It's been a while since my last post. I've been busy with a lot of things of which I will tell you after this chapter. I suggest you look back at the previous chapters to remind yourself of what has happened earlier. Thanks and enjoy...
Note: I don't own Naruto, what else do you want me to say?
Kyuubi talking
"thinking"
"talking"
Chapter 6 - Love's Redeeming Light
by Zynthos
The wind rushed through Naruto's hair as he ran towards the abandoned districts of Konoha. On either side, Kiba and Ino followed closely behind. Akamaru stayed closely behind Kiba. The rule of thumb for ninja is that they are never supposed to allow their emotions to dictate their actions. Fortunately and unfortunately that was never a strong point for Naruto. This case was not an exception. Rage flowed through his body. He could feel Kyuubi become excited from all the hate. He would have to watch out for that.
Naruto turned around to see if the other two could follow along. His training with Ero-sennin really helped his speed. During the grueling journey, the others had begun to lag behind. At this point, with only about half a mile to go, Kiba and Ino were about 100 meters back. It was no problem as it would only take about 45 seconds to reach Naruto again. With that in mind, Naruto doubled the chakra in his feet and sped off towards his goal, his love.
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Hinata woke up in a large, bare room. All around her on the walls she could see her memories and dreams, like a video, playing in front of her. It was strange but Hinata did not feel anxious about finding herself inside the large room. Stranger still was that there was a man standing near one of the walls, observing her intently. He wore a white robe and his complexion shone like a bright lamp. Hinata crawled away from him as quickly as possible--not because she was afraid he would hurt her, no, she had never felt more secure in her life--but because just with a single look at his face, Hinata could feel all the sins and wrong-doings, all her guilts, and all her secrets rush to her mind consuming her. She felt so dark.
"Wh-who are y-you?! Wher-re am-m I?!" Hinata cried out
He spoke. His voice held more command then a thousand trumpets, and yet was more comforting than listening to the tide of the ocean wash in and out.
"Do not be afraid" was all he said. Instantly Hinata felt a peace like not other she had even known fill her heart.
"At this point, you do not need to know my name. All you need to know is that I am an agkelos. As for where you are at this point, your physical body is still on the stone platform. The place you perceive now, however, is different. Welcome to your mindscape."
"Nani?! I'm in my mind!?"
"This is the center of your physical, emotion, and spiritual being. You are peering into your own soul."
"Wait. I'm in my own mind?"
"…yes?"
"Whoa… that's weird…"
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Naruto landed softly onto the ground in the middle of the abandoned district of Konoha. His eyes darted back and forth trying to find a clue of what to do next. Kiba and Ino appeared behind him a minute later. It was then they saw a woman walk out from behind the rubble of the fallen buildings. She wore a skin tight black Chinese qipao. Flowing brown hair framed her face. The woman wore a no-nonsense look on her face.
"I was instructed to lead you to the designated area" the woman said. "Please follow me." Consciously knowing they could be walking into a trap, the three shinobi fell behind the guide. After a couple minutes, the group walked into a large, cleared-out area. In front of them was a second female standing in front of a large building; her dark violet hair shone in the sunlight.
"I'm sorry you two, but only Naruto is allowed to pass the door." The three looked at each other before Naruto gave the other two a curt nod.
"Truce?" Naruto asked Kiba
"Truce." Kiba responded. All three turned to the two kunoichi.
"I'm sorry" Naruto began, "but I insist that my friends be allowed into in."
"Don't you worry your little head. As long as they behave, your friends will be perfectly safe." The second lady said.
"Besides, you'll have your own worries" added the first with a smirk. Naruto was about to argue further but stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Kiba with Ino next to him.
"Naruto," Kiba said, "you go inside. Ino and I will kick the butts of these two ninja wannabes and meet you inside." Naruto flashed his trademark grin.
"Ok, I'm counting on you two."
"No sweat" Ino chimed in. With that, Naruto walked purposefully past the two kunoichi and into the dark building.
"Alright!" As Ino trusted her finger towards her two opponents, the other three shinobi eased into their fighting stances.
"I'll ask you one last time before I get angry. Let us into the building."
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Hinata sat in the corner of the room absorbing every word the agkelos said.
"Wait mister, can you explain that again? Sorry…" the man just nodded his head. It seemed as if he had infinite patience, which he did.
"As you know, must things on earth have an equal opposite; Light and dark, black and white, ying and yang, even matter has anti-matter. If this is true then there must be an equal opposite for the nine biju. I, one of the seven agkelos, was sent to earth to be the equal opposite force of the nine tailed beasts."
"But there are only seven of you and nine demons."
"How very observant of you. The reason for this is because agkelos by nature are stronger then demons."
"I see…" Hinata averted her eyes.
"What is wrong child? You seem troubled."
"Well… it's just that the man I love… he is a jinchuriki. That must seem so bizarre to you. A carrier of an agkelos in love with a carrier of a demon…" A good natured grin appeared on the man's face.
"Ah. You are referring to Naruto I presume?"
"Wha- !? How did you know!?" The grin grew into a smile.
"Do not be so ignorant to believe that I have but recently come to be with you. I have watched over you ever since your mother passed away."
"Okaa-san?"
"Yes, and let me tell you, your mother would have been ecstatic about your relationship with Naruto if she was still with us."
"Really?"
"Yes. I just don't know if I approve of this Naruto character." He said jokingly. Hinata, however, was too afraid that this man would not allow her to see Naruto to notice; after all, he was her protector, and the one who resided with her.
"Please sir, Naruto is a good person. Sure, he can be a bit annoying at times but I love him even more because of it. He's got a pure heart and good morals. Just please don't tell me I can't see him." Hinata nearly ended in tears.
"Hinata" the man responded, "I am here to protect you. It is up to you make the right choices. You can ask me for advice but in the end it is you who makes the final decision. Besides," the man added with a grin, "I'm not your father". Hinata smiled at that.
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Naruto stepped into the building. He had instructed himself to keep a level-head. So far he hadn't broken his own mandate. After walking in the front door, a long hall way led him deeper into the ruins of the old district. From there he descended a long flight of stairs. He had no idea where he was going or which door to open. He went wherever his feet led him. Naruto entered a final room. Who knows what the chances were that it would lead to where his opponent was? Let's just say Naruto was a lucky person. Ahead of him stood a man dressed in a simple sleeveless red shirt and black pants. A standard looking long sword with a wolf's head on the top of the hilt was strapped to his back. He held his hands behind his back and with fiery eyes he watched Naruto intently.
"Welcome," the red haired man began "You are Uzumaki Naruto I presume?" The said person was not in the mood to play games.
"Where is Hina-chan you bastard!?" Naruto wasn't even thinking about the regulation he had set for himself earlier.
"My name is Aira, and your 'Hina-chan' is in a safe place. She will stay that way if you agree to my preposition" Naruto suppressed the urge to rip out the man's throat and nodded his head motioning for him to continue.
"It's very simple. I want you to do two things. I want you to give me 48 hours before I return Hinata-san to you, and I want you to release Kyuubi, preferably in Hokage's tower. I will give you my word that Hinata will be safe if you follow these two very simple instructions."
Naruto spit on the ground in disgust. "Like Hell I will!"
"yeah I figured…" Aira interjected
"I'm not going to let Hina-chan spend even one second longer with you, you perverted monster!" Naruto continued without missing a beat. Aira gave Naruto a look of amusement.
"A pervert? Why do you call me that?"
"Why else would you want to spend more time with her you sick psycho?"
"Why? Because she carries something inside her I want"
"What do you mean?"
"Actually, scratch that. You know why? Because I want to get to know her, of course." Aira thought about it for a second, and then licked his lips suggestively to mock Naruto.
"After all, you have no idea" Naruto couldn't contain himself any longer. The rage built up inside of him exploded in an instant. He charged the man and attacked him with a barrage of punches and kicks. What annoyed him wasn't the fact that he found himself sliding on his back across the floor. The annoying thing was the fact that his right hand was still behind his back. Naruto got the eerie feeling that the man wasn't left handed.
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"Kuso… where did she go?!"Ino's eyes scanned her surroundings, trying to find a hint of her opponent. Too late.
"Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu! (Inner Decapitation)" said the dark haired woman. Only Ino's quick reaction and a large piece of debris saved her from a dreadful fate.
"Kawarimi no Jutsu! (Body Replacement technique). Hiding behind a large stone, Ino took the much needed break from the action and took a quick, risky glance towards Kiba's battle who was currently getting his butt handed to him. Akamaru struggled to help his master but the woman he was fighting was no slouch. She was impressively quick and a strong enough hand to hand fighter so that little to no ninjutsu was used in her fighting style. She was strong enough to give Lee a run for his money. She attacked pressure points with pinpoint precision; as accurate as any Hyuga. Ino turned to her opponent once more. She could not risk any more time lest the enemy get the upper hand.
"Shinranshin no Jutsu (Mind Destruction Jutsu)" Ino quietly spoke. The other kunoichi stopped looking around and with a confused look started to attack herself. The battle against an opponent became a battle against herself as the dark-haired woman took out a kunai, moving it closer and closer to her own heart. As the kunai penetrated her chest, Ino stepped out of her hiding spot and declared triumphantly,
"Shinranshin no Jutsu complete!" She, however, spoke too soon. The side of her vision began to swirl around her. It was a familiar feeling; one a person felt when they were blacking out… or falling into genjutsu. Ino swore.
"This is not good..."
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"Sir?" Hinata asked the agkelos,
"Yes child?"
"Where are you from, and if you play such an important role against the kyuubi why do we not learn about you in school?"
"The reason is because only a handful of people know we exist. The Kyuubi are known because they attack villages and take lives. We do no such things, and have no desire to be famous. Therefore, the only people who know we exist are carriers and those they tell."
"I see"
"why do you ask?" Hinata hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Be-because… I was wondering if I would be shunned by the villagers if they knew that I was carrying something in me."
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Aira and Naruto had been fighting for only five minutes. In that time Aira had successfully knocked Naruto down three times, cut him twice, hit him who knows how many times and defeated enough kage bushins to make enough smoke for ten pirate movies. All Naruto had to show for his effort was a lot of frustration and a slight brush of Aira's hair… actually I think it was the wind.
"Kage bushin no jutsu" (lots of Narutos technique) Seven Naruto's jumped out from a cloud of smoke towards Aira. Four were immediately deffused by a sweep of a sword the two Narutos to the left and the one to the right doubled their efforts after they had dodged the blade. Their unsynchronized strikes did nothing but hit air. Before Naruto could pull back his fist for another strike he found himself flying through the air. Aira stood in front of him, engulfed in flame.
"What?!" Naruto cried out in astonishment. Aira took a step towards Naruto, the first step he had taken since the fight had begun.
"What's so surprising? The fire? My blood limit allows me to control fire at will. Oh, by the way, your friends being hurt, yeah that was me." Aira said. Naruto steadied himself before crawling back onto his feet. Naruto fought to stay upright but his eyes glared straight at his opponent.
"I'm just getting started." Standing up straight, Naruto took up his famous position.
"Kage bushin no Jutsu!" Aira gave out a short sigh as he held his sword before him. A cloud of white appeared around him as he cut through a dozen blond haired ninja.
"RASENGAN!" A blue sphere broke the smoke straight towards Aira's face. With the momentum he had built up Aira grabbed Naruto by the arm and hurled him across the room where he broke through the wall, landing in a large stone area covered with cobwebs and dust. Naruto couldn't move. No matter how much he willed his body, it would not respond. He began to struggle even more as his opponent strode closer and closer towards him. He tilted his head upwards to get a look at where Aira was, and to his shock and chagrin he saw the one object in the dark, damp room. A stone table was erect in the middle of the room, and on top of the table laid Hinata Hyuga. Wires and tubes were attached to her body and a strange parchment seal was on top of her stomach. It was glowing blue. Whatever was happening, it didn't look good. He then heard the red-headed man behind him speak.
"Please do not go near her or else I will have to kill you." New rage filled Naruto giving him the strength to lift himself off the ground. Rage began to build because he could not help the woman he loved; from the fact that she was currently being hurt because he could not protect her. Naruto cracked. A soft chuckle escaped his lips.
"You will kill me, mortal?" Naruto's slitted eyes glistened in the candle light. His hands, now with elongated fingernails clenched and unclenched, wanting to shed blood. He could feel the Kyubi banging on the bars of its prison trying to break free, roaring for the chance to once again ravage the countryside.
"You want to kill me?" Naruto growled again, "Let me show you what real violence is". Naruto's face contorted into an evil grin.
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Kiba looked back to see Ino in trouble. Without thinking twice he sent Akamaru to help Ino out. Kiba however, stayed behind and turned back to his brown-haired opponent. His opponent wasted no time and immediately shot towards Kiba who madly dodged out of the way falling to the ground. Not letting the opportunity go by, the woman charged the downed dog owner. Kiba caught her with his feet and kicked her back.
"I can't let you win" Kiba growled jumping back onto his feet. He felt horrible. His left arm wasn't responding, and he couldn't feel his right leg.
"Why?" replied the lady, "what do Naruto and Hinata mean to you?"
"Naruto's my friend, and my comrade. Hinata is…"
"What?" the woman interjected, "what is she?" she waved her pinky mockingly at Kiba. He lowered his head for a moment.
"No," he said re-raising his head, "no, she is my teammate, my friend, and she loves someone very much. I must protect that love." With that, Kiba charged forward. "GATSUGA!"
"How poetic" mocked the woman as she dodged away from a deadly slash, jumped slightly to the right to dodge it again, and, just to smite the dog user, jumped over the third attack.
"Is that all?" she mocked. Kiba couldn't believe it. He already felt dead tired, and here, his opponent had yet to break a sweat. The situation looked even bleaker when she disappeared only to reappear behind him. He felt the kunai blade cutting a large gash on his back. Blood gushed from the wound as Kiba futilely struggled to get away, trying save himself from certain death. The woman would have none of it. She placed the kunai on Kiba's neck.
"Any final words?" She asked in a haughty voice.
"Yes" A voice behind them both said. Kiba did not have the strength to turn his head but he recognized the voice. "Don't hurt my subordinates." With that Tsunade punched the ground, creating a large fissure trapping the unprepared woman. She was quickly subdued by ANBU. 30 feet away Kurenai battled the fellow genjutsu user, however, with more experience, Kurenai emerged victorious. Within minutes of the Hokage coming, both infiltrators had been apprehended. Medical ninja quickly took care of Kiba and Ino.
"H-how did you find us?" Kiba managed to sputter out.
"This is my village" The Hokage responded slyly. "It would be a disgrace for the Hokage not to know what happens in her own village. You'll be ok now, just get some rest." Kiba consented and drifted into unconsciousness.
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"Hinata, it is time that we part."
"What?! Why?! Are they going to steal you like Akatsuki tried to take all the tailed beasts?"
"No, I'm..."
"I don't want you to leave!"
"Hinata, I'm not…"
"Please don't go!"
"I'm not…"
"Sorry to be such a bother but this place is scary being here by myself"
"HINATA!" the agkelos called.
The said person immediately shut her mouth. "Listen to me carefully. Do not be afraid. I am only leaving you because it is time for you to wake up. Soon, you will be with someone you want to be with even more then me."
"Naruto?" Hinata asked with hope in her voice.
"Yes."
"Ano… sir, I have one final question before you go."
"Go ahead."
"Why is it that you are not being taken out of my body like when Shukaku was taken out of Gaara?"
"That is because," the agkelos said with a smile, "the extracting technique requires that which is being extracted to want to be extracted. Shukaku wanted to leave the confines of his cage, but remember this Hinata. I will never leave you." Hinata timidly walked up to the agkelos and gave him a warm embrace.
"Thank you."
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Red Chakra surrounded Naruto like fire. The Kyuubi had emerged, and it was seeking blood. Both opponents sized each other up but in the end it didn't matter. Naruto would have charged the leviathan; and won. Unable to defend himself from the accelerated attacks Aira could do nothing but make his best impression of a rag doll.
"Naruto..." Aira gasped between labored breaths, "I see… see why he warned me about you."
"I will make sure that the last thing you see is my fist sending you to Hell."
"No… I will not die here"
"Ha! Foolish mortal! Run away will you? Have you even the strength to stand? Humor me why don't you! I will not be refused the shedding of blood!"
"There is… is a reason for why he… he chose me. Let me show you" with that Aira began to glow. Suddenly he burst into flame and was gone. Naruto gave an inner sigh of relief. The Kyuubi, however, howled in frustration. It had not seen blood and battled for dominance of Naruto's body. In order to fill his quota, the Kyuubi-infused Naruto turned towards the only other living thing in the room, Hinata. Realizing what the Kyuubi was about to do, Naruto fought the demon inside him fervently.
"I will not let you hurt Hina-chan"
"Kit," the demon said, "I know of your feelings towards this vixen" a low chuckle rolled out of the Kyuubi's mouth. "That's why obliterating her body will be that much sweeter.
"NO!" Naruto cried out in frustration to the Kyuubi. No matter how much he struggled, he couldn't wrestle control from the demon. The Kyuubi stalked towards Hinata. Tears streaked down Naruto's face as he futilely battled against the Kyuubi. He redoubled his effort with mere inches between him and his love. Suddenly, a wave of nausea rolled over Naruto like a tsunami. The back of his mind registered his inner demon howling in pain. Again the pain hit him with bone-crushing intensity. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a bright light envelop the sleeping Hinata; the same as the street incident. Naruto's vision began to tunnel, and he lost consciousness.
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"Remember Hinata, I am always with you. Now go, Naruto needs you."
"Thank you…"
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Light entered Naruto's eyes blinding, him for a second. Blinking, Naruto cleared his blurred vision and slowly sat up. He could not have thanked Kami more for what he saw. A concerned looking Hinata sat beside him watching him intently. Naruto lifted his hand and gently placed it on Hinata's cheek, gazing into her pupil less eyes. Neither spoke a word. None needed to be spoken. Finally, Naruto couldn't stand it anymore. He pulled Hinata into a tight embrace, not intending to let go anytime soon. Hinata closed her eyes, relaxing into his arms. Their lips met, and the world around them fell away.
"Hina-chan?" Naruto softly said after they had separated, "Please don't leave me." Hinata rested her head on Naruto's shoulder. "How could I?" she responded. "Fate has made us one and I wouldn't have it any other way. Naru-kun, I love you."
"As do I," Naruto whispered softly, "as do I".
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Aira stumbled through the wilderness. His escape had left him extremely weak.
"Aira," a voice said from above him, "I see that you have returned unsuccessful." Aira looked up. A man stood on the branch of a tree.
"I'm sorry master. I had the agkelos in my possession; however, the jinchuriki disrupted our plans."
"That's quite all right Aira, I expected him to do as such."
"You did?"
"Yes, all is still going according to plan."
"I see, in that case will you help my family now? I've offered my services like you requested."
"Patience, I will, but in due time"
"But sir! We don't have time!" Sasuke glared down upon Aira.
"Aira" he boomed, "I will not tolerate disobedience. As for your family, we are already conducting tests on your wife and two children. Now come, we have more business to attend to..."
To be continued…
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AN- Again I am sorry about the long delay, For the last two months I've been busy with a trip to NM, the SAT, 3 AP tests, preparing a curriculum for an english camp in China this summer, 5 different singing performances, an 11 page research paper, and the rest of life. I hope you can understand. This chapter ends the first part of my story. The the first installment of the second and final half of this story should be out shortly (I've written it, it just needs to be edited). This is also my first stab at action. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.Thank-you to all my beta readers, Krissy-chan, Kovva, and Gesakusha. Twelve pages, sheesh... yep, that's it...