot of gold.
The leader said, while Dae stood right next to him with a sword in hand. And even the woman already had her bow raised.
- This is our retirement, don't kill them boss.
-... I'll try.
Dae smiled, and immediately, advanced towards Naruto, while the woman started shooting arrows towards Hinata.