Author's note: This is a disclaimer. I do not own Naruto. Often, you will see text "like this." That generally means that the characters are whispering, or talking in a raspy or low voice.
Characters::
Bear: ANBU Captain. Born Hyuga Hinata and heiress to the head of the Hyuga clan. Her father was killed a little less than a year ago during an attack on Konoha. Her furious attack against the army of devil samurai after Hiashi's death gained her the title of captain to her ANBU squad. She had opted to join the ANBU ranks after attaining jonin rank rather than fight for her right to be the head of the clan. She lives with a constant fear of being assassinated, and finds trusting even her closest friends and loved ones impossible to do. The current leader of both the ANBU and Ne (Root) is known only as 'The Face', although no one has ever seen his face; Bear has long since been wary of the powerful ANBU warlord and tries her best to tiptoe around him and his orders, sending others to retrieve her missions for her, sending reports by air summons, citing that she has important clan business to tend to when called on to attend gatherings and summons.
Fox: ANBU second in command in the squad, born Uzumaki Naruto; he is an aggressive, calculative fighter. His temper is the reason why it has taken so long for the face to promote him. His strongest technique is the Rasengan, but his most versatile one is Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. He is a powerful shinobi, but his biggest strength comes from the love he has for his comrades--although sometimes its hard to tell that he loves any of them at all. He once claimed that if it weren't for his nin-do--to protect all of his precious people--he wouldn't be as powerful and lucky as he was. His outlooks of the people and of Konoha, however, have become pretty grim. His power comes from his knowledge and ability in utilizing the Kyubi no Kitsune's chakra, although his own chakra reserves are still deeper than all of the other shinobi in Konoha.
Eagle: An Aburame Jonin who joined the ANBU ranks as a bodyguard for international relations. He doesn't know much about Fox because of the long training that he underwent in the Aburame's underground compound, where they breed Kikai bugs with different traits together to get various breeds with mixed properties. He has already met Bear without her mask before through Aburame Shino, her team mate and also one of his cousins. He hasn't shown it yet, but he feels at ends with Fox because he never has an open ear for the kikai-user's plans, although, if he were to admit anything about the fox it would be that he can be a very quick thinker when the situation presents itself.
Beetle: A woman who often flirts with Fox when they are off duty, but she is quick to prove that she isn't just a pair of nice legs. She specializes in ground jutsu, but she is also a very skilled field medic. She has a technique that is unique to her. It is a manifestation of her body in the ground that she controls with her chakra. She is also able to connect nerves to the ground using chakra so that she is able to feel what her projected body is doing and 'feeling'. The giant copy usually follows her exact movements if she gives it enough flesh. She can conserve chakra quite a bit if she leaves the technique unmodified, but she can also remotely control her dirt copy without moving herself, which can be useful for concealment purposes, although it drains much more chakra. Ever since she first joined ANBU and wound up in Bear's team, she finds herself deeply in love, but will not dare speak up for fear of rejection.
The Brothers, Lion, Mouse and Badger: The brothers have been a cell for only two years and have accomplished more than most shinobi of their rank. Their techniques are based on old chakra 'magic' that easily and safely takes two or more types of chakras and fuses them together to create a carrier that they travel inside of while in dark blue chakra orb that makes up its center. The chakra doesn't easily deflect regular objects like steel weapons, but it is a very effective shield against most jutsu. Well placed techniques like lightning chakra strikes can destroy parts of the construct. Because of their powerful group jutsu, they are often called "Jonin-faced-chunins" as a joke within ANBU and higher-ups in the village. The three boys are orphaned, and young, and their mother is a legend among the ANBU ranks. It is said that she was an active shinobi when the first Hokage was in power.
Tortoise: A giant of a man who is only a head or two shorter than the construct made by the chakra bros. He is a bit of a mystery to Fox, but at the same time he often implies that he has a deep respect for the blond shinobi. He thinks little of the Hyuga heiress, and even commented that he would be willing to kill her if necessary--later on he mentioned that he would go back into the fortress to make certain that Fox wasn't going soft on the girl. Tortoise rarely shows off his abilities, but when he does it is usually a spectacular ordeal.
And the story so far... Fox, or Uzumaki Naruto has entered what looks like a small interrogation room in search of his captain, Bear, who is also known as Hyuga Hinata; his ANBU captain is strapped down to a chair by strange 'chakra rope' that tightens everytime he tries to loosen it. The rest of their group is either waiting outside or making their way inside right at this moment.
Fox stalked through the darkness, his eyes peering through his mask to gaze into her eyes.
"You're safe now, Hyuga-taichou." He said, pulling aside the indigo-colored hair covering Hyuga Hinata's pale face. She batted her eyes weakly at him, her pupils staring past him toward the ceiling.
"I thought the face wanted me dead... I thought that you were working for him. I thought you wanted me dead, for--"
"Shh." He pressed his thumb against her lips and shook his head. He saw the look of distrust seeded deep into the furrow of her brow. It was only natural, for she would become the first female leader of the Hyuga clan and there was no elder still alive that felt she should be given any authority over them. Her mind must have been twisted and wrapped around that sole thought--rotting and decaying like some sick little creature left outside with only the vultures left to accompany her. She stared through him with those deep prying eyes; they were crater-less moons dancing brighter than even the stars above.
He prolonged the glance that to him felt fleeting, his body aching with every fibrous strand in his body deep down into the nerves that made up the complex system of sensations and responses that gave man an idea of what something beyond what words can express must feel like. He drifted on winds of bliss when he saw the slightest of twinges at the ends of her mouth and the relaxation of her brow that signaled to some primal state of mind that in some way his pathetic attempt to pacify her had managed to do just that.
Fox was silent as he pulled gently on the hair-like bindings around her shoulder. They tightened under his grasp, so he released them and they returned to their original state. Her eyes finally locked onto his, and she never let go after that. She'd die staring into his eyes if she had to.
"But you do, don't you? Don't you? Don't you, Naruto-kun?" She asked desperately, her chest puffing out just a bit as she struggled against her bindings, which surprisingly did no harm to her. It sounded like she almost wanted him to be the one to do the deed.
Fox brought a kunai up close to the hair, but quickly retracted it when he saw it tighten up even worse. Hinata flinched and shuddered from the brief pain. He was glad that he had chosen the shoulder and not the throat to begin his prying.
"It looks like it's very sensitive to metals. Let me see those pretty eyes."
He smiled and she shuddered. It was his way of asking her to activate her byakugan. Hinata blinked her eyes as vein-looking protrusions in her skin suddenly appeared, and she nodded. Her eyes seemed to be solely intent on gazing into his when she said, "I'll say when."
Fox nodded. The ropes of hair must have chakra running through them, he thought correctly. He extended his middle and index finger and concentrated wind chakra into them. After a brief moment of controlled chakra churning, he looked into her eyes and waited for the nod of her head as he continued to pile more chakra into the wind blade.
"It's sharp enough... try the one here by my throat."
He nodded slowly and reached over to press his fingers against her throat, only they stopped just a second before while thin strands of hair began snapping as they were cut.
"A little more to the left." She said. Her eyes were staring back into his, but he knew that she was looking through her Byakugan.
"OK."
"Press it in deep... there."
"Here?"
"Yes."
"This is gonna take forever..."
"Yeah..."
"So who else is left?"
"I'm not sure. One man took over this base and the rest of them just sort of congregated here."
"One man?" He asked, eyeing her with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. He has the ability to snuff out kekkai genkai. I don't know how it works, because I can never see it long enough with my eyes to figure it out. The Hyuga on post as the look outs didn't even see him coming. They probably just thought there was something wrong with their eyes."
"So that's how he got you."
"No. The explosion is what got me, silly."
"You know what I mean. I didn't think that they could keep you contained once you woke up. You're Hyuga-Freakin'-Hinata, no one gets to touch you without some repercussions... which is why I'm gonna do this." He leaned forward and gave her right buttocks a squeeze, grinning into her ear as he did.
"Oohmf! You ass."
"You didn't even put up a fight, did you?"
Hinata smirked, "Of course I did. I had already taken out the two goons that were dragging me away, and I was about to go for the kill shot at his throat, but when I realized that my eyesight had changed back to normal, I was thrown off a little and he spun out of the way just in time to wrap his arm around my throat and secure a lock on me. Fucker couldn't keep his hands off me, and I tried to attack him, but in the end his grabby hand was all an attempt to trick me into wasting all the air I had left and I fell unconscious. Woke up here when I heard that giant slab crash down where your clone was."
Fox nodded slowly and shushed her as he leaned in close as the work on the rope around her throat got a little more dangerous as more and more strands were sliced away.
He could feel sweat on his brow as he tried his best not to cut too hard or too quickly, because either one could lead to disaster. She stared up into his eyes, breathing out her mouth in soft, sexy gasps that made his toes curl as he worked.
Then, while he was leaning his finger gently against the rope, she whispered something too softly for him to hear, and then his concentration slipped.
They both gasped, but Fox desperately prayed that it wouldn't be her last.
"Hinata!" He looked at the tips of his fingers that had gently tapped her left jugular artery with only the slightest of pressures like that of a falling leaf. He looked at her skin and stared into her eyes with fear--a fear that had totally enveloped him worse than darkness or loneliness or spite ever has. She stared at him as if something had caught in her throat, but her eyes never wavered. "Hinata! Say something!"
"Oh... Naruto-kun. You're too soft, as always." She said. Her arms wanted to strangle his waist, but she was only able to lean her head forward and rest her cheek upon his quivering chest.
"God, Hinata. You idiot. I thought I had killed you." He laughed but the breathless way he had done it made it clear that him almost taking her life was anything but funny.
"You fool. There's no way I'd let you kill me so easily. You'd be so lost if I left you on your own. You think you'd be able to run a squad like this one all on your own?" She whispered cutely to him.
He laughed again, this time a little more heartily.
"I'd run you." He said, giving her a playful snarl.
"Is that a challenge, or a fantasy of yours?"
He smirked, "A little of both."
"Sounds like my type of game... we should get out of here."
He nodded and began pulling away the rope strands from her body. "Oh, I wasn't sure if you even wanted to... I mean, you're all ready tied up, saves us the trouble of having to go through this again when we get back home."
"You nasty little perv. Don't tell me that you talk to Eri-chan like that?"
"Eri? I don't know who that is."
She frowned. "Don't act like you don't know who I'm talking about. For kami's sake, she's on your squad."
"Beetle's name is Eri? Wow. Didn't think you'd be the one to tell me."
Hinata's frown deepened. "You've been flirting with her for at least a month."
"Hey, it's not only me. Besides, why are you so concerned with who I fraternize with?"
"You concern me." She replied truthfully.
Fox stared into her eyes for a while as his hands stopped their work. He began to lean forwards when the sound of a creaking door came from the darkness in front of him, behind Hinata as she sat on the chair.
"Hyuga-kouhai," came a mocking tone on wings from the dark, "It looks like your time is up."
Hinata almost groaned when the fox crept away from her, but she kept quiet. Her byakugan was still activated. She could see him--a man wearing a pale color with dirty-blond hair and green eyes. She saw how he reached out and suddenly the veins around her eyes began to recede. He set his palm down on her shoulder and leaned over her, grinning as the power of her heritage was oppressed by his strange powers. Hinata felt the man's breath on the back of her neck, she wondered just where Naruto had gone to now that she couldn't see him with her eyes, but she didn't dare look for fear of giving him away.
"You're very quiet today... but we can fix that." His voice came as a whisper, soft and pleasant in her ear, but she knew that what he had planned was not going to be soft and pleasant. She could smell his musky scent and knew immediately that it was the same smell that plagued some of the men in her squad after they've had a good day. Naruto particularly often.
The women that happened to be stationed here at this base were so unlucky, she thought. Who knew a monster like himwould come out of nowhere, claiming to be Konoha's greatest enemy and laying utter waste to the group of high-level jonin and the handful of ANBU that were stationed here as replacements that day. An attacker couldn't have picked a worse day, and yet he had managed to defeat them all in under an hour. She heard that Ebisu, Naruto's friend's jonin-sensei, was here--and yet she hasn't seen any sign of him yet. Not even a corpse.
"Rakshas," or so he has called himself, "You look well. I suppose you've heard about the intruder," she muttered darkly, nodding her head toward the collapsed doorway in front of them.
"I did. I figured that the rest could handle them, but this odd little creature with a white mask rushed on by them. It's hard for me to believe that he was stopped by something so simple as a collapsing ceiling." He chuckled darkly as he began walking toward the doorway, his hand coming up to cradle his chin as he inspected the trap door. "What a piece of work... he didn't even make it far enough so that I could see a crushed limb."
Fox held onto the ceiling by the handle of a stuck kunai in the wall so as to not give away his position with chakra. He held on firmly and tightened every muscle fiber in his body that he held domain over to keep from falling down on top of them.
"Ha, them? I only said intruder. One intruder." Her breathing grew just slightly shallow.
"Ha, ha, ha. You're right, you did."
Hinata's hearing picked up a faint whirring sound that Fox's hadn't. Her eyes widened and she screamed, "Watch out! Naruto!"
Fox turned his head and heard a buzzing sound as a flying shuriken sawed into his mask for a fraction of a second as he began to lean back. He leaned back just enough so that the windmill shuriken would deflect away properly, and also to avoid having it lodged in his throat as it spun wickedly in the air away from him.
"Almost..." muttered a pair of glowing orange eyes from deep in the darkness beyond where Rakshas entered from.
"What a throw! What a maneuver! I applaud you, boy!" He chuckled, clapping enthusiastically as he laughed with a toothy smile.
The fox landed in a low crouch with two oddly shaped kunai drawn in his raised left hand. He planted his right down in front of him as he leaned forward, looking through the holes of the white mask into Rakshas's green eyes.
He switched up the way that he held his weapons when he heard footsteps. The kunai had a rounded end that was made up of a half circle, with another smaller circle in the center that attached to the long handle, which had a classic pin-hole-esque shape to it.
"Don't clap for that idiot," came a feminine voice from behind Fox, "Just look at him: he's still got his back to me."
Rakshas shrugged with an amused grin plastered on his face. "Maybe he just realizes that I'm the bigger threat of the two of us."
"Really!! Well! I guess I'll have to fix that one. Come here!" Fox leapt out of the way of a windmill shuriken and rolled over several times until he was up against the wall when another came whirling by at a slight angle. He spun his kunai a half circle so that they'd be pointing up his arm toward his shoulder and held them against his side, then he pulled his shoulders inward, tucked his arms in against his abdomen and pressed his chin down against his chest as the windmill skimmed both the wall and the floor that he had snuggled into, barely missing him.
Suprisingly, the shuriken just a kept on flying, and lodged itself into the wall on the other side of the room.
"Holy shit." Rakshas paled.
Hinata laughed, and Rakshas and his partner turned to look at her.
Rakshas smirked, "Know something we don't?"
As Hinata began to speak, Fox turned over and sit the kunai down on the floor as he used his hands to push himself up onto his feet. "His name is Fox. He's the fastest."
"The fastest what?" Rakshas said.
"Nothing. Just the fastest."
"Pffbt. Big fucking deal..." The person in the dark with the orange eyes started to search for something on their person.
In an instant, eight dark string-like weapons shot out like thin rods, spearing through the air with a hissing sound accompanying them. Fox hopped upward with arms extended and bent slightly at the elbows. As he fell, he pushed away one spear with his hip as he fell, another was caught in between his heels, one in his hand and another in the nook at his elbow between his biceps and his forearm. They buckled and whipped around in a furry of vibrating hums as they were all deflected away from his body.
The two of them stared on in bewilderment as a blur of a white mask formed a crescent in the dim light as the fox landed on one foot, and then turned to handplant the floor with one hand and used the other together with his legs in an arching motion to catch the rest of the spears. When he settled back into a crouch the wire-thin, chakra-propelled spears fell harmlessly to the floor around him, surrounding him with several buzzing sounds as they vibrated violently from hitting the tiled floor around them.
"That was... fast. I could barely see it." Muttered the voice from the darkness with the orange eyes.
Hinata giggled, which sort of crept the others out. Fox loomed toward Rakshas, with his odd-shaped kunai in either hand, who quickly scurried over to the other side, grinning the whole way. "Alright, alright... you win, mouse-boy. I don't think I've met anyone as quick and as quiet as you. Maybe you're just a very crafty illusion?"
Rakshas's grin faded away together with the rest of his body as he appeared suddenly behind Fox with a knife in his hand. Fox's head shot up in suprise and they both stood still. Hinata, meanwhile, held her breath.
"I... guess you're not."
"Those kunai... they were for you."
"O, I see..."
Hinata's lump in her throat relaxed when she saw that Fox was the victor. His arms were crossed in front of him with a kunai held in either hand, one hooking and deflecting the man's weapon while the other was pressed deeply into his liver. Rakshas took a step back and Fox turned his head. Hinata watched him as his enemy fell to one knee before him, vomiting blood.
Orange eyes flickered in the background as he finally slumped down against the hard floor, a pool of blood forming beside him.
"No!!!" Yelled his companion, who shot out of the obscurity of the darkness and revealed herself. She slashed ferociously at Fox with a long knife that forced him to take several steps back in order to dodge effectively. "Get away from him, you bastard!"
He dodged his head left and right to dodge her impaling strikes and jumped backward to get away from her downward and upward slashing. He noted, while she was moving, that she was wearing sneakers instead of shinobi sandals. When he was far enough away and she had stopped slashing at him, he stopped moving and just watched.
She kneeled down over the body of her companion, groaning in pain herself as if she was the one who had gotten stabbed.
"Rak! Rak!*" She groaned again, shaking him lightly after turning him on his back, her hand pressed against his wound as she tried in vain to stop the blood.
Fox looked at Hinata, who flinched when she saw him looking at her expectantly.
"What? I couldn't possibly..."
"Hyuga-taichou..."
"Don't think that just because I'm a woman I would feel sympathy, I--"
"I'm not, Hinata." He interjected, "I feel it, not you, but only you can help... I thought you said one man took over this base? Why was she back there, too?"
"I have no idea. I would have called you an idiot for not thinking that maybe she passed by me while I was unconscious, but even when he stopped suppressing my eyes, I only saw him in that room behind us, and there's only a few more left in this base. There's no exit that way."
Fox nodded slowly, wondering what that meant about this woman... what that meant about this man.
"I've never heard... of a bloodline that suppresses other bloodlines... or of one that is unaffected, either."
The woman with orange eyes didn't even look up, she had her face buried in his chest, her lips pressed against his bloody vest. "Rakshas!"
"Kali." He said. Barely over a whisper.
She shuddered. "You hear me, Rak?"
"Yeah... I hear you, Kalienna. You're so beautiful, you know?"
"Shut up... you shouldn't speak."
"Your eyes, they're like butterfly's wings."
She shook her head, chuckling. Tears had settled in her eyes. "You corny bastard... thank you."
"I'm gonna die, babe."
She sniffed, rubbing her eyes with the back of her forearm, "But I--eek!"
"Outta th' way, little girl."
Kali fell on her rump and sat with her palms pressed down against the ground as she gazed on. She didn't have to ask what was going on, because she saw that surreal chakra that swirled and misted out of Hinata's slender fingers.
Fox stood beside her with a grin on his face; there was still a nasty gash on the front of the mask from the large windmill shuriken that had sawed nearly halfway through it.
Before the orange-eyed girl could ask, Fox spoke up. "I don't know. She usually doesn't listen to me when it comes to this sort of thing."
Kali sighed with relief when the bleeding stopped, but felt a pang in her gut when she saw Hinata's scrunched up expression on her face.
"You'll get wrinkles with a sour look like that, Hyuga-taichou."
She smiled sweetly and tilted her head slightly, lifting up her left hand in front of her and flipping him off.
"What's wrong? Is he going to be alright?"
Hinata stood up and walked over to Kali. She smiled, nodding her head and set a palm down on her shoulder.
"Thank god..."
In less than a bat of her eye, Hinata jabbed two of her fingers into several spots in Kali's abdomen, shoulders and legs, effectively disarming her and immobilizing her.
Kali grunted and her eyes rolled far into the back of her head as she fell pathetically to the floor below. Hinata smiled sweetly when she found that the girl seemed to be unconscious.
"That was harsh," Rakshas hissed.
"I can make it even harsher on her." Hinata offered, reaching into Fox's pouch and fishing a kunai out of it.
He saw the kunai and gulped, shaking his head. "Yo... I didn't say it wasn't warranted." He directed his eyes elsewhere.
Fox chuckled a bit behind his mask and took a few steps forward.
Rakshas looked up and furrowed his brow. They stared at one another for a minute before he finally asked, "What?"
"You're not the one who took over the base, are you?"
Fox grinned even more when Rakshas's eyes widened. Kali let out a very soft groan from her position on the floor.
The brow on Hinata's head rose and she had to swallow to keep from snarling. "What the hell are you saying? That I'm hallucinating?" She snapped, placing her hands on her hips as she walked up to stand beside the fox and glare at him.
He smiled sourly. Yatta... just a moment ago she was being so sweet. Now she's back in super-hyuga mode... but seriously: there's not enough bodies lying around...
"No. I'm not saying that, but Rakshas here wasn't the one. He's not strong enough." Fox declared, gazing down on his captured enemy.
Rakshas narrowed his brow and glared at Naruto with dark green eyes. "I am the one who took over this pathetic excuse for a forthold. You think I'm weak or something, you animal-less ANBU whore?"
Fox looked at him for a moment with distrustful eyes.
"Fox-kun... let's just go. We can have Beetle-chan carry them."
He shook his head. "There's something wrong with this, Hyuga-taichou."
"We're going. That's an order."
He turned to glare into her eyes. "You don't trust me anymore?"
"I never have." She turned her head slowly, biting her lip.
Fox held out his hand and molded chakra in a circular motion at incredible speeds until a great spiraling sphere appeared visible in his hand. Grabbing Kali and throwing her over his left shoulder, he stepped back over to where the slab had fallen. Rakshas watched him carefully as he attempted to stand.
"Wait. I'll help you." Hinata moved quickly to help him onto his feet to lean against her. As soon as he threw his arm around her shoulders, she pressed two points of his tenketsu on either shoulder, effectively rendering his arms useless.
He looked at her with a curious grin on his face.
"I'm sure you understand," she said, "You came in claiming you were going to make me a little less quiet, didn't you? I don't take rape threats lightly."
"Sure, that's fine. Just hang on to my arm. I don't have any feeling in my hands anymore."
"As it should be. I've got you."
When they turned toward Fox and the door, who looked back once past them to gaze into the darkness at the end of the base, leading to a few rooms that they haven't checked, he was holding a giant sphere that was easily half his size. It seemed to spin a little slower than the smaller one had, but that didn't make it look any less threatening.
He shut it off when suddenly the large slab of concrete was being pushed, along with the large chunks of debris on top of it. He stepped to the side as Tortoise and Eagle stepped into the room.
"Taichou!" Eagle exclaimed, happy to see Hinata alive and well.
Tortoise's posture after he moved away from the rubble suddenly straightened up when he noticed Hinata standing there. He turned to look at Fox, who looked back at him.
Their eyes battled silently, but in the end Tortoise turned away to walk over and help pick up Rakshas, much to his dissappointment.
"Hey! I was enjoying myself over here. Hyuga-taichou-chan! Please let me walk with you again!" He whined playfully, at which both the large tortoise and the meek little eagle looked disgusted under their masks. Fox walked out the doorway with Kali on his shoulder.
When he reached the front of the building, Beetle came running up to him, glad to see he was safe. She looked at the large gash torn into his white mask and then tried to find his skin under his uniform to see if he was cut anywhere. "You came back." She whispered through her teeth as she looked up to the eyes of the mask, only to see that his were closed.
He set his hand on her shoulder as he came to a brief stop, then he continued walking. He walked calmly, but was still abnormally swift in his stride. He was heading home in quiet, and entirely unconcerned with how the rest of the team managed to make it back to Konoha.
The next afternoon...
When Naruto next woke up, there was a loud banging on his front door. He lived in a small apartment that was as far away from the Hokage's tower as possible. The only apartments out this far were a part of the Hideki apartment complex. He didn't personally know the owner, but he didn't care very much to know him anyways. He may have met him once when he was signing the paperwork in the beginning, but it was a pretty big complex with a nice restaurant on the top floor and a swimming pool in the court yard. He saved up enough money to be at least one or two payments ahead at all times, just in case. There were several people working in the office downstairs, so he couldn't be sure that he had met the owner or not.
The complex was built only very recently, opening up about four months ago. Four months earlier, Naruto was living with Konohamaru in the home that he had inherited, and a year before that he had left his old apartment after nearly fourteen years of residence there. The salary that he used to receive as a ward of the Hokage had stopped coming, but Naruto was already making enough money to support himself comfortably, as well as cover whatever expenses he recurred on some of the longer missions and more elaborate, delicate ones. He remembered having to spend at least a month's pay on a single mission to a city in the north, where he played the role of a young gambler entering a gangster's game. The gangster wasn't important, but there was a Lord that he was there to assassinate. Apparently he pissed off the wrong person--someone with money--and he was to be killed for it. He recalled that he had once accepted a mission to help the same man, together with Yamanaka Ino, get married.
He finished the job with a wire, the fat man was pushed onto his chest on the ground and strangled from above.
It was fairly clean, although there was a little vomit on the floor.
The loud knocking sound didn't cease, so he picked himself up from his bed and glided across his room on his feet to open the door. He slammed a kunai just above his head into the wall so that it stuck there, then he opened it slowly, smiling half-heartedly as he greeted whoever it was that was bothering him this late in the afternoon. "Yes?"
"Fox-san!"
Naruto's eyes quickly adjusted to the bright light of the sun behind the young boys standing at his door. He didn't even need to blink. "Lion-kun. Mouse-kun. Aren't you supposed to be practicing your water-walking exercises?"
Lion and Mouse were scrawngy looking kids with brown hair and blue eyes--Naruto could always tell the difference between Lion and the others because of their posture. Lion was always excited, sort of like he had waited too long to pee and couldn't wait to get whatever it is he's doing over with to run to the restroom. Mouse walked a little more loosely, taking long strides and hopping innocently every now and then. If he was excited though, he was often loud. Lion, on the other hand, liked to grin a lot and insult his other two brothers.
Naruto arched a brow when Mouse waved at him suddenly; he must know the answer to some unasked question.
"Hai-hai! But listen!" Mouse exclaimed with the enthusiasm of a playful pup.
"Yeah, we've got this thing going on over at the orphanage, it's the big-brother, big-sister get-together that we told you about a few weeks ago."
Naruto tried to close the door, but Mouse jammed his foot in just in time.
"Look, guys. I'm not looking for anyone like that..."
"Selfish bastard! We're not doing this for you! Besides, you're our big brother, you ass!" Lion gawked, doing his best fake impression of disgust.
Mouse shook his head to add to the effect.
"Yeah, we'll look like a pack of losers if at least one of us doesn't have someone going with them! It's a big party, and we almost already picked out some of the girls for a dance! One of them is actually going to get adopted soon, and she's got a real hot step-sister that's like four years older than we are!"
Naruto laughed, planting his face into his palm.
"No, six years, dumb ass. She'll be nineteen in December."
"Whatever."
"You have to come. You ain't got a choice now." Lion said, matter-a-factly.
"Please?"
"When is it?" He abandoned his resolve with a smile.
"Yes!" They both yelled, Lion wearing the largest grin out of the two.
"Day after tomorrow. You have to bring a Kimono for after the dance--everyone from the orphanage was given permission to stay up late to attend the festival coming up."
"Oh? There's a festival coming up?"
"Yeah, the festival of the--"
"Wait! Don't say it out loud like that! You have to whisper this kind of thing," the mouse said.
"Fine." The lion replied, loudly. "It's the festival of the Kyubi no Kitsune."
"Ah." Naruto said, solemnly.
"Don't worry. We won't tell anybody that he's actually right there--sealed away!"
"Quiet, you moron!" Lion chastised.
"Hey, where's your brother?"
Mouse hadn't noticed that he changed the subject.
"Don't worry! We're not scared that you'll blow up and try and eat us or anything," said the mouse.
"Shut up, damn it! He was asking where Badge is."
Mouse frowned, "O, well... he's working that girl... she said no to him the first time, and every other time after that but he's been trying to impress her since last week."
Naruto raised his brow. Who could this little girl be, unimpressed with one of the three wonder twins? He held out his palm in a 'hault' gesture and turned back into his apartment to get a little better dressed. He walked over to the mirror in his bathroom and leaned over the sink as he turned on the hot water. After splashing his face, brushing his teeth and putting on some deodorant, then walked over to the closet to pick out some clothes.
In the end, he stepped out of the house wearing all orange. His jacket was only faintly trimmed at the collar in pure white, and the cuffs of his pant legs and sleeves were a dull red.
The two triplets looked up at him in awe, each wondering how he could go out in public wearing so much orange, but both unknowingly and simultaneously agreeing that it was definitely him, and he might look strange otherwise.
Naruto followed them close behind, but it wasn't fast enough, and so the brothers dragged him along. All while complaining that he was the fastest in Konoha only when he was being paid to be.
"... Kali. Are you awake?"
"Rakshas... you're alive..!"
"Yes, dear."
"I-sniff-thought you were going to die. Even though she used her chakra to repair the wound."
"I thought I was going to die last night during the interrogation. You have no idea how sadistic this Yamanaka girl is... you should pretend like you're still asleep tonight so that they don't pick you up."
"Rakshas?"
"Yeah, sweety-pie."
"Stop that... how... how did he know?"
There was silence for a moment as he contemplated it, wondering just what the fox had seen walking in through the door. Whatever it was, that fox was a fast little bastard. He'd have to be quick-witted to out-maneuver the fox. So far Fox already knew about his ability, and--more important--he probably knew about Kali's ability as well. If he didn't, he couldn't risk letting that tidbit of information out. There were no Hyuga in the interrogation unit--probably because the stuck up bastards had their own squad for interrogating suspects in the Hyuga compound--and for some reason Hyuga Hinata had not accompanied Fox and the tortoise-masked ANBU anywhere near the interrogation room. She probably had something to do as the head of her clan, he figured.
"You heard? Hm... I'm not sure. He somehow knew that I wasn't the one that infiltrated the base in the first place, but I think that he meant something a little deeper when he said that.
"Do you think he knows about me?" She whispered, hesitantly.
"I can't be sure. I'll find out next time I see him, but expect the worse."
"Didn't you lose a lot of blood?" She asked, genuinely worried about him.
"Only enough where they told me I'd survive. A pink haired woman came in and gave me a quick physical, then bopped me on the forehead and told me I was a 'weak little bastard' for wasting her time. Apparently, Hyuga-kohai has some pretty impressive healing abilities. She didn't just seal the wound, she sped up the healing process in only a few seconds. I feel like I haven't lost any blood at all... just like I got stabbed. It's really weird." He closed his eyes with a smile on his face and a light chuckle passing his lips. Their stay as prisoners wasn't going to be all fun and games. He'd have to try and figure out a way to sneak out, or at least try and fight his way out.
"I was awake when he brought me here, into the room. I was worried when they kept you in the other room--I guess that's where you were examined and interrogated? He was very gentle. Very kind."
"Good. Means I'll kill him quickly--when the time comes."
"Thanks. I'd feel better that way."
When Naruto stepped into the orphanage, one he only stayed at until he was around eight, he was greeted by sixty or more captivated eyes. If he had just started wearing orange that day, this may have unnerved him--but he had long grown used to the stares that accompanied a type of flamboyancy like his own. He walked forward, head naturally high as he gazed on lazily at the swarm of younger and older children that lived together under this one roof. The color of their eyes ranged from common colors like brown and black, to exotic ones like red and silver.
He walked behind Lion and Mouse, following them past the living quarters into the office and meeting room, slash classroom, where apparently he was going to sign to allow the orphanage to keep track of the visitors during the dance before the festival.
They quickly walked through the doorway, followed calmly behind by Naruto. He saw a few of the staff were there, some of them getting ready to leave for the day, while the head nurse sat at a small desk working on some paper work for a child who was coming in.
"Hey, obaa-chan! This is our big brother, Fo...er, I mean Uzumaki Naruto!"
She looked up and nodded, "I remember you. You used to be here when you were shorter than them."
"Yeah. I've gotten a little taller, but it wasn't until I was around seventeen that I've actually been taller than you."
"Watch it, boy. You know us older folks start to shrink the older we get. We get smaller and smaller until one day we just up and disappear."
Lion gasped, "No you don't! Really? You do?"
Mouse blinked at his brother. He calculated quietly how he would use this moment against him later in an insult to get him back for all of the ones that his brother has said to him.
"Not really, boy. Why don't you all go out and play with the rest of the children? Okami-san has already started the day's arts and crafts."
"Oh! Last time we got to make necklaces and bracelets!" Mouse exclaimed.
"They promised next we'd get to play with clay." Lion remembered, and the two of them ran out the room to search for Okami-san so that they could play too.
"Hey, Uzumaki-kun."
"Yeah, babaa-chan?"
Her face got a little red when he called her that, but she spoke anyways. "Why haven't I seen you around more often, if you're their Brother?"
"Everytime I try to step through the front door they're already waiting for me and pushing me out. I don't think they like it very much here--not that that's any of your fault." He said.
"No, I understand. Or at least, I try to. The boys and girls here don't receive the same type of love and affection that a real mother and father can provide. We try our hardest--everyday--but we know that somehow we're overlooking something. We're always worried that we're ignoring one or more of the children in favor of the others, but it's impossible to care for them all with only a dozen helping hands, at sporadic hours, no less. A child's love is not suited to be clocked in and out. It is spontanieous and wonderful, like them."
"Yeah... granny, I've got to admit: you've got a way with words."
"Oh, son. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Fox started to turn around, but the older lady raised her palm.
"Wait, I need to tell you something."
He turned back to face her, silently.
She narrowed her brows as she diverted her eyes, and he could tell easily that whatever she was thinking about was making her upset.
"I'm sorry." She stood up, then planted her hands down firmly on the hard surface of the desk. "Forgive me," she offered, bowing her head deeply as she struggled to keep herself standing.
"Don't be. I couldn't understand the sort of pressure that you were on to have me removed from the orphanage back then."
"Nonetheless... I am truely, deeply, sorry."
"I wouldn't call you 'grandma' if you weren't such a nice lady. I know you felt bad, but thank you for telling me."
"You're something else, you know, boy?"
"Yeah? How's that?" He asked, grinning.
"To take on the responsibility of being a caregiver and role model to one child is admirable in itself, but three. You even trained them in being shinobi."
She smiled, but her brow made her look troubled. "They're children, and I hate for them to be in such grave danger whenever they are on duty, but I am older--and I know the age of the children that were being sent into the war in that old ignorant age, with only a knife in their hands and little knowledge of what it was like to be a ninja. Those children love you, and the stories they tell here of you are incredible. Please, never forget about them while you are taking on these missions. Remember them when you face other children out on the battlefield, and when you feel like there's no reason to return. If you ever gave up, ever--I think--so would they. Please, don't ever give up."
Naruto closed the door behind him after saying his goodbyes, then he looked up and began to walk forward only to nearly knock over a young woman wearing a yellow flower in her black hair. She had beautiful brown eyes, and her lips nearly snagged his out of the air as he excused himself and clumsily stepped past her.
"Sorry about that--"
"No, no. No problem at all."
They smiled at eachother, and Naruto slowly walked away, but they only broke eye contact after she walked in to the old lady's office with a younger girl walking in quickly behind her.
He heard a bit of skittering feet as someone approached him from behind, so he turned his head away from the door and saw the third brother, Badger.
He looked back toward the door then shook his head, saying, "Who was that?"
Author: I'll be working on the next chapter in a week, or maybe a little earlier if I find myself bored at home next week. I'm practically done with finals, and I'm not taking classes during the summer, so I'll probably be writing up a storm. I hope my little bit of readers who actually read past the first few sentences enjoyed this story! I'd really like your feedback, because then I'll know for sure (from you guys, I already think I am) if I am using too many lead OC's. This story will center around Naruto and Hinata, but it's probably pretty obvious that a stable relationship between those two isn't right around the corner. Yes, Hinata is very out of character. It's not for just any reason, but I do feel like she's always used as some dumb little girl who only grows because she's around Naruto. And that works pretty well in some stories, but if you are Naruto-Hina fans, then you probably already know about DameWren's old story and S'tarkan's--which has gotten a little more interesting lately. This story is going to give Hinata her own spot-light, and even though Naruto's pretty strong here, that's not what the story is going to be about.
On a side note, I like the triplets. I was just going to make them all very hyper and answer the same together all of the time when they were out on the mission, but I decided to give them actual 'faces' in the form of the masks and a little bit of a backstory. I'm going to try and flesh them out a little more as the story continues, and you'll be seeing more of that powerhouse jutsu they've got. Anyone got any ideas for a name for them? Let me know.
Bye.