Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series.

Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Kurai

After the incident with Naruto's gem stone, Kakashi has strictly forbid them from having their crystals on them while training. They had since then focused on their taijutsu and how to incorporate that with their teamwork. He had secretly been building them up for their first mission as Guardians, therefor training them individually so that they at least could activate their Armor with ease.

Kakashi had managed to set Sakura and Naruto off on a good start, so far. Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed to be driven by that man whom he had sworn to kill. It could be seen as a fuel to become an exceptional ninja, but revenge can go both ways and the gem could see the worst outcome if it lets Sasuke access to its' chakra. Each failed attempt would result in a mini blast which would send Sasuke rolling on the ground. Kakashi sighed as he saw Sasuke on his feet again holding his gem before him focusing on his current attire switched with his Armor.

"Sasuke, we both know that this isn't working. And I can only find one explanation," Kakashi's voice pierced through his concentration, sending Sasuke on the floor with a groan, "that man you mentioned in your introduction, he's the one stopping you from getting any further acknowledgement from the crystal."

"That's stupid. He's the reason I want more power, no, he's the reason I need more power!"

"I see, I see. But everybody got their way of obtaining power, the dirty way or through hard work. And that's what you need Sasuke, hard work. And hard work aren't always accomplished alone, you need to use the right resources as well. Meaning me, your team, and Konoha, your home." Sasuke cleaned the dirt off of his knees before sneering at Kakashi.

"Hm, nonsense. I will obtain my power through hard work, I don't need anything else from you but guidance." With that, Sasuke turned around and vanished with a puff.

"Jeez, we weren't even done yet."

It's so dark... Where am I?

Hinata could see nothing but darkness, she wasn't sure if she was even standing on the surface. She must be sleeping, had it been a nightmare she would be surrounded a couple of bullies planting false lies about her clan and the secret behind her eyes, saying that they are fakes compared to the likes of her sister. The endless torment of her being the reason for her uncles death and loss of mother.

"Blah! Look at her eyes, they're the eyes of death. That's how her mother and uncle died!" She only saw a chubby finger poking her forehead, pushing her back in the process. She was already on her knees.

"Hey, hey! Don't get too close to her, she may kill you if you come in contact with her eyes!" Another one said, pulling his friend back. Hinata knew better than to fight back. She had a fragile body, and were she to fight them it would only end with her laying in the hospital for a couple of days. Had it been Hanabi, they would never bother to look at her direction again.

After they had distanced themselves from her, she found the strength to stand up and silently escape. But as she got on her feet, she was pushed back again by a compact of ice. It was cold. Just like them...

"Spooky eyes!" Her freezing cheeks were soon warmed by the tears streaming from her eyes. Why are they so mean to me?

She saw the 2 other forming their snowball, ready to fire. She wanted to scream. No, she wanted to bawl. Bawl until they would find no further fun in humiliating her and leave. Leave, already! Kurai-kun... Tasukete!

The sound of thrown snowballs was heard, on her way. Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. She embraced for the impact but instead heard the roar of a compassionate fire melting the threat.

"What was that?!" They turned the attention to the burned trees and saw a figure around their age. K-Kurai-kun!

Hinata smiled by her one and only savior standing before her, he had grown taller. But colder, as well. "Why do you always have to pick on people who are weaker than yourselves?"

"H-H-Hey, it's that guy! It's him!" The guy in the middle hesitated to react, but as Sasuke looked way smaller in size than he, then he shouldn't be that big of a problem. He gathered a snowball and threw it at him.

"You shouldn't pick on people way out of your league, too." A voice from behind of him commented.

"What the-! Run, guys!" They didn't waste a second. They were gone. They were finally gone... The only one standing before her was Kurai.

"K-Kurai-kun. A-arigato!" Their eyes met, and Hinata couldn't believe the emptiness that had devoured his eyes. He was getting ready to leave until she called him again.

"O-Onegai, don't leave me again."

"Mitsu," he couldn't stand to hear her sobs, it always gave him second thoughts. If she just grew out of it and would fend for herself, then she wouldn't be as weak as she thinks she is, "I never said goodbye." Kurai continued into the forest, leaving a hurt Mitsu on her knees, soaked from the snow.

"Kurai-kun, wait please." She reached her hands out for him, seeing only his figure as a near view. Wait! Please, wait!

KURAI-KUN!

"Kurai-kun!" Drops of salt water fell from her forehead and onto her clutched palms. She hadn't realized that she had herself at a sitting position. Kurenai sat next to her, with her hands in mid-air waiting for Hinata's next reaction.

"Hinata, what happened?" A single tear drop was all she got after a couple of minutes, and that name again: Kurai. Kurenai brought her in her arms and caressed her back. Kurenai spotted the lavender dust growing immensely inside of the crystal. It must have been you.

Kurenai gave Hinata the minutes she needed to calm down and relax in her arms.

"I t-think it was a nightmare..."

"And this Kurai, was he haunting you in your nightmare?" She shook her head against her chest.

"H-He was s-s-saving me f-f-from b-b-b-ullies," she squeezed her eyes, letting the remaining tears fall out. She told her from her being surrounded by pure blackness to a memory of hers which she didn't want to recall.

"And where is Kurai?"

This is where Hinata couldn't hold her quiet weeps. They had their first serious argument a few months ago which led to neglect from both sides. She never saw him since then. She cried from the terrifying moment of knowing of the Uchiha Massacre. She knew from that day on that she would never see him again, she would never get to reconcile with him, never see that loving smile which gave her hope, never get to look back on the crazy things they found while they sneaked out of the Konoha boarder. She would never hear his voice, again!

"H-He's dead..."

"Oh, Hinata. I-I'm sorry to hear, how did it happen?"

"During the Uchiha Massacre. He was an Uchiha, all along."

"But you know that you aren't allowed to come in contact with the Uchihas nor anybody who aren't included in the Hyuga authority."

"I know, I know, but he never told me! And I never told him that I was a Hyuga. But the bond we build through our childhood reminded me of a fairy tale. A fairy tale which I never intended to end." Kurenai was amazed from the way the stuttering simply stopped.

"Then how can it be that you are having hardships with your crystal? Isn't Kurai the one you could depend on still?" She sniffed her snot in.

"Kurai-kun... Kurai-kun was my past. N-N-Naruto-kun is who I'm looking at when I remind myself that what happened in the past is what happened in the past and that you can only look forward to what the future brings you." Kurenai found it strange that the crystal wouldn't allow Naruto to be the person Hinata should reach out for. While it is true what happened in the past stays in the past, unless Kurai's will is still bound to Hinata.

"Hinata, try to rest for the day. For tomorrow, we are going on our first C-rank mission. Kiba and Shino have unlocked their Armor which leaves you left. But don't worry, we'll have your back at all time." Hinata nodded and bid Kurenai farewell.

I already became a burden, when trying my hardest not to be one.

Tsk, hard work can be accomplished alone. And that's what I'm gonna do if I have to.

Since their little disagreements, Sasuke had given himself a rest from all the unlocking thing. He had wandered around different training grounds finding different teams sparing, others practicing their chakra control, and the rest simply listening while their teacher was explaining the history behind the element.

He finally decided to take a mini stroll around Konoha. That was until he saw orange chakra strings sway through the trees; the wave was intense.

Unlock!

That voice, Naruto! He couldn't believe his own eyes by the newly geared Naruto. How did that dobe manage to unlock it in such a short amount of time?! He pulled his crystal out. As his thoughts were cleared he imagined the Armor take over. He felt the chakra from the gem slowly stream into his chakra storage. Sooner or later, he started taking deep breaths as to focus and let it fuse with him all at once.

Unlock!

Did he do it? He slowly opened his left eye and found a mini energy ball before him. "What the-"

BOOM!

The burst had sent him flying across the empty ground and into the trees.

That's enough! I'm going to work on my power on my own!

Sasuke found no other use of this, this pebble other than being an explosion lighter. He got on his feet and decided on finding a place to throw this thing away. Even if he could throw it anywhere, he wouldn't want it to land in the wrong hands.

Sasuke should've never come to the supermarkets, they were always crowded and filled with annoying fan girls-bump-

"Oh, sorry."

That's why.

Kurai-kun...

Hinata thought that walking through Konoha would ease her mind, but it had only given her nostalgia moments of the time her and Kurai used to play around. She should've stayed home and harvested some of her herbs, instead. Now she's sitting at a bench near the Konoha Academy. The sun was setting, so she should start leaving.

"Hey, look. It's spooky eyes!" That familiar voice gave chills down Hinata's spine. She kept her head lowered and hoped that they would let her pass, much to her expectation, they did not.

"You've grown a lot. But you look like a boy!" And he hadn't changed much in size, either. She tried her hardest not to fire back with that, she knew she probably could handle them. But, fight wasn't the answer to everything. She felt a harsh push from behind by a guy with a beanie.

"P-P-Please stop, y-you mus-t-t-t have g-g-grown out of t-t-this by n-n-now." They were taken aback by her choice of words. She is shy, but enough is enough.

"What happened to those lousy protectors of yours?" She clutched her hands from the low remarks given to the people who actually showed interest in her. As she was about to open her mouth, a cold breeze embraced her body. What the? This again?

Sasuke had been around the whole of Konoha and not one place could be a possible dump for this useless crystal. As he neared the path which lead to the Konoha Academy a burning pinch erupted in his stomach. He was on his knees the minute it happened. I remember this, but why now?!

He saw 4 figures further ahead, one of them being that girl whom he had encountered at that old factory and in the classroom where he was massaging his tummy. He could clearly hear what they were saying, as they were nearly yelling at one another. This reminded him of the times Mitsu would be picked at by those annoying kids. It surprisingly resembled them a lot.

"You're nothing but a spooky who is protected by everyone in the country. That guardian, orange haired idiot, and that last one... Oh yeah, the emo kid! Who-"

"Kurai-kun is no emo kid!"

Kurai? Where has she heard that name from?

"He was always dressed in black. Or maybe he was a goth, he thought he was something stealing all the girls. But he was nothing. He was just a kid who was from a renowned clan."

"Please, just leave me alone..." She turned her back to them and was set off to leave until she felt a tight grip upon her shoulders.

"Oi, we aren't done talking with you!"

"But she is done talking with you. Why do you always have to pick on people who are weaker than yourselves?" That voice... wasn't from Kurai... But the line was his.

The bullies turned around and found a half standing Sasuke clutching the cloth where the tummy was. "Ha! You can barely stand, what do you think this is?! After him!" The 2 companions ran towards him, the guy with the beanie attempting on countering him from behind while the last took the front. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke was standing face to face with the boss while his half beaten comrades were groaning on the floor.

"You shouldn't pick on people way out of your league, either." The bully let go of Hinata and fled, leaving his supposed friends to lay on the cold floor.

"A-Ariga-"

"-You, where have you heard that name before?" She couldn't possibly be, her hair cut is similar but the Mitsu he knew was shy and wasn't good at telling people off. Mitsu would let them have their fun and wait for them to leave, it could take hours before that happened. There was once where she did try to stand up for herself but that ended badly...

"I-I-I-" What was she supposed to say? Sasuke Uchiha was the last remaining of the Uchiha Clan, he couldn't possibly know Kurai-kun.

"Y-y-you probably d-d-don't kn-ow h-him," she kept her gaze on the floor, she couldn't handle anymore glaring contests.

"You haven't even described him, so how am I supposed to kn-"

"He's dead!" The tears were again falling from her lashes, this time they were driven by the resemblance in tone, attitude, and appearance.

"He was massacred that day, with his family, friends, everybody!" Why did it have to be him out of all people who didn't deserve such a fate. And then to see the last Uchiha standing, couldn't it have been Kurai?!

"This is unfair!" Hinata ran past him, sobbing from the numerous reminders of Kurai today. Kurai-kun! Kono ijiwarui!

"M-Mitsu?..."

That attitude reminded her of Kurai-kun, too much of Kurai-kun. But Kurai is dead, there's no way he's still alive! She didn't want to delude herself any-Bump-

"I-I'm sorry!"

"I'm the one to say sorry." Hinata bowed and knew that speed walking with her head up was better than faced down.

That couldn't have been Mitsu. Could it?

The thoughts of Mitsu had somehow brought him to place where it all started, the river. Nothing seemed to have changed, the river was still refreshing in the chilly night. He brought his crystal out. He thought he saw a flash of Mitsu smiling on it, he shook her out of his head.

Why would she care anyway? She abandoned me just like the rest...

Sigh. Was Mitsu giving him second thoughts, again? No, if he mastered the Great Fireball Technique on his own without the gem, then he can definitely master the Sharingan and other jutsus without this stupid device. He sent the crystal to drown in the river. It will probably acknowledge that more than it did with him.

She knew she shouldn't be here. She knew that he wouldn't be there for sure, but the smell, atmosphere, everything still had Kurai on it. Since Kurai died and she would feel down about it, she always came back. And for each visit, she discovered a whole other side of herself. It always started with stripping herself off of her baggy cloths. She would then step into the water, feeling the exhilarating vibes. People wouldn't consider this training, but she had been doing this for quite some time, maybe 3 years.

This was her way of clearing her mind completely. She soon found herself dancing on the water, making each step create a form of glitter that followed her hand movements. Kurai-kun... No... Kurai-kun is dead. And he wouldn't let his death hinder me from getting stronger. What would Naruto-kun do at this moment?

I'm gonna become a Hokage, nonetheless! Dattebayo!

She giggled. That's right, he would focus on his dream.

A glint of blue caught her attention in the middle of climax in her dance. "What could that have been?"

It was a stone in the shape of a tear, something she had seen before. "My crystal!" She skipped through the water, fiddled through her jacket pockets, and brought her own in sight. They were almost a match, if she just turned her upside down it would resemble the Ying and Yang. When she locked them together their auras fused, sending a swift of wind through Hinata's bangs.

"Sugoi..."

She enjoyed the quiet scenario playing with the crystals for a while until she knew that it was enough, she didn't want her father to worry or rather, scold her for being careless.

"I found the Ying and Yang masters, Orochimaru-sama."

"He he he, great job, Kabuto. Now, to Plan B. He he he."

Thank you for reading. I didn't know it would turn out this long ^^; Hope you enjoyed! :3

And to the people wondering what the few Japanese references meant:

Tasukete- Help me
Onegai- Please
Ijiwarui- Meanie
Dattebayo(Not really a Japanese word, rather a catchphrase used by Naruto as a way of making his speech unique)- Believe it
Sugoi- Amazing