Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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Chapter 11

Untold Truth?

"Hai... I... I understand..."

"Now, about the replacement," the brown-haired secretary brought a board with a list, "I was thinking about, hmmm... let's see..."

As the lady scrolled through the list to find the most appropriate, the sensei of Team 8 clutched her hand. Her student was attacked, sent to the hospital, supposed to recover both mentally and psychically, and then is disowned in that hospital the day after. All this happened within so little time, and she hadn't noticed, heard, or felt anything.

Now, the Hokage ordered them to prepare the Guardians for their test with the scrolls. That test could cost a life or 2, it could cost her remaining team if they weren't ready till that day. She knew that she couldn't interfere with the fight, the thoughts of them fighting against their scroll; the Water scroll, brought memories back. Traumatic memories.

"Ah! What about-"

"I don't...!" She held her palm up out of frustration. "I don't need a replacement, thank you."

"But, Hokage-sama req-"

"Tell the Hokage that Team 8 doesn't accept any replacements." Kurenai turned around and headed to the training ground where she found Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino waiting.

"Kurenai-sensei! Where's Hinata? She hasn't been here for the past 2 sessions." Kiba asked, he always worried about her. Whenever he spotted her in Konoha, he would run up to her and ask whether she was alright and if she would be there for the next session.

She gave him a half smile. "I... need to tell you something about Hinata."

"WHAT?! She's no longer a Hyuga?! How can they do that? Where is she now?-"

"Is she in the hospital for us to visit?" Shino took a step forward. Kurenai was stunned from their concern, even Akamaru was barking uncontrollably.

"Minna, she's alright. The nurses told me that she is being taking care of by the person who saved her."

"Who is that?"

She took a deep breath as she knew they wouldn't believe her. "Sasuke Uchiha."

"Sasuke?! Why would a guy like him be taking care of her?" Kurenai shrugged, even she was curious about this. So much is being left out and she didn't know how to get all this under control.

"I don't know, but we know that she is in safe hands, so we have to focus on us now. Team 8 will undergo the ultimate 7 day preparation from this moment on!"

"7 day preparation? Why?"

"Nazenara, the Chunnin Exams are held in 7 days from now."

"Mm, correct Shino. We have had reports about spying that could take place during the Chunnin Exams, but we believe that, that may be a distraction for them to take the scrolls while we supervise the Exams. So we will have you Guardians protect your assigned scrolls."

"Awesome!"

"Not awesome. For you to protect the scroll, the scroll has to feel protected by you. And if you fail, it could cost you your life. That's why you have to have a stable mind, be physically and emotionally connected with your crystal and most of all, be prepared for whatever it throws at you."

"But, what about Sasuke-kun? He hasn't been here."

"I will take care of Sasuke. We have no time to waste, let's begin. Take on your Armor." In the blink of an eye, Kakashi had his Armor activated. His usual tone had completely changed, his straight face hadn't even changed through his speech.

A sweat dropped from Naruto's forehead protector. He could feel that Kakashi was serious this time and this wasn't a place to mess up anymore. He looked at Sakura, who brought her crystal out without further questions.

Alright, let's show them what Naruto Uzumaki is made of!

"Too slow, Neji!"

Tenten heard another heavy blow followed by a loud crash. Gai-sensei hadn't given them any specific detail of today's lesson, they only knew that they had to be prepared for a test with their scrolls in 7 days.

"Don't lose focus!" Neji had just gotten on his knees as Gai was dashing towards him. Gai restricted them from using their crystals because of the scrolls ability to deactivate their Armor if they let their guards down.

Neji quickly rotated his body, increasing in speed for every spin. Sooner or later a chakra barrier formed around him. "Too slow! The scroll can be fast," Neji felt an aura rush past him through his barrier. How did he?!

In a split second, Lee and Tenten saw Neji pushed out of his defense and roughly bouncing on the ground. "NEJI!"

Tenten saw a figure behind of Lee the second after, "it can be sneaky," Lee looked behind of them and quickly hopped from his hiding spot into the battlefield.

Gai's fist fell like a ton of bricks on Lee's crossed arms. He disappeared before Lee's eyes and reappeared with his leg landing a harsh blow to Lee's waist. Lee flew meters away, landing close to where Neji's injured body is.

Tenten's heart was pumping, she was the only one left and she didn't have any special defense kept under her sleeve. Her reaction timing wasn't even as precise as Lee's. She brought a kunai out of desperation. Okay, Tenten, don't let your guard down...

The kuniochi felt a palm on her shoulder which startled her. She slowly faced the person behind her, it was Neji. "Oh, Neji! You scared me, there. Are you alright?" she was amazed by his durability, looking by his serious scratches.

"Yes, I think I know what he wants."

"Really, what?!"

"It's teamwork. Let's both fight him." She felt a little blush on her cheeks from his request. She agreed, anyway. They both went on the battlefield, but Gai wasn't there. He would usually appear whenever someone felt ready enough to face him.

Tenten tried to scan the place, but only Neji had the eyes to thoroughly examine the area. Her eyes fell on her wounded teammates. They still hadn't regained consciousness, this made the whole situation more frightening. Wait what? Neji! Then this Neji is...

The Neji that suggested they teamed up was nowhere to be found. It was too late as she felt a harsh punch on her back. She struggled to get herself up, she actually wanted to team up with any of her teammates at this point.

Gai crossed his arms in front of him, "and it can be deceiving."

Kurenai saw Kiba charging at her with Akamaru beside him, "if you keep using the same moves!" Their speed increased ferociously as they spun around each other. Kurenai looked above her as she saw the drill-looking attack near her. Shino stood by as he waited for her next move, getting ready with his bugs in case Kiba failed.

Their sensei effortlessly hopped away from the attack and brought a kunai, she threw it in the center of the beastly drills annihilating the ground she just stood on. Shino witnessed as the kunai disappeared into the swirling drills and had somehow separated the two from each other, both taking damage from it.

Kurenai landed on the ground, "the scroll will see through it."

"Shino! Your turn." She turned her attention to Shino who hadn't made a single move yet. "Being tactical is also about speed!"

She knew he was tactical unlike Kiba who charged at the enemy head on. She heard crippling sounds behind of her and gasped.

Shino raised his arms and small insects flew from his sleeve and surrounded Kurenai. She tried to slap them away as she had no where else to escape. Shino saw as she was struggling to get out and took the opportunity to dash towards her. As he went a kunai past her abdomen she vanished into a blur.

"Nani?!" He felt a kunai by his neck and her breath against his ear. "How did you?" His sensei snapped her fingers and in a blink, Shino found himself tied down beside Kiba and Akamaru who had just regained consciousness.

"Because before you realize it, you're in a genjutsu. I'll give 30 min break, don't waste it."

"Ne, Kakashi, why did you want to show us the scrolls if you know how dangerous they are?" Kakashi had the blunt look of his again, Naruto knew that his answer couldn't be taken serious.

"Ah, I forgot."

"That's not a proper answer!"

"Well, it's an answer."

Naruto sighed, knowing that this wouldn't lead to anything. He looked at Sakura who had been quiet ever since they took a break. Knowing Sakura, if he ever got too close to her she would probably beat him up or push him away. Hopefully the latter this time.

Naruto crawled over to his female friend. "Sakura-chan?"

...

He crawled closer, this time smelling the cherry blossom fragrance from her. "Sa-kura-channn?"

...

A wide smirk grew across Naruto's face, he rubbed his hand against each other and got ready to make his ultimate death move aka. the hug. Naruto appeared behind of Sakura. Kakashi saw what he was up to and a sweat-drop escaped his forehead. Oh boy.

He extended his arms as wide as and pulled Sakura in a tight hug. "Sakura-chan~!"

...

"Kakashi-sensei, I really think we should look up on Sasuke-kun. It's not like him to have been absent for so long."

Can she not smell the ramen?. Kakashi cleared his throat and ensured her not worry as Sasuke needed to sort some things out.

"There's no need to worry about me." Team 7 rotated their heads followed by their whole body by the sound of Sasuke behind of them.

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Sasuke?!"

"Ara, Sasuke, didn't expect to you to join us this soon. Have your wounds healed?"

"What wounds?!" Sakura looked for any potential hidden injuries but everything looked fine and... perfect... She felt her heart rate gain it's normal pulse from the sight of him.

"That's none of your concern. What are we doing anyways?" It was there his eyebrow raised from sight of Naruto hugging Sakura and not beaten to pulp already.

"Huh? Wh-what is it Sasuke-kun?" Her blush quickly faded as she just now realized the hands of Naruto around her.

"Well, it had to happen at some point." Kakashi said.

"Naaarutoo!"

...

...

...

"Sasuke, Team 7 will undergo a physical and emotional preparation for your test with the scrolls which is happening in 7 days from now. But, because you're the only one who still hasn't unlocked your Armor-" A blue flash blinded Team 7 for a moment, as the light faded a sharp "eek" escaped Sakura's lips.

From the navy kimono-shirt that covered a loose shirt with a black bandage with the Yin symbol bound in the middle by a white threat, to his dark blue pants and the toe-less boots. His hair had taken a brighter shade too.

He's so...! Iiiiiiiiiiiiii!

Sasuke ignored Sakura's pathetic yet slightly amusing reaction. It got even funnier with the grumbling Naruto in the background mumbling to himself.

"So," he leaned his elbow on his newly equipped sword, "who hadn't unlocked their Armor?"

A sweat fell from Kakashi's forehead down his astounded face, he knew that Sasuke was driven by anger and frustration during the climax of that fight, but never had he thought that he would have unlocked his Armor from it. U-unbelievable.

"Hm."

Kakashi had the chance to pull Sasuke away while Sakura and Naruto were still energetic.

"I know what happened in the fight. And I know that Hinata Hyuga knows of you being a Guardian."

"So what? She might forget it."

"Not when she's living with you for the time being as she was disowned and had no other place to live. Sasuke, I know you wouldn't do such a thing." Sasuke turned his palm into a fist from Kakashi's ability to guess everything accurately.

"You two bear the strongest crystals among the 12 Guardians. The shape of both of your crystals aren't a coincidence. Don't do anything that might further bring her pain. Protect her."

"Hm." Their history didn't have a happy ending, and he won't dwell onto the past any longer, especially not that part of his childhood.

Hinata found it hard to sleep, knowing that no one was there. It was really quiet, she felt alone. Not that she hadn't felt that, but this at least she was surrounded by people who showed a little care for her.

Is this how Sasuke-kun feels all the time?

The heiress heard a knock on the door and found Nana walking in. "Ohayo, Nana." She smiled at Nana who greeted her with the same gesture.

"How has it been, Hinata-sama? Is Sasuke treating you well?" Hinata nodded, telling her of her stay so far. Nana giggled from her the joy in her tone for every new fact about Sasuke.

Nana looked at Hinata with a bit more worrisome look as she finished. She never spoke like this about Naruto, and she remembered the time she found out about Kurai. Even though he wasn't alive at that time the way she spoke about him, and described him and her stuttering even vanished at times rivals the way she talks about Sasuke.

"I'm glad to hear. It's funny... I can remember a time when you were like this." Hinata looked at Nana. "You were younger and the way you talk of Sasuke is the same with... Kurai..."

"K-Kurai-kun is d-d-dead..."

"Hinata-sama... do you really want to believe that?"

Hinata looked at her tiny fingers, Nana knew her too well and was so observant at times. But, she knew she couldn't ignore all the similarities between Kurai and Sasuke. "S-Sasuke-kun looks like Kurai-kun..."

She clutched the bed sheets by a picture of the two, and seeing how much they facially resembled each other. "S-Sasuke-kun... talks like Kurai-kun..." She saw the two standing with their backs turned to her. Her body started to quiver from the sight of their similar clothing style.

Tears were falling as quickly as they were building up, her grip on the sheets grew tighter. "S-Sa-Sa-Sasuke-kun... acts like Kurai-kun at times..." Kurai and Sasuke turned around, giving her their signature smirk. They looked too much like each other.

"Nana..." Nana saw her Hinata's body quiver as her voice was growing.

"I don't want to believe that Kurai-kun is dead!"

Even though Hinata's sober was filled with distress from the countless images of Kurai and Sasuke's familiarity, it still had a slight bit of relief in it. Nana couldn't find the urge to cry as well, she actually smiled.

Hinata thought back to the time were Sasuke saved her from the bullies, those exact words which Kurai used as well. They couldn't have been a coincidence.

But she is done talking with you. Why do you always have to pick on people who are weaker than yourselves?

You shouldn't pick on people way out of your league, either.

You shouldn't pick on people way out of your league, too.

"D-Demo... H-How a-am I sup-posed to a-ask him?"

"If you could ask Kurai about anything, I bet there will be no difference with Sasuke." Hinata nodded.

Nana left after making dinner, sparing Sasuke from the work as he was training with his team. Sasuke came home a few minutes after Nana had gone. Hinata heard Sasuke's footsteps getting closer, her heart was pumping.

She swallowed the heavy lump in her throat. You can do it, Hinata...!

The door opened and Sasuke walked in with the cold expression of his as always. As she was about to greet him, he interrupted. "Have you eaten dinner?"

Hinata vibrantly nodded. "A-Ano-"

"Good." He lay his crystal on the desk beside hers. She noticed as her crystal was lightening, and she could give a good guess to why.

She saw Sasuke finding a book from the shelf. "A-Ano Ku-... Sa-Sasuke-kun?" He stood still flipping through the pages. Oh yeah... It's Sasuke, only...

"S-Sasuke?..."

"What is it?" He lay the book back and searched for another one. He stood from his stooped-position as he had found a book he hadn't read before. He took a seat near the balcony glass door.

"I..."

If you could ask Kurai about anything, I bet there will be no difference with Sasuke.

"Sa-Sasuke, iya, K-Ku-Kurai-kun!?"

For a moment, Sasuke couldn't feel his heart beat. He couldn't hide the shock in his face, either. He had no other choice but to put the book aside.

"P-Please," he saw tears dripping from her round cheeks, she was nearly hyperventilating, "p-please t-tell m-me that y-y-you're K-Kurai-k-kun..."

I... just wanted to ask if you would do me a favor.

I... I want you to be Hinata's friend..!

A-Ariga-

-You, where have you heard that name before?

"S-Sasuke..."

He's dead!

He was massacred that day, with his family, friends, everybody!

"I have no idea of who this Kurai is." He slowly let his eyes fall from hers and onto his book, making sure that his bangs were covering his sides so that he couldn't see the extreme hurt in her face.

There was a uncomfortable silence in the room. Sasuke heard Hinata sniffing her tears in and clearing her face from the salty water. But her quiet weeps were still hard to ignore.

"Is this Kurai a special person?"

"Mhm."

"You told me once that he was dead."

"Mhm. But, Na-Nana d-doesn't be-believe that... And so do I..."

He couldn't keep looking at the blank page, so he raised his head and looked at her teary yet somehow cute face. She had her hand in mid-air as it was drying the last drop of tears.

"Do I resemble him that much?" She nodded while looking down at the sheets she wet with her tears.

"If you would like," she unconsciously looked at him again this time with a little hope, "you can call me Kurai, if I remind you so much of him."

"H-Hontou?..." He shook his head in approval.

"Mhm."

"K-Kurai-kun..." A tiny smile appeared on her face. Their eyes felt locked on each other until the brilliance from their crystals grew stronger. As Sasuke looked closer they had in some way formed the Yin-Yang symbol.

How did they?...

The shape of both of your crystals' aren't a coincidence.

Sasuke separated the two and lay them in different shelves so they could have a undisturbed night. He got under the blankets and threw his head on the pillow. Hinata giggled.

"Goodnight, Kurai-kun." The young heiress fell asleep in no time.

He found his hand caressing her soft cheek. "Goodnight... Mitsu."