Jiraiya raised his hand.
When Hinata didn't stop in her hand seals, he sent a large stream of flame in front of her.
That finally got her attention.
Looking up, she saw her master shaking his head. Watching, she grimaced when the Legendary Sennin walked around the practice area checking various depressions in the ground.
"That's enough for today, Hinata. Your heart's obviously not in it, and I don't want you to pick up any bad habits. " Jiraiya scratched his head. "And, you showed so much promise with this one the other day. I thought you were going to succeed where Naruto ultimately failed."
Hinata looked down at her feet.
Her shoulders trembled some, before the tensed and straightened up.
"I'm not tired, sensei. If I focus more----" Hinata stopped, seeing the look on her teacher's face.
Jiraiya put his hand above his eye, trying to block out the sun. He found who he was looking for. Further up the mountainside, Naruto was well on the way to clearing a small stretch of woods, working on a new jutsu he had developed.
The slicing and slashing attack was reminiscent of Chidori, but required much finer control of chakra, and had an entirely different usage. The Sennin hoped he would name it something other than 'Just Leave Me The F-ck Alone No Jutsu,' as he had called it early that morning.
"The idiot looks like he will be occupied for a good while longer. Why don't we go for a walk…." Jiraiya motioned for Hinata to follow him.
He headed off in a randomly selected direction.
"Yes, Sir." Hinata ran to catch up.
She had a good idea what the topic of conversation would be.
"So…… why do you think you are doing so poorly…… again…." Jiraiya pulled a leaf off of a low hanging branch, then began stripping it, taking note of the intricacies of its structure.
"Well…… I think…… my head is not in things…… and…." Hinata felt her heart beating faster and faster.
"That's because your heart is not in things…..right?" Jiraiya pointed off up the hill. They climbed in that direction, heading for a large group of boulders.
"Ummm…… it's…… yes…." Hinata sighed, cursing her self again for her weakness.
"So, that much was easy, right?" The Sennin told Hinata to advance on one of the boulders and use a concussive type of justsu he had read about in his travels. "Now, why isn't your heart in things?"
Hinata concentrated, gathering her chakra into an incredibly small spot on her hand, holding as much power as her small frame would allow. Slapping her hand on the rock, she tried to use that energy to fracture the stone along microscopic crystalline planes.
There was a resounding 'crack' noise, and three large portions of rock spun off into the forest.
The rock should have split into two halves.
"I…… you see…… Naruto…." Hinata rubbed her sore palm.
"Now that we've confirmed the cause of your problems, why don't you tell me the specific reason." Jiraiya already knew the answer. He figured Hinata did as well.
But, she obviously needed to talk about it.
Hinata gathered up her chakra again, and struck the adjacent boulder. Nothing happened. She bit her lip.
"He's…… we don't…… I tried…… after that night……" Hinata kicked the boulder, the immediately wished that she hadn't. Her toes began throbbing. "We…… we almost…… we almost kissed…."
Jiraiya watched Hinata's face. She had made tremendous progress since coming to train with him, and not just in her shinobi skills. But, just like the turning of the seasons, certain changes take time, if they occur at all.
"I can see why you're so messed up, then." Jiraiya said, "That would bother anyone!" He purposefully watched for her reaction. "Poor thing…."
Hinata narrowed her eyes, then stood waiting.
The response had Jiraiya nodding his head, pleased.
"And since then, he's been avoiding you? I can understand that, knowing what worries him. Has he been rude or mean-spirited, trying to drive you away?" He leaned up against a tree, looking up through a small opening in the forest canopy.
Hinata shook her head.
"No. He hasn't done anything to hurt me. And I…… I…… I have given him space…… because…."
"That's very wise. It's what he needs most of all. He's used to the things he cares about being taken away. Just as you are used to never getting the things you really want or need." Jiraiya smiled. "We're one hell of a dysfunctional family, aren't we?"
Hinata nodded, but she didn't return the smile.
"Sir…… when he was dancing…… he looked truly happy…." Hinata ran her hand over one boulder, feeling the texture of the patches of moss and lichen. "And he told me…… he told me that……"
Jiraiya thought back to his own youth. He knew all to well that some people never find their soul mate. Others do, but only in their own mind. Then there were those like Tsunade, who find the person who completes them, but can never be with them.
For one reason or another.
"Yes. I think he really does care. That in itself is a miracle. It wouldn't have been so miraculous earlier, before Itachi and Kisame showed up. But now…." Jiraiya shook his head, looking tired. "Now, he needs people precious to him more than he ever has before. But, he couldn't bear to be the cause of their death. He'd rather be lonely…."
Hinata ran a hand through her hair, then hopped up on one of the smaller stones, sitting with her legs dangling over the side.
"But…… I would take that risk…… I would rather spend a short time with him and die…… then spend a long them without him." She folded her hands in her lap. "It will hurt me if he dies, either way."
Jiraiya stared at Hinata a moment, then smiled.
"Sometimes you don't know what you have until you cut it and polish it." His words had Hinata blushing. "I think he may have realized that himself. That's why he is so angry and upset these days. He may even wish you never came here, so that he didn't learn to want something he thinks he can't have."
"So…… what do I do…… I have always watched him…… and I can't stop caring…."
Jiraita took an apple out of his pocket, sliced it in half, then tossed one piece to Hinata.
"I don't mean to be blunt, but the point may well be moot." Jiraiya took a bite of his apple, talking as he chewed. "Akatsuki is a frightful adversary. They are powerful. They are immoral. And, they are very patient. But, their great plan may have little room for error."
Hinata slid down from her rock, then walked over to her teacher's side.
"You know what I'm saying, Hinata. They will try for him. Ruthlessly. Only their destruction…… or the passing of their window of opportunity…… will have any hope of changing things. If they succeed in capturing him…." Jiraiya scowled.
This would be a daunting situation for anyone, even the Fourth.
"But, if by chance…." Hinata routinely dreamed of a day Naruto when was freed from the shadow of The Nine. "Then he might…."
"Yes. Until then, you will need to be patient. And I will need to be understanding. But, I'm afraid we don't have that long to wait. One of two possible dates is fast approaching." Jiraiya took a kunei, dug a small hole in the soil, planted the apple seeds, then poured on some water,
Apples probably wouldn't grow at this elevation, but the act made him feel better just the same.
"The questions we are faced with are 'what are they up to' …… 'why do they need Kyuubi' …… and 'can they succeed without our favoite demon?' If we knew the answers, we would also know whether to fight, run, or hole up. We would also know when to move, and where to go."
Hinata sighed.
She knew these days would have to end, for one reason or another.
"Sensei, if we---"
"SHHHHHHHHHH!"
Hinata went silent. Jiraiya listened. He nodded his head, then whistled loudly.
Not long after that, a living arrow shot through the opening in the leafy ceiling, darting here and there between trees, watching for its mark.
"Fetch me some small pieces of meat, Hinata. Quickly." The Great Sennin took a large piece of leather and wrapped it around one arm. He held that arm out horizontally.
A large falcon tilted this way and that, adjusting its feathers just so. A the right moment, it pumped its powerful but compact wings, landing and sinking wicked talons into the leather.
"That's a good fellow. Steady now. Let's see what you have there." Jiraiya removed a small message tube tied to the falcon's led. He was reading when Hinata returned.
"Ware your fingers, Hinata. Offer our feather friend here some of the meat."
Carefully, and without flinching, the young shinobi did as she was told.
When the falcon was winging its way back to its master, Jiraiya looked over at Hinata and spoke in a gruff tone of voice.
"We'll be breaking camp this evening. I want to start moving while it's dark, and there's no moon tonight. Pack anything you can't bear to leave behind, as we may not be coming back."
Hinata looked startled. "Sir?"
"I have more information, and I need to get it to Tsunade and her experts as soon as possible. I also want Naruto in Konoha. The time for training is over. Now, above all else, we must make certain that he reaches that village alive." The way he said that was blood curdling. "Reaches it, and does not leave it until the time is past."
There was no mistaking the inference.
Jiraiya would kill his own student, rather than let him fall into the hands of The Nine.
"B-B-But…."
Hinata picked up on that immediately. She shivered a moment, trying to grasp what it meant.
"Here. Let's get going. I'll tell you what more I have as we walk." Jiraiya rolled up the miniature scroll and placed it in his pouch. "I called in some favors. That bird came from a man who owed me dearly. The references he found have me greatly concerned."
"Akatsuki?" Hinata asked.
"It must be. There are references to nine stars in the hand of the night, like nine great candles, and they disappear behind nine clouds just before day break. Nine. The Nine. Daybreak. Akatsuki. The break of dawn. Aka. Red. Tsuki. Moon." Jiraiya cursed. "There is also mention of nine seals…. nine trumpets…. nine bowls of wrath…. and nine plagues. And the phrase 'We shallow multiply your afflictions nine times over, in payment for your sins.' It could all be coincidence, but…."
"What does it mean?" Hinata had to jog to keep up with her teacher.
"I'm not entirely certain; but, the two additional prophecies suggest an answer I would rather not contemplate. 'Breaking the first seal will send call, and a black beast will arise, with scales upon its hands, and blood upon its heads and tails.' That could be a reference to Yamata-no-Orochi, the great dragon whom Susano was supposed to have killed. Perhaps there was truly a man named Suasano. Perhaps he sealed away the dragon, unable to kill it once and for all."
Hinata swallowed hard. She had heard stories from her father about the three greatest devils of the world, of which Kyuubi and Yamata-No-Orochi were two.
"And… is there…… is there mention of …… of an ogre…"
"There could be," Jiraiya answered. "The final line my source supplied is as follows: 'When the third seal is broken, a deathly pale beast bearing plague is called, and Death follows at his heels, to kill with famine, and by the wild animals of the earth.' In rarely heard legends, "Rokumen-happi-no-Jaki"…… the six-faced, eight-armed ogre…… is said to be able to command the wild beasts of the forest, and to be able to bring plagues to mankind and its crops."
Hinata suddenly felt as she did when she was three or four years old, listening to the frightful storied the old man told during the festivals.
If those great demons were truly Akatsuki's goal, there would be danger on a scale she could barely comprehend. If the beasts were merely to be released, so many men and women would perish. If they could be controlled….
"Be ready to go after putting together a quick meal. We will eat as we run. If the enemy suspects what we are doing, they may try to cut us off." Jiraiya ran off to get Naruto.
The time of dances…… lessons…… folk tales…… leisurely strolls about town…. and carefree bathes near the waterfall…… that was over now.
If things went well, it would end just for them, and maybe only temporarily.
But, if things went poorly…
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
The darkness in the cave seemed to be their tenth member.
Shadowy forms moved quietly, walking from one barely lit antechamber to another, overseeing various activities.
Servants, captives, and followers set up various apparatus…… sorted through important scrolls…… and set up large candles, strangely carven bowls, and massive trumpets in a semi-circle surrounding a huge leathery book closed by nine elaborate seals.
The men of no consequence did not know that their lives were merely measured in a matter of days and weeks, depending on their tasks.
Nine men in long ornate robes pondered what new form their lives might soon be taking.
"Itachi!" Kisame walked over two his shorter and more slightly built co-conspirator. "Do you have the final word from our archivist? Are we set? Do we have the proper sequence?"
The eldest surviving Uchiha, small bells tied to his hair, remained silent.
"You know what could happen if things go wrong," Kisame insisted. "We must have control of all three, or else risk having them turn on us. Even these caves would be scant protection then."
There was a slight tinkling of bells.
"Kisame. You still cling too tightly to the notion of life." Itachi's voice was flat. "We are dead men. That is how I see it. Anything we do or accomplish is payment beyond services rendered. What happens, happens."
"Shit! You really should have been born samurai, not shinobi." Kisame chuckled.
"That is, if I should have been born at all…." Itachi disappeared into the darkness.
A high-pitched voice drifted down from the side of the cave.
A squat unseen figure gripped tightly with his bare feet as he spoke.
"You would do better to see to your own tasks, than to try prying any pearls out of that oyster. He's right, I guess. But, a lot of what make us marked men, has been done to prepare for the coming day."
"Yes," Kisame said. "But I remain uneasy. Two of the great beast lay slumbering, sealed away, ready to be called by men knowing what needs to be done. But the third…." He spat. "It was foolish to let that boy run free. What if he had gotten himself killed? No, if it was foolish before, its f-cking stupid now!"
A deeper voice answered out of the darkness.
"You have heard the arguments, Kisame. They were cogent before, and remain just as convincing now. The young Leaf is guarded by one of the Three. The demon within him grants him the gift of healing. There is little we have to fear. It is merely another risk."
Kisame smiled in reflex, but it was not a smile of happiness or acquiescence. He tapped Samehade against a large stalagmite, still feeling a sense of growing uneasiness.
"And how are we to capture the boy, should he or that ugly bastard he's with get wind of our plot. They could hole up in Konoha, like a badger down a burrow, making it difficult to get them out."
The high-pitched voice cackled a moment, then spoke.
"Yup yup yup. It would be a problem. But, there could be worse. Wise heads amongst them could choose to kill the lad, something many of them have wanted to do all along. It's foolish to think that our questing, as subtle as it's been, has been entirely overlooked."
"None of that matters," the deeper voice answered. "We each have our role to play. And, we have each had our secrets to gather. For now, the boy contains the demon, in body and in spirit. When the one seal is broken, things will change. We have a key to the cage, and a collar for the neck. When our guest arrives, we will be ready."
"I hope you're right," Kisame said coldly. "I look forward to vengeance, but have no wish to die. There is a small corner of the world I have my heart set on. Those that survive there will need my kind and loving guidance." This time, his wicked grin was one of anticipation.
"It's good to be King…." The high-pitched voice chuckled.