Hey, hey!
Welcome back, this chapter is part one of 'Clues'. Pretty much just piecing together the massacre and what happened. A lot of Shikamaru, Ino, Sakura and Sasuke in this chapter and little of Naruto and Hinata.
You can give me your guesses lol, I like to see who's close or looking at the clues given. If you can guess where this is all probably headed.
I understand my stories are a bit dark. Spicy and dark is how I like to write them. Sometimes comical. So I understand when it's not everyone's cup of tea.
Anyways, back to the story. I hope you all enjoy!
"Can we stop sugar coating everything right now? The more we don't talk about this, the more Naruto and Hinata are out there exposed to the possibility of Akatsuki getting ahold of Naruto and just killing Hinata."
Shikamaru grumbled to himself as he sat on his couch slightly annoyed that everyone had chosen his home to gather and sulk in misery. Last time he checked this place was only for Ino and himself. You know, husband and wife.
He never spoke to Sasuke much and he had the slightest clue how Ino and Sakura's love hate relationship worked, but right now Sakura was in his home. When just moments ago her and Ino were at one another's throat.
Neji and his team, he was perfectly fine with being here. He understood him being here, but SASUKE of all people. What in the hell.
Ino was quiet. The quietest he's ever seen her. She had a stubborn look on her face and was staring holes in the ground. Her angry face was really just a cover up of how heartbroken she was. She didn't believe Hinata was responsible for the massacre for even a minute. Hinata could sit here in Ino's face and tell her she committed the massacre and Ino still wouldn't believe her.
Shikamaru frowned at this. Ino was smarter than that.
Whatever relationship Hinata and Ino built in Anbu made it so Ino would take Hinata's secrets to the grave with her. She was still tight lipped with Shikamaru, her husband, about what type of missions her and Hinata had been on. When Sakura started to really focus her time in the hospital and went to part time, something happened where Ino took more of the motherly figure for Hinata and the two were almost inseparable.
It made sense. Hinata was the green one of the rookie nine. She was the sheltered one and the youngest of everyone. It was easy to just take Hinata under your wing. Same could be said for Naruto. Shikamaru could admit he did the same for Naruto. Whenever his loud friend needed him he was there.
Sasuke and Sakura sat on the couch opposite of Ino and Shikamaru. Neji sat in the recliner in total silence with Lee and Tenten behind him. Sasuke looked at Neji for a moment before looking at Shikamaru, "None of this goes to Tsunade. Or anyone out this room."
Ino's eyes snapped over to Sasuke like she was offended, "Are you being serious right now? Like we're untrust-" Shikamaru elbowed Ino and gave her an annoyed look. Now wasn't the time to pick arguments.
Sasuke simply ignored Ino's tantrum, "Look. Like you said it doesn't matter if the breakfast this morning was hot or cold. It was hot and fresh by the way. Still, it doesn't matter. Naruto is a pro at his shadow clones and timing them to dispel. He could have been out the village with this Hyuga hours ago before his clone dropped the breakfast off. Or it could have really been him. We don't know and I'm sure that's what he's betting on."
Shikamaru scratched his chin as he nodded his head, "Exactly. Plus when I say Hinata came to our place in the morning I meant like fucking really early. The sun wasn't even out yet. I don't know what her clothes looked like, I'm assuming clean, but she was wearing a cloak…Naruto wasn't though, his normal clothes were clean too."
Shikamaru thought back to Hinata and Naruto coming by. He had never seen Hinata look so depressed in his life. Hinata was a pretty dark and gloomy person, but she looked absolutely miserable when she came to their home. Shikamaru could see the blood splatter on her feet and neck. She tried to hide it under the cloak, but he could tell.
Naruto had this cold exterior to him. He didn't say anything to Shikamaru or Ino and looked as if he didn't want them to say anything to him for the moment. He was in a rush, Shikamaru could see that much. Where ever Naruto and Hinata were now had to be days away judging by Naruto's speed. That determined look on Naruto's face ensured that no one was going to find them if he didn't want them to.
That cold, dark and just downright evil look in Naruto's eyes. That was the reason Shikamaru further warned their Hokage to not pursue Hinata and Naruto just yet. He had never seen Naruto look so deadly and Shikamaru knew for a fact Naruto would attack anyone that came searching for them too soon.
Sakura looked up from the carpet and gawked at Shikamaru. He had lied to Tsunade. She couldn't believe this. The Shikamaru she knew and grew up with would NEVER do such a thing.
That meant Naruto was with Hinata the whole time. Was he there during the massacre?
Shikamaru caught Sakura gawking and held up a hand, "Wait a minute now. Naruto wasn't wearing a cloak. I'm guessing because he wasn't the one to…get dirty. Honestly, I know Ino, Sakura and Neji don't want to hear this, but Hinata for sure did it. BUT I don't think she killed the branch family. Something happened and she for sure eliminated her family. Do you think the same thing Neji?"
Neji was leaning back in the recliner zoned out but still listening. His eyes traveled over to Shikamaru on guard for a moment before he closed his eyes tiredly.
"She wouldn't kill the branch family that way. She wanted to eliminate the caged bird seal and that's why it's been so much…conflict within the clan. It's been rather rough the last year or two. It was just recently decided that Hanabi would permanently be the heir and take over the clan. It's been an uproar on the branch family side that the main family just wants Hanabi instead of Hinata because she would continue the caged bird seal."
Everyone paused to look at Neji. He ran his shaky hands through his dirty hair since he hadn't showered after coming back from his mission. "I am sure you know this already Ino. Lord Hiashi wasn't an idiot. He knew Hinata was feeding information to Anbu and the interrogation unit about the possibility of there being a civil war within the Hyuga clan. He was furious with her treachery. As you know, I could not protect Hinata-sama from a main house family member. Especially from Lord Hiashi. Hinata didn't stand down from the physical backlash either."
Ino's eyes snapped at Shikamaru as he gave her a glare, "Ino. That's enough secrets. Hinata isn't here and you holding these annoying secrets are hurting her more than anything."
She saw the hurt in his eyes at the fact that she was keeping such things from him and swallowed a lump in her throat. Hinata begged her to keep this a secret. Ibiki said there were things that even the Hokage doesn't know within Anbu and interrogation. She thought she was doing the right thing.
"Me and Sakura both knew that Hinata was being…abused at home. For a really long time. Hinata…didn't want anyone to know just yet. However, Hinata brought up the situation to our Anbu captain, when I was still in, about the civil war conflict. It was a big meeting between a bunch of higher ups including the Hokage, Ibiki and our captain. The whole thing was a big deal. The Hyuga clan is historic. If there was a civil war it would bring Konoha into shambles financially. Hinata knew that. The networking and connections her clan has…Hinata was willing to be the bad guy in all of this by telling clan personal affairs. It was agreed that I would 'leave' Anbu and migrate to interrogation because me and Hinata could cover this case better in different units that were involved in the Hyuga case. This…this case wasn't a 'tell Sakura' or 'pillow talk' type of case that I could share."
Ino leaned over and covered her face with her hands, "Hinata was just supposed to monitor and report. That was all. Still, Hiashi found out and after a horrible 'father-daughter' altercation Hinata reported that Hanabi would be the Hyuga heir. She believed they were going to freaking kill or seal her after the ceremony. I-I-I TOLD Hinata to take Naruto with her, but she was so determined to do the ceremony herself. She-she didn't want you to know Sakura. She didn't want anyone to know. Naruto just so happened to fall into her life when all of this was going on. I-I thought it was a GOOD thing. I told her she should open herself to his advances because Naruto would for sure protect her from her family and help her keep her head in the game. So she wouldn't burn out in Anbu. I have no clue how all this came to be, but I know it had something to do with her family pushing her to do it!"
Ino looked up at Shikamaru with tears falling down her face, "I'm so sorry Shika. Ibiki-sama said if too many people found out it could cause the internal war within the clan to happen a lot sooner. Hinata all along was supposed to leave the village. We were just trying to bind time and get Hinata out the village safely. Naruto joining Anbu was perfect. While people saw Naruto as 'beneath' them like the Hyuga clan did, they still feared him. Him joining Anbu meant that he was progressing and that scared Hinata's family. Him being with Hinata was a good security blanket for them both. Hinata gave Naruto a good image and Naruto protected her."
Ino took several deep breaths after her confession. She's felt awful for so LONG. While finally admitting all of this was on the 'too late' scale, Ino felt this weight jut being lifted from her shoulders. Holding these secrets just felt made her feel so miserable and not like herself.
Sakura frowned as she looked at Ino, "What are you saying? You pushed them together because you wanted to protect Hinata? You didn't even care where they both were mentally, you just pushed them on top of each other during a fucked up time in both their life Ino! You practically dragged Naruto into all of this when I KNOW Hinata didn't want him to be dragged into this mess!"
Ino snapped her head at Sakura, "Oh fuck you Sakura! I was there! You weren't! How heartless do you take me?! It was clear as day Naruto wanted her, and she still had feelings for Naruto. So who cares if I used their old connection to push them together. Hinata needed SOMEONE to protect her from her family. They'd fucking kill Neji if he tried to intervene. Who was going to protect her? Clearly not me, considering how easy your boyfriend almost took my LIFE. So, who? YOU?!"
Ino stood up from her position with wild crazed eyes as she looked at Sakura. Ignoring the fact Sasuke was glaring at her, "This is what I do Sakura. This is my job. I can't sit around and think about feelings. In Anbu I was attached to Hinata and we protected one another. In interrogation I was attached with the job of monitoring the Hyuga clan and insuring Hinata was safe while gathering information. So fuck you. It was planned for Hinata to leave the village anyways. How was I to know the massacre would happen the same day! HOW?!"
Ino turned from Sakura and started pacing as she was beginning to lose her wit, "Even so. Even if Hinata came to me covered in blood and told me she did massacre her clan I would have still helped her out the village. I almost died PLENTY of times while out on missions and I'm so thankful Hinata was there all those times to save me. When I was on the ground convulsing because of your beloved. When I felt like I was going to die. Hinata was there for me. No one else but Hinata was there for me. If I didn't have Shikamaru I would be out there rogue with her because I have her back that much. What about you Sakura!?"
Taking deep breaths Ino stretched her arms over her head and took several calming breaths, "Be that as it may. I agree with Shika and Neji. She didn't kill the branch family. I have no proof, but I just have a feeling Hanabi's ceremony sparked the downfall of the Hyuga clan. Hinata must have knew it was going to happen that night and tried to reason with everyone by going over there."
Sakura was still glaring at Ino when Sasuke placed his hand on her knee, "Look. Both of you. There is no reason to feel as if any of us in this room is to blame. It's annoying to have to point out the obvious. Naruto and Hinata aren't children. Naruto himself said him and Hinata had some abnormal relationship were they were just using each other for comfort. He made it clear that they both were in on the deal and in the beginning they both didn't want anything more than that. Last night-"
Sasuke closed his eyes and made sure he sensed no other party in their area. That it was really just them in the Nara's home, "Last night he said he loved her. A lot. That he'd do anything for her. That he would kill for her. I asked him if he was planning on doing something stupid and he didn't answer me. He just smiled. Which I'm sure we all knows what that means when it comes to Naruto."
Sakura eyes widened at Sasuke, "That was when me and Hinata were talking on the balcony? She seemed so depressed. She kept telling me not to worry. I should have known when Hinata talks like that something is wrong. I should have known."
Sasuke looked at Sakura and in a rare moment smiled at her, "Don't blame yourself. You have to understand that where ever Naruto and your friend are. That is where they want to be. They aren't in any harm as of now."
He then looked at Shikamaru seriously, "I don't understand why they ran. Like Tsunade said it does look bad on the Hyuga's part to flee like this."
The room grew quiet again and Shikamaru had leaned forward as he was deep in thought, "I think we're struggling so hard because everyone is looking at Naruto and Hinata as how we know them. Ino, said that Hinata was ordered to just observe and report. She was ordered to stand down. Maybe she didn't want to stand down anymore."
Neji attention was peaked again and he looked at Shikamaru, "What are you saying? That she started all of this? Think before you speak."
Shikamaru felt a chill run up his spine at Neji's threat. Those damn Hyuga's barely had to speak to let their threats be known, especially Neji.
"Yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying. What was the point of her going over there if not for malicious intent? She was going over there to 'stop' anything from happening? The very sight of her probably would have triggered something to happen. Ino herself said Naruto was there to protect Hinata. There was absolutely no reason for Hinata to go to the Hyuga compound that night if she didn't intend to start something. EVEN if there was no intention. Why go alone? Why did Hinata go alone and not warn the Hokage of what was happening? Who's to say the branch family was going to revolt that night? Hinata went there with a purpose to take out the main family, I just can't connect why and how the branch family got in the cross fire."
Sasuke sighed as he leaned back on the couch, "What do you think Naruto's involvement with any of this is? This Hinata person strikes me as being too noble to let Naruto get too caught up in her situation. Plus Tsunade said none of the bodies had evidence of Naruto's type of attacks. The Hyuga girl obviously didn't want Naruto to be involved, and I'm sure she didn't want him to leave the village. The only place protecting him from Akatsuki."
Shikamaru was silent for a moment again before he spoke, "We're thinking of Naruto as being far too innocent in this. Naruto has proven time and time again that his goofy persona is really just a coverup. He knew for a while now Hinata's situation. He's told me several times how problematic Hinata's family was towards their relationship. While he probably accepted her wishes of him not getting involved in the blood shed, he more so proved to be the coverup for the aftermath. With Naruto's skill we have no idea when the massacre took place, when they left the village, we have nothing. Who's to say Naruto's clones didn't stage some of the massacre scene to look a certain way before he left. What fingerprints are we getting? Clones don't have fingerprints. Any hair that falls off a clone immediately dissolves."
Neji closed his eyes as his eyebrows knitted together, "This just shows that they planned this out. No way it's a coincidence that this all happened while I'm out on a mission. This was malicious and personal. This shows that Hinata intended for all of this to happen. It wasn't out of a moment of passion. If we can sit here and figure it out then so can the Hokage's investigators eventually. Where do you think Hinata and Naruto are now?"
Shikamaru looked at Ino to see if she had an idea, "You have any idea? You said the plan all along was to get Hinata out of Konoha safely. Which means him joining Anbu was planned as well. Meaning Naruto was always supposed to get her out the village. MEANING they had plenty of time to figure out where to go."
Sasuke eyed the male Nara. He was just too good. The fact that Shikamaru was willing to lie and cover for Naruto and Hinata made Sasuke nervous. Shikamaru probably had multiple scenario's in his head already of whether or not he was going to side with Naruto or Konoha.
Ino nodded her head as she looked back at Shikamaru, "Ibiki told Hinata when the time came that she couldn't be obvious. Hyuga's have connections everywhere. She couldn't go to popular villages. She had to literally disappear."
Shikamaru nodded his head back in thought, "In that case Tsunade is never going to find them. If I know Naruto, he has no problem going into the danger zones that isn't protected by honorable ninja's. He could care less if he's surrounded by rogue ninja's, murderers, drug dealers and rapist. He doesn't care that his life is in danger in those areas. The guy is always up for a fight. Hinata would have to adapt, but as long as she's with him I don't see anyone touching her. That means Konoha ninja's included. Hinata will be put in the BINGO books eventually, so they have some hard times ahead of them."
Ino tapped her fingers on Shikamaru's knee in thought. She looked off into the void space in her living room. Memories of Sakura, Hinata and herself having many girl night sleepovers. The laughs, secrets, tears and loved exchanged. What happened to those times?
"Sakura?" Said person frowned as she looked at Ino, "What." Ino seemed to ignore the frost in Sakura's voice, "Tsuande doesn't trust a lot of us right now when it comes to this investigation. She trusts you though. She would pick you to be on the Anbu team to retrieve Hinata should you accept the offer."
Sakura almost snarled at Ino, "It will not come to that. Hinata is important to not just you Ino. You should know I won't just go out there and harm Hinata to bring her down for a crime that I still refuse she is at fault for. Hinata…Hinata STILL hasn't done wrong yet. There is no PROOF. Even if it came down to me being dispatched to retrieve her. I won't harm her because I know Hinata wouldn't harm me."
Shikamaru frowned at Sakura's words and a revelation literally slammed in his head.
Their connection was too strong for Hinata to harm Sakura. Hinata right now, from what he last remembered when he saw her looked WEAK. Mentally and physically. She would easily agree to go into custody if she saw her beloved friend, Sakura.
Now. Back to Naruto.
There was a reason Naruto distanced himself from people that he deemed as family. While Hinata's bond with Sakura seemed solid and strong, it was mighty odd how Naruto's relationship with Sakura seemed to grow brittle.
Not just with Sakura either. Naruto spent less time with Sasuke, Kakashi and Sakura. He distanced himself from people he held dear to his heart. WHY? Surely he wasn't trying to hate them. That would be ridiculous. So why?
Did he really think they wouldn't miss him or be devastated if he left with Hinata? This all wasn't making sense and Shikamaru had to get alone with his wife to find out exactly what were the plans for Naruto and Hinata that the intelligence division and Anbu had made.
What was obvious to Shikamaru was that Naruto saw Hinata was growing weak because of her family. So, he grew strong for her and him. Naruto would surely crush Sakura if she came after Hinata.
Sakura genuinely wasn't understanding the pieces Shikamaru had already put together.
All their theories were hypothetical. What was wrong with Hinata being here to explain herself? If Hinata was wrong, if she did indeed massacre her family out of pure malicious intent than she has to be punished. Was Sakura missing something?
They were all adults now, and mature enough to know the difference between right and wrong. If Hinata wanted their help, if she would have reached out then they could have done something about this from the very beginning. That's why all of this was so hard for Sakura to understand. There just has to be another person that did these crimes. Sakura just…couldn't see Hinata doing this.
She didn't want to face the reality that Hinata didn't reach out. Hinata wanted to kill her family for a reason.
Ino just smiled at Sakura, "Don't you think I know this? Sakura. You never really had it in you to even hurt Hinata's feelings. Still. If I had to be brought down, I would want it to be by my cherished friend instead of some random Konoha ninja. Wouldn't you? Hinata is one tough cookie. I could only imagine you being the one to bring her back with the right dignity if I cannot get ahold of her first and save her from the Hokage."
Shikamaru huffed at this, "Sounds nice and noble, but you're going to need more than just Anbu if you want to get to Hinata. Let's not forget about Naruto."
Fishing at the ports and catching the freshest fish didn't mean the fish tasted the best. Hinata swore there was some type of pollution or something in the area that got into the main land's water source. The fish tasted different than something fresh from a river stream back home.
She immediately stopped herself from thinking about Konoha. She wasn't back home and wouldn't be going back there for some time now. Probably never again.
She made her decision, now she had to lie in it. Hinata looked up at Naruto and saw that he had eaten all the food she prepared. It wasn't much. Fish, potatoes, rice. Just things to fill them up and make their stomachs heavy for some time. She seasoned the fish heavily to hide it's grainy taste, she was happy to see that it worked for Naruto.
Hinata smiled as she watched Naruto clean off his plate by eating the last potato. He must had really been hungry. Honestly so was she. Hinata didn't know why she wasn't filling her stomach.
It could be the flashbacks. The memories that would constantly fill her mind frame when she had a moment of silence in her head. It made her sick to her stomach, she could barely keep herself from becoming dehydrated.
Naruto felt her staring at him and looked up at her with a grin. He looked down at Hinata's food and saw she barely ate. "Don't worry. With everything that has happened I'm not surprised you lost your appetite. You'll get it back. Every time something traumatic happened to me I couldn't eat afterwards. Sometimes it was days and sometimes it lasted weeks."
Then he just became used to it and became gluttonous with food. The abuse and trauma he endured as a child just stopped fazing him.
Before their dinner Hinata and Naruto both had showered and changed into some clean clothes. Sooner or later they would have to change their clothing to something different to blend in the environment. They still had another day in the hotel, so that was plenty of time to gather more essential items before changing locations.
Hinata looked at Naruto for a moment before trying to eat her meal again. It wasn't bad. She seasoned it pretty good actually. She had a moment of joy for being proud of her cooking skills. "How are you so calm Naruto? Are you just pretending so I won't be sad? You don't have to."
Naruto shrugged his shoulder and looked at Hinata in a nonchalant manner, "I mean. I am a bit stressed if we are being honest. My girl is practically wanted by a powerhouse village. We're on the run. In the slummiest of places you could think of. All because her family had been doing some fucked up shit-"
"Naruto!" Hinata frowned at his language and he grinned at her.
"I mean Anbu and the interrogation unit knows about your clan's corruption and how it was leading to an internal war. Still, they wouldn't have been able to protect you from the Hokage. Granny see's stuff black and white. None of this was exactly intentional Hinata. You didn't wake up that day, get all dolled up, hand Hanabi over your rightful title and decide to kill your family. Still, even you can agree it could have been preventable in some shape or form. Hokage finds out that life could have been preserved and she'd put you in lock up. Children were killed Hinata, that is a major trigger for her. Plus to top it off, the strong connections your family had with other clans and organizations. They'd want you locked away too. Maybe not for life, but your ninja career and reputation would be ruined. It's not fair if you ask me."
Naruto crossed his arms and leaned back in the creaky hotel chair. Hinata looked at him with somber eyes as she stood up and walked behind him. She hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek, "Naruto. I-I was wrong. Wasn't I? I had no right to be a vigilante."
Naruto turned and looked at Hinata. He stood up and cupped her cheeks and looked deep into her bottomless eyes. He knew she was sinking. That she was falling from grace and couldn't find a way to bring herself back to the light.
Hinata had to fall. She had to see that life sometimes didn't have a happy ending. That way she would be able to pick herself up, dust off the misery and fight the war with him.
If Naruto had anything to do with it, there was definitely going to be a war.
"Hinata. We went there and tried to REASON with them. Do you remember what happened? Because I do. I remember your fucking grandfather lighting up that caged bird seal on your cousin and I remember the screams. I remember them calling you names, and I remember the branch family trying to defend themselves and everything went crazy. You stood up for what was right Hinata. You made sure your family didn't get away with what happened. Don't you forget. I'm not innocent in any of this either Hinata. You remember why right?"
Hinata nodded her head and tears gathered in her eyes, "I remember Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled at her and leaned over to kiss her but paused. He quickly let go of Hinata, stood up and turned off all the lights in the room. He got close to the window near the hotel door and peaked out the curtains just the slightest. He immediately started to growl.
Hinata looked at him concerned. She crouched down beside the bed and looked at Naruto wondering what he was looking at, "Naruto-"
"That asshole really thinks you're a call girl. I got something for this guy."
End of chapter!
Hope you enjoyed it. Ino and Sakura have a forever rival and bitterness towards one another. Still, it's a love/hate relationship and they'll forever be there and care for one another.
Writing Sasuke like this is interesting. Still making him not very social, but still caring for Sakura can be a bit challenging. Thanks to Boruto, I can envision it though. (I'm not really a Boruto fan, but I like looking at the OG's in it)
Well, we haven't even gotten to the real fun yet. So stay tuned and I shall see you all next week!
