CHAPTER EIGHT.
A/N: I'm ALIVE!
Sorry been busy (as usual). I know you all probably hate me by now because I am so unreliable with how quickly I update, so I really am sorry. I wish I could find more time to write for you, and I definitely still intend to finish this story so please don't give up on me.
Reviews help with motivation, so stay with me.
On the other hand, this story is well on it's way. We're finally about to find out where Hinata has ended up (I've been looking forward to this!) and a few more hints to what has happened.
Let me know what you think.
The Devil.
_FURY_
He felt her hand on his bicep, pulling herself closer to him.
Smiling down at her, he brought his hands around her body, pulling her as close to him as her body would allow.
"Good morning beautiful," he whispered into her raven hair, pressing a kiss to her hairline.
Hinata mumbled incoherently back at him, burying herself deeper into his arms. He assumed that was her way of telling him good morning back. He basked in her warmth as she placed her hand softly on his abdomen as if he was the pregnant one.
Her hair was knotted and sticking up all over the place, her eyes glazed over with sleep. He could tell by her breathing that she had woken up. She was beautiful.
"I love you," He whispered at her, watching her shuffle in his arms, desperately holding onto her dreams.
"You've always been able to sense me," She mumbled into his chest quietly, running her fingers up and down his abs, "Can we pretend to be asleep for five more minutes? I don't want you to go."
Naruto smiled down at her, "I'll stay as long as you want me to."
Hinata leaned up to press a kiss to his lips. "I know." She mumbled against him. "But you know you have to go."
Naruto shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere."
Hinata smiled up at him, "If only that were true."
Her smile turned sad.
Naruto scrunched his face up in confusion, "What are you talking about, Hinata-chan?"
Slowly, she leaned over to place a delicate hand over his face, staring deeply into his eyes.
"I need you to find me."
Naruto flinched to awareness, glancing around himself.
He had fallen asleep. "Damn it!" Naruto growled, rolling to his feet and punching the floor beneath him.
This was not the time or the place to be sleeping.
Looking around Naruto stretched his sore muscles. The alcove of a tree was not the best place to be sleeping, and he wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping for, but his muscles told him he had been there far too long in such an uncomfortable position.
Naruto crinkled his nose at the smell of smoke.
Glancing to his side, Naruto saw leaves burning underneath his hand. He was so tense that his chakra was spiralling out of control. Patting the fire down, Naruto shook out his hands to alleviate some of the firey chakra that was radiating out of his palms. He couldn't afford to set this forest on fire right now.
Naruto glanced up at the sky.
It was dawn, so hopefully he had only been asleep for a few hours. He couldn't afford to be wasting any more time.
Truth was, a large part of him wanted to curl back up at the base of the tree and hang onto his dreams as long as possible. His dreams were so vivid, and she was there. She was holding him just as tightly as he held her. The world of the living was far too much for his mentality to take. He could still remember what it was like to hold her in his arms, to kiss her and feel her belly; large with life.
He wanted her back so bad.
He knew he needed to find her, but feeling her so close to him in his dreams was the worst temptation. It was so close to the real thing that even just a few minutes could give him a little bit of relief. Just seeing her one…
But it wasn't real.
In fact, he didn't know what really was happening to her and her life could be at risk at this very second.
And he is wasting his time SLEEPING, WHILE HINATA WAS… WAS…
Two choked breaths disrupted his thoughts. He couldn't…
He perked up, thinking about something she said in his dream.
You've always been able to sense me. She'd said as she ran her hands up and down his abs.
Kurama.
_FURY_
HINATA
A jolt in her stomach made her flinch. Jerking to a seated position, Hinata blinked rapidly. Her hand reflexively moved to her stomach where she felt the kick. It was like he aimed for her kidney, Hinata grumbled at her son.
"What was that for baby?" She asked him quietly.
Oh.
Hinata looked around her.
She was back in her cell, sitting on her cold, dusted bed/bench that was rested against the wall for her to sleep. She glanced to the cell over and the man was still there, sitting and staring at her. Hinata diverted her eyes; the man made her particularly uncomfortable.
At least his pants were on this time.
"You're awake sweet cheeks." The grumbled voice from the man in the cell made her flinch and turn away. "You're really pretty."
She ignored him.
Her hand went back to her stomach. "Why'd you wake me up?" She asked her boy quietly, "I was having the loveliest d-"
She cut herself off as her senses started to slowly wake up. A spark on her radar told her that someone was on their way to this room.
The same chakra signature as before.
Hinata rubbed her belly gently, "Thank you."
She did not want to be caught unalert when the man walked into the room. And within a few seconds, he did. Taking his time, the one-eyed ninja stepped through the cells, grinning widely at all the men he walked past.
Hinata watched their reactions with interest.
Many shuffled as far back from the cell doors as possible, trying to get away from him as he walked past. She glanced to the man in the cell beside her and watched as he stumbled alarmingly back to his bench and pretended to be sleeping.
What are they all so afraid of?
Only one or two men stayed where they were, either not noticing his entrance or not phased for whatever he was here for.
Her eyes widened when he stopped on the outside of her cell, turning to stare straight through the bars at her.
"Ah, Sweetheart, it's showtime."
She heard the man in the cell over breathe a sigh of relief.
That was not a good sign.
_FURY_
NARUTO
He sat, silent. Legs crossed, focused.
It had taken him a frustratingly long time to bring his heartrate down and calm himself enough to actually focus. He struggled to even out his breathing, let alone his thoughts. There is no way he had been in the right mind to help Hinata if he couldn't even think straight. Naruto paused, taking a long breath. Those thoughts were not helping his calm his mind to speak to Kurama. He had a purpose now, he couldn't afford to be distracted.
Kurama, I need your help.
Kurama sat lazily in the recesses of Naruto's mind. The cage no longer restrained him. In fact, the scenery had changed much since Naruto was a child. It turned out his mental landscape was a reflection of his mental state. And considering he had always seen the Nine-Tails as a burden or the reason for so many of his troubles, that's how he appeared in his mind.
Now he knew better.
Naruto's mind was clear and vibrant. A reflection of the forests outside of Konoha – at Kurama's request. Usually, the weather was fine and calm, but when Naruto opened his eyes within his mind, all he saw were dark, brooding clouds and turbulent winds.
He wasn't surprised.
And by the look on Kurama's face, he had been living in this environment for… well, six days.
It's about time, kid. The fox lay quietly under a particularly large tree, un-concerned by the raging weather around him.
You've been waiting for me? Naruto read his line of thought, stepping toward the giant beast. Why haven't you just called?
Thick red fur fluttered in the rough winds. The tailed beast rolled its shoulders, stretching agitated muscles as he growled out a sarcastic laugh. You think I didn't try? His eyes narrowed in anger. I've been trying to get your attention for days you big idiot. But then again, it's really not any of my business to help you out anyway. She's not my mate. You should have handled this yourself by now.
Naruto could tell by his tone and body language that the fox was just frustrated with him, and annoyed that he hadn't been able to get in contact with hm for six days. His words, however, cut deep. Naruto was too high strung to not let the taunt get to him.
He was simply at the point where he just couldn't control his own functions very well. Unconsciously tapping into the power of the beast standing in front of him, Naruto retorted his reply. I didn't come here for your attitude you dumb fox! And how dare you talk about Hinata like she's someone who doesn't matter. I've been trying everything to get her back so don't you assume that I haven't been working hard enough!
Kurama watched his own chakra flicker around the man in front of him. Clearly, Naruto was unstable. There was also some irony in Naruto attempting to use Kurama's power against him in anger, which would have usually made the fox bitter and aggressive; but considering the circumstances, he let it slide.
Calm down, idiot. I will help you. Kurama replied shortly, before things got out of control. I've just been waiting for you to come see me for a long while.
Naruto nodded. He took a long, drawn out breath to calm his nerves.
So you can help me?
His voice had changed from the angry, defensive tone he radiated a minute ago. He seemed to deflate, both physically and mentally. Rubbing a shaking hand over his forehead, Naruto stopped putting up a front. He was not strong. He was not winning. He could not achieve anything without Hinata by his side. He could not save Hinata when she needed him the most.
What a worthless husband he turned out to be.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself.
Kurama shook him out of his thoughts.
You can do that when you've got your mate back. You came to me for a reason, so fulfil it. Tell me what you want from me, and I will provide it for you.
Naruto spent several long moments looking the giant demon in the eyes, judging his sincerity. Can you feel them?
He didn't need to elaborate. Kurama knew what he was thinking. The pup has some of my chakra, of course I can sense them.
Naruto nodded. He had to physically restrain his mind from collapsing in frustration. He had spent days going around in giant circles attempting something impossible. He had just been wasting his time and wasting Hinata's time. If he could have stopped and thought for two seconds he would have figured out what he needed to do to find his wife. But instead he went on a ridiculous rampage for a week that was simply delaying finding Hinata.
Not anymore.
Take me to them.
_FURY_
HINATA
She walked tentatively through the hallway, careful of her warped senses. She was already struggling enough to mobilise her body, the thick woven bag over her head and the metal cuffs didn't help. In fact, the bag made it worse. She was already starting to feel a strong headache pulsing from her right eyebrow from the thick smell of rot, blood and kami knows what else that was coming from the bag. It had definitely passed its used by date, and Hinata was worried she'd simply add to the smell by throwing up while it was attached to her head.
She stumbled slightly when the hand pushing her roughly through the doorway knocked her forward slightly too quickly for her tired legs to keep up with. She hadn't pushed herself to exercise in too long and it was clearly showing.
She was saved a second of reprise when the hand pushing her stopped suddenly, and she felt the presence of her captor move around her followed by a sharp knock on a metal door.
"We're ready," His thick gravelly voice drifted through the door and echoed throughout the empty, cold hallway.
The sound was followed by several clicking and turning noises; locks, Hinata thought to herself. And then the door sprung open.
Noise assaulted her ears, and her headache increased suddenly, making Hinata hold back a groan in pain. It was loud cheering, people screaming, music and chaos echoing throughout the room.
There were a lot of people in this area.
And they were excited.
Hinata held her breath, trying to assess the area around her. There were so many chakra signatures that there was no way she could differentiate them all in her current state. The sheer number of people here astounded her.
She stumbled again as she was pushed forward, and a set of stairs stood in her path. She walked up the stairs slowly, her breath caught in her throat. She waited as she finally reached the top of the staircase as the sound of another set of locks were undone.
What is this place? Hinata's heart rate was rising with her stress. She tried to take a moment to calm her breathing and relax her tense body when she was suddenly pushed forward, too far and too fast for her body to catch up with. The bag on her head was pulled off as she sprung forward, her hip landing roughly on a hard floor, followed by her hip then her head.
Brightness blinded her for a moment. Hinata blinked for several moments before looking up at the area around her.
Oh no.
_FURY_
That's all folks!
(For the moment).
That's it for Chapter 8, Chapter 9 is well on its way. Please let me know how you're feeling about this story so far. I love to hear what you think and any feedback really does help.
The Devil.