Shadows within a Dream
By: Kisu
A/N: My new passion is…Tennis no Ojisama! sighs Tezuka x Fuji….melts into a puddle
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! I wish I owned Itachi though…no Sasuke! I'm not cheating on you! AAAHHH!
3.2: Raikage
"Itachi".
The name died on his lips as he reached out with his hand, trying to grasp onto the image of Sasuke's older brother as he stared solemnly at him. But the image blinked and he pulled back his hand as his blue eyes widened slowly. Slowly, Itachi walked forward and stopped a few feet away from him.
"Sasuke killed me." Itachi told him.
"I know." Naruto smiled, softly. He had felt his chakra rapidly leaving him as he slipped into unconsciousness. But the darkness had been merciful because his insides were inflicting pain onto him. "It was Sasuke's fate after all, his determined fate."
"You paid a heavy price, Naruto." Itachi said, as he closed in on the space between him. His calloused hand reached up to tenderly touch Naruto's cheek.
"It was worth it." Naruto replied, somewhat icily. Itachi's smile was sad as he leaned in to kiss him softly.
"I loved you, did you know that?" Itachi whispered against his lips. Naruto closed his eyes and nodded slightly.
"Yeah, I knew." Naruto murmured. Slowly, Itachi's arms wrapped around him and pulled him close. Naruto felt sad all of a sudden and he bit down onto his bottom lip.
"Live, Naruto." Itachi said, as his body slowly became transparent. "Live for me." Naruto's eyes opened in shock as Itachi slowly withdrew his arms from him and took a step back. "Live for Sasuke. My little brother needs you."
"Itachi." Naruto blinked and reached out to grab onto the man, but his hand past through him and shattered the image of the man who had created such pain and trauma in his life.
Uchiha Itachi was gone.
Naruto sank to his knees and closed his eyes.
His nightmare was over.
---
"Hyuuga Hinata."
Hinata turned around with surprise and stared at the girl in front of her. "Oh, hello Cho-chan." Hinata bowed, politely. Cho ducked her head and lowered her eyes.
"Hinata-neesan, can I have a word with you?" Cho asked. Worried about the younger girl's particular behavior, Hinata nodded and followed the girl off the busy main street and into a secluded area.
"Are you all right, Cho-chan?" Hinata asked as they stopped. Cho slowly turned around and ran into her arms. Hinata's eyes softened and she patted the girl's heard. "There, there."
"Oneesan." Cho replied, softly. Hinata blinked and her hand stopped on the girl's head. "Gomen nasai."
"Huh?" Hinata gasped as a sharp pain lanced through her shoulder. On impulse, the older girl pushed Cho away and gripped her shoulder where a thin needle protruded from within her flesh. She yanked it out and stared at Cho in disbelief. "Why?" She managed as her vision became blurry. The needle had been coated with a drug.
"You are the price to my freedom." She replied as Hinata's eyes closed and her knees buckled from underneath her. Cho gasped and caught the girl before she hit the ground.
"We'll take it from here." Three men dropped down around her and she stared at their hitai ates. They were Cloud-nin from the country of lightning. Wordlessly, she handed Hinata over to one of them. "The Raikage will be pleased with the result." Then they jumped up and into the air, taking off along the rooftops silently. Her hands clenched into fists, angrily as she stared after their fleeting forms.
Had she done the right thing?
---
"Since you want to marry Uzumaki Naruto." The Raikage stated. "You will go after him to Hidden Leaf. However—."
"However?" Cho repeated, staring up at her uncle.
"You will give us Hyuuga Hinata, the eldest daughter of the head of the Hyuuga." The Raikage continued. "I want the secrets of the Byakugan."
"Nani?" Cho gasped in dismay.
"Failure to complete this mission will immediately invoke an arranged marriage." Her uncle smiled. "Of course, this is the only way you will gain your independence."
"What if I refuse to both?" Cho asked, her eyes narrowing.
"I will find ways to break the spirit of yours." The Raikage said. Cho's eyes widened and she abruptly frowned as she bowed.
"I won't fail." She declared. "Hyuuga Hinata will be delivered to you."
---
"Hokage-sama!" An ANBU that she had assigned to follow Tanaka Cho appeared in her office. The man was holding onto Cho who looked very angry. "Hyuuga Hinata was kidnapped!"
"Kidnapped?" Tsunade repeated as she stared at the girl. Cho shifted her eyes to the ground, refusing to look at the Hokage.
"She was a major part of the kidnapping." The ANBU continued, releasing the grip on Cho's arm.
"Is this true, Tanaka-san?" Tsunade asked as she walked around her desk. The girl trembled and Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "Do you want to harm Hyuuga Hinata? Do you understand what you've done?"
"Yes." Cho whispered as tears fell from her eyes. "I know."
"Why did you do it?" Tsunade asked.
"Because…" Cho replied, her voice hitching into a sob. "Because I want my freedom."
"Freedom is one thing that you have control of." Tsunade said, her voice laced with disapproval. "But to let it be taken away from you, you must be very weak."
"Be quiet!" Cho yelled, angrily. "You don't understand! None of you understand! Only Naruto-niichan could understand!" The tears flew faster than before and the girl crumpled onto the ground. "I want to see him! I want to see Oniichan!" Tsunade turned away from her and closed her eyes.
"You don't deserve to see him. What will he think when he finds out what you've done?" Tsunade commented. Cho's eyes widened and she broke down in more tears. Turning slightly, she looked over her shoulder at the ANBU. "Inform the village that Hyuuga Hinata has been kidnapped and the shinobi should be on alert." The ANBU bowed and disappeared to do her bidding.
Tsunade walked over to her window kept a careful watch on Konoha, ignoring the sobs from the girl on the floor.
This was trouble.
---
Hyuuga Hiashi stood up abruptly and his youngest daughter, Hanabi stared at him. "Hinata was kidnapped?" He repeated as one of the family's branch members stood before him. Worry and panic crossed his mind but was followed by disgust on how weak his older daughter was. "Find her quickly. We can't have the Byakugan exposed."
"Hai, Hiashi-sama!" The man bowed as he quickly ran out of the room.
"Father." Hanabi spoke up softly. "Are you worried?"
"Of course." Hiashi replied without looking at his daughter. Hanabi looked away.
"Then why aren't you out looking for her?" She asked.
"The Head of the Hyuuga is valuable. Even if Hinata dies, you will be protected since you are my heir." Hiashi responded.
"So that is all what she is worth to you?" Hanabi stated. "How weak do you think she is?" With that, he watched as Hanabi walked past him and out the door. Hiashi sighed softly.
"She is worth much more, Hanabi." He murmured softly. "But being a Head family member has its costs and this is one of them."
---
Hinata's capture spread through the village like wild fire and the shinobi flocked out to capture the Cloud-nins who had kidnapped her. Neji was one of them as he raced through the village with Tenten, Lee, Shino, and Kiba.
"Foolish girl." Neji stated as he jumped up onto a rooftop.
"Hey! You don't know Hinata!" Kiba growled. "She'll probably kick those ninjas, ass before we get there."
"Unlikely." Neji responded as Tenten gave Neji a worried glance.
"It's their strategy." Shino commented to himself. The other Chuunins glanced at him in surprise and Shino's lips drew into a tight line. "Even if we were to catch up to them, we can't kill them. Or we might cause trouble between the countries."
"Oh. This is bad." Lee murmured. "Okay! I'll scout in that direction, you all split up!" With a burst of speed, the green beast of Konoha darted off into his direction. The other Chuunins nodded in agreement before heading their separate ways.
---
The Raikage smiled with grim satisfaction as he awaited the arrival of his Cloud-nins and Hyuuga Hinata. Cho had done well, that girl was naïve enough. But he hadn't promised to keep his end of the bargain. A low laugh erupted from his throat and slowly increased, he threw his head and cackled merrily. The secrets of the Byakugan would soon be his. Then, he will surpass the other kages and he would take over the country of lightning.
"That laugh is annoying."
The Raikage spun around, his robes billowing at the change of movement at the dark figure that stood on the rooftop. He unconsciously took a step backward and stared at the glittering eyes.
"Who are you?" He demanded, angrily. What was taking those stupid Cloud-nins so long? Those glittering eyes disappeared for a moment and the Raikage noted that the person must have closed his eyes. Slowly, they reopened and he stared at the crimson red eyes. "Sharingan!" He choked out. The man stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight's path. The Raikage inhaled sharply as the man smirked at him.
"Who are you waiting for, Raikage-sama?" Sasuke asked, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking very casual. "It's a bit chilly tonight, why don't I escort you inside to wait?"
"No thank you." He replied, sharply. He glanced around. This wasn't good. Then, with a smooth movement, his hand reached out from underneath his robes and threw a smoke bomb onto the ground. Sasuke's eyes widened and he heard a whizzing sound. A kunai embedded itself in his shoulder and another in his thigh.
"Teme!" Sasuke hissed as he tried to see beyond the smoke. Preoccupied, he didn't notice the Raikage coming in behind him. Something like the Chidori was sparking around the man's right hand and Sasuke jumped to the side as the Raikage slammed down onto the ground. Cracks spread out like a spider web from the spot and headed toward Sasuke.
"Denkou Boruto no Jutsu! [1]" The Raikage yelled as he rapidly formed seals with his hands. Sasuke's eyes widened and he smirked as he copied the seals. Electricity that seemed to draw up from the ground sizzled on the Raikage's fingertips and the man lashed out, sending rivets of electricity toward him.
"Shit!" Sasuke gaped as he jumped up in the air.
"Too slow." The Raikage smirked, as the electricity seemed to hit the ground and bounce up toward him. Sasuke yelled as the shock left him senseless and he fell to the ground with a loud thud. "What weak shinobi, Hidden Leaf has." He chortled, happily. Sasuke twitched and his whole body felt paralyzed. "Your eyes are pretty maybe I should gouge them out."
"Don't you dare." Sasuke hissed, warningly.
"You can't move, can you?" The Raikage implied, teasingly. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and the Raikage stooped down and took out a kunai. "Stay still." He smiled, evilly.
"Raikage-sama!" The man looked up and stared at the Cloud-nins that dropped down in front of him. In one of the ninja's arms was Hyuuga Hinata.
"A pretty thing, isn't she?" The Raikage stated as a blush rose up underneath his face cloth. The shinobi stared at their leader and exchanged looks. Then, he coughed and he stepped forward. But before he had a chance, Sasuke raised his leg and swiped it on the ground, knocking the kage right off his feet and onto the floor.
"Raikage-sama!" The Cloud-nins gasped, before angrily running forward to defend their leader. Sasuke cursed and attempted to raise himself up onto his hands, but his muscles gave out on him.
"Kazuo.[2]" Three shurikens whizzed by his face and effectively hit their targets. The Cloud-nins fell down, gripping their feet. He felt himself being lifted up and he looked up to see a blur of gold.
"It's you!" The Raikage exclaimed as his eyes widened.
"Kazuo, what are you doing?"
Sasuke was deposit onto the ground and Hinata was placed next to him. His hand rose up slowly and he grabbed onto the man's ankle. His blue eyes looked down at him and Sasuke's hand trembled. "Naruto?"
"Hey." Naruto smiled, as he gave him a wink.
"Naruto…you can't fight him." Sasuke said. "He's too strong." Sasuke gasped and his eyes widened. Naruto's legs were trembling. In fact, the blonde's whole body was trembling. "Idiot, you can't fight him in your condition. You just woke up after two years!"
"It'll be fine." Naruto said, calmly. He turned his icy blue eyes to face the Raikage who had gotten up on his feet. "Kazuo. What are you doing here?"
"I was invited." The Raikage smiled as he slowly took off his face cloth. "They told me to "feel right at home", so I did." Sasuke stared. The Raikage, whose name was Kazuo was probably in his late 20s. He was very young to be a Kage.
"You hurt my friends, Kazuo." Naruto frowned. Kazuo shrugged without any concern.
"So I did." Kazuo responded. "What are you going to do about it, Uzumaki-kun?" Naruto narrowed his eyes and shifted into a fighting stance, but before he can, his knees buckled and he fell heavily onto the ground.
"Naruto!" Sasuke exclaimed.
"I was asleep too long." Naruto laughed as he caught his breath.
"Naruto, take Hinata and get out of here." Sasuke ordered. "I'll take care of this!" He made a move to sit up and Naruto glared at him.
"You don't give me orders, Sasuke." Naruto snapped, as his eyes flamed red. Sasuke twitched and Naruto's eyes slowly regained its normal blue. "Ah, sorry for that." Naruto laughed and he reached out to tousle Sasuke's hair. "I woke up because I heard you calling to me. I have to live to protect not only you but the whole village."
Sasuke stared as Naruto stood up, shakily.
"If I can't do this, then how can I be Hokage?" Naruto continued, smiling devilishly. "Don't worry Sasuke, I'll be fine."
"Liar." Sasuke whispered as Naruto and the Raikage stared at each other.
"Kazuo, your welcome here is overdue." Naruto smirked.
"Just like I like it." Kazuo replied with a big smile. "Now show me what you got, Uzumaki Naruto."
---
TBC…
[1] A jutsu I just made up out of nowhere. Denkou Boruto means Lightning Bolt…lol
[2] I made up the Raikage's name too. Kazuo means peaceful man so I thought it would be interesting because he isn't portrayed as peaceful but just the opposite.
I don't like making new characters up…you know I like to stick to the normal characters but…Kazuo is someone interesting.
Thanks for reading!