Chapter 8: The attack.

Neji's Point of View

I wonder what possessed our sensei to assign us such a mundane assignment. It has been two weeks and luckily, my partner and I had a project. We were writing a poem and apparently, she knew how to play the Panpipes. It was better than being stuck with a fan girl, anyways. Tenten get something DONE. Anyways, Sensei has another task for me, so it's no big deal. I yawned discreetly. Class is so boring sometimes.

"Do you guys want to go to Hanagormoro today?" Kai was standing above our desk. Oh, looks like the bell rang.

"What's that?" Tenten asked while she and I stood up.

"It's a Japanese Coffee store and it specializes in Japanese Candy!" Kai smiled dreamily.

"Oh, sure, that sounds good. Let's go ask the others," Tenten and Kai walked down the hall towards the Cafeteria, standing behind me and talking away like typical girls. Che, the only girl I knew that didn't do that was Gaia, and all we did was fight.

"Hey Tenten-chan!" Ino screamed from across the cafeteria. Tenten waved as we made our way towards them. "Hey Kai-chan, Neji-san." She greeted us two as well.

"Hello Ino-chan! I was just talking to Tenten here about going to Hanagormoro which is a Japanese Candy store. Wanna come?" Kai asked. I saw Gaara roll his eyes behind his girlfriend. Kai was calm until you mentioned Candy… that'd where everything goes wrong.

"Sure, I love Candy," Ino grinned.

"What about candy?" Sakura popped up behind her, sucking on a western confection.

"Ino-chan! Y-You and Sakura-chan c-can't eat too much c-candy!" Hinata protested.

"B-But…" Sakura made puppy dog eyes at Hinata.

"She's right, Saku-chan," Tenten scolded her playfully, "remember last time?

"I'd hate to think what happened last time," Sasuke muttered. I could hear him since he was standing right beside me.

"She burned off someone's head," Ino responded casually.

"WHAT! How!" Natsu and Kiba both exclaimed wide eyed. Akamaru and Fuyu glanced at her wide eyed.

"Er… let's just say she had some matches and leave it at that. The details are rather gruesome," Tenten laughed nervously. These girls are hiding something…

"Sugoi! I want to go but me and Sasuke have work," Naruto pouted.

"You two work? I thought you guys were rich!" Sakura exclaimed incredulously.

"Our guardians forced us to," Sasuke said shortly, digging into his bento, "Are you going to stand around all day and talk or eat?"

"Slow pokes," Shikamaru yawned as he settled in to sleep. He had eaten through the whole discussion and had drifted off into dream land.

"So lemme get this straight: Us four, Kai-chan, Natsu-chan, Kiba-kun, Gaara-san and Neji-san are coming for sure. What about you and Shino-kun?" Ino asked Temari as she ticked the names off her fingers.

"Course we're going! I love Candy!" Temari grinned, "And I'll make sure that lazy bum comes as well." She cocked her thumb at the sleeping genius.

"S-So that's everybody b-but Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun," Hinata summed it all up.

"That's right! We'll meet you in front of the school doors, ok?" Kai started bouncing on the balls of her feet happily.

"Kai-chan, calm down," Gaara chided his girlfriend.

"But Candy! Don't you love Candy! I love, it's sweet and yummy and…" No one bothered to pay any more attention as Kai started ranting. They just kept eating and doing their own things while Kai was bounching off the walls with just the thought of sugar. Oh boy…

Change Point of View to Tenten

I can't believe Kai is that hyper when it comes to sugar! She was bouncing all over the walls all day. You'd think she'd CALM DOWN as the day passed but nooo she was literally vibrating all over the place.

"Kai, if you continue acting like a bouncy ball we won't take you toHanagormoro," Temari warned her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" She shrieked as she threw herself onto an irate Gaara.

"Kai-chan, let's just go," Gaara started dragging his girlfriend along. I couldn't help smile at the sight. They were the perfect couple.

"What is this Hanagormoro like, anyways?" Ino asked Temari.

"It's a little coffee shop that is actually pretty popular. It's styled after an old Japanese styled house actually, so it's very comfortable. It also specializes in Tea as well as candy," Temari explained, "It's our favourite hang out place."

"I see…" I nodded. This should be fun.

It's better than searching all day and night for those stupid envy mobsters! Ino exclaimed telepathically.

True… Too bad Naruto-kun couldn't come, Hinata whispered.

You miss your lover boy, don't you Hina-chan? Ino teased her I bet Sakura does too.

INO! Sakura shrieked, making us all wince a little.

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan, Ino-chan?" Natsu asked.

"N-Nothing… don't worry, I just pricked my finger," Hinata started sucking on her finger. I could feel her nick herself a little.

"I thought I saw a car run over that squirrel," Ino pointed to a small flash of fur.

"I see," Shino muttered. We all breathed a sigh of relief.

Not so loud next time, Sakura! Ino scolded her.

Gomen! Sakura apologized.

"I-I wonder where S-Sasuke-san and Naruto-kun w-work," Hinata thought out loud.

"Dunno," Shikamaru yawned, "Those two have been awful secretive about it."

"They never told us," Neji supplied.

"I see…" I tapped my finger on my chin understandingly, but I didn't understand. Why would they hide such information from their friends?

"We're he-re!" Kai sang as she stopped at some rice paper doors. "Hurry up!"

"Impatient, impatient!" Natsu tutted.

"Hello! Welcome toHanagormoro!" A waitress met them at the door, "How many are you?"

"A room for…twelve please." Temari counted the heads as she responded to the waitress.

"Right this way," She took us through a labyrinth of rice paper doors. One could very easily get lost in this maze.

Reminder to self: stick close to Temari Ino muttered. I feverently agreed with her.

"Here you are! Service will be here in a few minutes," She opened a rice paper door to show an old styled room with a square table and three seats to a side.

"Sugoi!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Sit down, sit down," Temari grinned.

"Hello. I'll be your waiter- Hey!" Everyone's heads swung in the direction of the open door. For a few seconds they just gaped in shock and then started laughing hysterically. We had indirectly solved the mystery of where Naruto and Sasuke worked: here. This would have been normal if they were dressed like GUYS!

Naruto-kun looks like a drag queen!" Hinata giggled.

They looked like they were taken out of a history textbook, only wrong gender! Sakura laughed

So true, so true, Ino agreed. I just laughed.

You see, Sasuke and Naruto were wearing a kimono, all done up in the traditional style. They were wearing wigs that had been design so that they looked old fashioned as well. The most hilarious part, however, was their make up. They were wearing white masks and painted red lips, just like a geisha.

"That dress fits you perfectly, Naruto," Kiba howled with laughter.

"I have just lost the little respect I had for you, Sasuke," Shikamaru shook his head, laughing so hard he choked.

"Nice, Uchiha," Neji smirked.

"Gee, do you have a matching summer Yukata?" Natsu teased him.

"Smooth, Naruto-kun, especially in front Hinata," Ino giggled.

"Do you want to order or not?" Sasuke grumbled. His mask of white make up crumbled a little.

"Th-the usual, p-please, plus a special for these girls," Temari ordered through her giggles. Grumbling incoherently, Sasuke left the room while Naruto stayed behind to entertain the guests.

"So… why are you in these rooms today?" Naruto asked casually, trying to act cool, but miserably, "Shouldn't you be in a smaller room?"

"Use your brain Naruto, we just had four more added to our company," Shikamaru yawned. He had got his laughing under control already, like Shino, Neji and Gaara. The others, however, were still snickering.

"Oh yeah! Dammit," Naruto swore.

"D-Do y-you a-always d-dress l-like th-this Naruto-kun? Hinata asked anxiously.

"Nah, only sometimes when somebody doesn't come. It just so happened that the two girls who didn't come today had this room. Convenient, ne?" Naruto grinned despite himself.

"Oh yeah. I-" Natsu never got to finish her sentence when screaming and the sounds of building falling drew interrupted her.

"We'll be right back," Temari rose from her seat, glaring at everyone beside us. Ding ding ding! I was getting a lie sensory right now. I wonder…

They're not telling us everything Ino murmured.

And it's dangerous out there, what are they doing? Sakura fussed.

I hate to break in the conversation but we have a bigger problem on our hands: Envy! Hinata interjected. We all shared significant looks.

"Alright," I nodded. As soon as we were sure they were gone, we started the ritual.

By the powers the Immortals have given,

By good intent we are driven,

Hera, Aphrodite

Amphitrite, Athena

Iris, Artemis

Demeter, Persephone

The elemental four beg of change!

That calming, earthy felling enveloped me and for a few seconds, all I could feel was that delicate feeling. Sighing, I stood up and followed the other girls to the door.

"Down there," Naiad (Hinata) whispered. We crept through the maze like halls until we finally reached the entrance, where an extremely shocking sight met our eyes.

I can't believe it! Halcyon (Ino) exclaimed.

It is unexpected, Phoenix (Sakura) agreed.

We should cut in Naiad suggested.

I think they're more than capable I interjected. This was interesting. Outside, Kai had trapped several green dogs in a large purple dome while the others were fighting. Neji was using his Hyuuga style, Sasuke was firing off fireballs at random, Shikamaru had a dog attached to his shadow, Gaara was fighting two with sand, Kiba and Natsu had teamed up and were using their pets as weapons against three dogs, Temari was using a naginata with various wind attacks and Naruto… he was just attacking wildly.

"Ahh!" Naruto screamed as the dog's tail hit him. You could tell by the bleeding he had been knocked out.

"Stupid dobe," Sasuke muttered as he now had to contend with Naruto's dog as well. He put up a good fight, but he was overwhelmed and knocked out as well.

I think we should step in now, Halcyon muttered tersely as the dogs made a bee line for Shikamaru.

Agreed. Naiad, watch over Naruto and Sasuke and try to heal them. Were going to take down these bad puppies, Phoenix cracked her knuckles. We nodded and followed her instructions.

"Leaves of Hades, Dance!" I cried. The dead leaves swirling all around became little pellets and ricocheted themselves at two dogs. They howled in pain but that was enough for Natsu to knock one of them out with a punch.

"Thanks," She smiled but before I could reply, the other one thrashed around enough to hit her in the head, knocking her out.

"NATSU!" Kiba hollered. Furiously, he smashed the dog in the head, killing it. He paid no attention to that though, but picked up his girlfriend and mover her to the side.

"Watch her," I mouthed as I faced another puppy. "Roots of Hades, DANCE!" This attacked pierced the dog through the heart. It's mate howled at me and launched herself, teeth first. I pulled a fan out of my sash and knocked it's teeth out, then killed it with a swipe of my Katana.

Done? Halcyon asked me.

Should be, I frowned.

"Naiad!" Phoenix suddenly shrieked. Horrified we watched as the dog Natsu had knocked out suddenly revived and made a mad dash towards Naiad, who was healing Naruto and Sasuke. The body had been animated by a soul!

"Shade, return!" I exclaimed. A bright misty fog, a soul, came out of the creature and into my hand. It stopped him from attacking Hinata but he had managed to crush her under his body, making us all wince. Halcyon quickly lifted him off Hinata and killed him, but not before some major injuries had been done to Hinata.

"Dammit!" Phoenix swore as she lifted Hinata up and teleported back home.

Go with her, I told Ino who nodded and teleported away.

"Who are you?" Kai asked weakly. She had been exhausted, keeping up the barrier that long.

"Don't worry about it, just teleport the wounded home and make sure their guardians don't ask-" I responded, very quickly until Neji interrupted me.

"Don't worry about the parents, Gaia, we've done this before," He hoisted Naruto over his shoulder, grunting with effort over his wounds, and teleport away. Shikamaru did the same with Sasuke while Gaara grabbed Kiba after casting a worried glance at Temari, who supported both Kai and Natsu.

As soon as Kai left I realized I had to get out of here, so I turned myself invisible and flew away from the scene. Cars screeched to a stop, people's voices started to bubble in panic as two parked cars smashed together.

That's the alibi for the dent in the wall, eh? I noticed the considerable damage we had done during our fight.

Yes… I could hear Demeter's voice drift by No one was harmed at least.

I couldn't help but feel guilty for the owners. As guardians, we do so much for mankind, yet someone or something always gets hurt in the process.

Change to Naruto's Point of view

Urg… I got up slowly, not willing to shake the sleep from my limbs. The bedside digital clock I had read 9:00. Wait a second… "WHAT?" I jumped out of bed, shocked. Where were the monsters? Where was the rest of the group?

"Are you alright, Naruto?" I looked up to see Naiad sitting at the foot on the bed, worry clearly written in her green eyes.

"What happened to the dogs?" I asked, bewildered.

"You were knocked out. I took you back here to get better," She reassured me tenderly. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I should be," Gods, was I feeling sleepy. Yawning, I turned around and faced the other direction. "Good night, Naiad." Is that an evil laugh? Nah, I must be dreaming.

Change back to Tenten's point of view.

I crept into the room where Hinata was recovering. Sakura and Ino were sitting beside her, every once and a while sending a wave of magic over her to seal her many wounds.

"Is she going to be alright?" I asked fearfully.

"She should be. Her crushed bones have started to heal and her body's working on healing her bruises," Sakura frowned, "She's going to be magically dry by the end of the night though."

"Naruto…" Hinata moaned, her pale eyes slitting open to reveal her white irises.

"She used too much magic trying to heal him," Ino shook her head.

"Poor girl," I watched a bead of sweat slide down my friend's face. She really loved him that much, eh?

A/N: And me ish done! I'm incredibly sorry for the looooong wait but I hoped you like this chapter! Eek!

I couldn't help but put Naruto and Sasuke in Kimonos. It was too funny! I know there isn't as much fluff and romance in this chapter but this is where the real Hinata/Naruto fluff gets started. The others relationship, you might have to wait a little

So envy finally shows themselves this chapter. The identity will be revealed next chapter! Poor Hinata, I'm so evil, ne?

Sorry again for waiting so long to post this, but thankies for the reviews! They made my day.

Lub,

Nyte