I hate school >> Been completely loaded with homework and revision lately...havent had any time to read or write. GAH.
Anyways. Took my ONE relatively free day to write this out. I just realized that there are holes big enough in this story to stick a whale through. Sorry >> I should be finished with this story in around 4 more chapters, so please bear with me!
Please review! Criticism welcome.
Chapter 6
The hound dragged itself across the graves, ears pricked forwards, nose to the ground. Akamaru suddenly paused andsniffed at a certain spot before digging away the soft dirt with a shaggy paw. A muffled cough, and Kiba emerged slowly from the earth, shaking dirt off like a dog.
"You ok, buddy?" he rubbed Akamaru's head tiredly before sitting down heavily on the ground, glancing at the pile of broken tombstones nearby. "Guess I'll have to thank Naruto this time for teaching me his tricks –" the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu had worked perfectly, allowing Kiba to tunnel his way into the ground in the splitsecond that his copy was crushed by the rubble Keito had sent crashing onto 'him'.
Kiba winced as he felt blood trickle down from the thin cut across his throat.
"...Hanabi..."
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Iimura Keito.
Shino traced the name slowly, long fingers trailing across the stone walls that barricaded him from the outside world. Over the years he had managed to reach a large number of insects from the other side of the wall; he had even tried allowing a few species to enter his body, to re-forge the pact his clan had made with the chakra bugs – but his body had rejected them all, making him violently sick in the process. Hinata had hugged him tightly and begged him never to try again – and gradually the holes that broke his skin had closed up and Shino became accustomed to the slightly empty feeling inside.
Iimura Keito.
His hand paused halfway through and Shino closed his eyes. Hinata was screaming somewhere far away and he could hear the Feng-Huan's shrieks...it was time.
Keito and the medic, Yumiko had mostly left him alone. During daytime he feigned weakness, pretending to have been permanently injured and disabled from the original fight. But when night fell and Yumiko had shackled Hinata and left them in the echoing darkness of their prison, Shino trained. Taijutsu, genjutsu, he took all that he could remember and regained his strength, his skills and built on them, developing his technique to fit his new, hollow body. All he had left now was his ability to communicate and control all kinds of insects.
It was enough.
He traced the final letter, moving into the shadows as he heard running footsteps approach.
Iimura Keito, today I will kill you.
The heavy iron door of their prison was flung open and Yumiko and Keito hurried in, dragging a struggling Hinata behind her. The inhumane shrieking continued in the background and Keito flung Hinata onto the ground. Yumiko was panicking –
"Keito, let's go! It's coming, I know it is!" she clutched at Keito's sleeve. "Keito! Please, lets just go!" her voice grew louder as she begged the man. "Just leave these two here, we'll come back to get them later –"
Keito snarled, shaking Yumiko off. "Where is he?" he twisted around, trying to find Shino."We'll use him to block the attacks– where did he go?"
Hinata lifted herself off the ground. Shino-kun?
And then there was a scream, and darkness descended on them in the form of a thick black mass of beetles, a writhing wall that struck the two off their feet. Shino leaped forwards from the shadows and shielded Hinata with his own body as the dark mass swarmed around them. The screaming grew louder as the beetles covered Keito and Yumiko completely in a living, crawling tomb, tearing at their skin.
He laid his hand on her cheek and bent his head down to look at her.
"It's alright." he said quietly. "They're mine."
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"Damn it!" Kiba growled in frustration, kicking at a few rocks on the ground as he looked desperately for any signs of Hanabi or Keito. "Where the hell is that bastard? – Ill kill him once I lay my hands on his dirty little –"
Keito had been careful not to leave any visibletracks, but Kiba and Akamaru had been able to trace them as far as the little clearing in the forest by their acute sense of smell. However, the trail ended there, with Keito and Hanabi nowhere in sight. They appeared to have simply vanished and Kiba was beginning to have the same sinking feeling that he had during his futile search for Hinata and Shino so many years ago.
Kiba paused. Something about the clearing was setting off warning signals in his mind. At first glance it seemed like a normal clearing – small, rather barren with only a few patches of grass amidst rockyareas and a scattering of large, mossy boulders.
Boulders...
Kiba thought back to the way Keito had easily managed to break and throw the rubble onto him – almost flying at him with such speed that he had barely managed to dig the tunnel to escape - the way the tips of his fingers had seemed rock hard as he sent powerful thrusts to his chest-
Boulders and tunnels. Boulders and tunnels.
Maybe –
Kiba and Akamaru hurled themselves at the biggest boulder, pushing against the rock with their backs, teeth gritting as it slowly rolled to the side, little by little.
The Inuzuka scowled as he stared down at the dark passageway that was now revealed, going deep into the earth.
Rock nins.
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Shino and Hinata dragged themselves out of the prison, Shino leading the way through the twisting, narrow corridors with his insects constantly relaying directions, heading in the opposite direction of the large halls in which the sealing procedures had been attempted, finally bursting out of a side door into the cool night air.
The shock of being outside after seven years of captivity stunned them momentarily – they leaned against each other for support, staring around them, lost. The dark blue of the sky seemed to stretch endlessly above them - they were in a large, empty courtyard, surrounded by four high walls. The two were silent for a moment, heavy breathing the only sound in the stillness -
The Feng-Huan's cry shattered the calm and Hinata started, clutching at Shino.
"Shino-kun! They had Hanabi – she's – they did it – Oh God I couldn't stop them – Hanabi –"
Shino's breath caught in his throat and he gripped Hinata by the shoulders. "What? Hanabi? Is she –"
"They sealed the Feng-huan into Hanabi, but they can't control her – there was something wrong with the seal Yumiko used – Hanabi, she's wild – Shino-kun we have to save her, we have to –"
A low creaking near them sent both on guard at once, Shino instinctively stepping in front of Hinata.
A slab of stone seemed to be lifting itself from the ground a few feet away from them. Shino realized belatedly that it was a trapdoor and crouched down, preparing to fight whoever came through –
A head and shoulders appeared. Wild, unruly brown hair, red fanged tattoos on cheeks –
"...Shino?" A disbelieving voice. "...Hinata! I – I found you!"
A glint of sharp, jagged teeth and the painfully familiar feral grin that was now slowly spreading across his face -
"Kiba-kun!" Hinata cried out, running forwards. It was unmistakeably the Inuzuka – his face had lengthened, he was taller and his eyes spoke of suffering and grief, but there was still that glint of pride which lingered that was purely Inuzuka Kiba.
Akamaru bounded out from the trapdoor. Hinata cried out again, bending down to hug the ecstatic animal. "Akamaru! How – where- Kiba-kun, how –"
Kiba stared down at the woman before him, looking too overwhelmed and happy to speak.
Shino stepped forwards, face unreadable. Kiba looked up, and the two men stared at each other for a moment. Suddenly Shino cracked a smile.
"...Took you long enough, dog-boy.'
Kiba's grin grew wider and punched Shino lightly. "Man, you look horrible. "
His expression turned serious. " – where's Hanabi?"
"My, my. Look what we have here! Yumiko, isn't this touching? A beautiful reunion of long lost friends!"
Akamaru growled and the three stiffened, spinningaround. Kiba's face twisted into a snarl and he moved to protect Hinata – but he was shocked to see her glaring fiercely at the two rock nins standing before them, struggling into a fighting stance despite her injuries. His attention reverted back to Keito, who was stepping towards them slowly, infuriating smirk stretched across his face.
"This is certainly a heartrending moment." Keito stepped nearer. Kiba growled threateningly and Akamaru bared his teeth. Keito ignored the two of them and turned instead to Shino. "Your bugs were certainly quite powerful. I must admit, I rather misjudged you. However –" another step closer. "What you failed to take into account was the fact that Yumiko and I are naturally infallible against your attacks. All we had to do –" he spread a hand out, showing how the skin crackled and hardened into a rock-like substance. " – was this." Another smirk. "Your bugs never had a chance of getting through our most basic defense. And now, enough talking –"
"Kiba, listen to me." Shino spoke in a low tone, eyes never leaving Keito's face.
" - I'm afraid we're going to have to end it here. Won't do to have your interfering Hokage finding out about this –"
Kiba turned his head barely imperceptibly towards Shino.
"Hinata and I will take care of these two. You go and find Hanabi. They've sealed a phoenix into her. Something went wrong – I'm not sure what – but she's in there – you'll find her in the halls."
Kiba's eyes widened at the mention of the phoenix but he nodded, face setting in a determined expression.
" - So, my friends. This is where it ends." Keito and Yumiko each crouched down into fighting stances.
Hinata and Shino moved to stand next to each other, Hinata firmly fixed in the Gentle Fist stance, Shino merely crouching, eyes narrowed.
And then Kiba was off, running at tangent towards the buildings and the rock nins were rushing at Shino and Hinata, skin cracking and moulding into rock.