The Art of Love
Chapter Eleven: Politics and Vows
Rated M for sexual contact, violence, graphic themes, and language.
By: Midnight-Runaway
Stay impersonal, never get biased. Those words were spoken to her as advice long before. Words of the wise passed down to her by her superiors. They were just words; it was not easy to practice the saying.
Years, that's what it had taken her to finally become detached, to not allow herself to suffer in self-loathing. She was benevolent and far too sentimental. Over the years she had learned to accept that killing and losing were part of her profession. The body counts accumulated in numbers. She lost just as many as she killed.
Was it karma that took her loved ones? First it was her mother, then Neji, after that she lost count. War took much more than it asked for. She had been weak, far too weak to fight to protect her own, so she learned to adapt. She used the strength of the lost and forged herself into a vigorous woman. Going through her metamorphose, she became ANBU captain and later prompted into the Intel department. But her accomplishments did not stop the body counts and she lost more comrades.
Everything suddenly became much more personal then she indented. She lost her pupil, a child prodigy. The fourteen-year-old died in her arms. So those wise words that her older much wiser comrades' ones advised her were disregarded. After all, she was human. So it was understandable when the sight of the wounded woman piqued her.
The young eighteen-year-old girl was laying in front of her in a coma. The black haired female was struggling to grasp on to life. The young adult had been through unimaginable horrors. The rescued woman was a state of inertia for the past month. Taking a seat next to the female, the older woman took in her features. The girl was frail, far too thin. The visible skin held old scars.
Hinata's mind traveled to how she found the woman. She was broken, bloody, and pleading for death. She remembered walking into the basement, to find the poor girls chained to the wall. They were malnourished, dehydrated, and terrified. She could still smell the foul odor of death. How long had those girls been there? The shinobi remembered helping the girl. She was terrified, pleading the older woman to kill her. Hinata had held the female, feeling the tears stain her uniform. On that day, they rescued six girls from their captivity. Not many of the victims made it through recovery. Many girls died on their routine to the village.
Only two had survived: a girl from the village hidden in the mist and the unknown woman they called Jane Doe. The sixteen-year-old girl from the mist recovered faster and after interrogation was sent back to her family. Jane Doe had not recovered and slipped into a coma Hinata respired. It was essential for Jane Doe to awake from her comatose. The victim held vital information on Akifumi's connections.
"Hinata," she heard the pink medics voice, "Sakura," she said greeting the pregnant woman. Sakura was glowing. Sakura smiled placing her hand on her growing belly. This was her fifth month but Sakura was slightly bigger than expected. "How is she doing," Hinata asked staring back at that the woman.
"Hinata even if the girl wakes up I am afraid her mental state will be far too fragile to be any help. She had been through a lot. She came in with two broken ribs, burn marks, many scars, and evidence of sexual assault. Physical wounds can be repaired but mental wounds are harder to fix." Sakura said slightly patting the girl's head. Feeling pity for the poor female.
Hinata vowed to apprehend the people responsible for the crime. "Hinata," she heard the medic say to her. Coming out of her trance the light eyed woman stared at the other woman. "Why don't you go home? Staying here isn't going to make her wake up sooner," Sakura said patting the poor girl's head. Hinata sighed and nodded. How was she to stay detached, how was she supposed to ignore the crimes committed against the girl, how was she supposed to not want to help the girl and fight for her? In her world, she was to use the broken girl as a weapon to find evil.
The girl had feelings. Hinata wanted to fight for her, to protect her because for years she failed many people. She failed to protect her cousin, her teammates, her pupil, and her child. Squeezing the limp woman's hand, she made a silent promise to protect Jane Doe. "Please keep me informed. I have stationed a guard outside.
" Sakura nodded and left the room. Hinata took one last look at the sick girl and walked out the door. Leaning against the door, she felt a familiar chakra approach. A man approached her. He stopped and leaned against the wall. "Morning sunshine," the dark-haired man said. Hinata smiled back staring at the matured man. He had a similar silhouette to Sasuke. His dark brown hair was a bit messier giving him a carefree air. He had red triangles on his face.
"Watch her make sure only doctors, nurses, and approved personals get passed through. She is very important," she commanded the tracker. Kiba nodded. "Shino is going to relieve you later on." Hinata smiled up at the man. "Afterward please stop by for dinner, I missed you." Kiba smiled at the woman who was like his sister.
At one point his feelings for her were different. He loved her with all his heart, but she was always another's. Over the years, he had learned to move on. It was difficult to expect when she married the Uchiha. It sting but seeing her happy helped him move on. Sasuke had kept her happy and Kiba couldn't ask for more. He loved without expecting anything in return.
"I will stop by," he said scratching his neck, "Those missions that Naruto gives me are killing me. I haven't had a good home cooked meal in months," he said glaring at the image of Naruto in his head. Hinata laughed. "I'll make you favorite." Kiba grinned at her. "How are things," he asked. Kiba was busy with being captain of his team. Many months he spent tracking, rarely was he ever in the village for more the two weeks. He like worked, he liked doing what he was best at.
"Everything is alright," Hinata said smiling slightly. Kiba stared at him for a second. She was lying but he decided not to pursue it. Their relationship was not forceful; Hinata only shared her emotions when she was ready. "See you later," he said sitting in the chair adjunct to the room. She nodded. "Bye." Kiba stared at the light brown doors, he really hated hospitals. They were boring, He sighed being guard was the worst assignments. If Hinata hadn't personally asked for him Kiba would have refused, after all, this was vacation time. He only returned from a two-month vacation last week. Exhaustion was starting too caught up. So he had requested to be put on a month's leave. After all, he was human. Running his fingers through his hair, he leaned back in his chair.
"Why are these chairs so uncomfortable," he muttered scanning the hall. That part of the building was always quittered. Not many patients were put in this part of the building and only approved personals were allowed to entire the wing, Brown eyes landed on the door again. He wasn't given much information on the person. He was told she was a valuable asset and there may or may not be a threat. Curiosity had always been Kiba's downfall. So he got up and made his way through the door.
Opening the door, he stopped at the entrance. The room was only lit by the sunlight. They seemed to hit the figure lying on the bed. Moving closer, he stopped less than a foot away. He noticed the frame belonged to a female. He moved even closer stopping right next to the bed. She was hooked to all sorts of mentors. He stared at her face and found it a bit captivating. Her skin was very pale; her face was rather thin much likes the rest of her. She was still a beautiful woman, like sleeping beauty he thought. His brown eyes noticed the scar on her neck and one below her jaw line. He frowned slightly.
Moved his eyes lower and noticed the scars on her forearms. The frown set in deeper. "Who are you," he whispered. Her face twitched slightly causing Kiba to step back. Within seconds, the girl opened her eyes. Grey orbs stared into brown pools. The girl stared at him for a few seconds before her eyes filled with fear. A loud horse scream escaped her lips. Jane Doe sat up and pulled the sheets tighter around her. Her heart beat quicken, her breathing became forced, and sweat formed around her. Kiba stood taken aback by her reaction. Her screaming didn't stop. Moving quick Kiba pulled the emergency bottom.
"Please don't hurt me," the woman begged. Kiba frowned, "you're in the leaf. I am here to protect you not hurt you," he said stepping closer. "Get away please," she yelled. Her face was now stained but tears. Kiba grimaced at her harsh tone and backed away. The door burst open, as the pink haired medic rushed in followed by two male doctors and a nurse. Jane Doe seemed to shake with fear. "Stay away please," she sobbed. Stopping next to Kiba, Sakura ordered the nurse to get Hinata, and the doctors to stay behind.
"Sweetheart my name is Sakura. I am the head Medic here. I need you to come down," Sakura pleaded. The girl didn't answer. She felt her heart ache and her breathing was far too labored. "I need a sedative," Sakura commanded. Moving towards the girl Sakura smiled. The girl began to panic; her mind didn't register what was happening. "Help me get her calm," she told the nurse. The girl fought against the four trained professionals. Injecting Jane Doe with the sedative, she relaxed and fell limp in Sakura's arms.
Taking a deep breath, Sakura rubbed her belly. "What the hell," Kiba exclaimed. The door opened ones again with a worried Hinata standing in the doorway. "Sakura," she breathes out. Turned to look at the indigo haired female Sakura sighed," she woke up and had a serve panic attack. I had to put her under a sedative. Her mental state seems far worse," Sakura said looking at the girl. Hinata sighed. The doctors felt the room leaving only the shinobi.
"I don't think she will be much help," Sakura said. Hinata sat next to the girl. "She's our only lead." "I know Hinata but from the way she reacted just now. It's evident whatever they did to her was beyond traumatic, it seemed to like they tortured her." "Is there nothing Ino can do," Hinata asked. "I am not sure. You will have to talk to her," Sakura said moving to leave the room. Kiba moved next to Hinata. "Mind filling me in," he said leaning against the end of the bed.
"Jane Doe was found when we retrieved Akifumi." Kiba nodded. "Why found an intruder right after I left the hospital. I think she was much more important than just a play toy. I need her under 24-hour surveillance. Kiba-," she interrupted by Kiba, "I'll do it." Hinata smiled. "Can she stay with you?" Kiba rubbed his head and nodded. The Byakugan holder turned her gaze on the girl and sighed. "I'll have dinner sent over with Shino," she said getting up to leave. Kiba nodded.
Politics was a deadly game. It was like a chess piece, you had to make your move wisely to protect your king, and every player on the board was a pawn controlled by the players. Politics had the same concept to it. The people in power were the chess players, their shinobi, villages, and money the pawns. Naruto had learned that every action he took had to be wisely thought out. In the game of politics, you must stay two steps ahead of the opponent, and never underestimate the opposed.
Since the fourth shinobi war peace had finally been archived, but peace was a fragile thing and the slightest of change could shatter it. Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Konohagakure had chosen three new Kages. Tensions were high, because peace was being disturbed too many changes had occurred, and the fragile glass they called peace had started to crack.
The first crack had occurred when random attacks began to occur in three of the five nations, the second crack was caused by the replacement of the Tsuchikage Ōnoki with Takahiro. Takahiro was powerful, the grandson to the late Tsuchikage. Since his inauguration into office, the new Kage draw all of his focus on turning Iwagakure into a military powerhouse. It was subtle movements, slow and planned advancements that did not go unnoticed by the members of the Joint forces.
"My advisor has suggested we create a joint allies Intel department," Mizukage spoke first. "Yes. Three out of the five countries have been attacked. If we create a joint unit, apprehending the criminal will be easier," Kazekage chimed. "I believe the Konohagakure should head the investigation," Naruto said.
"If I have not mistaken, Konohagakure has been directly attacked a greater amount of times, then any other nation," Tsuchikage said staring at the four Kages around the table. They were all attending a meeting for the joint forces in Konoha. Naruto felt his blood began to boil. Naruto met eyes with the brown-haired man. Taking a calming breath, he thought logically.
"If you do not remember correctly Konoha had led other investigations and succeed. There have been no grievances. Our Intel department uncovered YUU and found the closest link to him, Akifumi," Naruto said to the power hunger man. "Under your Intel department five attacks have occurred, prisoner Akifumi died, and the headquarters directly attacked," the man no older than thirty reported. Getting up from his chair, Naruto slammed his hands on the table glaring at the Kage.
"I have not seen your Intel group retrieve information. There has been minimal coöperation from Iwagakure. In the last three years, Iwagakure had attended one Kage meeting and has been reluctant to attend the chunin exams. In you regime, you have attempted to create a military powerhouse."
In a failed attempt to ease the tension, the Raikage coughed. "I think it should be a unanimous vote," the Mizukage added. The two men nodded anger still visible on their features.