I'd like to start by saying that this story is in no way abandoned, I have every intention of finishing it…but ya know *life* kinda sucks sometimes
Secondly, I've had parts of this chapter planned since the very beginning. I've taken some liberties with things that happen during a war time and we need to remember that there is canon murder and other horrible things happen. I didn't want to mention triggers until now cause I didn't want to spoil anything, but I've listed a trigger below, it will be mentioned in this chapter and referenced in the future. If you don't wish to read about this trigger skip the section between the solid lines. There will also be canon typical violence in this chapter. I'll give a trigger free summary at the end.
- attempted rape
March 11th
Naruto paced at the village gate, Hinata and her team were supposed to be back almost two weeks ago. The village hidden in the leaves hadn't received communication from Team Eight since a little over a week into their mission. A message had been sent stating they tracked down the rogue villagers and would be attempting contact the next day, but they were on track to be back to the village by the two week mark. Naruto had screamed, placed blame and ultimately calmed by Lord Hyuga shutting his chakra down when news had finally come.
The rescue team that had been sent had found them, trapped in a cave by the villagers. The team reported the three had various wounds and were not in shape to travel quickly back to the village. They were meant to return today, so Naruto waited. He sat back slumped against the village wall, he walked wearing a path down between the gates, he anxiously drummed his fingers against the security booth but still he waited until finally the large white head of Akamaru could be seen coming over the hills. Hinata slightly slummed against his back.
Naruto ran, meeting the team of rescue shinobi, Kiba, Shino and Hinata who lifted her head to meet Narutos eyes.
The left side of Hinata's face is swollen and bruised, a shallow cut running down her cheek. The bruising continues from what Naruto can see, in the shape of handprints, across both her arms.
"Naruto." Her voice soft as she reached a hand towards him.
"Hinata," He started to move to pull her from Akamaru's back, only stopping himself when he noted the splint placed holding her left leg in place.
"It's broken," Hinata explains, "we think in two different spots, it was a bit more than the rescue team was confident to heal." She smiles leaning into Naruto's hand as he moves to caress her cheek. "They were able to give me something for the pain, though we thought it best we wait for someone at the hospital to look at it.
"Yeah that's probably…" Naruto trails off, noticing the three men, bound and gagged, being led by the team of rescue shinobi. "Is that, is that them?" His tone turns harsh, anger flashing in his eyes as he takes a step towards them. His hand curled into fist.
"Naruto." Kiba steps forward, placing a hand on his chest "Why don't you take Hinata to the hospital, she's been in a lot of pain and really needs you right now." Kiba's tone alludes to something more than a broken leg. Naruto's eyes flick back to Hinata, noting she's not in her normal mission gear. "Don't worry about these guys, we're taking them straight to the Hokage's office."
"I'll be there after she's seen Sakura, come on Akamaru." Naruto takes Hinata by the hand to lead Akamaru through the village, only stopping at the door to the hospital.
"Sakura's at work today," Naruto turns to Hinata. "Let me go grab someone to get you off him without hurting your leg." His tone is soft, loving, he gives her hand a reassuring squeeze before walking inside.
Naruto's gone for a few minutes before the doors are pushed back open, Sakura making her way down the steps followed by two nurses.
"Oh, Hinata" Sakura's voice is full of sympathy as she takes in the broken leg and various other wounds.
"Really, it's worse than it looks." Hinata manages a small smile. "The rescue team gave me things for the pain and they didn't think the cut on my cheek would scar."
"I'll be the judge of that, now let's get you inside so I can set that leg in something more permanent. Where do they think it's broken?" Sakura asks
"Both my tibia and fibula." Hinata states
"Naruto, I need you to go stand on that top step so you can be higher than Akamaru's back and lift her off, try not to move her leg too much."
"Got it." Naruto moves, sliding his arms under Hinata and pulling her into him. "Hey." He mumbles into the side of her neck, his lips brushing briefly against her cheek.
"Hi," Hinata replies as she settles into Naruto's arms. "I missed you so much." Her voice waivers, tears pricking at her eyes.
"Follow me." Sakura motions, holding the hospital door open.
"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay. Sakura will get your leg fixed in no time and we'll go get some food, whatever you want, ya know. Then we'll get you home for a bath and whatever else you need." Naruto rambles as they walk through the halls.
"Hinata?" Sakura questions as Naruto gently sets her in the hospital bed. "I'm only asking because we're trained to ask these sorts of things when shinobi come back from missions after they've gone missing." Hinatas face goes white as she realizes where Sakura's question is going. "Well I guess I can wait till Naruto leaves if you'd like?" Sakura asks, while unwrapping the temporary splint from Hinata's leg.
"No, no, it's fine. I, well, I want him to hear it from me. I want him here to make sure he knows I'm okay."
"Hinata, what are you talking about?" Naruto's brow furrows "You've been hurt worse than this before, why wouldn't you be okay?"
"Hinata," Sakura starts "what happened to your normal mission gear."
It hits Naruto like a punch to the gut. Hinata sits in the bed dressed in black pants he doesn't recognize, the left leg cut up to the knee to make room for the splint, and a loose fitting white shirt that he's sure isn't hers.
"Hinata are you, are you hurt more?" Naruto moves to lift the shirt slightly, exposing her stomach.
"Naruto!" Sakura moves to take Naruto's hand.
"No, Sakura it's fine, I don't mind him checking. Would it be easier if I just took the shirt off? I figured you'd want to check all injuries before moving on."
"Yeah, you're right, as long as your leg doesn't hurt too bad."
"It's okay right now, I took some of the medication when we were about twenty minutes away to prep to have it looked at."
"Smart." Sakura mumbles into her notes as Hinata lifts the white shirt over her head, wincing at the movement. "I'd still like to get an IV going with some more medications for the pain since I'll need to get it and some antibiotics."
Naruto's lips become a thin line as the bruising spanning up Hinata's ribs becomes visible.
"Hinata, why are your wounds worse than Kiba or Shino's." It's a statement, not a question from Naruto. Anger flashing over his face.
"I was, well, I guess you could say the main target." Hinata bites her lip, Naruto hardly sees the tears forming in her eyes before she buries her face in her hands breaking into a sob.
Hinata's shoulders shake as she cries, Naruto takes a small step back, unsure of what to do.
"Comfort her you idiot." Sakura hisses.
"Right, yeah." Naruto sits to Hinata's side, thankful Sakura placed the IV on the opposite side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. "Hina, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. You're safe. I promise you're safe." Naruto rubs small circles into her thigh with his free hand.
"I just," Hinata's shoulders sake. "It just almost wasn't. I don't know how to tell you."
It's now Sakura's turn to step away from the bed. Her hands had been working double time removing the old splint in preparation for an x-ray.
"I'll be in the hall, the x-ray can wait." She whispers, Naruto's eyes briefly meeting hers before turning back to Hinata.
"I need to tell you what happened in that cave Naruto but I don't know if I can." Hinata's voice is hollow, void of her normal emotion.
"Hinata it's okay, ya know, things happen. We've all had to kill or hurt an enemy. I won't judge you for that." Naruto moves slightly, looking at her face.
"I need you to just let me talk okay. If you get mad or interrupt I don't know if I'll be able to finish. I just need you to know how much I love you and glad I am to be back with you." Hinata pauses, taking a breath, wincing as her ribs expand.
"We were ambushed," she starts, "in the short time they left us alone we still couldn't figure out how they got around us, let alone Kiba and Akamaru's nose. But one minute we were walking down the mountain path and the next we woke up in a cave. It was dark, save a small fire, and they had separated the three of us, making us sit against different walls." Hinata looks down at her hands. "They questioned us for two days, how we had found them, they knew where we were from because of my eyes. Always saying there were many more of them but never exactly how many. But on the third day, the biggest one, their leader I think got mad." Hinata begins to cry again, silent tears streaming down her cheeks.
"He came back to the cave and told us that if we wouldn't talk he would do something to make us talk. He put more wood in the fire, letting the three of us finally see each other." Hinata's voice had lost all emotion at this point, she looked straight ahead, refusing to turn to her boyfriend.
"He said 'you two' and pointed at Kiba and Shino 'are going to watch while I break that little girl and then watch when I steal her eyes to bring back to my village. I'll be a hero and I'd be dead'." Hinata pauses, taking another deep breath. "He tore through my shirt and bra with a kunai, laughing as he went, saying horrible things about how he hoped I was a virgin and that he was glad my mouth was gagged because then he wouldn't have to deal with me being annoying and saying no." Hinata's whole body starts to shake with her silent tears. "He said that I wouldn't mean it even if I could say no because I was just some whore from the Leaf." Her face falls into her hands. "He made the other two hold Kiba and Shino's heads up to watch. Anytime I tried to move against him or push him away he'd hit or kick me telling me to lay down and take it like a good girl." Hinata finally breaks. Her body slumping forward as her cries become violent. Sakura running back into the room at the noise.
"Naruto!" Sakura's voice reaches him through the fog in his brain, her hand on his arm.
"Sakura," his voice cracks, not noticing his own tears falling "I think, I think that monster." Naruto stutters "I think he raped her." He manages to lightly push Hinata forward so he can climb behind her back, pulling her into his chest. She sits there until her cries become less, her fingers curled into Naruto's pant leg.
"No," Hinata's whisper breaks the silence, "he didn't, he wasn't able to. Right before, right when he climbed on top of me the rescue team blew the rocks they had used to block the cave entrance open and someone drug him off me. He never got my pants off, just ripped the button"
"Sakura, what does she need?" Naruto asks, his voice hard, Sakura can see the fox lingering behind his eyes.
"I'd like to set her leg, do a full exam, get her started on a daily antibiotic for about a week and get some food into her. And Hinata I know you might not like this but I'd like to give you something to sleep while I set your leg."
"No, that's fine, I actually haven't slept more than a few hours since. I keep feeling him on top of me." She shudders, accepting the tissue Naruto held out to her.
Sakura leaves the room again, mumbling about different plants for sleep.
"What can I do Hina, please, anything at all you name it and I'll do it."
"Just stay, stay until I fall asleep." Naruto holds her as she cries.
"We're trained for this. Female shinobi take a class on sexual assault." Hinata states in the same dead voice. "We're told it's very much a possibility and we're given options for birth control. But I just can't stop thinking about you not being my first. About not being a virgin when we get married." Hinata breaks down again, holding her head in her hands.
"Hina," Naruto whispers. "I wouldn't care if you had slept with another man. I only care about you being safe. My only concern is that you're hurt and that you could have been hurt much worse. I'll do anything to make you feel better. Do anything to make you not cry." He talks into her hair.
"Can we talk more later? When I'm not in the hospital, when it's just the two of us?" Hinata asks as the door slides back open, Naruto nods his head.
"Naruto, I'm going to need you to get up, this stuff works pretty fast and Hinata should be laying down."
"How long will she be out?"
"Probably until tomorrow morning." Sakura says, holding a cup to Hinata's lips.
Hinata slumps against her pillow, her face softening as sleep overtakes her.
"I'll be back in the morning, Sakura, thanks." Narutos tone is clipped, his eyes flashing red.
"Naruto no." Sakura grabs his arm.
"I'm going to the Hokage's office, nothing you can say will stop me. I'm going there and I'm going to fucking kill that man." Naruto shoves Sakura's hand away, throws open the door and disappears.
The door to the Hokage's office slammed open, a picture frame falling to the floor. All eyes of those in the room turned to meet Naruto. Naruto skimmed over their faces, four men stood while Kakashi-sensei sat at his desk. The three prisoners kneeling before them, arms cuffed behind their back and shackled to the floor. Naruto easily noted the man on the left to be half a head taller than the other two. He stormed into the room, gripped the man by the throat and pulled him to his feet, slamming him into the wall.
"Naruto!" His sensei's voice hardly made a sound as Naruto adjusted his grip around the man's throat and slammed his head into the wall.
Naruto felt the shift as Kumara's chakra melded with his own, his pupils becoming slits, the anger flowing through him.
"How dare he! How dare he touch her!" Kumara's deep voice resonated in Naruto's mind.
A wheeze of a laugh sounded from the man's mouth as blood trickled down his lip.
"So the Leaf is going to let the fox out to play, seems a bit much for some lowly criminals."
"Lowly criminals?!" Naruto yells "You kidnapped and injured three of our shinobi."
"What's two men and their little whore have to do with you?" The man laughs again.
"Call her that again, I dare you." Naruto presses, coming dangerously close to cutting off the man's airway.
"Oh-ho" he wheezes through Naruto's grip. "She's your whore." Naruto pulls him back, slamming him into the wall again.
"You're telling me that I almost got to fuck the little foxes slut." He laughs, the sound crazed.
"You're dead." Naruto states, pulling him back and slamming him into the wall for a third time, the man goes limp in his grip. Eyes roll back into this head. Naruto notes by the rise and fall of his chest that he's still breathing as he lets him slide to the floor pulling a kunai from the pouch at his side. At that moment a hand lands on his shoulder, a force tugs him away from the man's crumbled form.
"Shikamaru," Naruto growls, "you know you can't hold me when I'm like this." Naruto shakes the shadows from his body. Looking over his shoulder to see Ko's pale eyes meet his. "Walk away Ko." Naruto says while kneeling, moving the knife towards the mans throat.
"Son." A deeper voice, close to his ear, calling him something he's never heard before, causes him to pause. Turing Naruto locks eyes with Lord Hyuga. "Son," he repeats "I need you to stand up and come with me. These men will know justice but I promise you Hinata would not want you to have unnecessary blood on your hands. Because that is what he is, meaningless and not worth your time."
Naruto falls, dropping the chakra cloak, bending in on himself. Crying for the second time that day.
"He, he, was going to kill her."
"I know, and he will be dealt with accordingly but not by you. Hinata needs you by her side not being questioned for murdering a prisoner who hasn't had a trail. Remember that is part of the treaty. Let's walk." The older man's voice remains calm as he helps Naruto to his feet and guides him from the room.
Naruto follows Lord Hyuga through the village streets and realizes they are making their way to the Hyuga compound. The stop briefly at the gate, before walking to the room Naruto had sat in months ago when he asked for permission to date Hinata.
"Do you know?" Naruto asks
"If you mean do I know that that excuse for a man attempted to rape and then murder my eldest yes."
"How are you so calm?"
"You forget I've been here before, two wars, kidnappings, and as much as I'd like to kill that man or let you kill that man we have to maintain the treaty. Two years may seem like a long time but they are still fresh. Still healing wounds."
"How can I make it better?" Naruto leans forward, leaning into his arms.
"Be there for her, support her, listen and don't push. I told my daughter something similar to this, I'd be stupid not to realize that your relationship has moved into a sexual nature. But you'll need to wait. To let her take the lead and tell you when she's ready for anything."
"I wouldn't" Naruto balks "I would never force her to do anything."
"And I know that but she's been violated, she'll need you to make her feel safe again. I feel as if she's not going to want to spend much time away from you in the coming months."
"That's fine. I'll ask for leave, I'll tell Kakashi I need a break, whatever she needs."
Lord Hyuga nods, pulls open a drawer to his desk and pulls out a familiar white bottle.
"It is comforting to know, from a father's perspective, that you'd kill for her." He says with a light chuckle before filling two small glasses.
Hinata was to be used as leverage to make Kiba and Shino talk about how they found the villagers, the leader attempted to rape her in the cave but the rescue team made it in time. The man was only able to remove her shirt. Hinata expressed worries of not being a virgin anymore for Naruto and Naruto assured her that he didn't care about that and he only cared about her and her safety/wellbeing.