Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto series.

Enjoy!

Chapter 5

Bound

"How did you-?" The person who he thought he killed turned out to be a bunch of leaves. "How did you do that?! How did you take him down?"

"N-Ninja d-dakara."

Hinata wasn't ready for this. She knew it. She was never into fighting, even when it meant saving her loved ones. Her opponent was well muscled. The two scars running from his eyelashes and down to his cheeks must have been from an intense fight. Hinata assumed that he was a skilled swordsman as well, looking from the 2 katanas behind his back. Her legs were shaking, no, they were trembling!

Focus on the child, Hinata.

"I got an id-"

"I refuse!" Hinata charged head first on the rogue. He dodged her coming palm, taking hold of it and threw her at the dusty shelves.

"Onee-chan!"

"Tch. You should've never come, onee-chan." He said, bringing out a katana at sight. Hinata was faster to recover from that throw than she expected. She was already on her knees before she heard his steps getting closer to her.

"Let's see how much ninja you're made of!" He was gone by the minute he finished his sentence, only to appear before her in an instant. Hinata, despite being paralyzed by his impressive speed, crossed her arms in front of her face, welcoming the blow which sent her flying from the building and into the forest which surrounded the whole area.

"What was that?!" Kiba drove his attention to the blow, hoping that it was Hinata winning the battle and not the opposite. Despite being only one, their opponent was good at keeping them from his boss.

"Thanks for the opening!" With Kiba being distracted, the enemy got the opportunity and kicked Kiba in the guts. He saw Akamaru bark his way to his wounded teammate.

"You guys should've never come."

"What do you mean?!"

"I mean, you should've never thrown your life away like this." With that, he materialized 5 shurikens behind him. "Say goodbye."

Hinata struggled to loosen herself from the logs. He's strong. He must be using her for pure entertainment, standing there waiting for her to make a move. And fast!

"Ne, onee-chan. I just saw your other friends. Are you people Guardians? If so, then I'll like to have your chakra without any longer having to fight you. I thought you were serious, but guess you were a gift."

My chakra?

She managed to get on her knees. "W-what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your chakra, give it to me!" As she was about to defend herself from the coming attack, a sudden cold showered through her body. Not again! Why here?! She was given an elbow to her jaw, followed by a kick to her abdomen. She heard two objects fall onto the ground as she landed on the ground with a thumb.

"So, you were a Guardian! Damn these crystals are brighter than the ones I've seen before," he picked the two fallen crystals op, "thank you, onee-chan!" As he was about to turn around, he heard a rough "Stop" which made him turn back to Hinata.

"Give them back."

"Sorry, no can do. They are mine, now. Mhm~ These crystals got the aura of the Yin-Yang seal. Ne, does that mean that you're bound?" Bound?

"I..."

"You don't seem to know anything about it, do you? Well, in your case, the Yang is usually the one who you share a spiritual bond with. You know him, love him, care for him, is his one and only true love. They're bound by love."

Bound by love?

I'll show Sakura-chan who the real love in her life is!

Hinata felt that huge lump in her throat swell up. Her head fell to the ground by the thought of the pink-haired kuniochi, who has better chances with Naruto than her.

Ne, Sakura-chan! I know I'm better than the teme.

"Hm? Don't tell me, you don't know him? Or doesn't he know you? Don't tell me," it was getting harder to swallow. That lump was so heavy, she couldn't take it. The tears were falling and they weren't stopping any time soon, "you stole it?!" Was what echoed through her eardrums.

Sakura-chan~ I'm the one who loves you, not him!

I'm the one who loves you...
I'm the one who loves you...
I'm the one who loves you...

"Hey! You heard her!"

Huh? Hinata titled with her head from the familiar voice that rang through the forest.

"Give her, her crystals back!" They both were dumbfounded by the young voice which came from the boy that had been held hostage.

"What did you say?" The little boy was standing with a few rocks in his hands.

"I said, give them back to her." He threw a rock, successfully hitting the opponents knee much to his surprise. Hinata saw him raising his sword at the boy.

"Dame..."

"You little..."

"Dame... onegai..."

"You got some nerves, you little brat!"

"DAME!~!" Her voice echoing through their ears as the enemy was about to swing his sword at the young boy summoned a powerful gust of wind through the forest which startled them all. Bits of chakra followed with the violent breeze.

"W-What the hell are you?!"

The young boy saw as Hinata stood on her feet as if all the previous attacks had been minor scratches. There was something different, though. She looked more fierce, the veins near her temple became more bulgy. But she sure looked like someone who was ready to kick ass.

"Give my crystals back. And let the boy go!"

"Just try!"

With that said, they clashed. Palm against hard metal. She pushed the sword aside and landed a blow at his left chest, followed by another at his right arm. She finished their mid-air feud by striking him at his abdomen with what seemed to be a chakra in-fused leg from the boys perspective. It sent him straight through 3 huge trees.

"Awesome, onee-chan!"

After Team 7's first encounter with a ninja, and witness of how a real ninja fight. They had finally gotten Tazuna and their unconscious sensei under safe roofs. Kakashi had recovered pretty fast after some time.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei. We are at Tazuna's house. The food will soon be here." Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke didn't seem to have the concerned look, rather the you-got-some-things-to-explain look.

"Knock yourselves out."

"Are all ninjas so strong?" He looked at Sakura as he answered.

"No, there are some ninjas, mostly missing-nin, bandits, and rogues, who discovered a way to obtain chakra from other shinobis."

"How?" This time it was Sasuke.

"They learned it through a Forbidden Jutsu called the Chakra Extraction Jutsu. It resembles the Chakra Absorption a lot, but the chakra can be extracted from the opponent. Instead of absorbing the chakra, the chakra will be removed permanently resulting in death. With the chakra becoming your own, you will gain a whole lot of power."

Power?

"Is that why we have been given the title of Guardian? To put a stop to it?" Kakashi nodded to Naruto's question. Well, a part of it.

"That's why the crystals are to be treasured. If you lose it and they find it, they may be able to track you and extract the remaining of your chakra. It has happened before, and I don't want it to happen again." The genins could feel memories haunting Kakashi from his sudden tight grip on the sheets.

"What about those scrolls, then?"

"The scrolls have a long history. But no matter what, we have to keep them away from the evil. Those scrolls can only bring a calamity if they are assembled together and end up in the wrong hands."

"What will happen if they are assembled together?"

"Let's just say that it got the power to summon a threat that would most likely be impossible to defeat."

This is bad. This is so bad! The rogue had tired Kiba out. Akamaru had been immobilized when he tried to help Kiba up from a hit to his waist. Kurenai and Shino weren't in a pretty state either. And now, Kiba was facing around 50 other rogues. Not only that, but he kept hearing those intense blows from within the forest.

Did they mistake this for a B-rank mission or something?!

Kurenai, knowing that she couldn't wait for Hinata any longer, ordered Kiba and Shino to stand back. She stooped down and performed various hand seals.

String Bean Binding Illusion

Kurenai disappeared once again.

"It won't work again, miss! I saw through it, after all!" He suddenly sees a bean vine followed by another one and another one grow from the ground.

"Wha-!" The rogues are quickly bound by the vines. He sees a bean pod grow as well with Kurenai popping out of it. "What did you do?!"

"Tell me, why did you kidnap the son of a Konoha Ambassador?"

"How should I know? I just follow the bosses' orders!" The vines grew tighter. Kurenai brought a kunai to his neck, slowly pushing the sharp end against his Adam's apple.

"Tell me."

"I really don't know, miss! The boss is the one who knows it. I swear!" A sigh from Kurenai escaped. As she walked back to Kiba and Shino, she snapped her finger making the grip on the vines grow so tight that their blood splashed on the ground.

"Kurenai-sensei, what did you do to them?" Shino asked.

"Just like before. I trapped them in a genjutsu, but that guy broke through it. This one should keep them at stall for a while."

"Let's help Hinata!"

"Let's tie them up, first."

"You little-!" With his right arm, left leg paralyzed, his chest screaming for air, and back wanting to lie down, his last resort were explosive tags. And they didn't seem to be of any help when she kept reflecting them back on him. He knew that he had lost the crystals long ago. His men should've been back for an hour ago or so, they couldn't have been defeated, could they?

His life was at risk, but he couldn't deny the beauty in her fighting. From the elegance in her dodging his multiple surprise kunais to her magnificent way of landing soft yet deadly blow to his external organs. He could only see a hime in front of him. Her chakra infused palm were getting ready to deliver the final attack. The rumors were true, after all. The Yin bearer was a true beauty.

"Just do it, onee-chan. At least I died in the hands of a beauty." Her hands slowly fell to her sides. She shook her head.

"I'm not going to kill you. In fact, I think my sensei will need you for a new things."

It wasn't long before she heard the bark from Akamaru with the rest of Team 8 with the little boy. The little boy had picked her crystals up while they were fighting. When they arrived, he raised an eyebrow. Kurenai tied the leader up and praised her team for a splendid battle. The remaining bandits were left in the genjutsu.

"It's getting dark, maybe we should sleep for the night."

"Hai."

"Team 8 should be back today, right?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen lay his Hokage head on the desk and leaned on his chair, facing Konoha. "Is there anything wrong?"

"You know that it will happen. It happens every year." Iruka's palm clenched by the horrible pictures of his Guardian years, how they ended in a bloodbath after learning the truth behind this whole game. Yes, it was a game. It was game all along, and it has always been like that. Each generation. And they never even once were close at winning.

"Every year I ask myself, why were these crystals brought upon us if they only brought destruction, sorrow, and pain. Where is the connection between 12 crystals if they were meant to bring hatred, confusion, tears, and death among their chosen Guardian."

"Hokage-sama..."

"Great power, yes. But power is nothing if you ain't got good intentions with it."

"Jeez, Kurenai-sensei. This mission was way above a C-rank!"

"Don't complain. I never saw it coming, too. Deal with it, you were chosen a Guardian. This is warm up for them."

"Huh?!"

"Kiba-kun, you're getting worked up for nothing nazenara, you didn't do as well as Hinata who caught the one leader," Hinata felt a rush of blood through her cheeks by the compliment, giggling from it, too.

Kurenai had Guru, the leader, trapped in a genjustu, making it easier for them to manage him. The young boy, Akira, was doing perfectly fine. They had not seemed to have used any physical abuse on him. Hinata didn't see them as bad guys as such, somebody must have tricked them into doing what they did. Akira had been keeping a sharp eye on her ever since they returned to the village and on their way back. She didn't know why.

"I-Is anything wrong?" Akira shook his head, he ran a hand through his olive spikes.

"You look different, onee-chan." That caught the attention of Team 8.

"D-different? H-h-how?"

"Your cloths were completely gone!"

"H-h-h-h-h-huh?"

"W-w-what the hell are you saying kid?!" Kiba knew he was blushing, but god, what was this kid saying? He saw Hinata naked?

"Cloths were gone?" Kurenai asked. Akira nodded.

"Not gone as in naked-gone, but it was different than this. It was more awesome and so beautiful! Onee-chan shouldn't hide such a pretty body." Hinata couldn't help but feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins, she never found her body flattering in any way. It was just plain, that's why she found no need to expose more of what was needed.

"And her hair."

"H-Hair?"

"Nn! Your hair was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It shone in different shades of purple. And when you two clashed. You looked like a princess, onee-chan, please do it again!" He spoke so fast, it was almost impossible to follow with.

Kurenai at first thought he was joking, but that description could've been Hinata's Armor design. Could Hinata have unlocked her Armor?

"Akira, could you maybe describe her a little more?"

"I can't remember more, other than everything turned lavender and mixed with a little blue."

"Blue?" Kurenai and Hinata both said. Blue? Could it have been from the other crystal. Now, that he mentions it, I wonder who the crystal belongs to. Guru said something about Yin and Yang and bound by love.

Love...

I'm the one who loves you, not him!

Naruto-kun... When I get back, I'll get stronger! I'll get stronger, so he can-

Mitsu.

-so I can get stronger...

The day had flown. He knew they couldn't ignore that ambush from yesterday. But he didn't expect them to strike again this soon. He only went for a little walk since the tree climbing was becoming a bother with Sakura's constant yapping and Naruto's thirst for competition. His opponent had introduced himself as Haku, by then Sasuke hadn't noticed the mist surrounding them. He must admit, his first ninja fight. Exciting.

"If you give me your crystal, there will be no need for any fight. Or kills."

"Hm, what are you talking about? A ninja afraid to kill?" Haku brought 3 needles beside his mask.

"I guess I'm not a ninja, then." Sasuke swayed the 3 needles with his kunai, Haku had already managed to appear behind of him, with the kunai he had just used pressed against his neck. What the?

"I told you."

Damn!

Thank you for reading ^^

Translation:

Dame- Don't

Hime- Princess