Disclaimer: All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, I'm just playing with them for a while.
Notes: Unlike the previous chapters, this one takes place shortly after the corresponding chapter of White Dog Night, so you'll need to have read that first. Also, it's nearly as long as a chapter of WDN, so get comfortable (it's also why you had to wait a bit for this one).
Hyuuga Secret Arts
Companion to White Dog Night
Part 6: The Art of Blood Binding
A Naruto Fic by
Nate Grey (XMAN0123-at-aol-dot-com)
He'd started to feel useless by the third day.
Now, he still felt useless, but also stiff and a bit worried.
In short, Hyuuga Neji was in an extremely bad mood, although he felt quite justified about it. Both Hinata and Hanabi had been sleeping for just over a week, and despite Sakura's assurances that they just needed plenty of rest, Neji wished at least one of them would wake up so he could actually do something.
Admittedly, he still had no idea what he would do if Hinata woke up first, but that seemed very unlikely, anyway. Hanabi had instructed him to watch over the former Hyuuga, but beyond that, he was mostly on his own.
Even worse, he really was on his own until Hanabi woke up. The few times Neji had been forced to leave Hinata's bedside to check on Hanabi, he'd had to rely on Temari, of all people, to stand watch. She'd been very disagreeable about it, claiming she didn't want to leave Akamaru alone for too long. He was of the opinion that she was just being difficult, but was wise enough not to say so aloud. Asking Shino or anyone from Naruto's squad was simply out of the question.
And though he didn't like to admit it, a great deal of Neji's irritation was probably originating from all of Hinata's constant visitors being able to see the Cursed Seal exposed on his forehead. He understood why Hanabi had given his Leaf headband to Hinata, but knew that if Hanabi had been awake, she wouldn't have wanted him to cover his forehead just for the sake of covering it.
But then, Hanabi didn't have to ever worry about seeing that mark on her own forehead. She couldn't completely understand what it meant to be branded in this way by your own blood (though part of him was glad she would never suffer precisely in the way he had). He had to keep reminding himself that Hanabi's opinion was that someone like him should have no shame, that his strengths outnumbered and outweighed his weaknesses. She was proud to stand by his side, to speak his name, and to call him her brother.
He had nearly forgotten how important that was to him.
Hanabi was depending on him, and he would not fail her. It didn't matter how he felt about the matter anymore. What mattered was that Hinata still be here when Hanabi came to see her.
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Hinata opened her eyes exactly two weeks after her battle with Hanabi. From the slightly panicked expression on her face, Neji guessed that she had no idea where she was. He was about to speak when she beat him to it.
"Akamaru? Where are you? I can't feel you anymore..."
That was rather unexpected, all things considered. If Neji remembered correctly, Akamaru was resting in Temari's room, which was just down the hall from them. Whatever connection Hinata had with the dog, it should have at least told her that he was close by.
"He's resting," Neji said quietly.
Hinata blinked and slowly turned her head to him. "Neji... I lost, then?" she whispered.
"I suppose you could look at it that way. However..."
She stared at him expectantly, a little confused.
"It might interest you to know that Hanabi has never pushed herself that far before. It is true, what she told you. Her will to have to you back was greater than your own. I suspect it was what she wanted most. So while you never had any real chance of defeating her, that is only because she needed you more than anything else in her life."
For several seconds, Hinata merely stared at him. Then she blinked and shook her head slightly. "But... I thought she came here to kill me?"
Neji sighed in disgust. "Only you would remind someone of that after you've been given a reprieve, Hinata. You really are a sad excuse for a shinobi."
Far from being upset, Hinata smiled faintly. "You haven't spoken to me like that in years. I missed it."
"Only you," he muttered under his breath, looking away.
"Where is my sister? I want to see her."
Neji snorted. "Have you forgotten so quickly? You are not Hyuuga anymore. You have no sister."
"Are you still so devoted to official labels, Neji?" she asked, almost sadly. "She probably never truly thought of me as her sister until I left. It doesn't matter what you or anyone else insists on calling it. She will always be my sister, even if I am the only one willing to say so."
"And I suppose you're going to tell me what I really am, too?"
"You don't need me to do that," Hinata replied with certainty. "You will always be Neji, to me and everyone else you know. But if this is how you would prefer it, then so be it. I'm too tired to argue."
That made him pause. "Still? Are you numb as well?"
She blinked, staring at him with dawning realization. "She's done this to you, too?"
He shook his head. "Never on such a grand scale. Hanabi went all out to ensure your defeat. I'm not even sure she was aware of how draining this would be on her."
"She... she's alright, isn't she?" Hinata asked worriedly.
Neji stared at her for a few seconds. "I think so," he replied at last. "She's been resting nearly as long as you have. I've never seen her sleep so deeply. It's almost unnerving."
"Shouldn't someone be with her? Why aren't you?"
Unfortunately, Neji knew far too well that Hinata wasn't suggesting this so she might have an opportunity to run. No, she was genuinely worried about Hanabi, and had probably forgotten about her own situation.
"Hanabi requested that I stay with you," Neji answered with a sigh.
Hinata frowned thoughtfully. "Then couldn't we go to her together?"
"If you are too weak to argue, then you are definitely too weak to walk."
"You could carry me," she murmured in a tiny voice.
Neji glared at her. "If Hanabi had wanted you near her while she was resting, you would both be in the same room. The only thing you could possibly do now is disturb her sleep, and I will not allow that."
"You still hate me, then?" Hinata asked quietly.
He sighed. "I never really hated you, Hinata, no matter how much I wanted you to think that. You just never cease to infuriate me."
She bit her lip uncertainly. "How is that any different from hating me?"
Somehow, he resisted the childish urge to inform her that she was infuriating him at that very moment. "It just is. Now stop talking. You need to rest. Hanabi will probably want to leave Suna the moment she wakes up."
"Leave?" Hinata asked nervously. "To go where?"
"Exactly where you think," Neji answered. "Although, we won't be able to leave right away. Shikamaru has to give his report to the Council before you can safely set foot anywhere near the village, and Temari has to be there as a representative of the Kazekage. But she refused to leave until you were well enough to sit with Akamaru. Sometimes I think she specializes in complicating our lives."
"She... infuriates you, too?" Hinata guessed.
"And then some. Her, I do hate," Neji replied flatly.
For some reason, that caused a smile to spread slowly across Hinata's face. Before Neji could ask what she was thinking, the door slammed open behind him.
"Hinata!" Naruto shouted as he barged in. "You've got to-" He stopped short upon coming face to face with Neji, and automatically started to bare his teeth when he finally noticed Hinata staring at him curiously.
"You can't enter a room without breaking something, can you, Uzumaki?" Neji asked sharply.
Naruto glared at him. "Guess not, Bright Eyes. And if you don't get your face out of mine, I'll make sure it's the next thing I break."
"Naruto-kun, you wanted something?" Hinata asked, trying her best to diffuse the situation.
"Uh, yeah," Naruto answered, peering around Neji. "We think something's wrong with Akamaru. Sakura's not a dog doctor, so she's just guessing. She says to tell you he's mostly healed up, but he's got a really faint pulse. You should be with him, in case... well, just in case."
"Oh," Hinata said softly, her voice trembling. "I see." She closed her eyes briefly, and then started to get out of the bed.
"You're too weak," Neji said at once, stepping in front of her.
"Even so, Akamaru needs me," she whispered.
"I won't allow it."
"We can walk around you, or over you," Naruto growled.
"Neji," Hinata pleaded. "There's no point in trying to protect me. If Akamaru dies, I'll follow him soon enough. We are bound. If you would have me live, I must be with him. My sister will understand."
"Look, if you're afraid to take your eyes off of Hinata, you can come with us," Naruto grumbled, stomping over to the bed and scooping up a startled Hinata, "but we are going, and you can't stop us. I'll make it easier for you. Would you rather Hanabi be mad at you for Hinata being in a different room, or for her being dead?"
There was no time to think about it as Naruto shoved past him, not that Neji needed to consider it at all. He sighed in frustration and followed them out of the room, wondering if Hanabi was taking her time waking up so she wouldn't have to deal with Naruto any more than was necessary.
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Akamaru turned out to be quite popular, much to Neji's surprise. He'd expected Sakura, who was the closest thing they had to a veterinarian on hand, and Temari, since it was her room and she had a soft spot for the dog. He hadn't expected Shikamaru, Kankurou, or Shino to be there, and yet they all were. The women were the only ones actually attending to Akamaru, while the men mostly stood against the walls looking bored, uncomfortable, or completely unreadable, respectively.
The dog just seemed to be sleeping on the floor to Neji, and he honestly thought they were worrying over nothing, but decided not to say so aloud.
Sakura practically pounced on Hinata the moment Naruto put her down; apparently she didn't like taking stabs in the dark when it came to treating patients, and if anyone would've been an expert on Akamaru by now, it would have to be Hinata.
Oddly enough, the worry left Hinata's face after she got a good look at Akamaru. Without a word, she knelt beside him, formed a few hand seals that Neji recognized as some sort of henge, and placed one hand on Akamaru's neck.
The dog vanished in a large cloud of smoke, and when it parted, nearly everyone present was shocked to see a twelve year old Inuzuka Kiba staring back at them.
Well, that wasn't quite right. Kiba was only looking at Hinata, either because she was the closest, or she was the only one in the room that mattered to him.
"What's wrong, Kiba-kun?" Hinata asked far too easily; she'd clearly done this before. "Why wouldn't you let Akamaru wake up?"
"I warned you about that jutsu, didn't I?" Kiba said at once. "Told you not to use it unless you absolutely had to. I hope it was worth it, because you can't do it anymore, Hinata."
"It was," she assured him, "and you did warn me. But what does that have to do with-"
"Quiet," Kiba interrupted in what Neji thought was a rather rude manner. "I don't have much time. Akamaru will be back on his feet in a day or so. But that jutsu pushed the bond to its limit, and now it's starting to break down. Pretty soon all you'll have left is that comet of yours, so I hope you've got a plan. Even if he's with you, you're going to have to stand on your own two feet."
Hinata frowned slightly. "What aren't you telling me, Kiba-kun?"
He grunted uneasily. "Since the bond is weakening, you two will need every last bit of it for fighting as the jutsus start to fade. So this is the last time we'll be able to talk. And don't give me that pout, you're a grown woman and I've taught you better."
"But... what will I do about-"
"You'll figure it out." Kiba leaned forward and sniffed, his nose wrinkling slightly. "If you can't, just do whatever your owners tell you. That new collar's got their stink all over it."
Hinata's eyes widened as she looked down at the Leaf headband around her neck. Almost absently, she canceled the henge and lifted the headband to her nose. She blinked and slowly raised her eyes to Neji. "Why does this have two scents? One of them almost smells like-"
"Hanabi and I traded headbands the day she graduated from the Academy," Neji replied. "It was meant to symbolize our oath to each other. Before we left Konoha, she wanted to trade again. She said it was no longer necessary, and that we would make a new oath, to you. This is why I must protect you, Hinata. You are not Hyuuga anymore, but you are precious to Hanabi, and I would give my life to keep safe anything she holds dear."
"Even though I still infuriate you?" Hinata asked quietly.
Neji closed his eyes and smiled. "Even though. I gave Hanabi my word that no harm would come to you. So once again, it falls to me to guard your life. Only this time, you do not represent something I hate."
Shikamaru glanced between them curiously before finally turning to Temari. "Help me out here, you've been paying attention. They hate her when she's in the family, and once she's out, then they love her?"
"You're asking me for family advice?" Temari asked with a smirk. "Have you seen my family?"
He shrugged. "None of you ever ran away, at least."
"Think hard, Shikamaru. Have you ever seen anyone run from Gaara?"
"All the time."
"Uh huh. You remember how far they got?"
"Oh. Right."
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Hanabi was having a most unusual dream. She was watching Neji and Sasuke Uchiha fight.
Except they were both kunoichi.
But that didn't make sense, because Hanabi was watching from a good distance away, and Neji was sitting right beside her. He was saying something about their eyes.
There was nothing too remarkable that Hanabi could see about their eyes. Both girls had the gifts of their respective clans, which was partially why she'd mistaken them for other people in the first place.
It was only after several minutes that warning signs began to pop up in Hanabi's head.
The girls actually seemed happy to be fighting one another, and despite the fierceness of their attacks, it all seemed more like a well-practiced dance, although that probably had more to do with the Uchiha girl's Sharingan than anything else.
Even odder, the Hyuuga girl was using no form of taijutsu that Hanabi had ever learned, although she had definitely seen it before. The girl seemed less concerned with targeting her opponent's chakra network, and more focused on hammering with blows that could (and did) shatter stone. In fact, the thick wrappings on her forearms seemed to suggest that she actually preferred to fight in that manner.
After a few minutes, the girls paused to catch their breath. They both seemed to get a signal from someone in the crowd, because each then discarded one article of clothing. For the Hyuuga girl, it was a pair of leg wrappings that obviously contained training weights, and for the Uchiha, it was the black cloak she'd been wearing the whole time.
The match continued for three of the longest minutes Hanabi had ever experienced. In that short time, she watched the Uchiha display what had to be the most varied and impressive array of jutsu she'd ever seen in a genin, period.
Amazingly enough, not one of them made a bit of difference. From the moment the Hyuuga girl removed her weights, she was in constant motion, though to most watching, she had simply ceased to exist beyond the series of blurs that the Uchiha was doing her best to hit. Spouts of flame missed their mark, loose debris and clones exploded before they could prove useful, and kunai were simply wasted on empty air.
In the end, the Uchiha girl exhausted all of her options and her chakra, and didn't even have the strength to admit defeat. She merely blacked out, falling forward into the waiting arms of her opponent, who carefully carried her to the waiting team of medic-nin.
But what really got Hanabi's attention was the way the Hyuuga girl chose to celebrate her victory. Instead of quiet dignity, she treated the audience to a brilliant smile and two forceful thumbs up.
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Hanabi woke up to the somewhat disturbing sensation of something warm and wet flicking between her fingers. It was almost as if someone were actually licking her hand.
She opened her eyes and sat up in bed to find the truth was even worse.
Akamaru was licking her hand, and from the large, spreading puddle of drool on the floor, he'd been at it for quite some time.
Her first thought was to yank her hand away, but that would only get more drool on her, so it was with a rapidly dwindling amount of patience that Hanabi slowly drew her dripping fingers away from the dog's mouth.
Far from acting as if he'd done anything wrong, Akamaru merely sat there and watched her, his tongue still hanging out, as if she would let him continue at any given moment.
"Get out," Hanabi said simply, feeling rather foolish but completely justified. She'd seen Hinata talking to the dog, and Temari and Naruto as well, though that didn't necessarily mean anything. She was hoping her tone alone would tell Akamaru all he needed to know.
If the message was recieved, it was misinterpreted. Instead of leaving, Akamaru barked once, and then returned to staring at her.
At once, the door opened, and Hanabi was only slightly relieved to see Hinata hurrying into the room, with Neji right behind her.
"Why is he here?" Hanabi demanded before either of them could speak.
"I didn't want you to be alone," Hinata explained, a rather hopeful look on her face as she sat down on the bed.
Hanabi suppressed the urge to sigh in frustration as she turned to Neji. "I distinctly remember asking you to watch Hinata, oniisan. I assumed you understood I was referring to her dog as well."
"I understood you perfectly," Neji replied, looking quite uncomfortable. "I told her you wouldn't want to be disturbed. But..."
"Yes?"
Neji avoided her eyes. "I was threatened."
Hanabi's eyes narrowed. "By Hinata?"
"By everyone but her, including written notices from the Kazekage, the Aburame Clan, the Office of the Rokudaime Hokage, the United Medic-nin Association of Konoha, and something Uzumaki referred to as U.R.P., though I have my doubts as to its validity."
"Oh, it's real, Neji," Hinata assured him. "And at least halfway succesful, from what I understand."
"Hinata," Hanabi said in a warning tone. "You and your... associates are beginning to become a considerable annoyance to me."
"Really?" Hinata asked brightly. "Naruto-kun told me that good big sisters were supposed to do that from time to time. Temari seemed to think it should be a on daily basis, though."
"And where is she?"
"Gone," Neji answered, "with Shino and Shikamaru. They went ahead to prepare the Council for our arrival. Which unfortunately leaves us stranded here with Uzumaki for the time being. The Kazekage suggests we remain here, as his guests, until we hear from Konoha."
Hanabi sighed. "Please inform him that we will accept his hospitality for as long as it lasts, oniisan. I need to speak with Hinata privately for a moment."
Neji nodded, closing the door behind him as he left the room.
"You need to understand, Hinata, that for the time being, I am responsible for you. So I must insist that you do nothing without first consulting either myself or Neji. I realize this may not be pleasant for you, but I would prefer to take no further risks with such a delicate situation."
"I understand, Hanabi-chan," Hinata answered, bowing her head. "And... I'm sorry to hear about your recent loss."
"My... loss?" Hanabi asked slowly. "What are you referring to?"
"Your... father," Hinata replied hesitantly. "Sakura told me that he passed away. I... thought I should say something. Um... do you know if he suffered at all?"
Hanabi's expression darkened. "Not nearly enough."
Hinata could only stare at her. "Oh..."
Shaking her head slightly, Hanabi carefully rose from the bed. "I need to order my thoughts. I'll be going for a walk now. It's been a while, and-"
"I could come with you," Hinata offered quietly.
Hanabi considered that for a few seconds. "I would like that. Very much," she said at last, completely unprepared for the way Hinata's face lit up at her response.
"Akamaru, we're going for a walk!" Hinata said excitedly, grabbing Hanabi's hand and tugging her towards the door.
For a moment, Hanabi considered resisting, but when Akamaru's head bumped her from behind, she decided to go along with it, for now. Her body needed a chance to work off the stiffness after sleeping for so long, and she did need to keep Hinata close for a while. And, though she didn't like to admit it, part of her was simply looking forward to spending time with her sister again.
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"You don't like my sister, do you?"
Neji kept his face blank as he stared at the Kazekage. "We have never really agreed on much of anything."
"Somehow," Gaara stated, turning away from him to gaze out of the window, "I find that hard to believe. You are very similar."
Ignoring the feeling that he'd just been insulted, Neji reminded himself of just who he was talking to. "I'm not sure I understand your meaning, Kazekage-sama."
"You are fiercely protective of what you view as belonging to you. When you determine that something you hold dear is being threatened, your first instinct is to fight, and there is no chance of reasoning with you in those times. Your life has been spent protecting and serving someone important to you. You almost have a need to guard that person at every given moment." Gaara paused and turned to face Neji again. "I believe that is why you dislike my sister. She reminds you far too much of yourself, and you recognize your own faults in her."
Neji couldn't think of a single way to respond to such an accusation without being offensive, so he said nothing at all.
"That is nothing to be ashamed of, though," Gaara continued. "Even the strongest shinobi sometimes require protection, if only from themselves. I don't doubt that you have saved Hanabi-san from herself more than once."
"That is... a very wise saying, Kazekage-sama," Neji said quietly.
At that, Gaara actually smiled, if only faintly. "Then you might thank my sister the next time you see her. She is the one who gave it to me. But I wonder... could you have saved Hanabi-san, if she did not have this reunion with Hinata to look forward to? What would the two of you have done if Hinata had died before you could find her?"
"I am not certain."
"Then be certain of this: Hinata is only alive because she is precious to Naruto. You also have my sister to thank for taking her in. I suggest you keep both of those facts in mind, the next time you address either of them."
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It was ridiculously easy for Neji to track down Naruto: his chakra had always been distinctive if nothing else, and perhaps because there was so much of it, he tended to stick out quite a bit.
As it turned out, Naruto and Sakura had gone out to one of Suna's many training areas to work on chakra control. Neji found this amusing, because if there was one thing Naruto had always needed work on, it was control.
"You're overdoing it again, Naruto!" Sakura cried in disbelief as Neji crept closer, careful not to reveal himself just yet.
"I can't help it!" Naruto insisted. "I'm not used to using chakra this way!"
"That's because all you ever do is pump gobs of it into your jutsus or just throw it at people! This is about subtlety!"
"Why do I need to learn this, anyway? You're the medic-nin, and I can heal just fine on my own!"
Sakura angrily shook her head. "Because if I ever find myself on the brink of death, it'd be nice to know that I could at least count on you to keep me in stable condition without burning me! Now stop being a baby and try it again!"
Neji watched as Sakura formed a glowing, bright red ball of chakra between her hands, and with no warning at all, tossed it to Naruto.
Whatever Naruto was supposed to do with it, Neji was pretty sure he failed. He managed to juggle the ball between his hands for about three seconds before it promptly turned blue and exploded, knocking them both to the sand.
Sakura's face turned pale. "I'd yell at you if I weren't so afraid the same thing might happen to me one day."
"I told you handling other people's chakra was a bad idea," Naruto sighed. "Just controlling my own is a full-time job, Sakura-chan. And besides, when have I ever let anything really, really bad happen to you?"
"Well, never," Sakura admitted slowly, "but that could just be because we've been somewhat lucky so far. I wouldn't be pushing this if we were still taking missions with Temari, but with her gone, that's more pressure on me, and my chakra, to keep you in one piece. I would think you'd want to help me out with that, if for no other reason than you'd be doing all three of us a favor. One day I'll run out chakra at the worst possible time, and then what will you do?"
"Kill whoever put you that way," Naruto replied at once.
"While I'm lying there DYING?" Sakura shouted, punching him in the head.
"OW!" he yelled, grabbing his head. "Sakura-chan, that HURT!"
"GOOD!" she screamed at him.
Neji chose that moment to step into view. "If this is a bad time..."
Naruto grimaced, but said nothing.
"Oh... um, no, now's fine," Sakura said quickly, glancing at her silent teammate.
"The Kazekage informed me that Hinata is safe due largely to your actions, Uzumaki." Neji paused, determined to get the next part out quickly. "So... thank you, for looking after her while she was beyond our reach. I realize you didn't have to-"
"Don't be stupid," Naruto interrupted, rubbing his forehead absently as the swelling went down. "Of course I had to. I take care of everyone that matters to me."
Neji stared at him for a few seconds. "I see. I was surprised that you weren't more insistent to see Hinata while she was indisposed."
"Oh, that. Well, see, Sakura-chan told me to back off for a while. I didn't want to, but after what you said about protecting Hinata, I figured she wouldn't mind spending a little time with just you two, so..."
"Thank you," Neji said again, starting to feel a bit less uncomfortable. Only a bit less, though.
"It was no trouble," Sakura assured him. "Sometimes, you just need to be with your family. Right, Naruto?"
Neji waited for the look of discomfort to flash across Naruto's face, but surprisingly, it never came.
"Yeah," Naruto replied quietly, a small smile on his lips.
He was thinking about Temari, Neji realized with a start. Naruto actually made no distinction between their bond and that of a blood relative. That was why Temari had been so set on protecting Hinata, and why Gaara was willing to offer Hinata sanctuary in Suna. They were Naruto's family.
And really, that made them more like Hanabi and himself than Neji preferred to admit.
"I'll leave you to your training, Uzumaki," Neji murmured after a long moment, turning to walk away.
"Hey, wait!" Naruto shouted.
"Yes?" Neji asked, pausing to look over his shoulder.
"We've been getting on each other's nerves for a long time now. So we're not exactly strangers, right?"
That was true enough, though Neji wasn't sure why it was so important. "I suppose."
Naruto grinned at him. "So I won't call you 'Hyuuga' or 'Bright Eyes' if you stop calling me 'Uzumaki' and all those other nicknames. I figure we should work something out now before Hinata overhears us badmouthing each other. So do we have a deal, Neji?"
Neji nodded. "Very well... Naruto. For Hinata's sake."
"Great! Oh, and could you tell Hanabi-chan we're sorry for causing her so much trouble? We just wanted to make sure Hinata was taken care of."
"I am sure she knows that, but I will remind her," Neji agreed.
"And if she wants a ride home, I've got plenty of toads that-" Naruto began when Sakura suddenly elbowed him in the ribs. "OW! What'd I say?"
"Naruto," Sakura growled, "I'm pretty sure Hanabi doesn't want to ride one of your toads all the way back to Konoha!"
"But I was just being polite! They don't let just anybody ride them, you know! It's practically an honor!"
Neji cleared his throat to get their attention. "I will mention the offer to her, Naruto. But I can't promise that she'll be interested." He quickly hurried off as Sakura and Naruto began shouting at each other again. "Doesn't anyone collect normal friends anymore?" he muttered to himself. Instantly, an image of Lee popped into his head. "Never mind..."
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"Are you sure you don't want to try it, Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked for the third time. "It really is soothing."
Hanabi closed her eyes briefly. "No, Hinata. I have absolutely no desire to rub your dog's belly." She opened her eyes to stare mistrustfully at Akamaru from her seat on the edge of the dry fountain in Gaara's courtyard.
"But he's very sweet," Hinata insisted, grinning as Akamaru writhed happily under her hands. "And he does like you..."
"He drooled on me," Hanabi informed her, glaring at the dog accusingly.
"Exactly!"
Hanabi sighed. "Drooling on someone is not a sign of affection."
"It is when you could just as easily bite them," Hinata pointed out.
That made Hanabi feel completely justified about moving a few inches away from the dog. "You realize that is not as reassuring as you probably intended it to be."
"He would never bite you now, Hanabi-chan." Hinata reached over and placed a hand on Hanabi's knee. "He knows who you are to me."
Though it was meant to be a sisterly gesture, Hanabi couldn't help but remember where Hinata's hand had been just seconds before. Still, she thought knocking Hinata's hand away might be taken the wrong way.
"Tell me about you," Hinata said suddenly, moving to sit beside Hanabi on the fountain's edge. "I've missed so much, and I want to hear it all."
Hanabi was a little overwhelmed by the request. "Where should I begin?"
"Who was that bandaged boy with Shikamaru?"
"Kouji-kun. He is Shikamaru's cousin, and my teammate. He doesn't speak much, but he is a loyal friend."
"And Konohamaru?" Hinata asked with a smile.
Hanabi frowned at her. "Also my teammate, and a loyal friend, though nowhere near as quiet."
"He likes you, doesn't he?"
"Yes, but why would that matter?"
"It matters a lot, if you like him, too!"
At that point, Hanabi felt a change of subject was in order. "Konohamaru and I are an old issue. You and Naruto-san are not."
Hinata's face turned bright red. "Well, um, we haven't really had that much time to figure things out..."
"I see." Hanabi stood up, brushing some sand from her robes. "May I offer you some advice, Hinata?"
"Of course," Hinata replied at once, quickly getting to her feet as well.
Hanabi reached out and gently grasped Hinata's arm. "You will have the rest of your life to reconnect with me. There is no need to put your other relationships on hold for my sake. In fact, I would be extremely displeased if you did."
Hinata could only stare at her in wonder. "But... Hanabi-chan..."
"I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you. If your heart desires to be with Naruto-san, then be with him. If you should ever need me, I will be nearby."
"But... I thought you missed me?"
"I did," Hanabi admitted softly. "And I will. But we are no longer children, Hinata. You know I have certain duties to my clan, and I fear your being with me would only cause you more unnecessary pain. Once we reach Konoha, and you are released from my custody, you still will not be Hyuuga. That part of your life is over, and in a way, you were right to run from it. I do not think I could truly see you as my sister if you had stayed. So, assuming there are no complications, you will soon be a free woman."
Hinata's face fell. "A free woman... with a faithful dog, and no clan. It was different in the forest, when I could simply go where I wanted. But to have to live in Konoha again, with virtually nothing to my name... I won't even have a name, will I?"
"Not at first, no. But there are ways around such problems. You only need to know where to look."
Before Hinata could ask what Hanabi meant, she sensed a chilling presence behind her. She turned to see Gaara standing there, with his messenger bird Takamaru perched on his left shoulder.
"You are both free to return home," Gaara said, handing a sealed scroll to Hinata. "Just take Naruto with you. We only have so many training areas left."
Hanabi politely thanked Gaara, but Hinata was too busy tearing open the scroll to even remember that he was there. Contained in the scroll was a temporary pass that would allow her to enter Konoha and meet with something called "the Office of the Rokudaime Hokage," which was starting to sound a little strange, because why would one person be an office? There was also a list of people she might find lodging with, and sure enough, Naruto and Sakura appeared near the top. Surprisingly, so did both of Neji's teammates, and the entire Nara Clan. The rest of the list was essentially a collection of people Hinata had ever exchanged even a single kind word with, though there some she had to assume that either Hanabi, Neji, or Naruto knew.
Taking a deep breath, Hinata raised her head and smiled at Gaara. "Thank you for all your kindness, Kazekage-sama. I have enjoyed my stay in your home."
Gaara simply nodded. "Temari will await your arrival, and see to it that you are treated fairly."
Hinata felt she should do something more to show her appreciation, but she wasn't sure how Gaara would react to an attempt to hug him, or even touch him at all.
Not that any of that mattered, since Naruto soon walked up and slung his arm around Gaara's shoulders.
"See, Hinata? Didn't I tell you Gaara was a great guy deep down?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, you did, Naruto-kun," Hinata agreed nervously, noticing the way Gaara's empty gaze slowly moved to the hand, and then to its owner.
"Naruto-san," Hanabi said quietly. "May I speak to you in private? It concerns Konohamaru."
"Uh, okay," Naruto replied slowly. He released Gaara and followed Hanabi as she moved away from them.
The instant they were out of earshot, Gaara leaned forward slightly. "You are taking him with you?"
"I assumed as much," Hinata answered. "But... I thought you were friends?"
"Naruto is... my closest friend," Gaara admitted. "But it is difficult to command the respect worthy of a Kazekage with him around. He only knows how to treat me as an equal. It is an endearing, yet annoying trait he will always have. I cannot expect him to change, so I can only ask that his visits be brief, and infrequent." He paused. "My family seems to insist on growing despite my best efforts, but from now on, you will have a place in it, Hinata. I hope that the next time we meet, your situation has changed for the better."
Before Hinata could thank him, Gaara had vanished, leaving only a slight breeze in his wake. She smiled and turned to Akamaru. "I think I'm finally going home, Akamaru. If you don't want to, you don't have to stay with me. You're free to go, whenever you-"
Akamaru merely pressed his nose against her cheek.
A strange sensation passed through Hinata's body, and she heard a familiar voice say in her ear, "Stop doing that. I won't leave you."
It was Kiba's voice, and yet, it wasn't. Hinata slowly reached up to stroke Akamaru's neck. "Did you... just talk to me, Akamaru?"
"Yes, but only because I'm tired of you trying to let me go. When are you going to realize that I've chosen you? The day I leave you is the day I die."
"But the bond. Kiba-kun said-"
"He said the bond between the three of us was breaking, and it is. But once it's gone, there will still be two of us. You can't get rid of me. I intend to watch over your children one day. Yes, I know it could be a while, which is exactly my point. I've walked with you for ten years, and I'm not about to stop anytime soon."
"You'll really stay with me, Akamaru? Just because you want to?" Hinata asked.
"What other reason do I need?" Akamaru licked her face once. "Now, let's go find your sister. I like the way her fingers taste."
End of Part 6.
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Endnotes:
The henge Hinata uses is a variant of Kiba's Jujin Bunshin (Beast Human Clone). I say variant only because Kiba isn't the one performing it, though he's still the end result. As for why Kiba's still young, that's how Hinata remembers him.
In case you're wondering, those two girls in Hanabi's dream are original characters, so don't bother trying to look them up anywhere. Don't worry, you'll meet them eventually.
Naruto's body can heal itself rapidly, but I have yet to see any instance of him healing someone else. I suspect this is only because he doesn't have the necessary training to do so, where someone like Sakura does. And yes, I realize chakra has to be quite powerful to be visible.
I really do think Naruto approaches most people he encounters as equals. Of course, being called "outcast" all of his life, he thinks nothing of calling someone "old man" or things like that, since it's what he knows. In other words, he tends to completely ignore when someone close to him obtains a higher level of respect, and treats them exactly the same as he did before.
Since Akamaru is used to taking the shape of Kiba, and apparently one other Inuzuka dog is capable of speech, I figure if Akamaru could speak at all, he'd sound a lot like Kiba. But it always looks weird to me when dogs actually talk in movies (by that I mean when their mouths synch up with the voice actors), I figure it's more fitting that he can only communicate mentally with Hinata.