Chapter Five: A Trip to Mist Village
AN: Twin Lion Fists isn't a Jutsu Hinata invented. I've seen many claim this, and it's completely untrue. It's a Head Family Jutsu that's only taught to the Head Family members—Kaiten and Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms being the other two Head Family exclusive Jutsus that Neji learned by observing and listening to the Head Family members.
Warning: Humour that concerns poking fun at certain clichés.
# # # # # #
From the limbs of a big old tree, droplets drip-dropped, soaked through his shirt, ran down his back. Thick vines hung down like hair, wispy and long. At the base of the tree was a natural cave. Its bark was so thick that, looking around, Sasuke imagined it would be as thick as several large trees put together. Low thumping sounds filled the hollow space, and beyond the curtain of vines stood Hinata with her husband.
He had asked her to accompany him to support Neji; he was still in the dark, so Sasuke needed her to make sure that things stayed that way. He had to admit that she was weak for someone from the Head family with a better set of Byakugan eyes.
Her Taijutsu was dreadful, and her Kekkai-Genkai Jutsus were no better. He was sure that any novice Chūnin in his team would swat her like a fly, with his eyes closed. To top it off, she was still so sloppy with the Thirty-Two palms. Neji knew Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms since his Genin days in the academy. Her Lion Fists, taught to Head Family members, were barely adequate for combat situations . . . he frowned, thinking that this trip would prove to be irksome.
He knew the scroll he had burnt would lead to nothing but trouble with his brother. It was just another problem he had to worry about. It would take a lot to pacify Itachi this time. He knew . . .
The crescendo of babble and rain stopped with a crash of thunder. Rainy season was here, and smell from Konoha's soil sought the air—cold rains would dominate this region throughout autumn. Sasuke looked southwards, peering through the mist about the forest that went on into the mountain's cleft. Just beyond its other end were the vast moors, now wet with rain.
Hinata toddled her way to Sasuke and lifted up the curtain of vines. "S-Sasuke-Sama," she stuttered and fiddled with her Genin jacket's zipper, "Neji-Nii went ahead to look for bandits?" Then she said nothing and kept moving her eyes all over the place—anywhere but Sasuke's face.
"I sent him to scout out the area. He left Konoha a day before us," Sasuke said, not meeting her eyes.
Hinata bit her lower lip and said nothing. Sasuke felt a mixture of rain and wind across his face and shuddered a little. His hair whipped against his cheeks. He fetched a sigh and looked at Hinata and the veins popping about her eyes: she was using Byakugan.
"Make sure he stays out of the way," he said and pulled in the soothing smell from the tree. "When we reach Mist, he'll stay outside with Sakura and keep a look-out for any rogues. Clear?"
She nodded absentmindedly and lowered her head to hide her pink-tinted cheeks that turned darker by the second. Her Byakugan saw the intense and monstrous chakra running through his body like wild tidal waves; it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. She could almost imagine it coming into her own body—like something palpable and alive—a ravenous parasite living and breathing as countless tiny bits inside his body.
But . . . it was also different, a storm that dragged her in to ruin her sensuously, delicately, sweetly. (What a fool she was!) She raised her eyes ever so slightly as if she could not see it clearly. The more she looked at it, the more intense it felt. It was not like parasites; no, it was like something magnificent and beautiful and deathly, which touched her skin from under the flesh and bone and blood and soul … blent and intricately woven together through natural mechanisms inside his body: a lusty and mischievous daemon that lived right under his skin.
She had seen Uchiha Chakra before: it was always far more intense than what the other clans possessed; they were famous for their potent chakra that had no equal. It was no secret. It was this chakra that made their eyes special, made them dangerous, made them formidable and enchanting to the other's eyes; but not like this. Nothing like this.
She felt as though his chakra was sucking the last of her thoughts into a black mass, and the sensation left her breathless for more—a delightful blend that gripped her. Was his chakra always like this? She could not remember. This was the first time she had seen it through her Byakugan and experienced a sensuous feeling from looking at his naked spiritual energy.
Suddenly, sounds of Sakura's soft laugh broke her thoughts. She turned her head to her and saw her ruffling up Naruto's messy, wet hair. Naruto was blushing and he looked happy. Hinata turned her eyes away and began to gaze beyond the wet foliage at the Water Country: it was surrounded by lakes and rivers that opened up into the sea. It would take them another day to reach it. Sasuke had sent out a small hawk to Mizukage's guard Ao. He returned Sasuke's message that the meeting was approved, along with the time of meeting and number of people he could bring with himself into the hidden village. It was still being treated as a clandestine affair by both parties.
Sasuke looked down at her, and a small frown crept over his face and lips. He watched as she flinched in a pronounced manner at Sakura's laughter. Hinata shoulders heaved with anxiety, and she began fumbling with those damned buttons on her jacket again; she did not want to leave them alone. It looked as if she was about to pass out. Sasuke palmed his face: this three-way drama was getting on his nerves!
"Hinata," he began and watched as she slowly turned her red face and cup-like eyes to him in slow motion, "go and tell Naruto to make some Kage Bunshins and look for Neji. What's taking him so long? He should've met up with us by now. Go with him. Use your Byakugan and find him. We need to look for a place to set-up camp for the night. I don't think the rain will stop."
Hinata slouched and picked her way daintily across the muddy grass. She nearly slipped a few times before she finally stopped to talk to Naruto. Naruto sprang to his feet, with a huge grin on his face, and shouted, "boss!" He made three Kage Bunshins and jumped up onto the tree branches with Hinata—all of them disappeared quickly behind the drape of leaves.
At that moment, a tiny male hawk flew down and landed on a branch at the mouth of the cave. It fluffed out its wet feathers, scraped its beak against the bark, let out a melodious sound to let Sasuke know that it had made it back to him. It was very small in size and white as snow with faint gray spots about his eyes—so small that, sometimes, Sasuke carried it to his Clan's bird sanctuary inside his jacket's inner-pocket. The hawk was one of the many his Clansmen kept, but this one was his own. It was very rare and very small—a gift from his brother.
He moved the vines out of the way and held out his arm; it hopped onto it, stared into his eyes, and then slightly fluttered its wings to jump onto his shoulder. Sasuke removed the small tube from under its right claw and took out the rolled message. All arrangements were complete, and, given the circumstances, the Mizukage had agreed to share the details of war with him. The peace treaty was in effect and neither side wanted to turn this matter into a war.
The hawk nipped at Sasuke's earlobe playfully: it wanted a treat from him. Sasuke smiled and took out a few small dried-out meat chunks from his pocket. "You've become so pushy, Kirin," he said and stroked it with his fingers.
"So you do have a bit of love in you? Lucky bird!" Sakura said in a mocking tone from a few feet away. She was leaning against a frail tree; the storms had not been kind to it.
Sasuke shoved his hand into his pocket and took out another message. "Make yourself useful and stop wasting time," he said in a smooth voice and slightly raised his eyes to look at three other men busy with their own tasks. He rolled up the message and slipped it inside the tube. Then, twisting his arm a little, he tied the tube around the hawk's ankle.
"Cold—I wonder if you even feel anything for anyone but the birds," she said, almost playfully, looking at the bird he was treating with love and kindness.
Sasuke did not say anything in response and carefully plucked a leaf from a branch poking out of the tree's lower part. The leaf was quite large and had clear rain water on its surface. Its mid-section was shaped like a smooth round cup with water slopping around. He moved it towards Kirin: it tipped its head down and drank to its heart's content.
These hawks were trained to drink only from their masters or from natural water sources. Sasuke used it to send messages to his brother when he went out hunting up north. It was an effective way of keeping his whereabouts a secret, and the language he used in the messages to his clansmen could not be decoded without a Sharingan. (The language he used in the letters to his brother was more archaic, more complex; it could not be understood by anyone but them!)
This was why he brought it along: it would take his messages to his brother, and he would be aware of the whole situation. Sasuke raised his hand, and the bird eagerly jumped onto his two fingers. He could barely feel its weight. Playfully, Sasuke nuzzled his nose against its breast and stroked it again. Kirin was a good companion.
"Off you go," he said, and the bird flew off in the direction of his brother's office. He would get the message in less than half an hour: Kirin was lightning fast!
Sasuke scrunched up Ao's message and burnt it with a very small Katon Jutsu. It turned to ash by his feet. Then he looked over his shoulder, his brow visibly knitted. Sakura was still standing there, watching him. "Do you want to go home, Sakura?" he asked and turned around.
Sakura opened her lips to argue, but he forestalled her swiftly, "drop this sass. It's getting on my nerves. Go and do your job." She wanted to say something, but did not, and walked off to one of the team members to look over their supplies.
Neji landed not a moment later with Naruto and his three boisterous Bunshins in tow. Hinata landed on her feet a couple of seconds later. Neji's veins were popped out on his face. When he turned off his Byakugan, his face relaxed.
"I'm back, boss!" Naruto pointed out the obvious and ended the technique. The three Bunshins disappeared, leaving loud sounds of mirth behind.
Sasuke looked at Neji and said, "you took a while," and started walking away from others.
"I apologise, Sasuke-Sama," Neji replied, walking in his wake. "It took a little while to check the entire lake for any secret entrances."
"There should definitely be one according to the records. Did you find it?" Sasuke stopped under the dripping leaves and desperately tried to hide that ghostly smile.
"Yes," Neji said and lowered his voice even further, "there is one right under the Buddha Statues underwater. It would be difficult to find with Dōjutsus—it's covered with a web of strange invisible Chakra. I think there's some trick to operating it, but Ao won't be able to see it with his Byakugan."
"Do you think he's aware that his eye doesn't function like yours—or Hinata's?" Sasuke plucked another large leaf with cool water on it. He moved his head back, parted his lips, and drank the water; then he gave a satisfied sigh.
"No, not a chance. They would need a Pure-Blooded Hyūga for that," he explained and took the leaf from Sasuke's hands and drank the water from its tip. "Sasuke-Sama, if you don't mind me asking, what's this really about? I thought we were here for the Chūnin Exams' preparations . . . ?"
"We are," Sasuke broke off and rested his back against the tree, "but there's another matter, as well. Rest easy. I'll tell you when the time is right."
Neji nodded but still looked deeply concerned.
"No one else should get a wind of this. We're only here for the Chūnin exams and nothing else," Sasuke said and made his way to the two Chūnins that came out from behind the tall bushes. They had found a decent place to camp for the night.
# # # # # #
Sasuke tossed a dry twig on the fire. It crackled and the flames rose just a bit. The rain had finally stopped. It took them a while to set up camp: the ground was muddy, and that made it impossible to hammer pegs deep into the ground. Now, he sat with Naruto on a dry strip of grass. The branches overhead were so thick that he doubted that the rain ever made it through.
When he tossed another one into the fire from a pile next to him, Naruto spoke, "just use your damn Jutsu, man! At this rate, I'll freeze my balls off before I finish chewing this rubber-crap you brought along." He raised the bowl high and created an ugly, sarcastic grin on his face.
"These are the usual mission rations. You're not getting the restaurant treatment out here," Sasuke shot back, annoyed. "And why would I use my Jutsu for no reason? What is this, some sort of circus act? You damn well know how the missions work. Don't be foolish."
"Leave that to me," he spoke with his mouth full, nodding. "I'll treat everyone to good meals when we're out on missions—every single night! At least, we can all sleep with a smile on our faces—and not turn mean like you!"
"What—your ten different types of pork ramen? Yes, everybody would love that," he said and twisted his lips into a scowl.
"Better than this sandal-rubber, you grouch," he said and tore at the rubbery meat with an expression as if it was the worst thing he had ever eaten.
"When you finally shed your milk teeth and develop a bit of brains, it might dawn on you that the ration money is limited for every team," he said and stretched his lips into an acidic smile, "but your amazing skills in mathematics and economics have it all figured out. Go ahead and have at it. If we last one day on those supplies, I'll weep out bloody tears before the entire team without shame."
"So it's going to be like this tonight, huh?" Naruto said and wiped the grease off his lips, "you, bullying me over something stupid? Did you fight with Sakura-Chan again?" Naruto leant his head forward to meet his eyes.
"Yes, your bond is very special that I can't help myself from assuming the role of a villain to tear you two apart," he said, feigning mild shock and remorse.
"What did you eat today—your Nii-Sama's crows?" he asked with wide eyes, looking surprised and a little angry.
"Naruto, I've told you many times not to talk about Nii-Sama like that," he said, irritated. He got to his feet and brushed away bits of dry grass from his pants.
"A'right, it's a touchy subject for you, I know—just sit back down, damn it!" he said and grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled him back down.
"How far are you on that Fūton Rasenshuriken?" Sasuke asked suddenly and looked at Naruto.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked and put the empty bowl down on the grass. He crammed down a few mouthfuls of bread and wiped at his mouth again.
"Are you able to throw the damned thing or not?" Sasuke asked and tossed another branch into the crackling fire.
Naruto tapped his finger on his lips as if he was deep in thought. Then he scratched his head and parted his lips in a huge grin. "Not there yet," he said and quickly turned his nervous laugh into a cough at the sight of Sasuke's blood-shot eyes.
"You know, Naruto, I've just about had it with your care-free attitude," he said and held up one finger. "You have about one month to learn this Jutsu. Do I make myself clear?" Sasuke created a wry smile on his face and got to his feet.
"Sasuke, wait, I can—" Naruto began and cold sweat broke out on his face, "—you can't be serious?" He slowly raised himself to his feet and created a nervous grin on his face.
"You think I'm fooling around?" Sasuke asked and met Naruto's eyes with a cool expression on his face. "You don't understand the gravity of the situation. Shikamaru's team is so close to filling our spot. And here you are, making things harder for me with your trysts. I just read your Mission Reports and you haven't improved one bit." He turned his eyes very slightly and saw Sakura standing under the soft cover of shadows some fifty feet away; her face was tense, and it seemed as though she could hear his voice—loud and clear.
Naruto was quiet, his head hanging in shame. He did not know what to say. "Nii-Sama is angry with me over your progress. You know how hard it was to get you on the team? I had to beg before him. You don't even seem to care. What about that rank you keep talking about to get away from your family?" he asked, his voice heavy, and moved a little closer so that they stood face to face. "Is that not important anymore? Nothing matters to you beyond your persistent stupidity to play with her?"
Silence was Naruto's only answer. Sasuke inched in a little closer and whispered, "you will destroy yourself over this playmate of yours. Hinata's family and your family will eat you alive. Don't say I didn't warn you." He backed away and turned around. He stopped when he saw Hinata standing a few feet from them. Her eyes were a little wide, but it was hard to read her face. He did not say anything and walked off to his own tent.
Mist was rising and becoming thicker. Hinata walked up to Naruto and clamped her hand on his shoulder. Neji had already gone off to sleep. The rest of the five ninjas had left about an hour ago. Naruto jerked his head up and looked at her. For a moment, the blue of his eyes moved her.
"Na-Naruto-Kun, you should come with—I—" she broke off, unable to complete her sentence—something held her back.
"You should go to sleep, Hinata," Naruto said and looked away. It seemed as though he was expecting her to say something more. "I'm going over to the lake to practice. You shouldn't stay up too late." With that, he walked away and disappeared behind the walls of mist, leaving her confused . . .
# # # # # #