Where do I begin? It has been forever since I was able to continue this story. To those who have been waiting, my sincerest apologies. Circumstances in my life disallowed me to continue, however, while I would love to go into a sob story, I would rather keep writing. So I will only say this, I wasn't able to access my story, nor the internet for a long time. However recently I was able to re-copy my story and pick up where I left off. It's strange, I am a stream of conscious writer, so everything that came to mind went down on paper or screen so to speak. So as I begin again I have to find my stream and to do so I had to re-read everything I had written. Trust me, I was shocked at how much I had written. 44 and a half chapters, I say the half because even though I had written it my dumb self didn't save it. That is okay though, because the story never left me and I have had ideas percolating in my mind so hopefully now I am able to add more aspects to the ideas. Upon re-reading I realized the depths of my passion for writing and my desire to convey my ideas. While I realize this is not mine, but Naruto's story, I hope to fulfill it to a good narrative. I hope everyone will bear with me as I trudge forward. To those who read it as I update plow through tons of stuff. I apologize and hope everyone will still enjoy the story;
KINOS INTRODUCTION TO HINATA AND KIBA
Hinata saw the wall of ice and quickly knew that they needed to get to the other side to re-unite with Shino. She looked at Kiba and said with authority, "Cover me!" Kiba nodded and proceeded to do that. Hinata searched her mind and quickly remembered the fire summoning technique she had picked up from Jiraiya. She quickly formed her seals and put her hand to her mouth. Her chest expanding already, she began to breathe fire against the wall of ice. Almost immediately the ice began melting.
Behind her Kiba and Akamaru noticed their enemy moving towards them. Kino saw their plan with ease and was not about to let it succeed. "Gomen, but I can't let you get to the other side." He said as he walked towards Kiba.
Kiba reacted instantly. "Like hell your gonna stop us!" He was about to start forming seals when their mysterious opponent flickered right next to him and launched a punch that connected with Kiba's jaw. Kiba's seal progression was stopped as he fell to the ground. Anger immediately rising in him, but it was to late. Kino had flickered again and was out of Kiba's field of vision. Kino appeared next to Hinata and performed a simple leg sweep. Hinata was almost to the other side when she felt the kick knocking out her leg from underneath her. Her jutsu was broken as she reacted to catch herself. She turned on her blood limit as she went down and saw the fist coming towards her.
She was barely able to parry her opponents attack. Suddenly her attacker was hit. He had been hit by Akamaru who was aware of what was going on and targeted Kino. Akamaru knocked him to the ground and rolled off him. The attack knocked Kino to the ground and as he rolled back up Kiba and Hinata had recovered. When they were all on their feet again, it was in fighting stances. Hinata's anger rose and she was ready for the confrontation. "Who are you?!" even though she asked the question, she had already identified him as the enemy.
Kino had not expected Akamaru to take action. He rolled up and stood up quickly enough to hear the question though. He was never sure if questions were serious or not so he always answered them as if they were serious. "My name is Kino, Gomen, ano, I can't let you to the other side though. That was the mission given to me." He had meant to give a more thorough explanation, but was not allowed. He began crouching while pulling out his sword at the same time with blinding speed. Kiba had launched himself at Kino intending to knock him back to where ever he came from when his fist made contact with the flat side of Kino's sword. At the contact everyone jumped back a ways and were once again set in their fighting stances. As Kiba jumped back Kino re-sheathed his sword and stood back up. Kiba had been improving on the technique Jiraiya had taught him and then began working his seals. Hinata saw this and kept alert in case Kino decided to attack.
Kino had no intention to attack, he only needed to keep them occupied for a while. How long he wasn't sure, but he was certain he could complete the mission. Kiba finished his seals and then placed his hand on Akamaru's head. Akamaru's hair grew slightly and stiffened. "Alright Akamaru, let's get this bastard!" He said though clenched teeth.
Kino heard this insult though and replied calmly. "There's no need to slander me." He said clearly, more to himself than his opponents.
Nevertheless Kiba picked up the comment with ease and yelled back, "Screw you, as far as I'm concerned you're a bastard." As Kiba said this a sense of calm fell over him. This was a real situation, Jiraiya wasn't around and he knew they had to succeed. As he remembered Jiraiya another realization came to him. Hinata had been totally right, he had acted like an idiot, not fighting Jiraiya to his full potential may have actually hindered him. Even the lone jutsu he had learned from him was about to aid him. He didn't feel remorse, but he did pause before continuing his attack.
Before Kiba attacked Kino let out a laugh. "I see that Jiraiya has a knack for picking up loudmouths." He looked at Kiba smirking as he continued, "However can you back up your words the same way Naruto-san could?" Kino knew they should recognize the name, how could they not. Naruto was after all their future Hokage. Hinata's eyes widened slightly at this and while curiosity rose she was able to hold it at bay and keep her mind on the task.
Kiba however had a surge of emotion... Naruto-san? What the hell was this joker trying to say! He kept his emotions in check however and replied. "There's only one way to find out. Akamaru, Garouga!" At Kibas words Akamaru began running towards the enemy.
Kino may not be the tactical genius in battle as his sister, but when it came to combat he surpassed her abilities with ease. As Akamaru was taking his first steps Kino was already forming a long series of seals. He quickly knelt and hit the ground. Then as Akamaru began spinning towards him he quickly launched four kunnais at the spinning torpedo that was Akamaru heading towards him. Kiba smiled at this knowing the kunnais would be ineffectual, his smile didn't disappear as he saw none of them would hit Akamaru. However it did disappear as all four exploded as they passed Akamaru. They had all been thrown to the side of Akamaru and as the explosion went off the force of the blast sent Akamaru violently off course, his spinning stopped as he slammed into the wall of ice. Because of the hardened hair jutsu his fur penetrated the ice and he stuck there. Akamaru did not loose consciousness on contact so the jutsu held and he was stuck. Kiba quickly began forming seals and in a puff off smoke two Kibas came charging out. One charging at Kino the other headed to aid Akamaru.
Hinata watched all this from her vantage point and saw all the seals the boy had performed. She quickly imitated some of his seals and was successful in forming a water clone. She saw him continue forming seals and waited this time, wanting to see the seals purpose. She kept all the seals in mind, but did not think a mist summoning would aid them in this situation. She noticed the mist rising with alarming speed. She and her clone quickly began forming seals and felt the familiar sensation of her chest expanding.
Kiba performed his beast mimic technique as he ran towards Kino and was now on four legs he noticed the mist rising, but gave it no thought. He could compensate for loss of vision with his other senses. His clone had reached Akamaru and was now trying to pull him out. Kino had leaped back a few times to buy himself some time. His eyes changed as he moved around. The pupils disappeared and only the gray was now visible. He focused on Kiba's hands and feet which were running through the mist and made a grabbing motion. Suddenly Kiba who had been going full speed crashed to the ground. The pain of slamming to the ground shocked Kiba, but as he looked down he saw his hands and feet encased in blocks of ice that formed rudimentary handcuffs. He got up on his knees and raised his hands above his head. Then he violently brought them down to smash against the ground, but nothing not even a crack on the ice.
He swung toward Akamaru to see if he was out of the ice. He saw his clone helping him to his feet they had been successful. Kiba saw Kino out of the corner of his eyes. He made a bee-line to the clone and without stopping delivered a devastating blow. His punch coming out the other side of the smoke. Then with equally blinding speed Akamaru swung his sizeable paw and slammed into Kino. Akamaru's paw though lost contact with Kino as water fell to the ground. Kiba's eyes widened. 'A water clone!' he thought. Suddenly a voice spoke casually into his ear making him jump. "I didn't expect him to possess that much speed. That blow looked like it would have broken some ribs. It's almost over now though." Kino said as he reached out towards Akamaru and once again made made the grabbing motion. Akamarus back legs were suddenly encased in the same rudimentary ice-cuffs as Kiba. His front paws however were encased in individual blocks of ice. Kiba's frustration was rising. However the stranger only continued. "Gomen, I'll leave a clone to make sure you guys don't try anything funny. Your other companion is quite skilled and I think she just eliminated my last clone." Kino said. He formed his seals and there was another Kino standing next to him. He then made his way over to where Hinata was.
Hinata meanwhile had successfully dispersed the mist near her. She then had her clone continue the task of melting the ice wall. She saw what was happening with Kiba and Akamaru, but saw three Kino water clones trying to sneak up on her. She quickly formed her seals and another Hinata appeared next to her. Another water Hinata. She saw the Kunnai's the three Kino clones launched and launched Kunnai's of her own. She threw three that intercepted the three headed towards the fire breathing Hinata. She and her clone deftly picked off the three Kunnai's headed towards each of them and with a flicked of the wrist threw them back the direction they had come from. Hinata assessed the situation and ran to guard her fire breathing clone. She got there in time, just as the Kino clone did as well. The Kino clone was focused on getting the fire breathing Hinata and had a Kunnai out. He didn't notice the real Hinata racing at him. He was in the act of launching his hand to stab Hinata in the back when suddenly his hand was slapped down. He was beginning to turn as a hand slammed to the back of his neck. Open palm Hinata used the clones momentum to slam him into the ground head first. He shattered into water as he made contact with the ground. Hinata had no time to re-set as the other clone had taken aim at her. She quickly spun on her feet still in crouching position performing a sweep. The clone saw this and jumped his momentum carrying him over her. Hinata was in an awkward position, but successfully parried Kino's kunnai and delivered an open palm blow that was powerful enough to break the jutsu. As she fell to the ground the water of the clone soaked her. Her fire breathing clone stopped momentarily and spun around. She stood guard as Hinata got back to her feet. Hinata ran to the hole her clone had created. It was big enough to crawl though. Hinata scanned the other side to find Shino. She spotted him and the scene she saw was unexpected. Shino was not alone, but he was not fighting either. She didn't know what that meant, but knew she had to get his attention. "SHINO!!" She didn't know what she was going to say next, but at that moment she jerked back. She looked down the length of the wall to see Kinno standing there. This was no clone.
Kino arrived to see the scene awaiting him and was not happy. Had the girl squeezed through the hole to the other side, he would have failed. However her precaution had saved him, she was scanning the other side. He quickly ran to the wall and heard her yell as he slammed his hand open palmed to the wall. He saw her jerk back as the hole in front of her closed up and was once again solid ice. Kino spoke in a tense voice now. "I told you I couldn't let you through. Gomen." Hinata was watching him intently. "You were very effective against my clones, lets see how you deal with the real thing." He stretched his hands towards her two clones. How, she wondered, how did he know which ones were the clones. She saw his eyes though, without pupils she was about to face another blood limit user. She didn't know what his limit was. She saw her two clones solidify and turn to ice sculptures. "Hai, my blood limit helped me with that. However I don't think I will need it to deal with you." He said as he reached towards his sword hilt. They were both sizing each other up neither was unaware of their surroundings.
Suddenly a shout broke the tension. "BAKA!!" Kino heard the yell and before he even had time to look the direction of the noise pain exploded in his jaw. His lower mandible seemed to be dislocated by the fist pushing it to the other side of his face, suddenly the rest of his head and body followed. He flew towards the wall and slammed into it hard. He hit it hard enough that his body made an indention in the wall and he stuck there. He was no longer conscious. The wall began to crumble as it's creator could no longer hold it together.
Hinata had been stunned, she had not seen Jiraiya unleash such a devastating punch before. "J-Jiraiya-san. Nani, w-what happened." She asked as she began walking towards him and turned her blood limit off. She began to run though as she saw what he was doing and yelled "Stop Jiraiya-san! Please!"
Jiraiya was about to keep yelling at Kino when he saw he was unconscious. He walked over to him and pulled him out the wall. Kino's body fell to the ground as Jiraiya now had his giant scroll in his hands. "Baka! Wake the hell up!" He yelled as he began beating the unconscious form on the ground with the scroll. Lifting the scroll and slamming it on Kino violently and with blinding speed. He didn't notice or hear Hinata as he was doling out a brutal beating. He may have kept going, but Hinata had finally reached him and had grabbed his scroll before he could bring it down again. "Nani, Hinata... just one more for good measure." He pleaded. Hinata however didn't let go of the scroll. Jiraiya sighed his anger disappearing. "Fine." He said as he put up the scroll. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed. However Jiraiya would not be denied his final lick. He saw Hinata relax and without warning planted his foot and field goal kicked Kino's lifeless form into the wall once again. There he thought, now he felt better. He quickly turned to face Hinata's horrified face and said, "That's it it's over, gomen Hinata, I didn't mean to distress you." He didn't mean it though, had Hinata not been there he would have continued to beat Kino's lifeless body up even more.
Hinata was shocked at Jiraiya's actions and even though he assured her it was now over she didn't let her guard down. How could he be so cruel she wondered to herself, but that was a question better taken care of later. She quickly explained the situation to him. "Jiraiya-san, we were separated from Shino. He's on the other side of this wall and Kiba was captured. I-I have a lot of questions, but the only one that really matters now is what should we do?" She looked at Jiraiya expectantly.
Jiraiya knew now they weren't in any real danger. He let out a long sigh as he began to explain what was about to happen. "With Kino knocked out Kiba shouldn't be held for long as all Kino's jutsus have been broken. The wall should finish falling apart soon and we should be able to find Shino and more than likely this brat's sister. Don't worry Hinata we're not in any real danger. These two know better than to really piss me off." There was something now that Jiraiya wanted to find out from these two and god help whoever had been the culprit. His mind flashed back to the many times Naruto had used this potion on him. That blond haired bastard! Jiraiya had never been sure where he had learned that concoction, but after so much repeated use of it on him Jiraiya had finally built a high tolerance for it. Now here in front of him was the answer. Either Kino or Kanu or both had taught Naruto this potion. A vain was pulsing on his head at the amount of times Naruto had gotten him. Retribution would be sweet, he thought.
Hinata's question broke into his thoughts. "So you know this person? Jiraiya-san?" She asked. That was an obvious question Hinata thought, as Jiraiya had named the culprit without having heard his introduction.
Jiraiya looked at his new team mate and answered. "Hai, Hinata I know him and his sister Kanu. Me and Naruto trained with them and their master for a while during our travels. As a matter of fact, their master is the one we seek on our mission." He paused before going on. "I didn't expect to meet them this far away from our destination. I had planned to get you all ready for them soon, but I'm assuming they were on a mission as how far they are from their home. Bad luck I guess. Now it's too late." Jiraiya chuckled, they had handled the situation well considering the circumstances. "Now let's get Kiba and then find Shino." Jiraiya said. He then bent over Kino's still lifeless body and slung him over his shoulder. With that they set out to continue their mission.