Hello to everybody!
I had some spare time on my hands and I figured that I'd write down something just for the heck of it. So far I'm somewhat "pleased" to where the story is so far. But I know that I'm far from done. There's still more to do.
*MUST READ!*For this chapter I actually had to do a bit of research. Yes, there is a Fuma clan that somehow exists but only in the original Naruto anime. For all copyright sake I don't own any of this.
If this chapter confuses anyone I deeply apologize. I tried to make it as clear as possible.
So as usual please read and leave me some reviews.
Now onwards my dears!
Sasuke had just finished explaining what he gathered, moments before the pair was made victims to a troublesome event. The surprise attack had come out of nowhere as they were suddenly surrounded by six rugged looking men grinning at them; it should've been expected that something like this would happen since they were in a village that had a bad reputation. From their appearance they didn't seem to be ninja, more like common thugs hoping to seize a chance to steal some goods. Kankuro resisted the urge to growl in irritation. He didn't have time to be dealing with these pitiful men. He was about to reach for his puppet when Sasuke extended his hand stopping him.
"Don't waste your breath. I'll take care of this".
The brunette raised an eyebrow as the Uchiha's actions. But didn't question anything in a moment too fast Sasuke had taken them all down, now seemingly unconscious at his feet. Hmm, that certainly was quick. Uchiha didn't mess around. He took another closer glance as the thugs before him and shook his head.
"You didn't have to go that far. I'd thought they'd learn their lesson".
Sasuke shrugged at he kicked one of them away. "I didn't want them to cause anymore problems".
"So you killed them".
"Sorry?"
Kankuro chuckled bitterly "You really are something else Uchiha. I can never seem to figure you out".
The raven-haired man didn't respond as he dusted himself off. "Wasn't much of a fight anyway. I barely had to move. They were killed off like vermin".
Kankuro shook his head again. "Still, you can't seem to comprehend that value to life". Sasuke did choose to look at him this time a rather interesting look in his eyes "I know what human life is. But more often we as shinobi forget what it means to take life as well as to give it". A short hearty laugh "You're a strange man Uchiha. Almost makes me want to pity you".
Sasuke rolled his eyes "I don't need your pity. I'll be taking my leave. I still have things to do".
He took one step towards Kankuro "Go home now; you've done all that's needed. But the next time I meet up with a sand ninja I expect it to be the Kazekage".
Without a backwards glance, Sasuke was gone.
Upon returning to Suna, Temari was the first to ask for all the details concerning the meeting with the Uchiha. Kankuro had expected that his sister would act violently to what he had to say and just as he predicated he watched as she picked up the nearest vase and chucked it into a wall. He should've known that she'd do something like that Temari was never a good person to reason with whenever she got angry; he was so not paying for that vase. He tried to calm her as the blonde let out a stream of cuss words. If he didn't stop his sister soon, no doubt Temari would probably break more furniture. Over the years he had learned that the best way to sooth her anger was to try and give her a strong sense of reassurance.
"Temari don't hurt yourself. I'll talk to Gaara".
"How?! You know our brother. He won't take it well".
"You're not taking it well either".
"Kankuro! I'm fine".
"Doesn't look like it".
"Oh, shut up!"
"Temari" his eyes narrowed "I told you I'll handle it. Please try to settle down. I know that you're upset and believe me when I say I am too. But we need to approach this cautiously".
"What if that doesn't work? Then what happens next?"
"I'm sure that we can think of something. We've already come this far".
The blonde growled in irritation. She really disliked how drastic this turn of events suddenly changed. Hell, she didn't like how Sasuke was needed to help out. In her opinion that dumbass wasn't needed in her little brother's business. But since he had proved to be helpful she figured that at this point it was too late to turn back now. All that could be down was to march full speed ahead and hope for the best.
"Fine you can deal with Gaara's temper. I'm in no mood for this".
Kankuro knew that had been Temari's way of saying 'Just be careful on how you approach him'. She did have a point in full honesty. Now he needed to decide if he should just tell Gaara explicitly or share his little surprise with Hinata as well. Would she end up fainting? Would she scream? Kankuro didn't know what he'd do with Hinata's reaction. He was still pondering this as he walked towards his brother's office. It wouldn't do Hinata any good; then again it wouldn't do Gaara any good as well. Regardless he needed to tell at least one of them. From there they might be able to make a decision about what could be done for the future. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that he walked into Gaara's office.
"Kankuro-san?"
The unexpected sound of Hinata's voice snapped him out of his wandering thoughts. Hinata was currently seated in Gaara's lap. From the look of things, he had interrupted a private moment between them. Mentally face palming he walked closer till he was in the center of the room. He was kinda hoping to avoid his sister-in-law until he knew how to tell her what Sasuke reviled but that wasn't going to happen now. Damn, he felt sorry for the poor woman. She was not going to like what she heard one bit.
"Kankuro…your home early".
He gave a nervous laugh "Hmm so I am".
Gaara didn't miss a beat. His brother was anxious about something.
"You're hesitating".
"What?"
Gaara raised one eye brow "I said you're hesitating. You normally don't like to keep people waiting".
"Was Temari here earlier?"
A nod, the red head was really wishing that his older brother would cut to the point. He wasn't interested in stupid small talk.
"She told me you had information from Uchiha Sasuke".
Clenching his fists as a reminder to calm down, Kankuro decided not to hold back any more. It was time to reveal what was going on.
"Yeah I met with Sasuke. What he told me is…disturbing".
Gaara closed his eyes for a moment mentally preparing himself for what he was about to hear. He felt Hinata stiffen in his lap. Shit was about to go down now; the poor thing she'd probably be sick or something. He wished he could've asked her to leave. Instead all he could do was rub her back in soothing circles hoping that his wife would be strong enough to take it.
"Speak then".
"So it's like this…what Kazu had mentioned before he was telling the truth. From what Sasuke told me, some time ago before Oto was fully established as a village. Orochimaru was still conducting a variety of experiments. One of which was the manipulation of chakra control. Although, he already had a good understanding of it; apparently that wasn't enough to satisfy him. For that he needed more data".
Hinata grasped her husband's hand giving it a squeeze. She was trying her best to look brave, but she knew that the two males in the room would see right past her false act.
"Heard of the Fuma clan? They're the ones that were being experimented on. But they had already given all they could and were running out of people so in order to stall they began looking for outside sources".
Gaara gritted his teeth as the picture in his mind was starting to come together. "What did the Hyuga have to do with it?"
Kankuro clenched his fists again "Hinata already knows that the Hyuga are masters of chakra networks and that was why the Fuma clan decided to target them. But no matter how many attempts they made it never worked. They were growing desperate and as a last effort decide to negotiate a trade".
Hinata could feel Gaara's breathing become rapid. It certainly didn't take rocket science to understand that he was pissed off but was doing a very good job at not showing it. His right brow twitched a bit.
"Yes? Proceed".
Kankuro swallowed hard and his eyes temporarly drifted to Hinata's now pale form. He really wished that she didn't have to hear this. But he guessed that this was for her good.
"Since the Fuma clan was being manipulated by Orochimaru at the time, they wanted to give him a Hyuga in hopes of winning over his favor and stopping the experiments. Of course the Hyuga were not willingly going to agree even if the Fuma were in a desperate situation. But…but's that when Hiashi had to take matters into his own hands".
Kankuro clenched his fists again; he could feel his nails digging into his palms hard enough to nearly draw blood. This was going to be the clincher.
"Hiashi agreed that he would give the Fuma Hinata's body so they could have access to the byakugan and in return they'd have to give him a body from their own clan so that he could exploit their secrets. I'm not sure if it was a test meant to pry for weakness but ever since Hiashi's always been keeping tabs on the Fuma, even though they no longer have a use for a Hyuga body anymore. It's more like a temporary backup plan if one can call it that".
Hinata resisted the urge to vomit. She swallowed hard praying that she could hold it back. But it's was proving to be too much for her. The urge was becoming too strong; no matter how hard she tried she couldn't hold it back.
In an instant she was out of Gaara's office and was running down the halls as fast as her legs could go to; she could already taste the bitterness in the back of her throat.
Bursting into the nearest room not caring if anyone was in it, she picked up a wastebasket located near the door and wrenched. Wave after wave of sickness washed over her and Kankuro's description repeated over and over in her mind. It was too much for her. She continued to wrench until she was dry heaving. Even though her stomach was now empty she still felt ill. Her legs began to sway and she felt a headache coming on. Her heart was pounding in her ears. She wasn't looking so good. She could barely hear the sounds of two voices calling her name from outside the hall.
"Gaara I found her. She's in here!"
Hinata felt arms wrap around her waist and she leaned into her husband knowing that her legs wouldn't be able to support her anymore. She was starting to feel a bit lightheaded; and her form was growing pale.
The red head knew that something had been wrong when his wife suddenly ran out the office looking like she was about to throw up. He had followed her in hopes that he could prevent it but he had arrived too late. His brother had found her in one of the rooms of the residential wing looking like she would collapse at any moment. Instinctively he had her in his arms and used his body as a support beam to keep her from tumbling over. In the past she'd normally be okay after a bit of rest, but this time was different. Even he could see that. Clicking his tongue in irritation Gaara snapped his head to his brother.
"She needs a doctor!".
Hinata tilted her head slightly to gaze at Gaara's stern face. She wanted to ask what was wrong but all she could do was cough as the urge to vomit started up again.
"Gaara-dana…help me".
Gaara swore under his breath as he lifted his wife bridal style "Kankuro inform Temari of this. I must get her to the hospital".
He didn't wait for a response as he jumped off one of the balconies using his sand to pick up speed trying to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. Gaara gritted his teeth in anger; making a mental note to do something about this later. Right now he had to make sure Hinata was going to be alright.
"Gaara…"
"Shh don't speak. I'm taking you to see a doctor".
"…Okay".
He felt her head drop against his shoulder and he picked up speed hoping that he could make it.
Sometime later Gaara was sitting near Hinata's hospital bed a look of sadness in his eyes. His wife was wearing a hospital gown, an IV connected to her right arm and a breathing mask on her face connected to a monitor. Her breathing was steady as she slept peacefully; but despite that she was a sorry sight to look at. Nearly five months pregnant and she had already had several encounters that would've killed their unborn child. It was a miracle that the baby was somehow still alive. Gaara didn't shift his attention away from her as he heard the door open.
"Gaara it's us".
He already knew that. He had a hunch that his brother and sister would come.
Temari swallowed hard as she took in her sister-in-law. After Kankuro told her what happened she had cried she felt so terrible. The blonde truly cared for Hinata; it hurt knowing that the gentle woman who always seemed to smile was lying in a hospital bed looking more dead than alive.
"We left Hena with Shikamaru and Hanabi".
He didn't say anything. They suspected that he wouldn't have.
"Gaara?"
This time he did choose to respond still keeping his eyes on Hinata.
"What is it?" his voice sounded tired.
Temari hesitated for a moment "The baby is it…" she couldn't finish her sentence. She watched her youngest brother shake his head.
"No, the baby is fine".
Relief flooded her system as she let out a sigh. To her side Kankuro rubbed a hand over his face. Like his sister he was also relieved that his future niece or nephew was alright. Didn't mean that all was well though. He felt very much guilty that Hinata had heard what he was hoping she didn't have too. Look what it did to her. A pregnant woman had no business putting up with this kind of bullshit; even if it did concern her from all angles.
"What happened to her?"
Gaara slowly turned his head towards his siblings; tears starting to make themselves known on his face.
"They said that her body's been weakened due to stress. She can't leave this place until she regains her strength. Our child in now in serious danger, the only reason it's been kept safe is because before Hinata's stress was relatively mild but now…".
Gaara wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm so worried about her. I can't lose her or our baby".
Temari wanted to give her brother a hug. But refrained from doing do. Somehow she knew that he didn't want to be touched. She could try to cheer him up with petty words. But that would only make him angry and he'd lash out at her. As bad as the situation was, Temari still felt as though as the big sister, she need to do something for Gaara. He was still her little brother after all.
"Gaara we-".
"Please leave".
"Huh?"
Gaara's tears came down harder. "I want to be alone with Hinata for a while".
Temari was about to say something when she felt Kankuro put a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a questioning look, but his face said it all. She gave up instantly knowing that it was for the best that she didn't say anything.
"Take as much time as you need. We'll be at home with Hena".
He barely heard them leave the still room; his attention was once again focused on his wife. Absent mindedly he placed a hand over her swelled abdomen. For a brief instance he felt his unborn child moving around and that caused him to cry even harder. He was broken, tired man. Angry at all those that wanted to hurt his precious Hinata; guilty that the odds hadn't been in his favor lately more importantly exhausted from the constant worry that had plagued his life.
"Hinata" he moaned her name softly.
Part of him had been wishing that she'd open her eyes but she didn't. She just continued to sleep unaware of her husband's misery.
It felt like eons as Gaara watched over his wife's unconscious form; drowning in a mixture of his grief, frustration and sorrow. The tears had dried up leaving his eyes red and puffy and his face itchy and irritated. But he couldn't care less, all he wanted was for Hinata to open her beautiful lavender eyes so he could see the love she always held for him.
"Forgive me I shouldn't have let you hear all that".
He bit his lip "I will think of something. I won't let anyone hurt you".
If only she could hear him. The silence was starting to get to him. Leaning forward a bit, Gaara kissed her forehead. Breathing in her sweet scent, even now she still smelled good. He nuzzled her cheek with his marveling in the feel of her soft flesh.
"Don't worry we'll get through this".
He gently laid his head over her heart. The sound of her heartbeat was soothing, assuring him that she hadn't passed on into the next world yet. But how long would he be able to listen to it beat? He shoved that thought down. That would never happen; he would make sure of it.
"I will protect you…I promise I will".
Well that's enough for now.
Gaara's such a sweet husband isn't he.
I will try to have the next chapter up ASAP. My workload had been reduced for the time being. So that gives me more time to update.
Leave me reviews!
Till next time!
