Chapter two
"Time for payback Haruki." The first one said and before Hinata could begin with the hand signs, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to his chest. "The fox' not here to protect you like last time. You'll regret what you've done bitch." Grabbing her by her neck he then threw her to the ground and loosened up on the spell he used to mask his demon features.
"I-I'm not- Haruki. My n-name's Hinata."
"Oh look at her!" The one in the middle, a female tiger demon smiled wickedly and ran her tongue along her sharp teeth that began looking more like fangs. "How cute. I'll go first. Rip out her legs so she has nowhere to run."
"Calm yourself down Riza. We need to take her somewhere quiet before we have our fun." The one that had spoken first crouched down and grabbed her ankle after she tried to scoot back. "This time Namikaze won't be there to save you."
Hinata was frozen in place, watching as his features morphed into something more animalistic, more serpent-like with his black eyes turning green and slit. His skin turned scaly and the hair on his head fell out, black and green scales replacing it.
"P-please. You've got the wrong person." She stammered, hoping to reach her twin through their bond but something was blocking it.
And that's when Hinata realized the one who had yet to speak was occupied with maintaining some kind of barrier around the four of them, preventing her not only from reaching her sister but from anyone outside it to hear a thing.
"Takeshi," Riza snarled and pointed to the serpent-like male still holding her ankle currently stroking the exposed skin there. "Let's get going before I rip her to shreds right here. I can't stand looking at this bitch's face."
Before Takeshi could say more on the subject, another person jumped down from Hinata knew where and walked confidently towards them.
Said person was behind her and at that moment Hinata knew she was utterly fucked.
Another had joined.
No one will be able to help me now.
The demonic power she felt coming from this new demon was way stronger than the three individuals that had cornered her. She could feel it through the barrier.
"Let the girl go." From the demon's shadow, she spotted two wings but an overall humanoid shape. Turning her head around slowly to pear at this new person, she saw a tall, handsome man with piercing red eyes. His raven hair was slightly damp from the rain and his wings were nowhere to be seen. Only a faint trail of smoke.
"Uchiha." Riza snarled and poised herself to jump at him. "This is none of your business. Go back to wherever the fuck you came out of before I make you." Takeshi put an arm up, stopping the tigress from going any further. Hinata recognized the name and a sudden feeling of relief coursed through her body, even though she wasn't yet out of danger.
They all watched as Sasuke's eyes momentarily met Hinata's before he extended a hand towards the barrier. Hinata couldn't explain what it was, but she felt as if something inside her woke up from a long slumber.
She had to help him somehow. Something told her to help him come through.
She used the distraction to work on breaking the barrier, the sudden flare in her chakra allowing her to make the hand signs that fully allowed the Uchiha to enter the space.
Ignoring the tiger demon, Sasuke walked towards them and stood in front of Takeshi, who had now stood up and put himself in front of Hinata, blocking her view.
Taking it as her chance to put some distance, she crawled towards the building wall and pushed herself up with some difficulty. That demon must have numbed it with poison or something. She concluded as she tried to stand on both legs, having to use the wall for support.
Should have just stayed inside… H
er breath caught as red eyes met lavender ones and she somehow understood his request to stay as quiet and still as possible.
"You talk as if you stood a chance. Get lost before I lose my patience." The raven-haired demon threatened hand poised right by his katana ready to strike, and Takeshi snorted.
"Right back at you. Three against one? Sasuke, I thought you smarter than this." The other two snickered and got into battle stances as the Uchiha merely rolled his eyes.
"No. The smart one it's his brother, remember?" The one that had been holding the barrier up smirked and continued saying, "It's a shame Itachi isn't here to protect his baby brother. Don't worry, we'll make sure to leave your body on his doorstep."
Hinata had heard Menma talk, complain, about Sasuke multiple times and from all the knowledge she had acquired, she was certain that at any moment he would lose his patience and finish the three rogues as promised. It was a matter of minutes. Seconds until he did.
"For a dead man you speak way too much," Pulling the katana strapped to his hip, the Uchiha smirked and Hinata could only watch in amazement as it took less than a minute for the snake demon to be dead on the ground, the tiger demon soon following suit as she tried and failed to grab Hinata and slit her throat.
"Say hello to Orochimaru for me." With that, the sword cut through Riza's stomach, and soon after her body began to turn into ash. Closing his eyes, Sasuke then rolled his shoulders. He looked bored. As if he was expecting more of a fight but at the same time not really.
"Kabuto, don't you have anything better to do than this?"
The third man who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor stood up and adjusted his round glasses.
"Now, now Sasuke… What happened to you? After you and the Namikaze joined up forces once again, you became such a savage…" He pointed to the spots where Riza's and Takeshi's dead bodies had been. "Alas, it seems my plans have been delayed." Feigning annoyance, the man Sasuke called Kabuto turned and bowed. "It was lovely to meet you Hinata. Hope we see each other again, preferably sooner rather than later."
Before any of them could react, Kabuto left through a swirling portal. Sasuke had taken a step forward, almost jumping right after him, but he felt how the Hinata's chakra was decreasing at a rapid pace.
"Hinata?" The Uchiha turned to stare at the lavender-eyed girl, utterly confused. "Isn't your name Haruki?" He looked her up and down, frowning as he sheathed back his sword. "You humans and your weird customs." Shaking his head, he didn't even give Hinata the time to speak as he grabbed her by the waist and jumped, somehow ending up on the apartment's balcony.
Hinata had to grab his arm as the numbness of her leg quickly spread to the rest of her body. Sasuke kept quiet and acted as if it were his own apartment and not Hinata's. He obviously was familiar with the space. Sliding the door open he led her to the couch so she could lie down on it, noticing how quickly the toxin was making her dizzier by the minute.
"Thank you." Her voice came out in a whisper, and she frowned, "weren't your eyes red?" She blinked a couple of times, getting up on her elbows to try and decipher the now obsidian eyes. Her hand almost touched his cheek, fingers merely grazing his skin before he pulled back and put some space between them.
"You're weirder than usual Haruki," He leaned back against the opposite wall, crossing his arms, and watched, amused, as Hinata became increasingly angry with him. Her savior.
"I don't know how many times I have to repeat that I'm not Haruki-"
"HINATA!" The 'real' Haruki stormed through the door, hair soaked and a katana in her hand. Menma soon followed, eyes blazing red. "What the hell happened?! I lost all trace of our bond."
She noticed the Uchiha's presence a few seconds later and frowned, pointing the blade in his direction. "What the fuck did you do to my sister you asshole?"
"Kabuto and his friends thought that you were outside alone and tried to kidnap you. Her." Sasuke touched the katana blade with his left hand and pointed it elsewhere that wasn't him. "Dinner would be a nice way of thanking me for saving your sister's life." Menma snorted, closing the door behind him.
"What the hell?" Haruki sheathed back the blade, staring confusingly at Sasuke. "Kabuto? But I banished him to-" Haruki's eyes searched the entire room, the gears in her mind slowly working to try to figure out why he had been lurking in the area. "It's impossible. He shouldn't have gotten out of that place."
"Apparently you did a shitty job." The Uchiha retorted and Haruki's eyes blazed in fury as she once again pointed the katana at him. "As usual." He added, and this time Menma had to intervene and prevent her from doing something she'd regret later.
"Teme." Menma only nodded in Sasuke's direction and motioned Haruki to Hinata's side, whose face was paler than usual.
The two demons watched as Haruki placed her hand on Hinata's forehead and then sat on the floor. "So there's two of them?" Lifting two fingers to emphasize, Sasuke asked in a low tone and watched as Menma took a deep breath.
"Last time I checked that's what having a 'twin' meant." The fox demon smiled and took his jacket off. "Hinata is the sweet one. You'll like her better."
"I heard that!" Haruki turned back slowly, scowling at her boyfriend whose answering grin tested her patience. "For fuck's sake, make yourselves useful! Go grab the first aid kit, I think I still have one of the antidotes from last time we faced that jerk."
Hinata groaned in pain as Haruki prodded the slight scratch on her ankle and the bruise on her neck. She had explained what had happened to her twin through their mental bond and Haruki knew exactly what to do.
Part of her was glad her sister was used to this type of situation, but Hinata began seriously questioning her twin's line of work.
"If that asshole wasn't already dead, I'd kill him myself. Fuck." Haruki kept cursing as she found that they only had two shots of antidote left. "Okay, Hina. This might sting a bit." Although Hinata's body was overall numb, the places where she had skin to skin contact with those demons hurt when Haruki touched and tried to clean. "We'll need a third dosage. With how fast this shit is spreading I'd say Kabuto probably did something to amp up the dosage." Menma kept quiet as he helped his girlfriend prepare everything and gave Hinata a sympathetic smile. "We'll need to go visit Tsunade tomorrow."
'You'll be able to sleep off most of it today… tomorrow morning I'll give you the second shot that will help with the pain, but the third one will be necessary to make sure there's nothing else in your bloodstream.' Haruki shared through their mental bond, wrapping gauze around her sister's ankle and applying a soothing balm on the neck area.
'Care to tell me how the hell do you know those guys?' Hinata quirked an eyebrow up and waited for her sister's answer. She knew of Haruki's adventures and had lost count of how many times she'd helped her care for wounds. But to have some demon lurking around and trying to snatch you when you least expect it was rather suspicious for someone who claimed to only catch rogues and dispatch them back to their realm and nothing more.
Haruki tried to glare at her, but Hinata wasn't having it.
She'd been attacked because of her sister's endeavors. One way or the other she'd get Haruki to finally spill the truth. After all, if Sasuke Uchiha hadn't shown up who knows where Hinata might have ended up.
"Menma-kun," Menma looked up from his spot, having already returned to Sasuke's side of the room, near the tv. "What does this Kabuto have to do with you and Haruki?"
Menma stiffened and thought about how he could best answer the question. Hinata had a way to mimic her twin's voice to the point where even Menma's demon side became confused and somewhat forced him to answer her truthfully.
"Don't!" Haruki warned, standing up and putting a hand in front of her boyfriend's mouth. "Hinata this is none of your concern-"
"How is it none of her concern if she was the one who got attacked not twenty minutes ago?" Sasuke spoke up and Menma looked at him as if he were crazy, noticing how his girlfriend looked more than pissed and her grip tightened.
"No one asked you to butt in Sasuke! Just leave already. My sister and I are thankful that you came to help but now you can fuck off." She smiled threateningly at him, but Sasuke seemed more than unfazed and simply adjusted himself so that he also leaned against the bookcase they had on that wall.
Hinata swung her leg down and managed to bring herself up slightly. "Sasuke stays!" Upon hearing her voice, Haruki turned around and looked incredulously at her twin. "He's the one who helped me, if it weren't for him, I'd be god knows where. So, before I get all sleepy and you find a way to avoid explaining things to me," she tried standing, but the medicine hadn't still taken its full effect, as she fell back into the couch. "Talk or I'm sure Sasuke won't mind. Right?" They exchanged looks and in what was a surprising move, Sasuke nodded, facing both Haruki and Menma.
The smirk that had crept on Sasuke's lips suddenly vanished when he understood Hinata's subliminal order.
He would what?
As if he'd comply with the wishes of a lowly human.
"Fine." Haruki cut her twin off before she could continue her strange manipulation on Sasuke and get him to spill more than necessary.
Taking a really deep breath, Haruki finally looked her twin in the eye and spoke. "I may or may not have infiltrated their gang and killed a bunch of their friends - banishing others to the lower realms, - essentially ruining their operation and their chances to revive their boss. Who, might I add, has gone down in history as one of the biggest threats to both our realm and theirs." Haruki pointed her chin to the demons before taking a step in Hinata's direction.
As Hinata stared dumbfounded at her sister, Sasuke took in her features. Although she and the hotheaded Haruki were nearly identical, there were a few differences that Sasuke detected right away. Hinata's body seemed to be softer than her sister's, hips rounder, tights slightly thicker, chest a bit smaller but not by much, and an overall innocent aura, which Haruki definitely did not possess.
"And they came after me thinking I was you? Cause they thought you could somehow undo what happened?" Hinata's hands clutched the soft fabric of the couch cushions as she tried to hide her nervousness. "What if they come back?" Panic rose inside of her and worried look crossed her twin's face.
"They can't." It was Sasuke's turn to interrupt, feeling how anxious and scared she was. "Once I kill them with my katana their souls remain imprisoned inside it. There's no way they'll be able to get out."
Hinata slowly nodded her head, avoiding the Uchiha's dark gaze as much as she could. There was just something about it that made her nervous (but in a good and strange way).
"Yup. They were probably trying to get to me, to get to Menma and eventually Sasuke since part of Orochimaru's soul is trapped inside his sword." Haruki smiled to herself, closing her eyes in contempt. "Those stupid assholes forgot that the seal placed on that katana is unbreakable. Fucking losers." Snorting she sat on the armchair closest to her boyfriend, who had remained quiet throughout.
"You said Kabuto was there, right?" The dark-haired Namikaze finally spoke up, looking directly towards his friend.
"Yes. He seemed different, but there weren't any fluctuations on his chakra, none that I could detect at least." Sasuke answered, understanding where Menma was getting at. Kabuto's presence meant that he was up to something that would likely put a lot of people in danger. Human and demon alike.
"Haruki let's go to Tsunade's. She'll have more information about this, and we'll get the rest of the antidote." Menma said and walked past them towards their shared bedroom. He walked straight into their wardrobe, taking out his own katana and strapping it to his back.
If he went after Hinata it could only mean he finally found a way to do it. Menma's biggest concern at the moment was making sure Haruki and Hinata were safe. Due to their heritage, it was only a matter of time until one of the extremists who followed Orochimaru acted out.
Haruki lacked the proper skill to actually achieve what Menma thought they planned to, but Hinata on the other hand…
The dark-haired Namikaze sighed and finish gathering what he and his girlfriend would be needing to meet Tsunade.
"Are you fucking crazy?" Haruki yelled out, following him out of the living room towards the not-so-distant bedroom. "I can't leave my sister alone!" Both hands were on her hips and a pure look of discontent distorted her features.
"You have nothing to worry about." Menma placed one of his rings on Haruki's finger, one that would mask her presence once they went to Tsunade's. Kissing her forehead, he smirked once he saw her red-tinted cheeks and took her hand in his to lead her back to where Hinata and Sasuke waited. "What do you mean? It's dangerous. Someone else could come and try and finish what those morons tried to do!"
They both entered back in the room and Hinata saw Menma fiddle with one of the rings he retrieved from the bedroom. "Good thing Sasuke's here! He'll take care of Hinata while we're out."
"What?!" Both Haruki and Sasuke yelled out at the same time their eyes widened, already dismissing Menma's proposal. Hinata just sat there watching as her sister's boyfriend looked nonchalant.
"Yeah. Sasuke can even make dinner for her," winking at his long-time friend, Menma placed a hand on top of Haruki's mouth and used his left arm to hold her around the waist. "Don't worry Hina! You'll be in great hands, just make sure he goes to bed before nine otherwise he'll be a huge pain in the ass, you know how it is with old people."
Sasuke's glare could practically burn Menma, a book from the shelf flew right towards Menma's face, but before it could hit him and a heavily frowning Haruki, they were gone in a flash of yellow light.
Sighing, Sasuke cursed his luck. He hadn't planned on staying and keeping the harpy's twin company, since for all he knew this one could be as bad if not worse than her counterpart. Even if Menma had said otherwise.
"Uh, well I'm gonna take a shower." The bluenette pointed in the direction of her bedroom as she stood on shaky legs. "You don't have to stay if don't want to."
"I can't leave you alone. Kabuto is still out there." Letting out an exasperated sigh, the Uchiha sat in one of the armchairs that faced the kitchen. He was trying to avoid looking into the girl's eyes since they gave him a weird feeling. "And are you sure that's a good idea? You-" Swallowing nervously, Sasuke went on, "You could fall, trip on some shit. You're still not good to walk on your own."
"Yeah, I'm feeling much better and the numbing it's mostly on this leg," She patted the one with the scratched ankle before standing up. "Besides, I have a tub so there isn't as much of a risk."
Sasuke was inclined to disagree with her statement, but he wasn't in the mood to contradict the girl and having to speak more than he had to. Shrugging, he said, "If anything bad happens just yell."
Nodding, Hinata picked up the remote and turned on the tv to give a bit of white noise to the otherwise silent apartment. "Well, make yourself at home… considering you're Menma's best friend I guess I can somewhat trust you." Scoffing, Sasuke focused on the news channel before looking towards his right where the Hyuga stood. "I don't cook."
"Oh! You don't have to," Smiling, Hinata wobbled inside the kitchen and brought back some pamphlets of the local restaurants that had takeout options. "Here, you can choose what you'd like to eat, just order me something that hasn't got any type of seafood, please. I'm not a picky eater."
Sasuke extended his hand to accept the pamphlets but as soon as he did when their fingers brushed against one another that weird feeling seemed to burn inside Sasuke's chest once more.
It seemed Hinata felt it too since she immediately stumbled back a couple of steps, a dark blush taking over her delicate features.
"I-I'm gonna take a shower now. Make yourself at home, I guess." She could leave the Uchiha alone in her apartment, right?
He's Menma's friend and Haruki has some weird friendship with him as well. And since he saved her from those demons, Hinata guessed it would be alright.
Wobbling up to her bedroom was easier than she thought. But the movements required to take the clothes off her body and bend down to pick them up was a whole new story. Her head was spinning, and her leg was throbbing.
Yet, she forced herself to step inside the shower, carefully so that she wouldn't slip and hurt herself in the process.
She tried to wrap her head around the day's events, but every time fear threatened to rise, somehow knowing Sasuke was there seemed to bring her a sense of calm that to her was unheard of since they had only met that day, and she didn't know him that well.
Weird thing was, Sasuke felt the exact same.