Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Is everything proceeding according to the plan?"
"H-h-hai, t-tt-he g-ggroundwork is in p-pplace S-sshishou. K-kkenji hhas agreed to t-th-he plan." Athrun answered, while looking at the ground.
He was nervous, no, terrified of the people before him. The man who had spoken had single-handedly arranged for the murders and assassinations of all the political and social dissidents in their society. The power he commanded when he simply walked into the room was intimidating enough but, when the power of his cohorts was factored in, the effect was enough to make one want to vomit.
A female voice from the other end of the room asserted itself. "He's such a fool for thinking that he would have control of this country, thinking he would be able to change the way it is governed," She laughed harshly before continuing, "It's always been this way. Those who stand behind the Kage pull his strings, just like one would control a puppet."
The ten others who were present nodded in agreement at her statement. It was true after all. The Kage was just a front, put forward so the people would have no reason to revolt against those who were truly in power.
"Athrun," commanded the mastermind, "I want you to ensure that the girl………what was her name?" he asked in irritation, clearly vexed over this small hitch in their plan.
"Ayame is her name Shishou," Offered the small man beside him.
"Ah yes, Ayame," he rubbed his long, spindly fingers together in apparent glee. A sinister smile spread over his countenance. "I want you ensure that the girl is taken out of the picture. Is that clear?" He turned his head to glare at his subordinate.
"Y-yyes Shishou. C-ccrrystal clear," stuttered Athrun.
"Very well, see to this before the wedding takes place, she is not to be a problem." He stood up and the others stood up with him. "Dismissed, clear all evidence of this meeting."
With that, twelve of the most powerful ninjas in the country sped through the chamber with lightning speed, collecting documents containing damaging evidence. The papers were hidden in a secret vault as the chairs that were previously occupied were quickly returned to their original positions.
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Only one more day to go, Sakura thought, wiping the sweat from her forehead. The group had been climbing up the side of Mount Fujihara for the past six hours. This was a good thing, as this mountain formed the border between Iwagakure and Konohagakure.
Jeez, you'd think they could pick a better location for their country. But nnnooooo, they had to conquer the lands on the other side of the biggest mountain in the world! It's so annoying. First we had to cross that stinking bog, then that desert region, and no- Her complaints were cut short by Neji, would had just stopped on a ledge, ten feet above where she was.
"Let's stop," said Neji, in a very monotonous tone. The rest of the group quickly complied, they scrambled up the mountain face, threw their packs on the ground, and then flopped on top of them, panting and heaving. Only Sasuke and Neji remained standing, leaning against the mountain. They too were panting, only far less noticeably than the rest.
"Damn mountain, so…," Shikamaru had to pause to catch his breath before continuing, "so……damn ….troublesome." After he said this he quickly searched through his pack for his water bottle and swallowed half of its contents on the spot.
"For once Shika-kun, I..," Ino paused for air, wheezing with the intake, "I actually agree with you." She stood up and started yelling at the face of the mountain. "STUPID STUPID MOUNTAIN! YOU JUST HAD TO BE RIGHT ON THE FRICKN BORDER NOW DIDN'T YOU!" She looked as though she was about to punch it before Shikamaru grabbed her hand.
"Tch, how troublesome. If you do that you'll only hurt your wrist."
"AND SINCE WHEN DID YOU CARE IF I HURT MY WRIST! I'LL HURT YOUR HEAD!" With that she lunged at Shikamaru only to realize she couldn't move.
He sighed and walked over to Ino, who, in accordance with the effects of the technique, was walking towards him. "You think I don't know you well enough by now to know that you would try that? You and your antics are so troublesome." He released the Kage Mane.
"Hmph, if I'm so troublesome then I think I'll do you the great satisfaction of never talking to you again! Ha, then that way you won't have to deal with me at all!" huffed Ino, crossing her arms and turning her head away from his.
"What the heck just happened?" whispered Tenten into Neji's ear.
"I think they just broke up, again." Said Neji with a hint of a smirk on his otherwise impassive face.
"I heard that!" shot Ino, who was still very pissed off.
Tenten laughed quietly when he said this. Contrary to popular belief Neji actually did talk outside of training sessions, and when he did he was actually quite funny. Only Gai, Lee, and herself really knew him outside of fighting situations. He would call everyone present on this mission a friend, but none of them really knew that much about him and vice versa. She felt happy knowing that she was the only girl who knew anything about him, besides Hinata. She was family though, so she didn't count. His fan club was very jealous of her, especially since they were in the same anbu platoon, along with Lee, Genma, and Raidou. Ever since they were genin she would have to outrun his fan club along with him, although for different reasons. She smiled at the memories.
"What are you smiling at," he asked, interrupting her nostalgia.
She blushed when she looked him, knowing that she was the focus of his attention. "Uum, nothing." She said, still smiling at him. Absolutely nothing at all………
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The ledge where they had stopped was only one hundred feet from the summit so they decided that they could afford to rest here for the night as darkness was quickly approaching.
While Naruto, Ino, and Hinata struggled through setting up everyone's tents, Sakura sat by the fire, watching Sasuke as he prepared tomato rice.
I didn't know that he knew how to cook!
Of course he knows how to cook idiot! He's been living alone for almost ten years baka!
You're the baka! Maybe he just ordered out?
That even sounds stupid in your head and you know it!
Che, fine…just shut up. I guess he really does like his tomatoes. She could feel a sweat drop forming on the back of her head.
"Do you need any help with that Sasuke-kun?" she asked, nervously fiddling with the hem of her skirt.
"No……..thank-you." He said, simply continuing to add tomatoes and rice until he had enough to feed the group.
"Ah ok, then I guess I'll just take a walk..Yah, a walk" On the side of a mountain, sounds like fun. She could feel another sweat drop forming as she stood up and brushed the dirt of her clothing. She made for the edge of the camp but before she could get very far a bird came speeding into view. Sakura quickly ran back to the fire.
"Hey, look who it is!" she yelled She turned back in the direction the bird was flying from. "Over here!" she called, waving her hands, using large animated gestures to attract the bird, who perched on her shoulder and handed her the note within its talons.
She quickly petted it, smoothing the feathers along its back before opening the message. As soon as she saw its contents she blanched, all traces of her previously happy attitude gone.
Damn Hokage! When I see her again she is going to see hell! She made a fist with her right and reflexively clenched and unclenched it as she continued. Ha! And when she does, I'll bring her back so I can send her there again!
"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto, forgetting about the tent he was propping up, resulting in his dropping it on Ino as he bounded over to her.
"DAMN YOU NARUTO!" screeched Ino, "Crap, how am I going to get out of here now?" Her legs and arms were underneath the tent. Though it wasn't very heavy it still had enough weight that she couldn't throw it off herself.
"Need help?" came an irritatingly familiar lazy drawl as a hand suddenly appeared in her line of vision.
"No" she huffed as she attempted to cross her arms in a gesture of defiance underneath the tent. It didn't work.
"Tch, you're so troublesome. Here." He grabbed her arm and pulled her up gently, kicking the forgotten tent to the side.
Ino smiled, she couldn't stay mad for long, especially at Shikama- Woah! Where did that come from? One second ago I was ready to smack the next thing I saw and now I'm smiling?
"Um, thanks Shika-kun. I'm sorry about-"
"Don't worry about it. You've never apologized before and if I needed one to stay on speaking terms with you we wouldn't have spoken to each other since you learned how to talk." Shikamaru jammed his hands in his pockets as he finished.
"Well, that's true! Great, I'm starving, let's go eat!" Is it just me or did that sound overly bright? As Ino grabbed Shikamaru's arm and started walking towards the campfire he grinned, a blush on his cheeks.
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Sakura,
We have just received word that a known drug smuggler from an unknown country has been spotted in a village approximately three kilometers from Mount Fujihara, in the southern direction. I'm sure you realize what type of mission this is.
You may bring two people with you if you deem it necessary to the success of this mission. If you do not have the required supplies there are many stores in the village. Instruct the platoon not to proceed any farther until you, and any company, have returned.
Tsunade
Godaime Hokage, Konohagakure
Sakura read and reread the scroll, unconsciously crinkling it in her hands. She hated these missions, they were the biggest downside to being an female anbu member, and a powerful one at that. These missions meaning seducing a member of the opposite gender using any means possible, then extracting vital information from them or killing them.
She always felt so dirty after completing one of these. Every woman in the anbu dreaded these missions, except perhaps Anko. Then again, she was just strange.
Well I suppose that I can't get out of this. That dumb bird will tell them that I got the message personally so no faking. For the love of god! It's bad enough that I might have to get married but now this too?
After ranting, in her mind, for several minutes about the unfairness of it all she proceeded to think about the mission specifics. The goal, was no doubt, to kill said drug dealer by somehow getting him alone and off his guard long enough for her to slip him something.
Since this is an unknown situation, the advantage of being able to see through walls would be invaluable. Hinata and Neji could come with me. Wait, didn't Hinata say she was thinking about applying for the anbu when the next draft came up? But……………I can't put her through this type of mission. She's just not the type for it. Then again, she has changed so much these past few years. Maybe she'll be able to pull it off.
"Hinata, Neji could I talk to you please?" Sakura called from across the campsite, earning herself suspicious glares from all those present.
"Why do you want to talk to them Sakura-chan?" camed Naruto's inevitable question. I swear, some days I can predict exactly what he's going to say. Then again, I'm sure he can do that for me too. She merely shook her head instead of replying.
Neji simply stood up from his spot beside Tenten and walked over to Sakura. Hinata looked confused at first, then she too stood and followed.
"Hinata, weren't you thinking of applying for the anbu?" asked Sakura as the three of them walked farther away from the camp.
"H-hhai S-ssakura-chan, I was." Hinata started fumbling with her fingers again but stopped as soon as she realized what she was doing. She didn't want to appear nervous or weak.
"Well, I just received a notice from Tsunade-sama." It was obvious she was struggling for the right choice of words. "She's assigned me a mission that's very typical for female anbu members, I'm sure you know the kind."
Hinata's face turned the colour of a tomato. Not one of those! Kurenai-sensei told me stories of what can happen on those missions when I told her I was thinking of applying.
"It would be a good chance for you to become familiar with the type of work that Tenten and I have to do far too often."
Neji's head snapped in her direction at the mention of Tenten's name. Sakura looked at him, eyebrows raised in feigned shock.
"What, you didn't know? Didn't you ever wonder why she was called to Tsunade-sama's office without you or Lee all those times?" She smiled as she shook her head. This damn mission is really bringing things to the surface. Even the stone-faced Neji is softening a bit.
"Anyways Hinata, the choice remains completely yours. It would be better if you came did a mission like this with people you trust around you. It would ease the shock a bit. It's much better than having to do this sort of thing with people you trust the first time out."
"Sakura's right." Came Neji's stoic answer, his face betraying none of the swelling emotions he felt. "If you really are considering joining the anbu then this would be good for you Hinata-sama."
Hinata bowed her head, in deep thought. If Sakura-chan and Tenten-san have done these missions before then I should be able to. I want to be in the anbu but I don't think I'm good enough. I'm not tall enough or thin enough to be able to seduce anybody! But if I want to get closer to Naruto-kun then this is the only way.
"A-aaalright, S-sssakura-chan. Ano, why did you call Neji here, is he going to come too?"
"Since this mission is taking place in unknown territory for all of us, the ability to see through walls will prove invaluable. Besides, he is your cousin. I'm sure you'd feel a lot more comfortable with him along than say…..Naruto?" she grinned deviously as she watched Hinata's face redden up to her hairline.
"I'll go tell everyone that we'll be gone for the night." Muttered Neji as he turned back towards the camp.
As soon as he was out of earshot Sakura began to talk to Hinata again. "Now, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want him to hear what I'm going to say next. On these mission you have to look like….well, you have to look like a slut or a whore in order for them to succeed. Normally I would just ask Ino to borrow her clothes for something like this," she laughed at her own joke though the humour was lost on Hinata, "but she wouldn't have brought anything like that with her so we're going to have to buy clothes in that village. Using gen-jutsu is too risky as shinobi will no doubt be in the places we're going tonight."
She turned to look Hinata squarely in the eye. "No matter what happens, don't let him know that your scared or worried or inexperienced or especially that you're a kunoichi. There's no telling what they'll do if they find that out. Well, now your ready and here comes Neji so let's go!"
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The music in the club blared loudly, too loudly. They had finally located their target after an exhaustive two hours search. Once they reached the village Sakura had dragged Hinata into a store and forced her into the skimpiest outfit she could find. They then proceeded to inspect all likely hang-outs for that type and finally hit the mark on their tenth stop.
"There he is, our nameless bad guy. There's way too many of them these days." Muttered Sakura into the earpiece she was wearing. She was patrolling the bar area of the club, attempting to see whether their target had any accomplices, which he no doubt did.
"Be careful Hinata-sama, Hiashi-dono would kill we if you got hurt. We're terminating contact now. Good luck." Neji's voice fizzled out as Hinata removed her earpiece and placed it in a garbage can.
She felt disgusting. Her shoulder length hair curled and flipped out temptingly. She was wearing an extremely short, strapless black dress, which did little to conceal her cleavage. Her lipstick was overly red and the rest of her make up was applied a little to generously. Simply put, she looked cheap and easy.
As she made her way to the target she replayed all the possible scenarios in her mind. The best one involved her jamming a syringe into his neck in some god forsaken closet while the worst one, well…she didn't even want to think about that.
Remain calm, act easy, remain calm……….damn it, remain calm! She felt her face turning red as she watched all the people around her 'dancing'. It looked like they would need a winch to extricate themselves from their partners. She was now less than three feet away from their target. Quickly replaying the lines she had rehearsed with Sakura and Neji on the journey here, she sat down next to him and ordered a drink.
As the bartender brought it over to her the man next to her indicated that it be put on his tab. She gave him a flirtatious smile, trying hard to prevent herself from running away as fast as she could.
Come on Hinata get it together! You can do this!
"Thank you." Was it just her or did her voice now sound like that of a whore?
He simply shrugged before turning back to his drink. She decided to try again.
"Why haven't I seen you around here before? It would be hard to miss a face as handsome as yours in this town." She grinned flirtatiously again, leaning closer to him as she spoke.
"I come and I go. Never been here before. Probably won't come back." Came the reply. He turned to face her, a smirk playing around the edges of his lips.
The two continued to talk while Sakura and Neji watched from the opposite side of the club.
"It looks like it's going well." Came Neji's voice above the din of the drinking and the drunk. These people really needed a hobby, to say the least.
His attention was suddenly diverted from Hinata as a hooker latched on his arm and attempted to chat him up. He in return tried, and failed, to get her to leave. Little did he know, Sakura was having the same problem.
"For the last time I don't want you to buy me a drink!" She wanted to slap this idiot upside the head. How many times did she have to say no for him to get it through his skull?
By the time she turned back to looking for Hinata she couldn't find her.
"Neji, do you have a visual on Hinata? I didn't see her leave or anything. Some jerk kept trying to hit on me." She turned to push said jerk away, again.
"No, I had the same problem. Do you have any idea where she is? We have to find her!"
"No, ok we have to stay calm and split up. You take the dance floor, I'll look at the bar, we'll meet at the door in five minutes."
With that they went their separate ways, each on the lookout for a certain white-eyed, blue haired girl, each not seeing hide nor hair of her.
A panicked Sakura raced back to the meeting point where Neji was anxiously waiting for her. The expressions on both of their faces revealed that they hadn't succeeded.
"I talked to the owner, he said there's bedrooms above this club. It's likely she led him up there so she could ….." his voice trailed off, him being obviously uncomfortable with what his naïve cousin was being put up to.
"Then let's go! She wasn't supposed to leave the bar! She could be in real trouble for all we know!" Sakura raced off in the direction of the stairs, Neji on her heels.
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"Did you really think you could fool me little girl?" came the mocking voice of her captor. "Did you really think I didn't notice you come in with those two friends of yours. You're a kunoichi aren't you, no doubt sent to kill me." He twirled the kunai he had been holding much too quickly for her eyes to keep up. He moved closer to her, his hands touching her where she didn't want to be touched.
"Stop it!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face. Why did I think I could do this? I'm all tied up and I can't stop him and Sakura and Neji have no idea where I am. She started crying more as these realizations sank in.
"Stop what little girl?" came his mocking voice again as he proceeded with his ministrations. She screamed in protest but no one would be able to hear her. The music from the club was still blaring far too loudly. There was nothing she could do.
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Sakura and Neji ran down the halls of the hotel above the club. The owner had told them that only ten rooms were rented, all three being on separate floors. They had agreed that they needed to stay together though so they raced quickly from the first to the second floor as they proceeded to kick down doors. With only one room left to go they ran as quickly as they could to the third floor.
Damn it Hinata! Just hold on, we're almost there.
As they approached the door Neji ran straight into it, the full force of his body weight being thrown against an ancient door. When the door came down they saw Hinata tied up on the bed, being fondled by a figure clothed entirely in black.
Sakura immeadiately ran to the figure as he proceeded to jump out of the open window and make a run for it. Neji gave the chase, As she cut Hinata loose she noticed the bruises on her arms and legs.
"Oh Hinata I'm so sorry. I never should have…" she eyes started watering as she hugged Hinata, who was clinging to her as one would to their only source of help. She proceeded to say comforting phrases to Hinata as a mother would to a child while she waited for Neji to return.
"That, that bastard!" came Neji's angry voice from the window. He punched the wall, creating a hole in the already weak plaster. "I lost him somewhere in the alleys and I came back here as soon as I did." His fists were shaking as he neared Hinata. "What did he do to you Hinata-sama?" he asked in a much quieter and gentler tone than he had been using before. She in return merely whimpered and turned back into Sakura's embrace, but Neji understood. She wouldn't want to talk about this for a long time. Hinata was already a very fragile person, Something like this had the potential to destroy her chances of remaining a shinobi. But, she had her clothes on so that meant she hadn't been raped. The alternatives, though disgusting and extremely disheartening, were much better to consider.
"We can't tell anyone." Came Sakura's wavering voice. "We just have to go back and act like this didn't happen. She'll tell them when she's ready. Can you walk Hinata-chan?"
She dried her tears as she stood up slowly. Her arms and legs were covered in bruises from what he had done to her. She just felt so dirty that she wanted to jump straight into the nearest lake and scrub away all the skin he had touched.
"I-I'm f-f-fine. L-l-let's just leave." She turned towards the window as Sakura and Neji exchanged glances. They would just have to protect her from the others' questions.
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The next morning Hinata woke up close to lunchtime. She knew that Sakura and Neji wouldn't have told anyone what happened, but she didn't want to face them all the same. Will Naruto-kun even want to look at me if he knows what happened? He'd probably call me disgusting and never want to see me again. The tears started welling in here eyes as memories from the previous night flooded through her mind. She started shaking, only stopping when someone placed a soothing hand on her arm.
"Ssshhh, Hinata it's ok." She recognized Sakura's voice as she slowly came out of her nightmare. "Neji and I- we didn't tell anyone and we won't. The others just think your not feeling so well. If you don't want to continue with this-"
"No, I do." She was surprised at the resolve in her own voice, as was Sakura. I've already failed too many other missions to fail this one too. "I'll be out in a minute, just let me change."
Sakura turned to leave the tent before she paused at the exit. "You know Hinata….this is all my fault. I'm so sorry that this happened to you." She left before Hinata could say anything back.
How can she think this is her fault? She would've been able to complete this mission with no problems but because I'm so weak and ugly I failed! Kuso!" She felt the tears coming again as she quickly stood up and proceeded to change and pack up her belongings.
When she got out of the tent five curious faces greeted her. They all appeared to be ready to leave. Neji and Sakura were whispering to each other near the perimeter of the camp. Sasuke just looked at her, knowing that something was wrong. Tenten and Ino were talking with Shikamaru and Naruto. Naruto-kun…………how can you look at me now?
"Hey Hinata-chan, you're feeling better already!" he gave her a cheeky smile as he walked closer to her. "You really are amazing!" He touched her arm when she suddenly jerked away.
"D-d-don't touch me Naruto." She whispered, not quietly enough so that everybody else heard. She quickly walked over to Neji and Sakura who merely looked at her sympathetically. Naruto stared after her, hurt dominating his expression.
They were ready to leave, it was the last day of their journey and possibly the last day they would share together. Naruto and Sasuke walked together in the front of the group while Tenten, Shikamaru, and Ino followed them. The other three hung farther back, taking a slower pace, not wanting to push Hinata at all. As the left the campsite behind and stared at the Earth Country in the distance all were thinking the same thing. Will things ever be the same again?
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Well………..that was long and this chapter laid some very important groundwork for the romantic storyline for the rest of the story. This particular chapter has a lot to do with what happens to Naruto and Hinata and Tenten and Neji.
Ok…so I lied……there was a really really small Neji/Tenten scene but nothing spectacular. There will be more of that as the story progresses. I really think that they have one of the better storylines here.
If you have any questions or the like just let me know in you review! Hint hint! Anyways thanks for reading and next chapter their in the earth country! Finally!