Chapter nineteen:
Danger is uncomfortable force!
"Only the dead have seen the end of war!"
~Plato
"FINALLY!"
The jubilant cry rang through the crowded streets of Konoha as four people walked past the gates into the common area just beyond.
Several obviously foreign merchants and clients turned to see the loud source of the cry and raised a silent eyebrow at the curious group. One older woman seemed to be arguing with a tiny blonde haired child - who had been the one to yell in the first place - about…tax evasion and the " proper channels". While the woman seemed to be just as loud with telling the girl that 'she is wrong because she is younger and thus, less attractive, than herself'. needless to say the men and women moved further out of the line of fire.
A couple of paces back from the yelling duo, a pretty raven haired girl seemed to be trying to mediate the increasingly volatile situation with no success. The frustrated look on her gentle features made her appear as a disgruntled kitten. Laughing alongside her, a young boy, who was for some odd reason had chosen today to walk on his hands instead of his feet, was making small quips in between his also loud and annoying screams of "YOUTH!"
Shaking their heads the small gathering of people watched as the odd group moved of into the direction of the Hokage's tower. It seemed Konoha wasn't the quiet and peaceful place they had imagined before getting here.
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Sitting in his spacious office Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of Konohagakure, battled his toughest foe yet. His blows were fast and as accurate as the day he had taken the hat. His concentration, as unwavering since before many in the village had been a twinkle in their fathers eye was still as sharp as his kunai he hid under his robes. And yet, no matter how many times he had felled his adversary, no amount of luck nor skill would keep it from staying defeated.
Kami he hated paperwork.
Come on, it wasn't like he couldn't hear Anko and her team yelling just outside his door. The B-rank he gave them must have been finished. Odd. He thought it would have taken them the whole two months to complete it…was Anko trying to make a statement… again, because he couldn't have Kuranai and Gai coming to blows…again. Last time was enough of a headache and an ordeal for all his men and women.
Sighing, he nodded to a blank portion of the wall and waited. A second later the hidden anbu guard opened the door to his office as he motioned in the rather excitable team.
Shaking his head, Hiruzen waved his weathered hand. "report." he looked over his jonin student of his student as she began to report.
"we started the mission a week after we got the scroll…" he sighed. maybe I'm getting too old for this. he thought as Anko finished the preliminary report.
His dark eyes noticed the strangled tenseness in everyone's bodies. Something had brought them closer and yet, seemed to have shaken them slightly apart. He would know more once he had read the full written overview, till then he had to get them started on the next chapters.
Clearing his throat he brought them closer to his desk. "congratulations on a mission well carried out. Please see the desk clerk for more information and your pay after we are done here. Naru, miss Hana has expressed a desire to see you after this meeting, please don't keep her waiting." he waited until she bowed and murmured an agreement. "ah yes, 'Uzumaki Hinata…" he smiled warmly at the blushing girl before continuing. "the hospital has recently had all medics returned from the field, gathered up in the general wing. It is time for this years apprenticeships to begin and since you have had some training in the art, I have felt it prudent to include you into the lot…meet there at oh, four in the morning."
She blushed neon colors previously unknown to man as she bowed and murmured her thanks as well. It wasn't everyday the medics took on an apprentice. Even more rare for a total recall of medics from the field.
Turning to look at the boy in green Hiruzen held back a sigh of resignation. Really the village nor the world needed a mini Gai so to speak. Already he was spouting that youth nonsense, next it would be the jumpsuits. The aged Kage shuddered at the image. "my boy. Gai has…asked for you to become his protégé …so to speak and frankly I believe it would be - helpful for you to accept his teachings in more depth." he winced at the declaration of something to do with sunshine in spring as he waved the group out of his office. "Anko, stay. Please."
"I have something for us to discuss, better in private then with the children."
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Rock Lee ran through the complex streets of Konoha with Naru and Hinata-chan right beside him.
It was a pretty good day if he said so himself. The mission, no matter how screwed-up, had been claimed as a success and nobody on their team had been injured physically. Mentally though was a different problem.
He may not have been the sharpest kunai in the pouch but he knew far more than he let on. Back when the Shadow had kidnapped them, he had been tortured and questioned, even still had graphic nightmares about those days in the cold, desolate chamber of horrors. If he still was very disturbed about what had happened then it was a sure bet Naru felt the same way, if not, more about the touchy subject.
"Naru - what's the matter?" Hinata called somewhere behind him.
Turning around, Lee watched as their blonde teammate walked up to a high fence before using the tree walking exercise to walk up it and then jump into a tall tree. Sharing a strange look of bewilderment with Hinata-chan, he shrugged and then jumped onto the fence before jumping into the tree. Small, almost unnoticeable thumps behind him suggested Hinata was doing the same.
Up on a thicker branch skillfully hidden in the leaves, Naru turned blue eyes down at the open courtyard. Lee snorted softly, "the academy huh. Not the most youthful of places, Naru-chan -especially for us." he whispered as he stared onto the patch of bright green grass. His own memories of the place felt overwhelming.
Hinata nodded. The place still looked the same, she admitted to herself. The grass was cut short and the dirt Taijustu areas were cleared of any hazardous materials. Underneath them, shouts and giggles floated on the wind as children played on their break, just happy to be away from their lessons. Her eyes caught a large cluster of girls as they crowded the last Uchiha, even going so far as to screech loudly and shrilly to try and garner his attention. Not that it was ever given.
Following his silent teammates gaze, Lee had to hold in a loud guffaw as he noticed the Uchiha's predicament. He felt pity for the boy. But he decided not to do anything about it, since for one: he didn't really know the guy. And second: he had pretty much harassed his friends and thus deserved no help from him whatsoever.
Still laughing mentally he turned back to Naru and asked, "do you miss it?"
A tense grimace lined her face as she looked down a branch to her green wearing friend. "nope…but I do sometimes think about the what if's, ya know. Like what if we had never been trained by the anbu or if we had never had to move in with each other…what if we had graduated from the academy instead." Naru pursed her lips at the thought. She looked down into his eyes, trying to convey that which she had trouble saying.
Surprisingly Lee nodded back to her. "I know how you feel Naru-chan. But that doesn't matter anymore. We are a team now, friends, and all the things that have happened to us have only worked to strengthen that between us. Besides if we had been at the academy, I wouldn't have gotten to meet you two and I would still be the dead last. You guys are my family now and I for one, wouldn't change that for the world." he said as the other two grinned and smiled back.
As a unit, they all jumped away from the academy before heading back home to the Uzumaki compound for some well deserved R&R.
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Naru walked though the halls of a nondescript building. It was only after having a sandwich and a bath, that she conveniently remembered about the meeting with
Yoh that had been scheduled. After all, the woman lived in the compound, she could have had this meeting in the main houses' study.
Still though, it gave her the chance to look at how the construction had been going on the new seduction corps headquarters. Even Naru could admit that Yoh had style.
The building was four stories tall and made of a combination of hard wood and granite and styled in an almost cylindrical, tower-like model. Like most of the buildings in Konoha, it had a flat and even roof. Unlike most of the building in Konoha though, the roof had a complex system of seals on it that severed as both a deterrent and a warning system. When somebody with chakra ran over it, the seals compiled a log over the whole twenty-four hour day and then shot out a scroll identifying the chakra signatures of anyone in the village.
Around the smooth outside walls, a single staircase had been built. Made strategically so that it only led to two entrances ; the main entrance, at the very bottom and the corps commanders office, at the very top.
Inside was even better.
Over a hundred rooms had been constructed into a maze like four story building, complete with sliding walls and dead ends. In all honesty though, it was a shinobi headquarter and shinobi never fought fair.
Inside there was several interrogation rooms, bathrooms, kitchens, sleeping quarters and training rooms. Most of those that made the shinobi living here more comfortable had been located on the second floor. Interrogation rooms and temporary holding cells along with guard rooms and training areas had been placed on the third floor. Just so incase anyone managed to try and escape, they would have to fight the whole way through several different floors of shinobi.
The first floor was a generous lobby complete with a crystal like floor and polished metal and stone columns. Naru had felt honored when not only the villages leaf insignia had shone up in the design, but her families clan symbol had been placed in both the columns and in even bigger design on the floor.
Right in front of the back staircases that led up to the upper levels, a very large mahogany desk had been constructed. Here a secretary - either a desk chunnin or a higher level clearance civilian, would sit and take record of all the mission requests, direct clients up to the commander or help plan the commanders day. When Naru had walked by it, she had seen it was still empty. Not that it surprised her, the secretary would be coming in tomorrow along with all the shinobi and konoichi that had been handpicked for this organization.
She liked how roomy the whole place was. Pictures of grand places, peaceful murals depicting the environment covered the walls of all floors. She felt that this would help make up for the lack of many windows. The kitchens had been stocked with both healthy and junk food and would be open for both the cooks and the more paranoid shinobi who didn't like people cooking for them, tomorrow. The rooms for sleeping were bare but that would change when the people staying there had the chance to add their own bits to the spaces. Naru was even surprised when the interrogation level was decorated with pictures of forests and mountains, even if they were of the darker sort. The small med unit that would be stationed on the same level had been stocked well with everything a shinobi could need.
Naru wondered if a Uzumaki med-nin would take the position here or if the hospital wanted to send their own. Call her biased, but she wanted one of her clan to have that position…maybe it was because this was designed by her clan.
All the levels had been decorated with many plants both big and small. Some of the lounges for relaxing even had some built in waterfalls and fountains.
She liked how the whole place looked, unlike the Anbu headquarters, whose base was blank of color of vibrancy, the corps was done in true Uzumaki style with bright, warm colored walls and life poured into them. Still since she took her time getting to the office, she was now late. God she was going to get chewed out.
Walking faster, Naru raced to the last level and barely stopped to get a good look. Most of it was open area that contained a missions desk, a room for meetings, private rooms that might belong to high profile people, a bigger medical station, another secretaries office and finally the last room…the leader of the seduction corps' office.
Knocking she waited for the okay before walking in.
In the bright, sea blue room that was designed somberly to the Hokage's office, sat a world of wonder.
The room was bright blue with a green undertone that shown a mix of both wood and stone touches. The two rows columns that stretched all the way to the giant desk had been carved out of coral and inlaid with both seashells and the clan symbol along with the leaf insignia. The floor was a smooth, gray stone that wasn't common in this part of the world. Naru figured it must have come from Iwa, since Yoh, still held a estranged fondness for the land of her birth. On the far sides of the columns were two very long pools of water in which brightly colored fish swam. Now Naru knew these type of fish, not only were they poisonous, but they were also carnivorous. The Uzumaki compound had been placing them into some of their ponds and even into a small river that had been constructed on their grounds, as a extra source of protection.
The walls had some pictures that were framed - one of which was her picture, as clan leader and the other was of Yoh, wearing the new uniform of the corps - which was a simple mesh shirt with a silky looking flack jacket like vest and a pair of dark red shinobi pants that had mesh built along the sides. She was in the spot made for the commander of the corps.
If Naru looked closer at the walls she could see both seals and stencil murals depicting rugged mountains and waterfalls.
Walking up to the desk which had been made of a smooth black marble, Naru could see Yoh looking at a massive pile of scrolls and files.
"having some difficulty, Yoh." she said teasingly as the tired woman looked up at her.
Yoh grinned a second later, relief practically split her beautiful features as she yelled. "what the hell took you so long Naru!" her voice hitched a bit at the end. "I've been waiting for you for hours. What do you think of the place. Pretty nice huh, just missing the personal. Oh, we need to go over these files and sort through the applicants, the approved ones need both our signatures. Gosh I'm a nervous wreck…"
Naru stared at the hysterical woman as she rambled on and on about all the paperwork that needed to be done. Making her voice as calm as she dared, she spoke to her friend. "well we should see about the cooks and secretaries and medics first before the shinobi. After that we can start on the harder stuff."
Seeing the woman calm slightly she picked up a scroll titled "paperwork" and opened it to see a list of both chunnin desk workers and civilians. "lets start here." she said as she pointed at the section starting with A's.
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"I am your commander Uzumaki Yoh, leader of this seduction corps of Konoha. I bid you a warm welcome to a monument occasion in this villages history." Yoh stared at the hundred or so ninja that were gathered in the largest meeting room as she stood before them. Off to her side were both the Hokage, Naru - in her position of clan leader, and a recorder from the villages archives.
She breathed calmly as she turned to gaze at the newest additions to her adopted village. Almost seventy of those gathered were chunnin, the rest were made up of jonin and even some civilians who had knowledge of espionage and covert missions. "today marks the day in which the corps will start out on its mission - to seduce the knowledge our enemies have from them. This is our mission and I trust that all who have been chosen for this task, will continue to do so with pride and dignity…all chunnin paired into teams of three meet in the levels two, rooms forty through fifty. Classes will now begin. Chunnin chosen for solo ops, meet at the missions desk in ten minutes on the mark. All civilians head to level three for training in interrogation. All jonin who do not have a team head to the missions desk in forty minutes. All jonin with a team of two through three meet at the missions desk in an hour and a half…before all teams leave the building, head to the sub-basement armory and supply rooms for your new uniforms and equipment…Dismissed!"
The smooth flurry of movement was interesting to watch as for the first time, her little shinobi took their first steps into a whole new ball game. She was very proud.
Chuckling was heard behind her as the aged Hokage walked up to shake her hand. "congratulations Uzumaki Yoh, for a job well done…I expect those reports to make their way onto my desk before the week is out." she bowed in respect for the man who let her join the village as he moved off to head back to his tower.
Beside her, Naru sighed and slapped her on the back with a chuckle. "you did just fine ya know. Look most of them are just made for this type of work. Have some faith in yourself and them." warm blue eyes sparkled as they walked back to her office.
Yes everything was going good…for now.
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Hinata walked up to the large white building, her more nervous emotions making her want to flee.
The urge to run though high, was surprisingly over come by the warmth of her two friends who had woken up with her so that she knew she wasn't alone in this. Hinata smiled to herself at the memory of Naru and Lee fighting over the last piece of toast. Mornings were never a dull event in the Uzumaki household. Even so early in the day, when most of the village was still tucked into dreams, the Uzumaki compound was bustling with noise as mother and wives woke up to start preparing food for husbands and children. Children started on chores or left to the clan training fields for morning practice, while overhead, running along rooftops, shinobi and konoichi glided across the false dawn sky.
She loved mornings at the compound simply because the clan was full of life. Shouts and laughter could be heard as people started on their days. It always amazed her on the differences of her new clan vs. the Hyuuga clan. The Hyuuga were quiet, controlled almost to the point of being reticent. Nothing was ever done without a reason and laziness was considered taboo.
The Uzumaki on the other hand, enjoyed life. They played games and were adapt at making miracles. They did things simply because they enjoyed what they did. And it could be two in the morning but if a family wanted to stay up and argue they, albeit a sliver of respect was shone by lowering the volume a tad. It also wasn't uncommon to see clan members simply laying in one of the grassy little fields or napping.
Lee who was going to be trained in mostly Taijustu, would be learning from Gai-sensei. Though he had asked for both her and Naru if they could run with him in the mornings. Anko-sensei though, was a different matter. She had asked her to try the Hyuuga clans form of fighting and then basically said she would be hard pressed to ever actually use it fully.
So being the ever joyful sensei that Anko thought she was, she had taken Hinata aside and then started her on the most basic forms of the Hebi style. She said since she possessed a natural flexibility along with something to do with chakra elemental affinity, she could learn a more natural fighting style that could complement it. Thus she was already on the second level of the Hebi style, only she had tweaked it to fit how she fought with the Byakugan. By combining her old style of chakra coated palm strikes with the Hebi style, she had created a odd, but devastating new form of Taijustu. One that had almost gotten the drop on Gai-sensei during a spar.
But now here she was, in the lobby of a hospital awaiting a future she wasn't to keen about accepting. Shaking her head, she moved toward the general wing of the older building. Inside was almost eighty different medics ranging from field medics to ER doctor. Feeling the combined stare of over a hundred eyes, she mumbled a quick sorry and clutched her cloak tighter to her body. Gosh, she had to be the smallest, not to mention, the youngest person here.
Feeling self-conscious she moved towards the back of the room, further from prying and sat in a small wooden chair. Listening to the steady murmur as others greeted each other.
Silently she closed her eyes and just waited for the rounds to begin.
Few hours later
"Son Aki, medic Nikki has agreed to be your instructor."
Hinata yawned, not even bothering to conceal it anymore as the head medic of the building droned on and on. Kami she was bored. At least now she could say she knew why this kind of even only took place every several years. Out of the near eighty medics present, only half had left with their new apprentices. Apparently that was common as the more field based med-nins, took this chance to get gear or relax while they had down time in the village.
She could agree with that. She was still bored though.
"Uzumaki Hinata, your master has asked me to send you over to the tea house next to the lake. Hurry now." the older mans voice didn't even raise an octave as he continued to drone to his masses. Blinking in surprise, she just shrugged it away. After all she had a sensei to find.
Running from the room like a pack of hell-hounds were at her heels, she passed by workers and patients and then shoppers and foreign people until she arrived, out of breath and slightly sweaty, to a quaint little tea shop outside of a nice lake. Patting herself down and trying to fix her clothes, she entered the small shop. Breathing deeply at the smell of freshly brewed tea leaves, Hinata walked up to the front desk and swiftly took her place in line.
"excuse me…miss Hinata?" a soft voice, very mellow with the tiniest of lisps, sounded behind her, causing Hinata to turn and stare at the older teen.
She wore the standard outfit for a waitress and server. Her light brown hair was thick and pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her thin neck. Hinata thought that the girls hair would have been long and straight, if she had had it down. Dark colored eyes stared back at her pale ones with equal levels of tiredness and exasperation.
Nodding, she smiled lightly. "yes, that is me. I am here to meet someone, have they already arrived?" she asked.
The serving girl snorted and motioned Hinata further into the crowded room towards a booth partly hidden behind a bamboo curtain. Stopping, she let Hinata pass her and take her seat before handing over a worn, but still serviceable menu. Lavender eyes widened at the sight of so many options…many of which sounded foreign and expensive. Feeling self-conscious she browsed the options before settling on a simple Darjeeling green.
Hinata sat at the booth waiting for both her tea and her new mentor when a sudden explosion rocked the village, sending her sprawling across the floor before a heavy weight descended onto her whole back.
The cold darkness felt comforting as she fell into a painful sleep.
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In a training field, sat two people.
One was older and still in his mid twenties with big eyebrows and a horrendous green jumpsuit that though an eyesore - seemed to help him fade into the natural green tones of the open area. The younger was only about nine or so with the same huge eyebrows and a love for the color green as well. Of course there were minor differences, after all no two people are ever the same. But if someone had looked at them closely, they would have sworn it was a father and a son out talking..
Lee laughed as his mentor told another joke about his rival - a mister Hatake Kakashi, about how they had been on the run from enemy ninja and the only way to escape had been to dress up as woman in order to flee the strange village, when the explosion had caught them off guard.
A cough from Gai had him up and trying to move, even when the earth kept rolling with hidden shock waves. "Gai-sensei…'cough'…are you okay…" the thick clouds of dirt and clay made Lee cough and wheeze to the point he felt like he was suffocating. Crawling on his arms and knees he made his way over to his downed teacher before he felt the next wave in the earth below him. Thinking quickly, Lee grabbed the ends of his cloak and threw the thick fabric over both his and Gai's heads, before grabbing onto his sensei's muscled arms and held on for the next ripple.
And what a ride it must've been. Sadly because in order to help his sensei , Lee was forced to move closer to the fallen man, resulted in both shinobi to crash their heads together in a spectacular show of primal force that caused them both to fade unconscious.
Thankfully Lee had managed to keep his arms and hands in a death-like grip that not only kept both him and Gai together, but it also helped him to hold onto the cloak shield he had made.
Beneath them the ground bucked and rolled like a ocean made of dirt, grass and stone while he and his sensei were the boat. For almost seven minutes the area moved like a serpent. Even so far from where the blast must have originated, the place both people had chosen to practice was practically a war zone.
Flung farther away from the training field, both bundled shinobi finally stopped the momentum of their rolling. By some twist of fate, a rather rotten tree stump had managed to weather out the blast. It was this same stump that caught both teacher and student against its spongy side.
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A man clothed in black silk and some type of samurai armor - stood on the high wall overlooking Konoha. His black soulless eyes watched as the first wave of his special explosive tags went off near the market district. Even from this distance he could hear the tortured, frightened screams of the civilians and the loud orders of the shinobi. It made him smile.
Over a year he had waited - planning his revenge for the three brats who had made his carefully crafted world crash before him. He wanted them to suffer. Wanted them to feel just as empty as he was until he finally killed them.
Konoha was going to fall before him - burned from the fire which its people housed in their very beings - and from its ashes he was going to rebuild his empire until only his name was remembered, that was his revenge. Those children would rue the very day they crossed his path. He would make sure of it.
Turning his back on the village up in flames, he eyed his four most powerful lackeys. "you all know what to do. Find the children and bring them to me -alive. Do not fail me or it is your demise I will be planning instead of theirs!" his voice, soft and oily had hardened as he gave them their orders.
He grinned menacingly as his servants paled. They would do as he commanded, that he was sure of.
Turning once more to the shaken village, he let his eyes wander to the great red tower in the distance. How suitable, he thought, that the red tower with the kanji for fire, was now forced to watch its people burn.
With a laugh like boiling acid, he motioned for his army - carefully hidden behind a Genjustu - swarm over the impressive walls and into the village below. He continued to laugh madly as he watched. yes, yes. My army will triumph over these weak Konoha fools. I have over seven thousand men and woman at my beck and call, Hokage-sama. Your foolish laws make you have only about four thousand shinobi. You will fall to me this day you old fool…and no amount of children will stop me this time!
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In his office the great Third Hokage barked orders at his commanders. Reports were thrown around the room as people panicked and raged.
So far Ibiki was stationed near the main gate along with Anko and a large group of the Inuzuka clan. He knew the younger man would rally the people away from the first waves of fighting. Hopefully he would find away to by them some time to get most of the civilians and children up into the Hokage monument. Hiruzen felt every year as he saw the first signs of the fighting.
"Hokage-sama, what can we do? Where do you need us?" a voice shot up from the crowd, followed by another and another until the room felt like it would burst from the pleas of his ninja.
Shooting open his eyes that still swirled with power he started up with his orders.
"Hiashi take your clan members that can fight and place them in the main gathering places throughout the village. Be cautious and expect the unexpected." the pale eyed man nodded but didn't leave yet. "I want every InoShikaCho team out and delaying the movement of our enemies. Try and keep the focus away from the Hokage monument and the Hospital."
All three clan heads nodded and moved closer together. " most of the Inuzuka still in the village are out on the front lines with Ibiki and Anko. Aburame-san, go where your clan will do the most damage. I have had the academy teachers move the children up to the mountain, a contingent of my Anbu and medics are with them." he ignored the sigh of relief from the parents in the room. "so far I haven't got word back from the rest of T&I or the seduction corps, unfortunately they were closer to the explosions then anyone else besides the market. If you encounter anyone from T&I or the seduction corps, rally them to fight along with you…good luck everyone."
A chorused "HAI", shook the walls as his shinobi ran to fight. Standing in the empty room, he threw off his robes of office to show his dark shinobi outfit underneath.
He may be old, this ninja still had a few good fight left in him.
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The sounds of screaming echoed mutedly as Naru slowly came too.
Her head hurt and thumped like someone was doing construction in her brain. Lifting a shaky hand to her temple she felt the sticky wetness coating both her hand and her hair. She hissed as she felt the jagged edges of a long cut on her head.
Carefully managing to roll to her side, she felt the contents of her stomach spew from her lips as her vision went foggy. must be a concussion, she thought as she tried to find the strength to roll onto her stomach. She didn't even remember what had happened after the first explosion went off.
She'd been talking with Yoh about missions and income when all of a sudden, a flash of painfully bright light burst out in the market only a few blocks away. Naru remembered covering her eyes as she turned from the light, only to be thrown off her feet as the ground moved and buckled. The last thing she remembered was the sound of glass shattering and her painful gasp as she hit something hard.
After that she must have been unconscious.
Crawling to a sitting position, Naru trembled. Blood loss and a powerful migraine made seeing anything farther then a few feet impossible. She didn't like this. So weak and uncertain, she knew she wouldn't be able to help anyone right now. Nodding, even though it was agony, she crawled along the glass covered floor towards where she hoped Yoh's desk had been.
"Yoh…'cough' …Yoh, can you hear me?" she rasped. Talking loudly was out of the question. What was more concerning though, was that she couldn't feel her right leg. must be broken…fuck this, why isn't the damned fox healing me? her head spiked with pain once, twice and then she felt her eyesight clear. It wasn't as clear as she normally saw, but it was good enough for now.
The whole room was a mess of stone and glass shards. Against a column, Yoh's desk had been flung before falling to land on its side, papers spilled over the floor and into the pools of water. The large window in the back of the room had been blown inwards - done when the explosion had hit them. The sounds of fighting and the smell of smoke and blood filtered in from the village outside.
A low groan hit Naru's ears. Crawling forward she saw a tangled lump of red fabric and tanned skin. Reaching the fallen woman side, Naru noticed the large fragment of wood imbedded into the konoichi stomach. Already there was a thick dark puddle spreading out around her. Feeling confused she looked back towards the window and noticed a large stake like chunk of wood had been blown away from the frame.
Crawling close enough to touch her, Naru shook her friend. "Yoh. Yoh wake up, we gotta go now. Please, we can't stay here." finally golden eyes opened - they were hazy and still unfocused, but at least she was still alive enough to do that.
"I'm going to try and get us help okay. Don't try to move to much." feeling even more shaky, Naru grabbed a chunk of stone and hauled herself up to her knees. She nearly collapsed again when the white hot pain lanced thru her right leg and hip. Looking behind her, she saw the awkward way her leg was bending. " so it is broken." she muttered. Feeling foolish and desperate though, she climbed to her feet and took an experimental hobble. Darkness gathered at the corners of her eyes as she continued to move forwards.
Each jump was torture for the girl as she hurried onwards. Sometimes clinging to the walls or a fallen chair she pushed herself. Yoh was in trouble with an injury so severe and Naru just couldn't face the fact that she might not find anyone to help heal her.
It was a minute later when her trembling leg finally gave out. A shocked cry tore from her throat as the hard floor raced up to meet her. Bracing her arms out in front of her didn't stop the pain from her battered body as she hit the ground and bounced a bit. She groaned in desperation as she tried to move - only nothing happened. It was as if her body was shutting down. Maybe she had deeper more troubling injuries that she hadn't noticed before. Trying and failing to think of a solution, she almost didn't notice the large shadow steadily moving up behind her.
A small hand shot out and grabbed the unknown persons leg, tiny claw-like nails dug deeply into the fabric and skin as two red slitted eyes shot up to stare at the idiot who approached her.
It was a male. He wore a long, high collared coat that Naru swore looked pink. She couldn't see his eyes due to the fact that he was wearing some type of sunglasses over them. She liked the small tassel hanging off the left side frame. Her heightened senses screamed that she shouldn't trust him - that she was in a weakened state and everyone was the enemy. Two things stopped her from tearing into him: one, she noticed the resemblance to one of her old classmates. Two she had spent the last remaining vestiges of her strength when she grabbed his leg.
Standing further into the light and ignoring her warning hiss, the man carefully peered down at her. From this angle Naru could see his short spiky brown hair and mustache better.
"are you Uzumaki Naruto?" he murmured as he started to kneel. He smelt like cloves and some type of citrus.
Snorting, feeling weak, she answered. "its…just Naru, sir…don't like my full…name." the man nodded, a tiny smile hinting at the corners. "what's your…name, sir?" she asked. Her head spun and she felt sick to her stomach but still she looked at him as patiently as she could.
"I will tell you if you allow me to help you, Uzumaki-san. Why you ask, you are going to be needed for the coming fights and it would be ill-advised for me to allow you to be laying here injured." she grimaced at the overly analytical way he spoke. Academia was never her strongest suit. This man practically embodied it. Still though, she remained wary. He seemed nice, but than again so had others in the past. It never did anyone good to underestimate you opponent - especially if you weren't sure if they were you enemy.
Feeling the impending blackout, she nodded hesitantly towards the older male. He gave a tiny nod back. "I am Aburame Shibi, clan head to the Aburame…you used to attend the academy with my son, Shino."
She felt immensely safer after his words.
She remembered from her training with Anbu when they had discussed the clans of Konoha. Crane-sensei had said that the Aburame was one of the four noble clans of Konohagakure - odd, I always thought the would look different…they seem far more mysterious. besides that, she knew who Shino was. She had known him as the painfully silent kid who sat near the front of the classroom and was very smart. She had liked him though because he didn't judge her like all the rest of the kids did.
"Yoh…you have to help her…she's injured very badly…please…" the last bit of awareness faded from Naru as she spoke. She didn't last long enough to see Shibi-san nod back at her before she was lost in a dreamless sleep.
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Looking down at the tiny girl, Shibi could definitely see a perfect blend of both her mighty parents. Of course he expected nothing less from the child of his friends.
Still though - that stubbornness was going to be trouble for the blonde-haired hellion she made herself out to be…maybe he would have his son go and talk with her. Kami knew both children would be good for each other. After all, Shino didn't seem to have any friends, not for a lack of trying of course…maybe Uzumaki-san would help him with that.
Giving an unnoticeable sigh, the Aburame clan head carefully picked up the child in a princess hold before signaling to another member of his clan - previously hidden - to help the older woman in the big office.
Right now it wouldn't do to have anyone roaming the streets. Not long after the Sandaime had given the orders for a counter attack, did the tide of the battle turn. Unfortunately it wasn't in Konoha's favor. All ready several members of the Inuzuka and Hyuuga clans had fallen in the wave of assailants. The rest of the clans, including the newly reformed Uzumaki, had lost touch with the command central.
Carrying the girl towards Yoh's office, he entered into the broken but still lavish room to find two of his clansmen with medical knowledge finishing up with woman's injuries. Keeping quiet, he signaled them to pick up Yoh before heading towards the broken window. Giving a slight nod, he leapt out - carefully so as not to wake up his charge. With a quiet "go", he found the rest of his clansmen awaiting them on the side of the street. A mangled and withered array of bodies laid at their feet.
Raising an eyebrow above his glasses, he waited for an answer. A subsonic buzzing was that answer. Shaking his head, Shibi swiftly moved over to a uncovered manhole, the stench of sewage made his nose and eyes burn but he ignored it.
A loud crash made him look up only to see a small apartment complex come hurtling towards the ground.
With one last look at his family plus the two Uzumaki, he jumped down into the sewers below.
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Fighting the haze of sleep, two bright lavender eyes opened blearily. It was silent and exceedingly hot.
Hinata groaned as a rapid throbbing started in her head. Feeling slightly roughed up, she started to sit up when she felt her body hit something solid. Feeling confused at whatever was on her, she turned her head to peer towards her back
A beam, most likely from the ceiling, had fallen down on her. Thankfully a turned over chair and a partially crushed table had stopped the monstrous piece of wood from fully falling down on her unprotected back. A thick feeling started in her throat as she coughed…then she smelled it.
Smoke.
Looking around wildly, Hinata tried to find the actual fire but the smoke proved to thick to see thru. Panicking, the purple haired girl tried to think of a way out of this. Maybe she could call for help.
Coughing heavily she tried just that. "hello…'cough' , 'cough'…is anybody there… 'cough'…I need some help… 'cough'…I'm trapped in here…"
Hinata felt her lungs constrict as her throat burned. This was very bad, if she didn't get out of here soon, she might either burn, be crushed or suffocate to death. Neither option was okay in the konoichi mind.
Feeling weaker as the minutes tore on, Hinata struggled with the heavy beam. So far the only thing she had actually accomplished was finding out that the tea house liked oak wood in the design. Feeling hopeless as the wood refused to budge, Hinata stopped pushing on it. Maybe if she had Lee's extreme strength she could have moved it off her, or if she was as resourceful as Naru, she could have found some other way to get out.
With a pent up scream of emotion, Hinata unconsciously gathered her chakra into her palms and slapped the wooden floors beneath her.
Maybe it was the outlet for her anger or simply the floor was weakened by the blast, but whatever it was Hinata decided in that moment that she didn't care.
The wood floor was built off of the ground, leaving a small crawlspace like room underneath. When she had stuck the ground with her chakra she had broke through a small piece of it. The tiniest bit of confidence hit Hinata as she hurried to hit the floor again and again.
I promised myself that I wouldn't be weak anymore. I refuse to keep being a burden to Naru and Lee. If I cant be rescued by anyone, than that just means I need to rescue myself. Hinata mentally nodded at her thoughts. While she may still be the weakest of the trio, that didn't mean she wasn't strong, it just meant that she had a ways to go before she measured up to her teammates expectations.
Grunting with the effort to break open the floor, Hinata continued to slap at the ground, not even stopping when her hands started to bruise and swell. One , two - five strikes later and she had the feeling of being weightless before she fell thru a semi-large hole in the floor.
With a whoosh sound coming from her body as she hit the rocky ground below, Hinata coughed and wheezed, the air momentarily knocked from her lungs.
Pale eyes opened as the whole building above her shuddered and groaned. Grunting in pain she looked down at her hands and winced as the blackish-purple coloring seemed to darken the longer she stared. Hinata, not as badly injured as she thought she would be, slowly got on her stomach and crawled forward to the patch of light a couple yards away.
As she moved she kept an ear out for anything.
How strange. I didn't sense anyone still in the building with me and yet it had been packed just before that blast went off. Another thing, who had arranged for such an explosion, that radius must have been massive in order to cause so much damage even though we were so far away from the villages center. shaking her head she tried to move on to other thoughts. After all she didn't have any facts yet, so speculating at this point was like trying to catch a cloud - pointless and infuriating. anyways, I have to find Naru and Lee. They should be fine, after all they are with Yoh and Gai-sensei, respectively - so there shouldn't be to much that they cant handle or get away from.
Hinata was just about to crawl out from under the porch when she heard it. voices…they don't sound like anyone I know…that accent - I've heard it before, but where? a intense feeling swept up her spine as she opted to listen to the people in front of her. She listened to her instincts as they practically screamed at her to stay quiet.
A deep male voice thundered around the area, followed by a snide sounding female voice. "why should we be forced to search this hell-hole…all 'round these parts be some rocks and junk."
"because, you half-brained dumb-ass idiot, if we don't, the master will kill us…I would have thought you had some sense of self-preservation in the last few remaining brain cells you still had - guess I was wrong."
"both of you, shut your traps before I cut out your tongues and make you eat them!" Hinata tensed as a new voice suddenly erupted out of the blue. Her pale eyes opened wider as a pair of black sandaled feet walked into her view, before stopping just a few inches from where she hid.
The new voice was male and sinister, yet it also had something of a feminine undertone to it. Like the person couldn't decide on how the wanted to be. Stiffening with fear, the young girl stayed silent and motionless as all three continued on with their discussion.
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Untoku glared at Ioku as they squared off in front of each other.
Common knowledge to anyone who had ever known them, they didn't like each other and detested the others presence on this team. Fortunately they had a common enemy - Kintaro. That sniveling, vile man who always thought he was better then them. It was because of their more reclusive teammate that they hadn't killed each other off already…not for a lack of trying anyway.
Kintaro simply gazed back at the two imbeciles with his dead stare. He knew sooner or later both of them would pale under the weight of his aura, the matter was when and where.
Bristling like an angry cat, Ioku watched as Untoku broke. Sure she was disgusted and frightened of her other teammate, but her anger helped to push back that fear - she became a woman of reckless rage. Shooting a sneer at the muscled pedophile beside her, Ioku turned away from the men and cautiously looked towards the main village.
A discreet cough echoed out from behind her, but she simply thought it was the idiots.
Underneath the porch Hinata panicked as a small cloud of dust was pushed past her nose an mouth, making her give out a cough which she desperately tried to stifle.
Kintaro frowned deeply, before he said. "we have our orders…and we know the penalty for failure. Shi-sama has gone with the master to fight off the Hokage-baka…all we need to do is find those three brats and bring them back to the master." his voice was like razors on glass.
Hinata panicked - why the hell was the Shadow after them again…I mean sure they had destroyed his whole empire and killed off some of his best warriors, plus they did escape with information on the going on of the illegal black market dealings… huh, now that she thought about it, the evil man did have a lot of reasons to come back after them. But to attack the home village of the Hokage and his ninja, that was simply suicide.
Untoku gave off a dreamy sigh. "I can't wait to see my lovely little dragon once more…such beauty, even with her hair now blonde…do you think she will like red roses at our wedding or blue ones?" he asked Ioku. His face was dreamy.
To her credit the sneering woman simply kicked him in the head with a heeled sandal, be fore replying. "the kid is way to young for you, dumbass. Besides what child would want to marry you." she scowled as the older male started to snivel.
"why wouldn't she want to…I can protect her and make her happy…your just jealous, for that I wont invite you to the ceremony." he sniffed with anger at the fuming woman.
Kintaro watched as the two baka's fought it out. Maybe he would get lucky and they would kill themselves and he could finally be free from them. After all if he tried to stop them now all hell would break loose instead of the carefully crafted chaos it was now. In any case, he knew those kids were going to die once the master got his claws on them. With them hiding, it was only delaying the inevitable.
Just as he was about to yell at his teammates, a loud horn-like sound filtered out over the village whole.
All three suddenly jumped to attention before leaping away as one.
Hinata who was shaking underneath the porch, switched on her Byakugan and scanned the area with her near perfect vision. No one remained besides her. Giving herself a mental prayer that she wasn't about to land into an ambush, she rolled out from underneath the tea-house. She was on her feet in under a second, two dull colored kunai in reverse grips, flashed from both hands as she channeled chakra to them.
Turning in a complete circle, the young konoichi looked around with her eyes active. She didn't see any sign of her enemies, but at the same time she didn't see any of her allies as well. Still her radius she could use for her Byakugan was not as great nor fully developed and that was impeding on the range she could use it.
With a sigh, she deactivated her eyes and put the kunai away. Hinata remembered that Lee said he was going to one of the training grounds to practice his Taijustu with Gai-sensei today, while Naru was still in the center of the village in the new Seduction corps building.
Feeling conflicted she turned in the direction towards the training grounds, before leaping off into the tree line. Already her sense of duty was yelling at her to go towards the village and help with the invasion, while another part of her - the part that was mostly rational, told her to calmly look for her male teammate and stay out of the main area of the fighting. After all she hadn't liked the sound of that horn-call, it had given her a foreboding feeling.
With a twist in her gut and a small, silent look back at the village, Hinata jumped off into the growing shadows of the pre-dusk forest.
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The Shadow walked calmly into the giant red tower, the fallen bodies of both ninja and mercenary alike littered the halls on either side as he cut thru them like a ship over waves. Today was a good day, not a great day - but a good day. Already Konoha had fallen. After five days of heavy fighting and no clear victor on either side, the Shadow now climbed the steps to the Hokage's office with pride as the winner.
Right now he had his forces out in droves as they searched for both the majority of the children and civilians. Odd how the old man had made them disappear right before he broke down their gate. Oh well, he would find them eventually, all he needed was time.
Seeing Shi standing before a plain wooden door had him slightly confused before reality came back to him and he remembered what floor he was on. so the great and powerful Professor doesn't like all the pomp of his station…how different we are it would seem.
Giving his loyal servant a small nod, he waited for the door to open before stepping inside.
The office was very plain, but homely. A large desk sat in front of the busted window, covered with half filled out paperwork. A couple of plants decorated the sparse room along with a few pictures - he recognized them as previous Kage. with a measure look he stared at the standing male in front of the window, his robes of office - white and red, fluttered with the breeze.
"So you are the famous Sandaime Hokage…it is a pleasure to meet you at last." his oily voice rang in the silent room as Shi closed the door, leaving just him and the old man.
His black eyes glittered insanely as he watched the Hokage turn around. Black met black as they silently looked at each other.
Hiruzen nodded ad turned fully towards the young man. "and you are the one who threatens my home and people." he said, his tone light, almost conversational.
The Shadow sneered thinly at the well aimed barb.
"what shall I call you young man…murderer, maniac…how about lunatic? I think they describe you very well."
Silk clad hands crumpled into fists as his teeth grinded. "I haven't killed any of your people." he snapped, his temper flaring. "that was the work of the mercenaries."
Hiruzen snorted before grabbing his pipe. "it is the mark of a lesser man to not admit his own faults…it is true you did not slay anyone by your own hand…but you are mistaken if you think you are not a murderer." he gave a puff on his pipe, savoring the flavor of the tobacco before continuing. "after all, young man, death holds no simple construct. You sent these mercenaries, commanded them and gave their orders. Some have died on both sides…to the span of time itself, that makes you a killer."
The Shadow walked forward before slapping the clay pipe from the fools lips. He couldn't see beyond the haze as his body burned with the rage of a billion suns.
"you don't know me." he whispered.
The Sandaime gave a short nod, studying the boy before him with wise, merciless eyes.
"you are correct my son. I do not know you…then again I have no need to. I have seen others of your kind, seen their fights both physical and mental and watched as the tried to fight their place in this world…I have also seen them die for it. You are no different, my son." he reached down and picked up the pipe as it laid on the floor. A single crack running thru it.
"for every tyrant that has taken over, there is a hero waiting to rise and defeat him…I only wonder who you that will be for you."
Trembling in anger and humiliation, he screamed for his guards to come and take away the old leader. As the Sandaime passed the Shadow, he reached out and touched his shoulder before whispering. "you will never have them. They will defeat you and you will never rise from the ashes."
In the now silent, empty room, the Shadow watched the moon rise into the darkening sky. His form shivered, but not from the cold…not the cold indeed.
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In a room that smelt like disinfectant, Lee finally started to wake up.
His large black eyes struggled to open with all the sand covering them. He must have made some type of noise, because someone started to wipe them off with a damp rag.
"thank you." the voice was foreign, even to him, though it was his own. It sounded both grateful and yet, weary…what an odd concept for someone like him who enjoyed the boisterous life.
Opening his eyes carefully, he peered at the dimly lit space. Four blank, metal walls in a olive green stared back at him. He felt the hard ground beneath his body and guessed he was on the floor. It was also cold and the air was slightly thick. must be underground. He thought.
Turning his head and wincing at the deep cracks, he turned to stare at his helper. She was small, maybe about five or so, with big brown eyes and a short black hair. She wore a torn pink jumper with the symbol for fire on it. Several tiny cuts and a black eye covered her cherubic features.
"do you know where we are?" he asked. She simply smiled and nodded. Okay so she could understand him, that was good. "can you tell me who you are?" now she frowned and shook her head no. Lee was confused…maybe she couldn't speak yet. " is anyone else here with us?" again she nodded. Getting to his feet, he shifted uneasily as his body felt heavy. Feeling something in his hand, he looked down and was met with a face full of smiles as the girl held his hand and started to pull him towards a darkened hallway.
Humoring her, Lee went along willingly.
A few minutes later they both came to a large open chamber built of the same metal as everything else. There must have been several hundred or so men and woman - mostly shinobi and konoichi, walking amongst each other. The noise was loud and yet, the air felt depressing rather than lively.
Walking down a small flight of steps he came face to face with a member of the Nara clan…Shikaku, he believed his name was.
The scarred male gave a nod to Lee as he grabbed him by the shoulder and practically dragged him away into the crowd.
"Oi, Nara-sama, what's going on. Where are we going?" he asked.
The clan head looked down at him with strained eyes. "Konoha has fallen." such simple words, often the hardest to speak caught Lee off guard.
"what?"
"Konoha has fallen, Lee-kun. We were badly outnumbered. Somehow they caught the Hokage and are holding him and several other hostage…we are afraid to move out in force because we do not know if he has captured the children and the majority of the civilians." the genius man slouched further into himself as they walked.
Though Lee could honestly - and he would - say that he never got to know the man who led the Nara clan very well, he knew him to be a honorable but lazy man. A pity really, he would make a great ally. Even Lee knew you needed allies to help in this day and age.
Clearing his throat he asked. "do we know anything about who started the attack or if the Hokage is even still alive?" he looked into hooded eyes nearly as black as his own. Thanks to his Anbu training, Lee knew the ratio of survival that captives had, knew that it dropped faster as time wore on. Still, he was an optimast and felt like he should ask.
Shikaku simply looked at the child. He was about a year older than his own boy. A wave of agony shot thru him as he thought about his missing wife and son.
"lee-kun!"
"oi, Lee! You're finally up. Bout' damn time!"
Both shinobi turned at his name. a smile large and filled with relief shone on his face as Lee moved forward. He caught both girls in a hug as Hinata tried to hold back a still injured Naru from strangling him. Lee felt laughter deep in his thoat as his friends started to argue.
A small tug on his ripped pants leg caused him to look down. Right next to him was the same little girl who had stayed next to him. Feeling confused, Lee looked back up at his equally confused teammates. "do you know this girl?" he asked.
Naru frowned and shook her head 'no'. "maybe she was plucked up off the street when the fighting happened." she said, leaning down to stare into the dark eyes of the toddler. "can you tell me what happened." she asked her.
The girl looked up at the big blue eyes of the lady and stared. Hinata silently giggled at the uncomfortable look her friends were giving her. In the privacy of her own mind she admited that something was definatly odd about the girl in the torn pink jumper. What it was though, she couldn't recall.
Clearing his throat, Shikaku motioned the three over. "we need to start planning for the counter-attack." he said. His hand trembling for a moment. " we are not going to let things stand the way they are right now."
Lee turned and looked at his friends with large round eyes. The answering grins made him glad. Swiveling around to face the elder Nara, Lee held out his hand, a smirk hovering above his lips as he said, "you bet we'll take back our home…we'll take it all back.
And for some reason, Shikaku actually felt…relieved.