I sincerely apologize for the delay in uploading this chapter. This one contains a bit of a pause, but the chapter takes us directly into the next wave of action, which I hope will satisfy the questions of some. Incidently, some of those will also be answered after the chapter.
Chapter Sixteen: Waste
Sighing, Hinata rolled to her side. She had never anticipated that they would have such problems. Though she didn't know everything about the situation, she thought that she had a basic grasp of what had to happen and what they were trying to do. Their opponents were somehow directly involved with Ragnarok Incorporated; it should be a simple matter to find out who they were and take them out.
Getting into the city had been easy. It was a very different environment then even the massive shinobi villages, much more hostile and bleak. Though Ino and Sakura had been eager to take advantage of the larger shopping selection, they'd actually remained largely focused on the task at hand. Matthew and Sasuke had set up some basic battle plans, and everyone was on edge and prepared for a confrontation. But they had never anticipated what would happen next.
Nothing. They'd arrived in the city and promptly been overwhelmed by waves of inactivity. There had been no immediate attacks, and she hadn't been able to sense anyone following them, either. Furthermore, asking questions about Ragnarok Incorporated had accomplished nothing.
Their opponents were hidden and evidently not interested in showing their faces. After some time of frustrated research, Sasuke determined that they would wait for a proper attack. As he had put it to her, their opponents seemed determined to destroy them and would eventually take the opportunity. A decent strategy, but a very annoying one. Could they really do no more than just wait for trouble to come to them?
Closing her eyes, determining to relax, Hinata tried to fall asleep. Tonight was a disturbing night.
The massive building loomed at one end of the village. It seemed to intimidate the nearby houses, all of which were set some distance away from its foundation. Sand swept past it, sliding off the walls that had been designed to weather such storms without a scratch. Around the entire building rose a thick wall, making the house appear more like a fortress.
One figure was slowly walking toward the house, nervously sliding two kunai against each other, producing a slight rasping sound. Despite all his training, he couldn't completely bring himself to do it. Oh, he would eventually move physically, but his mind couldn't grasp the enormity of his actions.
It was never a written law, but everyone in the Village of the Hidden Sand knew that the Kage's house was off limits. The best Jounin dropped by when they had official business, and in times of war it became a center of activity, but most of the time no one dared go near it unless they had a good reason. Only three people other than the Kazekage were allowed to come and go freely...
But he was going to enter tonight. He was going to do a lot more than that. After breaking through the defenses he would kill that sniveling, uppity Leaf shinobi and then put a kunai directly through the skull of that b herself. The thought of Temari dead made him smile slightly. That would be the true moment of his triumph, when he finally received justice for the terrible slights she had given him.
Of course, his action would accomplish far more than his personal needs. These new people... they had ambition, and he liked what they saw for the future. A new world without higher ranked ninjas lording it over the lesser, with everyone equal except for a few to keep order. After sending this terrible message to the Kazekage, he would be one of those few.
Ah, yes, the death of his sister would hit him hard. As soon as he came home, because he was always mysteriously absent on nights of a full moon, he would want to retaliate. But who was there for him to fight? Then the final axe would fall...
Grinning just slightly, the shinobi slipped his special weapon down the sleeve of his coat, gripping it carefully. This was going to be a great night. Looking back up at the gate, he began walking forward casually, as if nothing at all was wrong. He could already see the guard lounging lazily in his chair.
What he did not see was the man standing on the edge of the roof of the house itself. Dark eyes surveyed the figure approaching the house for a moment, then closed. The next instant the man vanished.
"I swear, I have a very important scroll to deliver to the Kazekage," the man insisted. The guard sitting in his chair merely grunted and flicked away a bit of ash from his cigarette.
"Synan-san... you always call whatever you have important. I don't care how important you think your business, I can guarantee you that he doesn't care. Especially not tonight. What's really important to you barely matters to the Kazekage."
"No, this one is truly important," Synan insisted, leaning on the edge of the guard post. He was so close he could smell the guard, and it wasn't at all pleasant. This guy was supposedly a Chuunin, but Synan hardly ever saw him around. Foolish dog.
"Well, let me see it," the guard rolled his eyes.
"Thank you, sir. You will not regret this." Pulling the scroll from his sleeve, Synan set it down on the desk in front of the guard.
Suddenly a blade exploded from one end of it, and Synan hammered the other end of the scroll with his palm. The blade flew forward, going straight through the guard's heart and pinning him to the wall behind. Grabbing the scroll, Synan smirked and twisted the blade slightly.
"Idiot," he hissed. "What do you know about the Kazekage, anyway?"
"More than you might think," the guard answered. Its voice had changed abruptly, and Synan started in shock. Instead of a sickly voice it spoke in a deep, inhuman grating tone. Abruptly the guard moved, further impaling itself on the blade. The guard jerked to its feet, pulling the weapon from the wall. One of its hands closed over Synan's throat and lifted him into the air.
Gagging, Synan glanced down at the sword in horror. Where it had torn through the guard's chest he saw only crushed and broken metal. It couldn't be... at that moment Kankuro emerged from the shadows behind Synan, rolling his eyes.
"Honestly, do you think we'd put a Chuunin on guard here tonight? Or ever, really?"
Growling, Synan pulled an explosive note from his sleeve and hurled it at the terrible puppet that was holding him. The monster staggered back, apparently unharmed by the flames, but released its hold. Synan back flipped over the fence, landing in the Kazekage's yard. Before he could move toward the house Kankuro emerged from the shadows again, two dark forms on either side of him.
"My battle is not with you," Synan hissed. "I have nothing against you. But I want to settle a score with Temari and Shikamaru."
"They're busy," Kankuro answered. "Besides, you don't deserve to fight them. They shouldn't have to fight trash like you."
"But neither should you." A new voice entered the conversation. Kankuro and Synan both looked to the side, somewhat surprised. Silhouetted against the house lights stood another figure, clad in flowing robes, face shadowed by the broad hat of a Kage. At that moment he raised the hat, eyes burning at the intruder. "You also are superior to him... Kankuro."
"Oh, hey Gaara," Kankuro said nervously. "I was just going to take out the trash, but if you really want to..."
"I would prefer to," Gaara said, walking forward past his brother. "You might as well rest. Tonight I'm not going to get any sleep anyway... besides, I'm in a bad mood."
"If you insist," Kankuro shrugged, then snapped his fingers. The puppets on either side of him swiftly contracted into much smaller forms, which leapt into the air and to his hand. He turned and vanished inside the house with a casual wave over his shoulder. Abruptly Synan realized he was alone in the courtyard with the Kazekage.
"Um... G-Gaara-dono," he forced himself to say, "I really wasn't going to-"
"I know why you are here," Gaara interrupted, tone freezing Synan in place. "You might be allied with them, but they're only using you. They didn't even give you any information I don't already know, because they know that you're nothing but trash, just as I do."
"Please be reasonable," Synan stuttered, stepping backward not entirely of his own will. "Can you really stand to see that Leaf shinobi slouching around our village as if he owns the place?"
"Shikamaru-san is irrelevant," Gaara said blankly, remaining motionless but with his eyes burning. "There are two kinds of people in this world-"
With a cry Synan cut him off, flinging every weapon he had as fast as he was able. He had come with everything he could carry: needles, shuriken of all sizes, kunai, dozens of exploding notes. His attack was unrelenting, just the way he had always practiced it. In the explosions he could almost see Gaara falling back. If he kept it up long enough, even the Kazekage's fabled defenses wouldn't hold up forever.
When the ashes faded all that was in Gaara's place was a cocoon of sand. Even as Synan gaped, the sand crumbled away, allowing dozens of weapons lodged within to drop to the ground harmlessly and revealing Gaara, who still hadn't moved. Crying out in shock, Synan whirled, leaping away. Escape was his only-
His right arm was jerked back so hard it nearly dislocated his shoulder. As he plummeted toward the ground, he realized that a tendril of sand had wrapped itself around his wrist and was pulling him back. Summoning all his chakra, he managed to balance himself, escape the sand and land on his feet.
The instant he did so a soft and cool wave flooded over him. Gaara had raised a hand, and as Synan watched he stopped emitting a cloud of extremely fine sand from his palm. Merely shielding his eyes, Synan laughed off the attack.
"What is that suppose to do?" he mocked.
"Simple," Gaara answered, tone blank. "The sand reaches you and begins settling into the pores of your skin. Each of the grains works its way into your body, then breaks into your bloodstream. This decreases the blood flow, which typically induces a feeling of lightheadedness." As sweat began to roll down the side of Synan's face, Gaara continued speaking calmly and evenly. "Once the majority of the sand has entered the bloodstream, it begins to break out, causing massive hemorrhaging. It is supposed to kill the target." At that moment Synan could only cry out in pain as his entire body lit on fire with pain he couldn't even fully comprehend.
"You interrupted me earlier," Gaara stated, ceasing the assault of the sand within Synan's body. "I said that there are two kinds of people in this world. There are those people who are worthwhile, and those that are a waste of life. Shikamaru-san is the former, and you are the latter."
Synan's throat was raw and sore, but he forced himself to laugh harshly. "You may kill me, but you cannot win! Eventually, you will all destroy yourselves! Village will be pitted against village, and in the end all shinobi will be no more than corpses!"
"Perhaps," Gaara answered simply. He raised both hands, his palms facing each other and closed his eyes. Sand began to curl between his palms, forming intricate patterns of whirling lines that began to flash faster than Synan could even follow. Abruptly Gaara's eyes opened, looking directly at Synan. "But I doubt it."
At that moment the sphere of sand shattered, the agonizingly sharp patterns flooding out toward him. In an instant Synan was shredded before he could even truly understand his pain. His body exploded, but a sphere of sand caught the blood. Temari didn't like it when the courtyard got blood on it. Retracting his sand, Gaara returned it to the container upon his back.
For a long moment the Kazekage remained in the courtyard, considering his attacker, and then Gaara turned and vanished inside the house.
It was the cold that first woke Hinata up. She was shivering slightly, and didn't realize it for a few moments even after her eyes were open. Blinking a few times, she realized that the sun was already peaking over the horizon. The night was a restless blur for her, and she didn't remember falling asleep.
But it was over, now. She slipped out of bed and immediately put on what little equipment she had taken off. Ino and Sakura had gotten more relaxed about such things when they continued to not be attacked, but she was still paranoid. Or perhaps merely the fact that nothing was happening was getting under her skin and making her antsy about all this. Was that why she hadn't been able to sleep?
Softly she slipped from the small room granted her and was almost immediately outside of their dwelling. Instead of making any contact with civilization they had made camp in an abandoned warehouse. After blinking away the sunlight, Hinata saw a familiar black cloak fluttering atop a nearby building.
With a graceful leap she landed beside Sasuke, who didn't move. His eyes were fixed on the rising sun, and she didn't dare interrupt his thoughts.
"I don't like waiting," he said eventually. She nodded, not looking at him, and he went on. "Something about all this seems wrong... disjointed... but I can't identify it." For the first time his eyes shifted, glancing at her. "But I have a terrible premonition about whatever is coming. I think that the conflict to come is going to be very dangerous. I'm not going to be able to protect anyone else, because I'll need all of my strength to stay alive." He paused for some time, and she didn't try to say anything. "That's why I need all of you to not die. Can you do that for me?"
"I'll try," Hinata told him. He was being so somber...
At that moment there was a sharp spike of chakra that made both shinobi's heads whirl about to face it. It was as if two forces were battling, swirling about one another in a nearly meaningless pattern. Immediately Hinata and Sasuke dropped to the street below, and Sakura and Ino joined them almost immediately, looking only slightly groggy.
With a swift hand movement Sasuke ordered all of them toward the disturbed chakra. It was not far, and they reached it almost immediately. Alighting in a small park, they scanned the area, looking for signs of a conflict. Nothing.
"A decoy," Sasuke muttered.
"You're right," Sakura nodded, eyes narrow. "But what good did they accomplish? If they wanted an ambush, they've already lost their advantage."
"Maybe they're just trying to throw us off guard," Ino suggested. "I know this waiting sure it getting to me. If we aren't thinking well we won-"
"Matthew-san," Sasuke said abruptly. "He's still at the warehouse."
"S." Ino was already leaping from her position the way they had came. "When I left he was still asleep." They could all sense chakra being utilized with lethal intent within the warehouse.
"Do you think he'll be able to run away?" Sakura's question to Sasuke was left hanging in the air.
In a storm of movement the shinobi arrived, tearing through the doorway and entering the main warehouse itself. Ino and Sakura were in the lead and stopped together, almost making Hinata run into them. She managed to stop, but couldn't see. Focusing, she looked through them and immediately caught her breath.
Bodies lay about the warehouse, none of them looking injured but all of them unmoving. Matthew stood in the center of the carnage with his back to them, each of his hands loosely at his side. Hearing them enter, he turned to glance at them, readjusting his glasses as his did so. The motion made the scalpels in his hands glitter in the light.
"You're alright!" Sakura said, surprisingly joyously. Matthew's expression did not change from a deadly serious countenance.
"I didn't know you could fight," Ino commented. His only response was to flick both his hands, returning two scalpels to his sleeves. Examining the bodies closer, Hinata realized that each had incredibly fine cuts through the spine. "Isn't that pretty impressive, Sasuke-kun?"
At that moment Sasuke dissolved like smoke, making Ino give a slight cry to surprise.
"He didn't follow us here," Sakura observed. "That's been an illusion this entire time."
"There will be more of them," Matthew said sharply, eyes narrow and obviously considering. "This force is very powerful. They were waiting until they had warriors capable of fighting you."
"That must be it!" Sakura put one hand to her chin, in deep thought. "But how are they going to-"
"There are three large chakras coming from separate directions," Hinata informed them quietly. Nodding curtly, Matthew moved past them toward the doorway, expression still unchanging.
"Where are you going?" Sakura snapped at him.
"I have something to do," Matthew told her without stopping, vanishing out the doorway. The energy that they had felt around him vanished completely. The remaining three shinobi glanced at one another.
"One of the chakras is smaller," Ino observed. "It's moving parallel to another weak one. The other one is coming from the opposite direction."
"Right," Sakura nodded, focus returning. "Hinata-chan, you take the alone one. Ino-chan and I will fight the other two and then back you up." The three shinobi vanished toward their battles.
Sasuke stood alone in the park, completely motionless. His eyes were closed, his arms folded calmly. There were a few leaves being blown around him harmlessly, but there was an unnatural air of stillness in the park.
"Who might you be?" he asked. Standing some distance behind him where there had before been no one was a tall man. Being discovered by Sasuke did not seem to startle him in the slightest. Both of them remained completely motionless, the man just watching the back of Sasuke's head through waving locks of blond hair. He was clad in a golden cloth that wrapped around him in a strange fashion.
"And you must be the famed shinobi," the other man eventually said, tone almost musical but bitter, "the legendary survivor of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke-sama."
"So I am," Sasuke answered softly, turning to glance at his opponent. "I take it that you aren't going to want anything but a fight?"
"I don't want a fight," the man answered, shaking his head. Abruptly the color in his eyes faded, leaving only white. "I want to rip you apart and watch you die!" Chakra exploded around him, a terribly unnatural force that swirled about itself, crashing and almost battling yet all in the same twisted pattern. So that was how the deception was accomplished...
Abruptly the man seemed to flicker, and the next second his arm was through Sasuke's chest. An instant later the shinobi vanished in a shower of dust. The battle was on.
Audriel: You could say that Matthew is somewhat apathetic, yes. However, that isn't really his dominant trait, which I would identify as "analytical." Though he has a great deal of standard intelligence, his genius resides in the ability to put information together.
The gender question was repeated... you'll find the answer in the notes of previous chapters.
As for Lee, yes, it is still quite some time before he will appear. Hopefully Gaara's role in this chapter will tide you over for the time being.
The remainder of this note is regarding the review of Waffles01: Remember, of course, that rank is not a measure of power. I believe it is fairly obvious that Hinata is stronger than Ino, but I do understand your point on the subject.
This story is based primarily on the manga, and though that will harmthose who watch the animefairly little, it does have a few effects. My setting is years after Naruto ends (though it hasn't, yet), and presumably Itachi is dead at this point. I left the details of his death intentionally vague because I'm really not certain how Kishimoto will handle it.
On the battles to relationships ratio, I think that this reflects more on me than on my gender, though it is a legitimate point to raise. This story really has too much action; there were more characters than I would typically use and a number of factors that led to imbalance.
Onmy age, you are essentially correct, though I'm on the older end of that spectrum. It is good to hear your guess, I suppose, because I am trying to write using a high school vocabulary. Generally speaking, going further than that in a non-technical piece of writing doesn't help anyone.