Chapter 20: Restraint
"People hide their truest nature. I understood that; I even applauded it. What sort of world would it be if people bled all over the sidewalks, if they wept under trees, smacked whomever they despised, kissed strangers, revealed themselves?"
― Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
Naruto & Hinata
"I don't know what business you two have here on this turtle no matter all the hurtles you did to get here, you'll have to disappear before all my animal friends put an end to you both; you feel me?"
Naruto looks at him blankly, pursing his lips.
'Patience. Have Patience.' He reminds himself.
But all of his patience is evaporating into the very mists surrounding them. Somewhere behind Killer B he hears a mix of loud screeches and low hoots, golden orbs seeming to peer at them from the darkness.
"No, we don't 'feel' you! We didn't come all this way for you to not help us, you know!" Naruto snaps.
Killer B nearly shuts the door on them hearing that, Hinata abruptly putting her foot out to stop him.
"We wouldn't have made the journey all this way if we weren't being serious. Please hear us out." She asserts a bit more politely than Naruto.
Killer B regards them both with mild renewed interest, his attention turning fully to Hinata.
"This your girl?" He asks bluntly with a gesture of his thumb.
Naruto frowns, hoping he isn't about to make a remark similar to Omoi in regards to her body.
"Yes." He answers after a moment.
Killer B grins then, amused with this new information.
"Well, does your girl know about this swirl of evil within you? Can't train ya without you taking care of that first, ya fool!" He replies back breezily.
And with that he slams his door completely in their faces.
'Kurama?' Hinata realizes.
Naruto hasn't mentioned him talking to him or interfering with his thoughts or dreams like before, but of course he's still there, always in the background merely watching or sleeping.
"I'm sorry for his rudeness, it's not often Killer B gets guests here." Motoi points out from behind them.
Naruto shakes his head, he's put off Kurama for so long, ignored him in favor of training and bettering his other skills in wind and sealing techniques.
And now he can no longer hide from it, pretend it's not an issue.
His future self very much told him it wasn't easy to gain Kurama's trust, he can't even go about it the same way he did with all he and Hinata have already changed.
"Kurama and I are friends so I'm sure you and he will find a way to understand each other you know! Maybe not in the same way I did, but we always come up with something." Naruto-O assures him.
"How?! All our conversations so far have been negative!" Naruto-Y questions.
Hinata-O comes up behind him, pats at his shoulders and feels his heartbeat calm to a steady rhythm as he looks up into her lilac eyes.
"Don't look at it from a negative mindset. Find the positive; the good like you always find no matter the person." She smiles.
Boruto and Himawari hug at legs sensing he needs the moral support, grins stretching across their faces.
"Papa always makes people smile no matter if it's a granny or kids!" Boruto chimes out.
' Right. There has to be someway we can make a connection. I wont just give up!' Naruto reminds himself in the here and now.
Jiraiya meanwhile takes in the layout of Killer B's home, modeled in the shape of his tailed beast. Thick trees and vines brush along the rooftop, a creature with arms layered with blackish-red fur and amber-green orbs studies them carefully awaiting their next move.
Yikes.
"Is he always so pleasantly difficult?" Jiraiya asks sardonically, keeping one eye on the beast and one eye back on Naruto and Hinata to not wander too far off.
Motoi shrugs, lips pursing.
"I...I don't know. I haven't talked to Killer B in awhile." He admits.
There's a story there, but Jiraiya chooses not to pursue it.
For now.
"There's some Falls around here right? That can help me expel this darkness in me still, right?" Naruto interrupts before they go off-topic.
Motoi nods, gesturing for them to follow him deeper into the forests.
The scents of foliage and wood soon changes to that of rain and damp moss, thick vines zigzag across rock and earth all around them. Crackling in the air turns into a sharp roar as they reach a clearing, sapphire blue waters cascading down into a crystal lake.
"This is it." Motoi confirms, nodding to Naruto who steps forward first.
The Falls of Truth.
Jiraiya looks on in awe, his journeys all over the various nations have never taken to him to a site like this.
'It's no wonder Konoha wants to keep Naruto and Hinata here longer with how hidden away this all is.' He considers.
He takes a step forward before hearing a tiny ping from one of his tracking pins he'd mounted to a wall in a derelict alleyway hundreds of miles away...
The pin he ordered a toad to leave behind in Amegakure.
'Ah, so they've finally dug deeper, realized their mistake.' Jiraiya smiles.
Though that means he himself needs to act fast now too.
"Once you sit at the base of the waterfall, you will be teleported inside your mind. Confront your true self." Motoi further explains.
Naruto nods his understanding, looking back to Hinata.
Her eyes soften, patting at his cheeks. Her fingers trace at his whiskers, burying the twinge of worry that she feels just as nervous as Naruto of what he may see.
"No matter what he says or shows you, you can face it." She believes.
Naruto nods, bumping their heads lightly together before dropping a kiss to both her cheeks.
Any confidence he had though is crumpling, the knowing of memories long locked away are about to resurface.
All his anger, envy, fears, and loneliness brightly on display.
'Hinata can't help you through this, wasn't there for you during these dark times.' A bitter voice croons in the back of his mind.
He holds Hinata close then just as she starts to slip back, breathing her scent in.
Jasmine and lily.
"I believe in you Naruto." She whispers in his ear before dropping a light peck to his cheek in return.
And then Hinata fully steps back from him, follows Jiraiya into the opposite side of the forest.
'It's fine. I'll be fine.' Naruto repeats over as he sits cross legged at the base of the Falls.
He squeezes his eyes shut, concentrating.
He thinks of Hinata, of Boruto, of Himawari, of everything he's overcome to have a future with them...
And when he opens his eyes he sees himself, blue eyes replaced cold scarlet, lips etched in a smirk.
Gone is crackling of the falls, silence filling the void before color slowly starts to bleed in around them.
They're back in Konoha, in his tiny apartment; alone.
It's sometime after midnight, moon sharp and full at their back...
He chuckles at his look of surprise revealing a set of razor blade teeth.
"Come on, did you honestly think that little mantra of yours would work?"
Sasuke & Sakura
"So you're betraying the Akatsuki, huh Itachi?"
Kisame questions are answered with silence and through clenched teeth, his eyes narrow into slits taking in Sasuke and Sakura beside him. Sasuke being alive he can understand, but this girl, this intruder still alive he can't figure out her reason for not being dead yet.
Sakura's fists tighten taking in teeth that truly do glisten like a shark's, his features matching the sea creature to a T.
Itachi straightens his posture, dark eyes watching.
"Things have changed Kisame."
He snorts at simple explanation, hadn't he heard that line hundreds of times over the years when hired to do assassinations?
Just never expected to hear it from Itachi of all people.
He clicks his tongue and Sasuke gets on guard reactivating his sharingan as the area turns misty.
"I gave you my word I would get rid of any intruders and that means the girl. She's clouded your thoughts somehow, maybe poisoned you or put you in some type of genjutsu." Kisame scoffs.
And then in a flash he is beside them, Sakura slamming her foot down putting up a dirt wall between before he can slash into her throat.
"Help me up, I'll get him to stand down." Itachi decides, Sakura letting out a vehement no.
"Don't make everything I did go to waste!" She hisses.
But they don't have time for this. Itachi is still too weak, needs far more treatment than what she can give him here.
The air is heavy with the remnants of ash and blood, messes with her senses when combined with Kisame's mist.
'Focus. Kisame is best known for his water based attacks. I need to be ready too incase he summons his sharks.'
"Sakura, get Itachi back into the woods. I'll handle Kisame for now." Sasuke orders just loud enough for her to catch.
"I can't move him now. I'm his target." Sakura murmurs back, watching from the corner of her eye as Kisame makes a clean punch through her wall, foundation crumbling.
And besides, Sasuke will have to use lightning if he wants to counter any of his techniques, lightning that can inadvertently hurt them as well...
There's no more time to talk as Kisame's body forms out of the mist, grass and dirt below being enveloped into a sea.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave!"
Sakura rolls herself and Itachi out of the way as muddy brown water launches for them like a bullet, swallows and crushes at the remaining trees and rocks still standing.
They get behind a hill half blown away, water lapping and bubbling at their feet.
"The best option is to put him in a genjutsu. He'll be expecting that from Sasuke, but not from you." Itachi mentions.
Sakura feels an argument rumble up to the tip of her tongue, but Itachi shakes his head.
"I've been through enough battles and know how Kisame operates Sakura. It's better we separate for now at least until you and Sasuke are able to slow him down some." He reiterates.
At her expression he cracks a small grin, nodding her forward.
"I'll be fine; I won't overexert myself. Sasuke will be glad to have you at his back." He promises.
Her stomach tightens, the medic in her not wanting to abandon a patient while the kunoichi side says to go when Itachi has seen and handled himself in far more battles than her.
"Do not push yourself, those stitches I put in are the only ones I had." She warns.
Itachi merely nods, cracking a bigger half-smile that reminds her of the rare ones Sasuke used to have in childhood.
And perhaps he may smile again more so now that Itachi is still here; alive.
Her options are limited in terms of his strength and speed, but there is one thing she can go with that can slow Kisame down a bit just like Itachi said.
Use Genjutsu.
She can't use her same tricks the way she did with Danzo though. In order for him to catch a whiff of any of her poisonous flora she'll unfortunately need to get close...
But too close to the man known as the Monster of The Hidden Mist isn't a risk she can really take right now.
Still she maneuvers herself slowly back into the main area of the battle, taking in the crackle of electricity in Sasuke's hands, the sharks black and still at his feet. Her mind rolls over quickly which toxin she can use, one that can cause symptoms quickly enough once inhaled.
It clicks the best option, the option that will harm herself as well.
'Get it over with Sakura!' She berates herself at her hesitating, pulling out snow white petals from her mini glass vial and taking the first bitter bite.
Her heart rate flares, pulses hard and insistent to make sure she does this right.
"You're underestimating me." Sasuke notes, Kisame letting out a throaty laugh in return.
"No, just a predator making the most out of circling its prey first! Some sharks enjoy toying with their food you know. I'm not sure what you or the girl did to change Itachi's mind, but clearly the rules and order he gave me to stand guard have changed." He counters.
His white eyes sharpen, shift and pinpoint on her; grin widening in amusement.
"Though I will say, some prey is worth getting the game over with and just biting straight into."
Sakura clenches her teeth seeing him close in so fast, opting for a defensive stance. A warning deep within her body screams to move, but she forces it to quiet.
'This is it!'
Kisame gets right up to her, chilling white eyes boring into her green.
"Which limb of yours should I tear off first?" He beams.
She spits out the petals in response, a smoke of gray and white clouding around them.
Sasuke pulls her back just as his fist collides with her shoulder in retaliation, shrouding them in an electric shield should he try and swing back to her again.
The crunch of shattered bone resounds in her ears, biting her lip not to cry out as they both skid back.
'He has gills, another way for him to breathe when completely submerged in water.' She notes as he attempts a dive away from the moonflower and jimson weed's effect, hoping he breathed enough of it in.
"What did you do? Where's Itachi?" Sasuke loads her with too many questions at once she can't answer.
Her vision and head swirl, pain and toxin blending together. Her tongue is going dry, blistering up as she puts her hand to it to quickly stop the poison's spread.
"Near the hill. I used flowers that are poisonous when inhaled." Sakura rasps out a moment later.
She focuses her attention back on Kisame before saying anymore, watching as his pupils dilate.
A trace of foam forms at the edge of her mouth and Sakura holds in a smile.
'It's starting.'
But he's underwater now, can possibly undo the poison as he merges with his sword.
"Can you move your arm?" Sasuke questions, Sakura giving a slow nod in return.
"I'll keep his sharks at bay." She manages out through clenched teeth.
It's not a complete heal to herself, but she'll fight until she can't. When the right opportunity comes she'll get her arm a proper X-ray, stabilize it and get it assessed by more than just her medical ninjutsu alone.
"Do you plan to mix fire and lightning?" Sakura asks, Sasuke shaking his head.
"Chidori." He remarks.
He channels blue-white lightning into his hands as Kisame jets forward again, teeth coming into view while his summoned sharks close in.
A flurry of crows intercepts before collision, black feathers raining down.
"Kisame. Enough." Itachi commands.
Sakura stiffens, Sasuke snapping for him to get out of the way.
Itachi ignores him, own sharingan active watching as Kisame slowly lowers his arm down.
"Water prison!"
A dome of water instantly encases Sasuke and Sakura, Itachi's expression still impassive.
"Huh, and hear I thought you would show some emotion if I were to kill your brother right in front of you!" Kisame jests.
Sharingan eyes swirl, change anew.
"You won't; release them."
Their stare down only lasts one, maybe two minutes Sakura counts but she sees it in Kisame's features that part of his mind is no longer on the battlefield.
Fingers curl before clenching against the side of his head, knocking at it as if digging as an unending buzz persists in his ears.
"Stop showing me my past, the faces I've killed!" He yells.
"It's not just me. The cause of your fast heartbeat and erratic breathing are from the flora Sakura sprayed in your face. They can't be easily flushed out of your system like other toxins once inhaled." Itachi voices.
Kisame sneers at his explanation, releasing Sasuke and Sakura before shrouding himself in a dome of his own water instead.
Itachi takes a step forward, eyes narrowing.
"You intend to commit suicide?"
He bites his tongue in response, blood seeping down drawing his sharks back to him at the scent. Out of the genjutsu into one final prison.
'I won't reveal the Akatsuki's secrets, not even for you Itachi.'
So it seems he won't get to see The Eye of The Moon plan come to fruition. Ah well, his life was filled with false promises and hopes...
He meets Itachi's stare, silently questioning him.
"Is this how it ends Itachi? You're really going to become a traitor to the Akatsuki; after everything?"
He can't say he fully understands his choice, but he understands his own.
If there's one thing in life he can be honest on is knowing who he is, who the Akatsuki meant to him.
Majority of their broken down teams never got along with each other. He's sure Hidan and Kazuku may have already killed each other again by now.
But he can honestly say he had no problems with Itachi really besides his dislike of a good fight.
Itachi nods, gaze softening, sharingan deactivating back to a pure black.
"I'm doing what I now think is best for myself and the future of Konoha. Things change." He murmurs.
Kisame sighs, nodding back recalling those same words from earlier.
He's heard these lines or variations of them so many times throughout his life as well. Hypocrites like Fuguki who calmly leaked intel to Kirigakure's enemies, comrades who turned enemy for ryo or infamy believing that their way was the best option.
He takes in the last rays of sunlight upon the field, the man who's been his partner for years. The sky brightens to a patchwork of blues and grays, his water starting to recede as grass laden with dirt and mud shimmers up.
"So they do.' Kisame concludes.
His last thoughts are of Itachi, of Kiri, of the Akatsuki's secrets still safe before he lets his sharks devour him.
Naruto
'Why here of all places? Why this memory?' Naruto frowns, keeping his breathing even.
This isn't real; none of it is. It's just an image conjured up by his mind.
No matter how much it bothers him, he has to face this.
"Don't close your eyes! You know why I brought you here. It's the first time we truly felt that sliver of anger. Pure frustration at these plain civilian who now adore you when they hated us for so long. There's no reason for us to want to protect them." Dark Naruto sneers from a shadow.
Naruto glances to him to retort why he still cares only for him to slink further out of sight, leaving him alone with his 5 year old self.
His younger self's stomach growls, echoes into the dark as he turns towards the kitchen.
"I have to have one more cup ramen left! If not, I'll have to try the convenience store. That old guy said he wouldn't be back until next week." He hums to himself, teenage form trailing after him.
'Old Man Third.' Teenage Naruto sighs. That's right, he used to stop by weekly with a bit of ryo and groceries though that all feels like a distant memory now too.
There won't be any food left, he knows this.
So he's going to go out with only a few coins in Gamachan, probably enough for one cup ramen, though nobody will sell it to him.
And then he'll run into that clerk who runs the weapons shop, the same man who always tries to sweep dust into his eyes to get him to leave...
5 year old Naruto sighs as he opens cupboard upon cupboard coming away with only dust and silvery webs.
The fridge fairs no better, milk he takes out notably clumpy and pale. 5 year old Naruto takes a sniff before wincing and shoving it back.
"Hopefully the store isn't closed yet!" He calls out to himself.
"It won't be." Teenage Naruto replies, reluctantly following him out.
It's strange he notes as he follows after his younger self like a shadow. He smells the same spices from the night stalls, feels the coolness of the fall air upon his cheek too...
The sky has darkened to a scarlet amber, ribbons of violet brushing in as night slowly stretches across Konoha.
People give him a wide berth, whisper why he's out at this time of day.
And oblivious, his 5 year old self marches onward with only one goal in mind: to get instant chicken ramen.
"Hey heads up, that kid is approaching." The weapons shop owner mentions to the convenience shop owner as they walk up.
Teenage Naruto glances at his name tag: Junichi Kyushima.
So that's his name.
The shop owner, Keitaro, grimaces in dismay, nodding as he moves to slide merchandise out of the shop's entrance and window.
5 year old Naruto reaches the front door, standing up on his tiptoes.
"Ah hold on, you're still open right?" He sputters.
"He's closing up." Junichi grunts, crossing his arms keeping him at bay like a guard.
5 year old Naruto cocks his head in confusion as a pair of girls skirt around him to get some candy.
"What about them, you know?!" He points.
Keitaro shakes his head. "You'll have to try again tomorrow...maybe."
Teenage Naruto observes from the side, hands passing through his younger self like a ghost as he grows angrier; impatient.
"Why does everyone treat me this way, you know?! I have ryo to pay you!" He asserts, holding up some coins.
Junichi slaps his hand away, brown eyes turning steely; vicious.
The coins clink softly against the pavement, sparkle in the streetlights rolling in every which direction.
"We don't want your ryo no matter how much you pay us!" He snaps.
"Yeah, stop bothering them!" Another man bellows from a growing crowd.
"You're the same man who offered to pay for my ramen just the other day." Teenage Naruto realizes at the newest stranger, though he lacks the salt and pepper beard he knows him for.
And the friendly smile as he tried to wave away his offer, producing one of Teuchi's rare coupons that he had a buy one, get one free.
His stare turns back to his younger counterpart, sees the bristle of his shoulders knowing he's trying to hide his upset, stop the rise of tears.
"I hope that bad leg of yours gives out, that you fall and break your neck or drown in the Naka river." He whispers, only loud enough for him to hear. He's rarely ever spoke of his rage aloud, no matter his age...
"Don't do it." Teenage Naruto warns to no avail.
He watches then as he kicks at Junichi's weak leg, sends him tumbling to the pavement in a loud crack.
A trickle of blood slides from his head, 5 year old Naruto ignoring his groan of pain with a bemused grin.
"Serves you right!" He teases.
This is where it should end, where he runs off into an alleyway after picking up his coins hurriedly, going to Ichiraku's instead where Teuchi and Ayame fix him a bowl on the house.
That's what really happened after all.
But the memory continues; warps.
Because Junichi's kunai has slid from his pocket, glistens as if calling to him.
5 year old Naruto twists to look at himself then, eyes wide and crimson. Tails emerge out of him, flick away Keitaro slamming him into the glass when he tries to help Junichi up.
A devious grin stretches across his face seeing his alarmed look, picking up Junichi's dropped kunai.
"You want to kill him? I do! I'm tired of him being mean to me. He doesn't deserve my business or anyone's ever again; right?!" He asserts in a sing-song voice melting into something gravelly and dark.
Like Kurama's.
"Wait!" Naruto yells watching as he steadies to straighten the blade into his hands, breath knocked out of him as he watches it plunges right into Junichi's chest.
The crackling of the falls instantly returns to his ears, greenery and water surrounding him instead of ink black and blood.
Motoi pats at his shoulder, jolting him.
"Welcome back, you'll need to try again. But how about a break? You can check in with Hinata as well."
Naruto hesitates before nodding, standing up letting the images sink back into the recesses of his mind.
He swears he's hears his 5 year old self calling back to him, cracked grin and all.
"Better luck next time."
Kakashi
"As soon as things turn sour I'll give you the signal." Kakashi determines as they walk across the expanse of the the tiny neighborhoods. Children stop to stare at them, not used to seeing foreigners.
The overcast sky matches his mood, focusing his mind past the unnerving stares and whispers, going down winding crossings of stone steps and grass dried to a sandy brown.
Gai nods, usual peppiness contained in rare moment of reservedness. Fu's squirming has thankfully lessened as they approach the old woman's home.
"Here are the guests I told you about Lady Kirika!" Misaki calls out before bowing in goodbye to them both.
A elderly woman approaches them, silver-black hair tied back in a long braid, auburn eyes roaming over Fu's body.
"Most people call me Lady Kirika or the Medicine Woman of Tonika Village and Hachō Village." She greets the pair with a bow.
She gestures for them to lay Fu down upon the makeshift cot she made in preparation, taking in the sheen of sweat coating her tan skin, the dryness of her eyes and tongue via quick assessment.
"Ah, she's in terrible condition you two. I'm not sure she'll make it through another day or even through tonight based on the shape she's currently in." She remarks gently away from her a few minutes later.
Gai frowns silently, legs rocking in a way that reminds Kakashi of the nervous tics he had during their days at the Academy.
"Anything you can do will help." Kakashi adds.
Kirika shrugs, glancing over her shoulder back at Fu.
"Do you two happen to know what caused to her to get into such a state? The wounds upon her are deep and she has scratches to areas of her body that look like she was trying to run from something...or someone." She questions.
Her eyes turn piercing on them both; suspicious.
Kakashi says nothing this time, Gai looking downward to the dirt flooring of the tent.
Kirika sighs then, brown orbs turning icy.
"I'll refuse to help if it's something illegal or if it's a big enough secret that it will endanger the village just having her here. Or don't tell me you two played a hand on her-"
"We didn't, seeing was running from the Akatsuki! They want her...or really what's inside of her!" Gai blurts out.
Kakashi's glare at him is twice as frigid, but he supposes the truth is the only way Fu is going to get help.
"...I see." Kirika murmurs after a pause, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
She steps away from them to her workstation, gathering bundles of herbs and liquids the colors of dull pinks to bright yellows.
"We'll need to be careful about this, no more talk leaves this tent about her condition. I know what rogue shinobi and even petty criminals will do with such information." She orders.
Gai straightens, nodding vigorously.
"Yes ma'am! We won't let you down!"
She looks to Kakashi who only nods his agreement, he's wary himself about any eavesdroppers also crossing through the village looking to use the benefits of the nearby water resource.
Kirika smiles faintly, settling herself beside Fu once more replacing her dried washcloth with a fresh one.
She kisses at her beaded necklace, whispers a prayer.
"I've never dealt with a jinchuriki, don't even have full knowledge of how their body systems work in comparison to ours, but I'll do my best."
Elsewhere-Amegakure
'Most of the flames have been put out and most civilians have been evacuated.' Konan considers, letting her paper crane drift back into the sea of rain.
Outside it seems quieter than normal, usual trail of umbrellas at the market absent.
She shivers before straightening her back, unable to shake the feeling that their plans are already ruined, have been crumpling apart silently without their knowing.
Tsunade hasn't backed down, Jiraiya and Naruto have yet to return to Konoha.
Nagato will have to decide how they proceed next.
She tenses though upon seeing Nagato slumped over, wires and rods in disarray, rushing forward.
"Nagato, what's wrong?! What happened?" She panics.
"The paper flowers, did you thoroughly test them?" He rasps out.
"What do you mean; of course I did. I didn't find any hints to the person behind it." Konan persists.
Nagato shakes his head, gesturing to the lab in the back.
"Recheck, there's something we missed. I know it; bring all of your burnt paper roses here to me."
She hesitates at leaving him in such a state before nodding and heading into the sterile room and retrieving a set of gloves and tools.
None of her paper roses revealed anything under microscope, what does Nagato think they could find this time?
But she does as he asks returning with the blackened sheets, spreading them out before him.
"Show me the first one, the one that was found out in the field." He voices.
She passes it to him, folding it out carefully.
Soot stains her gloves black, disintegrates the paper with each movement.
"Brush at each corner; just enough." Nagato instructs.
Konan picks gently at the ends, eyes widening as it reveals a set of numbers, kanji and the faintest image.
Even burned though she recognizes this smiling face, they both do.
Yahiko.
The numbers add up to 6 and the kanji only seems to be a scattering of names, but one word sticks out to her from the scramble.
'BTX?'
Nagato's rattling cough interrupts her thoughts, gaze intense.
"When we handled these roses beforehand neither of us were wearing gloves, right? We had just thought the burning of the roses in it itself was the message, not what was beneath the ash."
Konan nods slowly, processing.
"Jiraiya is aware of various poisons, pesticides, chemicals, and irritants." She whispers more to herself.
He taught them all they know, but not about this subject.
There's much about Jiraiya they don't know truly.
And her stomach drops then, goosebumps prickling up her arms.
Naruto & Hinata
'She has a much better handle of things.' Naruto sighs.
He watches utterly mesmerized and enchanted as Hinata dances upon on this little swimming hole of water right outside the falls, encircles herself in droplets shades of blues and deep greens.
'Pretty.' His grin widens, wet violet locks stick to her bare back, cream skin glowing in the mid afternoon sun.
Electricity crackles up in her hands, concentrating it on a target he can't see before unleashing a bolt of lightning somewhere deeper into the woods.
"If you wait around long enough she may start skinny dipping to work off that sweat!" Jiraiya mentions giddily by his ear, popping up beside him.
Naruto smacks his hand to this mouth, sinking them into the shrubbery out of sight.
"You're going to get us paralyzed by her gentle fist!" Naruto whisper-yells at him.
"And you don't think she isn't going to find out you're peeking on her?!" Jiraiya supplies in return.
Hinata turns straight in the direction of their hiding spot anyways too late for them to fully sleek away, byakugan active, cheeks a dark pink.
"Naruto. Jiraiya. You have 30 seconds to go." She orders.
She watches Naruto and Jiraiya scramble away, as soon as they're out of sight feeling a set of hands wrap around.
"Okay, we're truly alone now!" The real Naruto whispers by her ear, fingers skimming at her wet sports bra and shorts, flustering and squirming out of his hold to no avail.
"You're supposed to be training too!" Hinata giggles, allowing him to settle them back against the grassy edge of the water.
Grass and weeds tangle into their hair, Naruto shrugging at her persistent questioning look.
"It's...not as easy as I thought it was going to be, you know. I figured it would just be like me confronting my anger and upset over how most people treated me growing up, but it was much deeper than that; darker."
"What did you see?" Hinata asks, turning on her side to face him fully.
Naruto sighs, shutting his eyes for moment seeing a flash of his 5 year old self's malicious grin.
"It was a memory from when I was like 5 or so. I didn't keep track of things like expiration dates or when I was getting low on food, but I did save up my ryo when I could. I went to the convenience store to buy a cup ramen and got hassled by the shopkeeper and one of the weapon's shop owners."
Hinata nods, recalling from walks out with Natsu of Naruto being turned away or ignored until he inevitably left.
"And then all my anger and upset from that moment became twisted, showed me what I really wanted to do instead of running away." Naruto finishes.
Hinata reaches a hand forward, curls her fingers against his wet cheek.
"You're not a monster. No matter what the dark side of you says." She affirms.
Naruto entangles their hands then, rolling closer to her.
Hinata curls in meeting him halfway, his thumb gently stroking at the edge of her lips. Her breath hitches feeling the waft of dew and pine on her cheek before his lips brush hers, tentative before fully melting against her.
Fingers reach and slide down her back again, snap at her bra to feel the full softness of her breasts as she presses into him.
Hinata sighs in pleasure, moans swallowed before they can echo out.
Naruto guides himself to her neck, drops kisses until her skin burns.
And instantly she reacts, presses him closer nails scraping along the ends of his hair.
It's only a loud cough that makes them freeze, Hinata rightly near deciding to sink herself into the water seeing Jiraiya half-watching, half-poorly attempting to look away.
"You two will unfortunately have to stop for now, though this gives me great ideas for some plot points and environments for my next novels!"
Naruto situates himself to cover Hinata's modesty, well he expected he would easily know he ran off with a clone, but that didn't mean for him to come back and interrupt them.
"Seriously, it's important." Jiraiya reiterates at Naruto's scowl.
"Is it about Konoha?" Hinata guesses at his expression.
Jiraiya nods, settling for a half-truth seeing their features change to worry.
'I'm sure he decoded one of my messages, I need to check to make sure.'
"Don't worry, it's nothing Tsunade and I can't handle. Pain or I should say Nagato has caused some destruction, but it's under control. I need to check in on things though, so I'll most likely be heading out in the next day or so."
"We should go with you!" Naruto asserts, Jiraiya raising his hand before he can go on.
"No, No! You two finish with your training! Let the old generation handle this!" Jiraiya chuckles.
Naruto and Hinata look to each warily, the things left unsettled in the old generation is how wars started, how old wounds and dark dreams festered and grew.
It's everything their future selves warned them about to avoid.
-x-
Sorry this chapter took so long, but I've enjoyed writing all these new developments, especially for Jiraiya going to confront his old students! Do you think he'll go easy on them or show no mercy? Let me know your thoughts as always!
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