Asunder
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Well, this is my first attempt at a not!oneshot in a very long time. I'm pretty excited, actually. This takes place post 246, will probably be AU very soon because 247 just came out, and um... We'll see what happens from there on, ne? I have ideas for this fic, but not everything is cemented so...
Let the fun commence!
Comments and criticisms are always appreciated.
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Chapter One: Distant Skies
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The explosion rocked the buildings, dust and debris flying everywhere, the ever-present sand kicked up into larger clouds than seen since the last sandstorm. People screamed, shinobi flew past as fast as they could, weapons bared and senses alert for the next signs of attack. They had been caught unawares with the first bombardment.
This would not happen again.
Another explosion screeched through the hidden village, and a building somewhere collapsed. The sound echoed, alerting every shinobi within hearing distance, and they altered their direction. The explosions seemed to be forming a line, and if they could head it off…
A rending sound stopped them dead in their tracks, however, when behind them was the sound of a huge building collapsing. Turning back in sheer horror, they could only watch as the giant snake seemed to sneer at them from above the rubble that was once the building the Kazekage lived in, and then disappeared. If they didn't know better, they could have sworn the reptile was laughing at them.
When the dust cleared and all the attacks ceased, through the wailing of those who had lost loved ones, one name echoed in the minds of all present as anger and failure washed over them.
Orochimaru.
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Naruto kicked a piece of stone rubble, sending the heavy block rolling a few good feet. He crossed his arms behind his head, turning in a lazy circle and surveying the area.
"Man, this place is a mess. What'd you guys do to it, anyway?"
Something smacked him in the back of the head, and he turned around, glaring at Temari as she calmly folded her fan and placed it back in its holster along her back. "The hell'd you do that for?"
"Because you're a dumbass."
"She has you there, you know," Shikamaru nodded from where he sat against a large piece of rubble, head tilted back and arms splayed out as he stared up at the sky. "You say some really stupid things sometimes, you know?"
"No one asked you!"
"Naruto-kun," Hinata called softly, waving a hand gently in the air. "Please don't fight… We're here to help…"
The fox-boy frowned, folding his arms across his chest. But then he grinned, jumping over to the humble girl and nudging her with his elbow. "They know I didn't mean it. And besides, not stopping it from being true, is it? This place got seriously messed up."
"It's not something we could help, idiot!" Temari called back, eyes narrowed. Shikamaru groaned quietly and pulled his forehead protector down over his eyes. "You have Orochimaru surprise attack your village and say the same thing!"
Naruto growled, taking a fighting stance and glaring right back at the older girl. "Like hell he would, not with Uzumaki Naruto there! No one's gonna hurt my home again without getting the shit kicked outta them! I'm a hell of a lot stronger now than I was three years ago!"
"Shut up, both of you."
Both combatants froze, turning to face the newcomer. Gaara stood atop one of the larger pieces of rubble, the sun to his back, his eyes narrowed dangerously as he surveyed the scene. Behind him, Naruto heard Hinata squeak quietly, but he just stood straighter and pointed a finger at the Sand-nin.
"Finally decided to show up? Where ya been?"
"None of your business." Gaara took a step and disappeared, then reappeared beside his sister, facing towards Naruto. Temari nodded to him and put her fan back in its place, turning around and walking farther down the road without another word. Naruto made a noise in his throat and then pulled his bottom eyelid down and stuck his tongue out at the girl. Without turning around she waved a hand in the air, making a very rude gesture with one of her fingers.
Naruto did it right back.
"Children, let's be nice, shall we?" Everyone's eyes except Shikamaru's turned as Sakura and Neji exited one of the standing buildings, their clothes dirty and his hair looking a little grey. Sakura stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at the retreating Temari. Neji stood quietly behind her, but the corners of his lips seemed to be twitching. Slightly. If one looked close enough. Naruto was sure he even heard a faint "Idiots" before Sakura was talking again.
"Honestly. We came here to help, Naruto. You can at least be civil. And you, Shikamaru!" She turned her glare to the lone Chuunin, who flinched slightly. Sakura's voice could do that sometimes. "You're in charge here, aren't you? Why the hell are you asleep?"
"I'm not asleep. I'm contemplating." Naruto most definitely heard his friend's whispered 'Troublesome girl,' and he sniggered.
"You're all idiots," Gaara said quietly, walking towards the suddenly still Sakura. "No one asked you to come here, anyway."
"Th-that's not quite true, Gaara-san…" Hinata began, but quieted when he turned his gaze to her. She swallowed and licked her lips, and Gaara frowned.
"She means we got a letter from your Kage, asking our village to send a team to help you guys rebuild. Since, you know, we are observing a truce and all that," Shikamaru said, lifting one side of his forehead protector and looking at Gaara with one eye.
The Sand-nin grunted and turned away. "I never asked for your help, and neither do I need it. Stay all you want, but keep away from me. And be quiet or I'll maim you," he said the last to Sakura, eying her out of the corner of his eye. The girl paled and swallowed, but caught his look with her own and stood straighter. Gaara smirked coldly and then disappeared.
"…Someone needs to kick him or something. He's way too tense."
"Naruto-kun…"
"Hehe!"
Sakura did everyone a favor and slapped the cheeky boy upside the head.
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Five minutes and one irate Shikamaru later ("Why do I always have to stop your fights, Naruto?"), ten Narutos were running around the ruined town, repairing what could be salvaged, helping to tear down those things that couldn't be, and making a general nuisance of themselves.
"Look out below!" Naruto #9 called out as he tossed a large chunk of mason from a half-fallen roof, narrowly missing the silent Shino. He gave an apologetic grin, saluting with one hand, while Shino just rolled his eyes and had his insects help him move the larger pieces of rock into a pile to be dealt with at a later date. A bit farther down the road, Lee was smashing his way through huge piles of useless rubble, breaking the larger stones down to much easier to deal with chunks, grinning and blushing and posing every time Sakura looked his way.
Hinata walked through the rubble, helping out where she could, but feeling a little on the useless side. Naruto's shadow clones were taking care of most of the harder jobs, and everyone else had the rest basically covered. She helped when and where she could, but it still seemed as though she was just getting in the way.
"Hinata-chan." The girl turned when she heard her name, and smiled shyly as Sakura walked up to her, dusting her front off. She had small chunks of stone in her hair, and Hinata bit her lip to keep from smiling. Sakura had changed a lot in three years, and didn't seem as caught up in her image as she once was.
"Sakura-chan, hello…"
"You look lost," the other girl said, smiling slightly. "Nothing for you to do?"
Hinata shook her head, blushing slightly. "N-no, it seems like everyone is doing everything…"
Sakura shook her head slightly and patted Hinata on the shoulder. "Not everything. It's getting kinda late, and no one here can cook really well besides me and probably Neji. I know it's not a very glorious job or anything, and seems kinda degrading, but…"
Hinata shook her head, smiling kindly. "No, that's fine. It's something I can do, after all…"
Sakura frowned. "Don't sell yourself short."
"Oi, Sakura! Wanna help, or you just gonna stand there and be useless?" Kiba called, sticking his head out of a door, Akamaru frowning along with his master from his place in Kiba's shirt. The pink-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes, smiled at Hinata one last time, then turned around abruptly and stalked over to Kiba, smacking him upside the head before she disappeared into the building, grumbling under her breath—loud enough for everyone within a thirty foot radius to hear.
Hinata giggled. Sakura always seemed to be able to say something to make her feel better, ever since Naruto hadn't been around to do so. That thought made her frown though, and she dropped her eyes to her clasped hands. It had been hard without Naruto around for the past few years, and she'd had troubles without his constant smiles.
Naruto-kun…
Something twitched in her peripheral vision and she froze, initiating her Byakugan so she could look without whatever-it-was noticing she was looking.
Her intake of breath cut that tactic short, however.
Gaara stood beside a building, his eyes impassive as they surveyed the area, then returned and focused on her when she gasped. Frozen and fighting the urge to shake, she watched him watch her, cold eyes unreadable as she squeezed her own eyes shut.
But then the feeling of his eyes on her was gone, and she saw him turn from her, not looking back, and she let out a breath she wasn't aware she'd been holding. Gaara-san… Wh-what was that…?
Obviously shaken, the girl finally forced herself to move, going in the opposite direction Gaara had taken, out to the cleared away area a little ways outside of town where they had decided to make their camp.
Once there, dinner was a welcome distraction. Hinata wasn't a very confident person, and while she was trying to change, she knew she still had a long way to go. But if there were anything she was confident in, that would be her cooking skills. Ever since she was young, she'd enjoyed two places the most—the kitchen and the garden. Both were places where she could hide herself, busy herself away from the eyes of her father and the rest of her family and not feel as though she was being a disappointment. The foods she cooked tasted good, the flowers she grew were always the healthiest. And she felt free while she did such menial tasks—there was no need to prove herself, no need to fight or get into any sort of conflict.
Just her, her work, and quiet.
I wonder if that makes me any less in his eyes… That I would content myself to subservient chores like this…?
"Hinata."
Lifting her head slowly from where she was chopping some vegetables, Hinata smiled her usual smile as Shikamaru slowly made his way towards her, dirty and tired-looking.
"Shikamaru-kun. I'm sorry, but I just started. Food won't be ready for a while yet…"
"That's okay. I'm just here to rest for a bit." He sat down and leaned forward a little, wearing his usual bored expression. "Besides, the Narutos are too dangerous. Let the others take care of them."
She sighed and shook her head, but turned back to her task. Shikamaru was lazy, but if things were really as bad as he made it sound she knew he'd be down there making sure everyone was safe. Because he hated responsibility, he never took it lightly when they were out on a mission—he hated the idea of having to take responsibility for any injuries on his team.
But more than that, he was the type of person who hated to see his friends get hurt. That was why they all trusted him with their lives.
"It's getting late anyway," he continued, laying back and folding his arms behind his head. "They should figure that out soon and come back here. If anything, Naruto's stomach will make him. …Chouji's too. I'm surprised he's not here yet."
"I saw Chouji-kun about an hour ago," Hinata said, still busy making the food. "He had a few of those bags of chips of his…"
Shikamaru smirked, closing his eyes. "Then he'll be here soon, too. Those won't last long."
True to his word, within the hour the rest of the Konohakagure team trudged out of the ruined town and towards their little camp, looking the worse for wear, but not unhappy. Chouji led the way, with a hyper Naruto not two steps behind, a broad grin plastered across his face. The rest followed at a more stately walk, and surprisingly enough Temari was with them. Hinata saw Shikamaru raise an eyebrow at that, and felt her own rise as well.
"Welcome back," she greeted everyone, ignoring her own confusion in lieu of being polite. "Everything is ready, s-so there's no need to wait…"
"Alright!" Naruto and Chouji both cheered at once, sitting down instantly and staring up at Hinata like puppies begging for a treat. She bit her lip to keep from giggling, and instead pointed at the pile of satchels they'd brought.
"Please get your bowls, and I'll serve…"
They were gone and back before she even finished her sentence.
Giggling despite herself, Hinata gladly served out the food, although strangely enough she skipped over Naruto. He raised an eyebrow, but she only smiled at him. When everyone else was served, even Temari, although the older girl scared Hinata with all her glaring, the timid girl turned back to Naruto.
"I know you don't much like this meal…" she began, fidgeting slightly, "so um…" Biting her lip and trying not to draw any more attention to herself, she turned around and grabbed a different bowl, taking Naruto's from his hand and replacing it. "I made th-this instead…" Her cheeks were bright red.
"Uh…ok?" Naruto shrugged and then looked into the bowl, his eyes lighting up. "Aww cool, yeah! Ramen! Thanks Hinata-chan! You think of everything!"
"N-not really…" she murmured as he bounded away to sit by Sakura and Neji. Her hands fidgeting in front of her stomach before she turned around to serve herself some food, but just as she picked up the bowl something moved to her right and she jumped.
Gaara and Kankurou stood off to the side, watching the group with their impassive eyes, and Hinata took a deep breath, her heart beating quicker. The Sand brothers scared her, she wasn't afraid to admit. They all did, but the youngest did the most. Not that he doesn't scare everyone else…
"Oi, took you two long enough," Temari called, grinning cheekily and waving them over. "Get some food, it's not so terrible."
"Heh, really now? Not poisoned or anything?"
Temari shrugged. "I don't think she'd have the guts to do that, even if they had anything like that on them." Hinata flushed at the obvious insult, and Sakura narrowed her eyes at the older girl.
"Maybe not, but I would," she spoke softly, and Temari eyed her, both girls glaring for all they were worth.
"…This is getting old…" Shikamaru muttered, hiding behind his bowl as he ate. The rest of the boys followed suit.
Except, of course, for Naruto.
"Hey, you got some kinda problem?" He stood quickly, slurping his ramen into his mouth and swallowing in one movement. "'Cause if you do I'll kick it right outta you!"
"Idiot," Neji muttered.
"Oi! Neji! Who's side are you on, anyway!"
"N-Naruto-kun… Neji-niisan…"
"You just gonna let her say something like that!"
Hinata wanted to shrink into herself. "P-please… It's okay… R-really…"
Movement to her right made her blink and turn her head, and everyone else followed suit. Gaara took a step forward, then another, closing the distance to Hinata one slow step at a time. The pale girl trembled slightly, unsure of what was going on, but frozen in her place, even when Gaara was less than a foot away from her.
He surprised everyone by holding out his hand, speaking low and quiet. "Food."
Hinata was so surprised she squeaked, then flushed bright red and grabbed the ladle, spooning food into the dish she'd taken from Naruto and handing it to the cold red-headed boy. Without another word he walked past her until he was at the edge of the camp, beside a large boulder. In one movement he was up on top of it, sitting with his back to everyone else.
"Hinata-sama…?"
The girl blinked and jumped slightly at Neji's touch to her shoulder, fighting off her embarrassed blush and failing miserably. "Y-yes…?"
"Here," he handed her a bowl with food and directed her towards Sakura, seating her where he had once been. "You should eat. I'm going to go and scout around. I'll return within the hour." He looked to Shikamaru as he said so, and the other ninja nodded slightly. Neji dipped his head in reply, then was gone.
The rest of dinner passed peacefully, with even Naruto managing to be quiet—for Naruto, that was. When he was finished eating and had set his bowl down, he winked at Hinata and stretched his arms above his head. "Hey, Sakura-chan only hit me two times during the entire meal. I think that's a record."
"Congratulations," Kiba said behind him, smirking. "Maybe someday she'll knock you out with the first one and that'll be your highest record."
Naruto gave his friend a very rude gesture, and Kiba laughed. Naruto grinned and threw a punch that Kiba easily dodged, and then the two were off, Lee following and offering to help Naruto defend Sakura against Kiba ("She is no such girl, to knock a man out!" Sakura had just stared at him.). Shikamaru grumbled and picked himself up off the ground, complaining about noise and saying he was going to find somewhere quiet. Shino and Chouji left with him, and Sakura stretched out and said something about wanting sleep. Temari and Kankurou were nowhere to be seen.
Hinata watched them go, waving slowly, then turned and began to busy herself with the task of cleaning the dishes. Sakura had offered to stay and help while they had eaten, and Shino had as well, but she had refused the offers. Cleaning the dishes didn't bother her, and besides, she'd said, she was the one to make the food, she could clean it up. Whoever cooked the next day could do both tasks as well.
Busying herself as she was and humming softly, she hadn't notice that someone was still sitting, watching her. Only when a shift in the wind carried the scent of dinner to her did she stop, her eyes widened, and she whirled around.
Gaara sat on his rock, watching her, the bowl balanced perfectly on his knee. Hinata swallowed, her throat dry, her gaze locked with his in a terrifying way she couldn't escape.
"G-Gaara…san…? I thought you w-were finished…"
"Why do you do that?"
She blinked, finally able to pull her eyes away from his. "I-I'm sorry…?"
"Look at him like that. He won't ever notice. No one notices anything but power."
Wh-what…? Why would Gaara-san…?
"You're weak, to throw yourself at someone like that. Especially someone like him, who won't ever notice."
Hinata frowned, bowing her head. "That's not…quite right…" She raised her head, white eyes meeting cold ones. "There's more to everyone than what we can e-easily see… With him, there's something buried deep inside th-that he hides away… But despite that he smiles at me…and helps me… Even if he needs help too…"
Gaara stared at her, face unreadable, and then he was on the ground directly before her, their noses nearly touching, his eyes boring into hers. Hinata squeaked in surprise but didn't look away. For some reason, she didn't think she could back down. Not from this.
The boy continued to stare at her, and she felt something brush along her arm, shivering when she realized what it was. The sand Gaara controlled surrounded her, circling slowly, as though it didn't quite understand what she was, and would periodically come closer and brush against her curiously. She held her breath, all too aware of what he could do to her should he chose to, but her eyes never left his.
Finally, a flicker. Some kind of reaction crossed his gaze, and the sand calmed, retreating back into the gourd on his back. When the last grain was safely within, Hinata blinked.
"What is it that you see, with those eyes of yours?"
Caught off-guard by the question, Hinata could only stare at him, her mouth open but no words coming out. What did he mean by that? He knew about the Byakugan, he knew what she could do.
So…why?
Before she could ask, he turned away and was gone, leaving her alone in the fading light, shaken and confused. After what felt like hours, but couldn't have been more than a few minutes, she picked herself up and returned to her task, trying to lose herself in it once again.
But she couldn't get his question out of her mind.
