AN: Hai, hai, I know that I'm late, but it's end of term and I am already swamped with work as it is.
Persuasion
Naruto slowly opened his eyes, finding a rather annoyed Shino watching over him, Akamaru with his head near the blond in worry.
"So, 'better' yet?"
The glasses-eyed man asked Naruto, his voice holding suspicion. Naruto sat up wearily, holding his forehead. He eyed them wearily, feigning a smile.
"Yup! I think I'm better now!"
Kiba snorted, standing up and walking away, Akamaru following him.
"Naruto, you need to prepare incase there is a rogue ninja. It's almost eleven, so I suggest you get more rest. We are waking up early tomorrow morning, so I suggest some sleeping pills from Hinata. It should keep you in a deep sleep for a few hours."
Naruto nodded, slowly standing up. His knees trembled and were about to give in until Shino caught him by his arm.
"Naruto, I'm sorry. You just can't do this mission. You'll have to go back."
The blonds' eyes widened, knowing that he'd have to check in with Tsunade explaining his absence from the mission.
"Shino, you know I can't do that! I-"
A new wave washed over Naruto, his eyes widening. He clutched his chest as his heart began to pain him. A clammy feeling washing over him—his body was going into shock. The world around him began to spin as Shino let go of his arm, watching Naruto in amazement.
"Naruto, tell me what is going on…"
"I just need to sleep."
"I'm getting Kiba to bring you back."
Naruto couldn't answer. His mouth wouldn't move nor would any part of his body; Instead—In a massive heap of flesh crashed into the ground, knocking the small coffee table over.
"Naruto!"
Shino called out, striding over to his side, lifting him up off the floor while shaking him slightly.
"Get a hold of yourself!"
Naruto opened his eyes, holding his head and sitting up.
"I can't let this go on any further."
"Shino-"
"Naruto, this is for the safety of not only yourself, but impairs the rest of the team. If we're under attack, we can't keep you safe while trying to rid of the foe."
The glassed-eyed boy backed away somewhat, trying to give Naruto air. Still, the boy wouldn't have any of it. He hated the fact that he was ill because he had brought Sasuke back. Another thought crossed his mind—if he was brought back, Sasuke would be the one to get blamed and Tsunade would have him under stricter lock and key.
"Maa maa….no need to go through so much trouble. I'll…saa, Shino, I have to do this. They don't know what's wrong with even if I did go back."
Shino gave Naruto a hard stare, standing up.
"I will send a message to the Hokage in the morning. I expect you to be on your way with Hinata first thing tomorrow morning."
"But that will mean that I'm going to have to tell her why I'm going back!"
"You brought this upon yourself."
"Shino, I didn't expect to have this happen!"
The bug loving boy didn't answer. He walked over to his bed and lay down, covering himself.
"Good night. You had better go ask Hinata for your sleeping pills before it gets too late in the night."
Tears were on the verge of falling from Naruto's eyes. He had no real reason to cry except out of frustration. He had no other choice but to go get his pills from Hinata.
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"Why is Naruto-kun leaving?"
Hinata asked, Naruto standing near them with his backpack slung over his shoulders.
"Well…a-ah…..oh! Tsunade-no-baa-san needs me back at home for a really important mission and I can't be here for it!"
Hinata wanted to question why she needed to go as well, but didn't want to know at the same time. After all, she was still spending quality time with the one she loved.
"You can stay here; I don't know why Shino wants you to come."
An idea came to Naruto's mind quickly. All he had to do was stop that stupid messenger bird and keep Hinata in the village.
"I would prefer that she went with you incase there were to be an attack by the rogue ninja."
"I'll be fine-"
Shino couldn't take it anymore. He took a step forwards and grabbed Naruto by his collar, holding him up against a tree. His eyes grew intense behind his glasses as he stared into Naruto's blue, delicate orbs filled with a mixture of emotions.
"I am tired of this, Naruto. You will either tell her or I will-"
"Shino, let go of me…"
Naruto grabbed Shino's wrist, his own hand beginning to give off a faint, red aura that began pulsating while his beautifully blue eyes had slits for pupils. The bug boy instantly let go out of sheer instinct, Kiba taking a step forwards while outstretching his hand to place it on his teammates shoulder.
"N-Naruto-kun…?"
The feral features dissipated even faster than they had appeared, a smile replacing the fearsome frown.
"A-ah, gomen!"
The sky began to thunder, black clouds rolling in.
"Naruto will go alone then. I don't like it, but if you really think you can handle it."
Naruto nodded, a little scared about them knowing that he used Kyuubi's power without even realizing it.
"See you guys in Konoha soon!"
Naruto waved, walking off outside of the village, the others watching until he disappeared from view. The team was silent, Hinata the first to begin walking away, well out of earshot from the boys.
"You saw something weird too, didn't you?"
Shino gave a nod to Kiba's question, sticking his hands in his pockets. Whatever was happening to Naruto, it was nothing good. The boy wouldn't spill any secrets of what was happening to him and all he could do was hope that the messenger bird would reach Tsunade before Naruto reached the village.
"He's not been healthy ever since that bastard Sasuke came back…we don't see him for a week but he's been given a mission three days ago that had to be dropped because of his absence. Tsunade never told him that…did she?"
Shino shook his head yet again, heaving a sigh and turning around. Consumed by the thoughts of Naruto and his well-being, he wished that the boy would do something for himself once in a while. Then again, to put an emphasis on Kiba's statement, Naruto hasn't been as well as he should have since the return of Sasuke. What exactly had happened, Shino didn't think Naruto knew either. The way he was acting and the utter dazed look on his face after he woke up from passing out.
"Kiba…let's get this done with and fast…I think Naruto will stop the messenger bird before the Hokage will get a chance to read it…for safety reasons, Hinata must not know at the moment."
"What!? I thought you'd be against that idiot's decision!"
"If we tell Hinata now, she'll go out and try to find Naruto. If there is a ninja out there, he will not hesitate to kill her."
"What about Naruto then!?"
"He's able to protect himself. You take him light-heartedly."
"He could probably pass out—Shino, what have you done!"
Kiba only realized the gravity of the err his teammate had made, but Shino seemed to be quite cool and collective about the matter, angering Kiba.
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A hand flew up in the air, catching a talon belonging to a hawk. The blond tried to hold the struggling fowl in one hand, ripping off the message with the other. He held open his hand; the bird tore away, screeching as it made its way up in the air and past the lush treetops. Naruto couldn't have been more than a few hours away from the village before having the bird caught. The forest was filled with the usual chirping and swishing of the leaves while Naruto felt a little more alive than usual. His chest hadn't pained him since the last encounter and he wasn't drenched in sweat. If people could bottle up the feeling and sell it, that person would be running a monopoly business. He felt as if he could run for many more miles. The sun seemed to shine more brilliantly than before and the air around him seemed to be light and fragrant with the essence of flowers drifting around him. Even the forest decided to be quiet just for him—wait….quiet? It was just bursting with life a few moments ago…
An ear piercing scream reverberated throughout the woods, upsetting a family of grouses, their cries sending another echo throughout the forest.
'Hinata…'
Naruto took off in a heartbeat, leaving a trail of dust behind him as he sped off to the Hyuuga's aid.
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The main branch heiress sailed through the sky as a rogue ninja drew back his chain of kunais back up his sleeve, Kiba laying on the ground trying to recover from a fatal stomach wound while Shino was now occupied with the ninja, taking Hinata's place. Insects swarmed out from his jacked and hovered over his outstretched arms. The rogue wore an oni Noh mask with blood red hakama pants and pure white shirt stained with both dried and fresh blood. He had a katana poised upwards, elbow sticking way out behind him as he readied himself to attack the bug user. Shino was ready to release his spite on him before a tree came crashing down on the forest floor, disrupting the battle. A red aura was seen in the distance, Kiba's eyes widening as he saw the owner of the disorder previously caused—Naruto. The Noh figure stood erect, focusing his attention on the blond who proved to be more of a threat than the one with glasses.
"Don't…touch Hinata…"
He growled in a low voice, two tails made of chakra swung back and forth dangerously. His head snapped up and in an instant, he was beside the Noh man and sent him flying into a tree, splitting it in half. The ninja began to stand, Naruto letting out a feral growl warning him to stand down. Shino could only watch in disbelief. What was happening…? Naruto was in such distress earlier, how was he able to now manage to attack without taking his own health into consideration?
"Tell me your name…"
Naruto approached the man on two legs instead of his usual menacing four and close to the floor, ready to attack without a moment's hesitation. The boy kept approaching the Noh man, he not moving. Quiet chuckles could be heard coming from behind the mask at first, then full throated laughter.
"Finally…a challenge…"
Naruto cranked an arm out behind him, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.
"Let me hear your name before I kill you for harming my comrades…"
"You are such a guile fool, aren't you? Me dying is the last thing to happen. I am the ninja Hanzo named after Hattori Hanzo."
"Remember my name even after death….Uzumaki Naruto."
His claws sharpened and his hand went into a crane's beak, driving deeply into Hanzo. He pulled out his hand full of splinters. The rogue ninja had cast a swift kawarimi to take his place instead.
"Didn't you say you'd kill me?"
Naruto gnashed his teeth as he heard Hanzo behind him, Shino wanting to help but knew that if he interfered, it'd cost him his life.
"Shino…help the others."
Naruto commanded the boy, he nodding his head and listening to the instructions. A ninja knows when his skill would come in use and when to stay out of a battle that would most likely be lost. The boy wasn't stupid. He knew that Naruto could take him down. Then again, he knew he'd kill the messenger bird and he let that happen. Perhaps he wasn't as smart as he wanted to be or rather his plan hadn't been foolproof.
"Now…come at me with everything you've got. After so much talk, you'd better hope I'm the one dead and not you."
Hanzo explained to Naruto in a cocky tone, drawing his sword and holding it out to the blond. He turned back away from him and stood face to face, his eyes boring through the void slits in the mask for eyes, trying to find the orbs hidden beneath. He wanted to see his cocky eyes to be turned into scared eyes as he would be the one to take his life away.
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AN: Hai, hai, hai. Took forever to type. I'm FINALLY on winter break and that's why I was able to type this up for you guys. I made you wait long enough. I'm working on three other fics right now, so it shouldn't be much longer until they, too, are up.