Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Call It Fate: Part VIII
It dipped below the horizon slightly, leaving its top to light part of the land. The orange overtook as the blue departed before the dark black paint in the sky came to.
The streets of Konoha were deserted, it was acknowledged to everyone's safety that they stay indoors unless of shinobi rank.
Wind drifted silently in and out of alleyways as the only bustling came from the Hyuuga Estate. A slim girl with large white eyes stood in front of the Main House as many members all clad in black kneeled before her.
"…Groups 4 and 5 will then take the Eastern Exit where it is close to the Water Country. Group 6 will then be lead by me, and we're going to take the Northern Gate, directly to the border with the Wind Country."
The teams of four nodded silently in response as the girl continued.
"If then you are searching for 3 days without any whereabouts, return here immediately. Refusal to return would only tell the rest of us that you are either in danger, or you have found Hinata-sama. That would then cause us to send more groups after you. Do not lag if you have no clues."
With a flick of her wrist, five groups disappeared immediately. She jumped down from the steps and strode over to the last group, whom were waiting for her orders.
"Hanabi."
She turned around, her long dark blue hair twisted in her motion, "Yes, Father?" Her head bent slightly in a respective manner.
"I doubt the Cloud wants the secrets to the Byakugan. Be careful."
She bowed in response, "I understand."
A loud thump echoed in the hollow room, dimly lit with a lantern at each corner. It was stuffy and smelled of musk as there was no opening or window.
An underground dungeon. Everything in the military here worked underground, away from the howling wind and swirling sands of death if a person was to be caught up in that storm.
Hinata grunted slightly as she thrown onto the dusty cold cement. She had been passed over from Kyou—as she had learned his name to some other Cloud nin who had no respect for captives whatsoever. He had tossed her in there like a potato into a barrel.
The rusty metal door was slammed shut as the nin left without a word. She concentrated hard and was able to lay herself on her back. Staring up at the ceiling, she wondered if Kyou had forgotten about her disjointed limbs. Her arms and legs laid motionless next to her in awkward positions. It probably would've hurt painfully if she ever tried that angle with her arm…however everything from her neck down was numb, so it didn't matter now.
Closing her eyes, only to be haunted by the images of the ice-like blue eyes of the feared Sand nin.
Gaara…
She snapped her eyes back open. This was his home village, she realized. That thought didn't soothe her much, and neither did her memory of their meeting.
Hinata turned her head to the side as she heard a soft clanking sound coming closer. The metal door creaked open once again and Kyou stood, hair sopping wet and a new change of clothes on the other side. Behind the orange haired man stood four other ninjas as he strode over to her lifeless body and bent down.
"Sorry, I kind of forgot." He picked up her left arm and placed it back into its normal position before he started on a seal. Then quickly, like how she would block tenketsu holes in a person's body, he tapped randomly on the joints in her body.
A warm sensation filled her as she closed her eyes. Her back hurt. She could feel the pain now. Her knuckles cracked as she moved her fingers.
"T-Thank you."
With that, Kyou stood up and left quickly from the room.
She held up her hand, but gasped. Sitting up quickly, she searched around her. With no luck, she sighed.
Sasuke-kun...
Smiling wryly to herself. She was thinking of him now.
Where did that come from?
She only regarded him as a really close friend. They had become, with Naruto and Ino, great friends, despite his obvious feelings for her.
He was extremely handsome, moreso than ever. Even women older and some times married, are still after him.
She just...wasn't good enough. Wasn't strong enough.
He was, after all, the survivor of the Uchiha massacre. To be his special woman...she had to be somewhat different than others.
But she wasn't. She was just Hinata, the reject heir to the Hyuuga Clan. Even though he had told her he didn't care. She just couldn't bring herself to bring his reputation down.
The weather didn't seem to lighten up any further, and it seemed to get hotter as time passed. It had been a day since the run in with the Cloud sentry.
He leaned back in the shade of the small tree as the other three picked their respective corners in the tiny woodland. Tomorrow they would start the journey through the desert. Temari had calculated that if they moved all day, then they would reach a small unknown hideout right outside the Sand.
Sasuke stared at his hands for awhile before his gaze moved and he started to pick at the silver chain hanging off of his wrist.
Damn Kitsune
It looked so girly on him, but he bought one on the insistence of Naruto and Ino, who wanted friendship bracelets for all four of them. Hinata had wanted one too…that was his only reason to buy it. Not because of Naruto's 'mad' skills at persuasion.
He touched the teardrop shaped diamond hanging off of the chain.
Hinata brushed a strand of hair back behind her ear, as she held onto a dark blue sapphire.
"Sasuke-kun, you should get this diamond. It fits you well."
He picked it out of her hand cautiously, as his fingers brushed her palm slightly, he could feel a sudden rush to his head. It was one of the first times, he figured…she was the one he loved. Her gentle smile as she took it and clasped it around his wrist.
Naruto had grinned broadly as he picked up his ruby gem and Ino's amnyest gem.
Leaning back, he closed his eyes and decided to rest. The next day, he bet was going to be full speed across the desert.
Cold blue orbs averted their gaze back down to their owner's hands.
A silver chain with a gem.
It was exactly like the one he was holding. Gaara carefully examined the small charm without holding it up within view of the other three.
Coincidence that he should find it out here…merely on the borders of the Fire and Wind Countries. Sensing a slight disturbance from the Fire side, he tucked the bracelet away and left in a cloud of sand.
The wind and trees whipped at her face, but all she did was sped up more. Reach the border. She wanted to reach the border quickly.
The search for her sister so far had been fruitless…no clue whatsoever. But somehow…she felt a connection coming from the border. Maybe into the Wind Country too.
Her search group followed behind, trying their best to keep up. She frowned, maybe she should've gotten some Main House members to go instead of Branch House. They were a bit too slow for her liking and she would've reached there by now if they hadn't been lagging.
Something reacted to her right and she stopped abruptly, signaling for the others to do likewise. Activating her Byakugan, she could dimly make out a figure to her left because of the large amount of Chakra running through.
"Come out."
In a gust of sand, the figure appeared in front of her.
A Sand ninja…was he here to attack the Leaf, or was he part of those who were allied?
Noticing the large object behind him, her eyes widened.
A gourd…
This…this is Gaara of the Sand
She remembered him from her first Chuunin finals that she had attended with her father. He was the one that fought against Uchiha Sasuke…
A formidable opponent.
"Hinata-san?"
She heard him speak.
Hinata?
What did he have with her oneesan, anyway?
"Iie, what do you want with her?"
A pause. He didn't speak for awhile.
"You…are not Hinata-san?" His eyes narrowed, "Then…why do you look exactly like her?"
"I am Hyuuga Hanabi, her sister," She repeated, "What do you want with Hinata?"
Her sister…
The words repeated in his head. The girl in front was not Hinata. He should've noticed it sooner. Her eyes were different.
More ambitious and showed more arrogance than Hinata's. He did not like that kind. They were like the people who had tried to kill him. He turned to leave.
She advanced, "What do you want with Hinata? How do you know her? Where is she?"
"I have no business with you if you are not Hinata-san."
She growled in frustration, "Hinata-neesan is missing."
Stopping dead in his tracks, he slowly turned around to face her. Although her eyes showed coldness, he noted that she cared for her sister. She inhaled deeply. Maybe she could trust him.
"It is rumored that she was taken by the Cloud back to the Sand."
He said nothing, but turned slightly around and started back to where they were staking out. It really wasn't his problem…maybe the other two knew. Knowing the kind she was, she would probably trail after him.
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" She quickly followed, hoping not to lose sight of him.
The guy wasn't going to lose her that easily. She sped up quickly and grabbed onto his sleeve as he was going to make a jump down.
They made a messy appearance as the other three inhabitants woke up and looked over.
"Hanabi-san?"
"Hanabi-sama!"
Removing her glare away from the red haired man, she glanced over at the two voices.
"Neji-kun! Sasuke-san!"
Gaara pulled himself away from her grip and picked up the small object that had fallen out of his pocket from the unbalanced landing.
"Why are you here with…" Sasuke's voice lingered off as he caught sight of the small bracelet in Gaara's hand.
"I am here looking for…" Sasuke walked right past her, "Where are you…"
He snatched the bracelet out of the other man's grip, much to Gaara's displeasure.
"Where did you get this?!" Sasuke held up the charm in front of Gaara's face, "Where?!"
Neji intercepted, "Calm down, what's with the thing?"
The taller man glared, "This is Hinata's."
Hanabi's eyes widened, as she too, advanced on the Sand nin, grabbing onto his collar, "Where did you find it?!"
"Hanabi-sama, please be reasona—" Neji tried to interject the two from overcrowding the unstable Sand nin.
She whipped her head in his direction with an expression that told him to shut up, "Hinata-neesan is missing. She's been kidnapped."
The two dark haired men, stood, unmoving, sinking in the information as Gaara took a step back away from them.
"I found it here," He deadpanned, "She's probably at the Sand by now."
Another woman stepped in. Temari spoke up, setting a hand on the shorter woman's shoulder, "We'll be going there tomorrow, we'll look for her then. However…this was only a four person mission."
Hanabi frowned, "Make it five."
She turned around to the other two who were waiting silently, "Go back, tell them that I am going to the Sand with Neji."
They nodded and disappeared without any objections, leaving the other four with no objections either with Hanabi's intrusion on their mission.
Gaara stared at the abrasive young woman, now arguing with Neji.
Another interesting one…
The white orbs floated around in the scenery before they focused on the cold blue ones staring before it. Just like before, he mused to himself...except...there was no fear, no intimidation.
End: Part VIII
Whee! And Hanabi makes her appearance!
Kinda got a bit writer's block for awhile but heyy, it's finally out now! although if you had noticed, this chapter was a lot shorter than usual. I usually do it to page 7…kinda stopped at page 6 this time --
Read and Review!
Ame