Simplicity is Complexity

by OpposingForce

Three years of absense can create a lot of gaps in friendships. Despite that, however, on his return he realizes someone still loves him deeply, and yet he can't seem to find the heart to love her. NaruHina.

23. Deep Trouble

Simplicity is Complexity

Chapter 23: Deep Trouble

Disclaimer: I don't goddamned Naruto. What, are you delighted that OpForce is a working-poor?

AN: I know I make a very British Naruto, or anyone who I dwell on their character. I might as well share that secret shame with you people than receiving comments every update saying that, "Naruto is so British!" Yes, I happen to love their complex word structuring, and in fact, I, in real life, do speak like Naruto. It's only natural to have writers implant a part of themselves, so don't blame me too much for being such a sentimental bastard…

Wait, did that even make sense…

Damn it all, just read the story…

(Setting is exactly the same in the previous chapter, outskirts of Konoha)

"Anthris…" I called out shakily. "Anthris… help me…" There was no response…

Dropping the now dead Hyuuga Hinata onto the grass, a revolting feeling rushed into my stomach as I suddenly wanted to vomit. Her corpse, despite that she was still beautiful, was sickening to me. Hinata did not die graciously… I killed her… my rage killed her… and there was no one but to blame than myself…

Hinata was right… when you cared for somebody, their hurtful words did hurt that much more. One rejection from her and my sanity fell apart… it really showed how vital she was to me, and how I took it for granted. I didn't grow up at all… I was more stupid than the day I left Konoha three years ago! At least my old self wouldn't go around killing people that loved him… and yet this undead body that was blessed with speed and intelligence couldn't even keep his emotions in control and murdered those who cared for him the most. If I knew this was going to happen, I would've never become an undead…

And even now Anthris did not respond. My impatience got the better of me way too early, the comfort of losing control was good for my soul, yet harmful to whoever was receiving the end of it. "Anthris! What the hell are you doing? I am telling you to show yourself!"

At that instant, my master appeared beside me, much to my irritation. "What's wrong, Naruto?" she asked, her tone surprisingly calm and quiet.

"Don't fuck around with me, Anthris!" I yelled, obviously in panic and disgust. My body suddenly felt sick. Curling up, I fell on my knees, shivering as if a blizzard just came by. "I just killed Hinata… I killed her! What have I done… what have I done!"

"Now why did you go do that, silly?"

Silly… at a time like this she was still using such childish language! "I fell for her tactic…"

"Tactic?"

"She wanted me to take her to Undercity…"

"And you refused?"

"Of course I did!" I shouted back. "The other undead inhabitants would not allow her existence in their home."

Anthris kneeled down next to Hinata, wiping the blood off her lips with her gentle hand. My mistress seemed distressed over this death. That sad expression spoke wonders. "And so you killed her for it? Are you insane? She loved you, you know that."

"I gave her reasons for not following me… and Hinata said that she won't be able to live without me if I don't take her… and so she suggested that I would kill her…"

This was unexpected news for Anthris. "She suggested? You mean it was her idea?"

"She wanted to die if I leave her…" I continued, putting my hand over my mouth just in case I did puke sooner or later. "If I didn't want her to come to Undercity… then I should make her happy by letting her rest in peace… and if I refused to kill her… she said that she would hate me forever before she would use force to prevent me from leaving Konoha… If any villagers know that I am actually an undead… all of them would want my head because killing a new threat does have its rewards… and it's not small. Hinata used that to bait me… making me think that all she wanted from me was fame and money…"

"And then you murdered her?" Anthris finished for me.

"Yes…" I regretfully admitted. "I did…"

"What do you want to do then, Naruto?" I looked at her weirdly, completely confusedly by her inquiry. My head wasn't working under all this stress; Anthris knew that better than anyone. "Like I said… what are going to do? You killed her, she's happy, isn't this good for you?"

"How can you say that, Anthris! I loved Hinata! I would never do anything like this to her if she didn't provoke me…"

"And yet you did…" my master rubbed it in, causing me to growl angrily. "Look, Naruto… whether you see it or not, this is a win-win situation for you. No one in Konoha now would know of your undead heritage, Hinata is dead so she won't stop you from going to Undercity, and her death makes her happy and you're free. I don't see the problem."

"You care about Hinata, too, Anthris," I scolded. "How can you be taking it so calmly?"

"I am just looking at it optimistically," she replied, all too collectively. "I am very disappointed that you killed Hinata, mind you. But at the same time, you can finally accomplish whatever you want without worries. Wasn't this what you always wanted? Now you have it yet you're not happy."

"I didn't want things to be this way…" I sobbed. Tears flowed out from my eyes, ran down my cheeks, and finally falling onto the ground. "I wanted Hinata to live a happy life… Anthris… my heart hurts… it really hurts… I killed the only person I ever cared about that is a human… why… why did she have to be this stupid!"

"She loved you," Anthris said, in past tense. Whether my demon mistress noticed it or not, her words really did hurt me. Love was really stupid… this was true. "And by killing her… you relieved her as well… She really loved you to the bitter end… Hinata-chan really couldn't see you go without her around that she'd rather die than to see loneliness..."

"Right to the end… she was still so selfish… why didn't she think about my feelings? What am I supposed to do now without her? Did she think once that I wanted her to live well?"

"You could just abandon the goal of Undercity… Naruto… it had always been a painful relationship, you know that… one of you would lose eventually… I just never thought death would be included in the process…"

"What have I done…" I murmured, totally ignoring the fact that Anthris said anything. "She's gone…"

"I can revive her since her body is still very fresh," Anthris reminded. "Isn't this why you called me out here? She would be an undead, but she would be 'alive'. Well, what do you want me to do?"

"I can't have Hinata become something like me…"

"And why not, Naruto?" my master challenged as she watched me carefully to examine my reaction from her inquiry.

"Hinata is too beautiful to become a monster…"

"Being dead is another stage in life. It's not any different from being alive when you think about it."

"Don't you dare think that you can play God with her life!" I yelled. In fact, it was a screech. "You can play with mine because I wanted you to, but Hinata is not like me. She is not the same as I!"

Surprisingly, Anthris did not counter or retaliate, as though she already knew that I would be very emotional to anything right now where everything said, heard and did would seem like a direct attack to my soul. That was all true, sadly to say, and I was all so glad, despite that I did not show it at this moment, that she was very considerate in spite everything that had happened. "Let me jog your memory, Naruto. Didn't Hinata say that she wanted to join you on your journey? Reviving her would be satisfying her wishes, would it not?"

"An undead life is not what she deserves…"

"And you are just going to leave her?" Anthris asked me another painful question. "Can you leave her? Are you really going to leave for Undercity while you know that her body is perfectly fine and bringing her back to life is very possible, yet you refused to do it just because of your undead beliefs and values? Will you not feel any longing for her? Can you do it? Are you as unfeeling as you say you are? I'll tell you, Naruto, you're not. You're as emotional as the day you left Konoha with Jiraiya, but maturity coated over everything so you show yours somewhere else than just ramen. That's a part of being alive, you cannot not communicate. You cannot force yourself to have no emotions."

I was about to break down again, but I forced it to subside –for now, anyway. "Anthris… B-but…"

"You really wanted Hinata to come with you, am I right?" I nodded. "If you want me to resurrect her… I can do it, but you know she will never be the same. I am sure her looks and mentality would be no different… however, I cannot guarantee that there won't be any changes. Perhaps the racial attributes would surface eventually… Bottom line is, of course, that you have Hinata by your side and this time as someone you can truly love because she is no longer a human."

"Hinata is not suited for being an undead…"

"You don't know that…"

"That goodness inside her heart is not meant for something as vile as I…"

"Her lust is beyond exceptional though," Anthris reasoned, a little naughtily.

"Not a good time to joke around, Artifact,"

"Meanie… Anyway, do you want me to help? It's your choice."

I chuckled despite my sadness, out of grief and eternal frustration, actually. Was it normal to be showing delight under such tremendous misery? My body seemed to like it. It felt… good. "You have the quite the way to get what you desire with your words… I'll only assume that you would've revived her despite what I order, correct?" This did not appear to be something I would normally say –not undergoing this, no…

"I like Hinata-chan a little too much to see her dead with such a pathetic reason behind it… I am really disappointed in you, Naruto… Out of everyone, you had to be responsible for her death… Rage really took the best of you, ne?"

I had no energy left for a comeback. Anthris could say whatever she wanted at this point, and all I could do was absorb and absorb and absorb. There weren't many chances for this to happen, so if anything was on her mind that she normally wouldn't say then she better unleash it now while I wouldn't retaliate. To my shock, Anthris refused to say more. Perhaps she figured that watching me beat up myself was more than just an entertainment for her but a lesson for me to learn a very hard way.

Really now… without Anthris, I wouldn't be an undead… and without Anthris… Hinata wouldn't have a second chance. It hurt me even more to realize that both people's lives were caused by me in one way or another: one from stupidity and the other from uncontrolled rage. I wouldn't want to look completely grateful, since I would never give the satisfaction that I was weak over anything. "I'm sorry…" I apologized after a ten second delay and wisely avoiding my eyes from Hinata's corpse. "For everything…"

"Seriously… where would you be without me?"

"Shaking hands with Satan perchance?"

"Probably, yeah…"

"Do you want me to watch?"

"You want to?"

"Not really… no… I'll spare myself from the ritual…"

"It's not that amazingly horrific," suggest my dark mistress. "I thought you liked the gore. You know, being an undead and all…"

"Not today… I've seen too much already… I may not picture killing the same way either…"

"That's a little extreme," Anthris corrected, "It's not like you to be hindered by one mistake. Sure, you may have hurt Hinata by accident, but that doesn't mean it should affect you on everything later on, right?"

"Right…" I dully concurred, no strength to argue at all. "Do what you must…"

I silently left the scene to let Anthris do her work. Seriously, some time alone would do me good. Clear up my head, dwell in guilt, scream in utter pain, taking a kunai to stab myself with, whatever. Anything worked by now as long as it relieved me. Despite my insistence on not watching the resurrection ceremony, my interest grew curious.

As I turned around, due to my sudden interest although seeing Hinata's dead body instantly made my stomach turn. Damn it, I wanted to puke again… even if Anthris' kneeling did block part of it from my view… this sensation was incredibly revolting…

"Ara?" my mistress called out as she heard my choking. "I thought you weren't going to watch."

"Changed my mind…" I said, my hands trembling that it would convince anyone that I was partially insane. "Proceed with whatever you are planning as though I am not here…" She just gave me a look of her own before she shook her head, which was almost unnoticeable if I wasn't staring at her so carefully. I hated it when I lost to someone from wit… or something to do with intelligence. Damn it, nothing was going straight… it was as though my path was blocked before my thoughts began to run around in a neverending circle! This was downright frustrating…

In my turmoil, Anthris ignored whatever I was doing (by myself in my undeniable distress) and continued with the corpse. She used no ritual circle, and she didn't need one. Creating masterpieces of art during ceremonies that required no such thing was a pointless way to use up time, and Anthris would have none of it when she knew how much this dead woman meant to me… and her (in some ways). Even if my master might hold some negative resentment without ever expressing it once to Rika or me for that matter, it did bring pain to find out that at one moment Hinata was breathing and suddenly she was no longer with us. It really reminded her that life was fragile. Humans always believed that they were invincible. But that was a wishful thinking. Just having one part malfunctioning and their lives already change… only the severity could differentiate the difference… and sadly to say, this thesis proved how much superior the undead race was in maintaining perfection.

I could just replace this left arm if I didn't like how it looked. But I wouldn't. The flexibility and strength was too good to pass up given that I was an assassin type of shinobi that excelled in combat and subtlety. Perhaps Tenten should be classified in my deserving-list where she would see all my techniques than my mere combat ones. That would have to wait. As I was saying, my old self… he had to accept whatever weaknesses he was innate with. I, on the other hand, could be perfect in whatever ways I wished. People said it would be a terrible thing to have whatever body you wished to have… I say it would be great. That said, I also believe that having all girls pretty would be great, too.

Now ignoring me, Anthris performed a rare set of hand seals in a moderate pace, clearly showing that she was not in a hurry, and yet it was weirdly precise. As soon as she finished off with the tiger seal after a making ten other ones, a shadowy line of energy formed from the perimeter of Hinata's body before shooting out in two opposite direction to form a ritual circle. Once the circle was made, the energies moved on their will before making a star-shape within.

Anthris smiled ever so subtly when she could finally commence the ceremony. If my eyes weren't deceiving me, the shadowy star seemed to be giving its energy into Hinata's corpse, empowering that shell as the whole body seemed to be radiating a deathly violet. Even so, Hinata did not seem to be moving yet.

It was then that my mistress made another set of seals before tapping her energized fingers onto Hinata's forehead.

"Hinata-chan," she spoke gently, "Sweetie, it's time to wake up. You're okay now, so wake up."

Right after she said that, the said girl's hand, which was immobile due to her death, began to twitch. I thought it was my imagination, but I knew that it wasn't once her hand made a fist.

"Anthris… what did you do?" I said, stuttering and stammering very vividly.

"That's what I did when I revived you, silly," my demonness replied, smiling. "The ritual was a success. You want to come over? I think Hinata-chan would be absolutely delighted to see you when she wakes up."

I did as I was told, since I was pretty curious as to see how much different my lover had become. In fact, I was quite shocked at how attractive she looked right now as she slept… as an undead woman. In all honesty, if I was asked to judge if she looked much different from before, then I would say that she nearly looked the same only if her skin did not carry such an evident shade of the slightest dolphin grey. It made her look lifeless, like me, who was suffering from hypothermia than illness. Her hair remained the same as well, but maybe only time would make it change into another shade of colour like how my hair transformed.

Oblivious to me, my sense of justice claimed this as beautiful before even realizing it.

"Hinata…" I mumbled her name involuntarily, like a habit. A second after, I stroked her cheek, which was still incredibly soft and smooth despite her now deathly features when it came to appearance.

"Hmmmm…?" I heard her moan out. My heart nearly jumped out of my body when I knew that she was alive. Only Hinata, in my knowledge, knew how to accept and receive affection from me.

"Hinata… you're okay… come on, wake up…"

She slowly opened her eyes, revealing that she still had her bloodline eyes, yet the lavender was diluted by a huge percentage where it was now fainter. The subtle grey in her eyes, where it should be white, combined with this new faint lavender made her eyes look like they had no different coatings of dye in them, but of course that could be distinguished easily. Luckily, I still saw lavender in them, or she would appear to be a brutal, mindless zombie than an intelligent undead.

My God… she was beautiful…

"I'll leave you two alone, okay?" said Anthris, giving a small wink. "I want to get some air anyway." With that said, Anthris leaped away before I could've suggested anything. Hinata, being so kind and adorable, would've been absolutely grateful for having a second life, and she would do so much to show her appreciation. Too late now… Well, at least I was given the opportunity to speak with Hinata one on one. There were just some things I would share with her without anyone else here, although Anthris, in one way another, guessed what they could be despite her lack of presence.

I turned back to focus on the Hyuuga girl… just to see her suddenly missing. I could've sworn she was still lying in the ritual circle just moments before. When I raised my head, I let out a surprised gasp when Hinata was already fully awake, standing ten feet before me (though not facing me) as she examined her arms and hands with fascination.

She grinned… murderously?

Hinata made a fist, then released, and finally made one again to see her grip. Satisfied with her observations, she levelled her right leg, bending it a little like she was making a crane stance but not so since she didn't spread out her arms for a second, and gave a forward kick. She did it a several times consecutively before switching to her left one, just to do the same thing but adding a several punches midway.

I didn't mind her testing the abilities of her new body (technically it was still her old one because she didn't use anyone else's limbs yet) but did she have to ignore me as though I wasn't here? Please… she shouldn't be still mad at me… I revived her for crying out loud!

"My dear," I called out to her with the nickname of my choice. "How are you feeling?"

"Thank you, my love," Hinata stopped and stated it gratefully, this time giving all her attention to me with eyes that were full of love, lust, and desire. Another part of her was different, and it was her voice. It had gotten, in spite the insignificance, airy, like a banshee. I eyed her solemnly… she still had that strange grin (that was not lusty or adorable) on her face, which represented a dark evil.

To think that I might actually be complaining… Yeah, right. I loved this darkness.

"Thank me for what?"

She couldn't control herself and ran towards my direction, ready to embrace. Whether I liked it or not, I braced for impact as she hugged me so hard that I felt my spine was about to snap into halves, or thirds… or tenths…

"I love you!" she exclaimed, full of delight. "Now we can be together forever!"

Forever… this seemed awfully awful to my ears…

"Yes… forever…" I said, kissing her on the forehead. "You don't look as much different as you think… just paler skin, fainter eyes… very… feminine, even more so when most undead women aren't the best when it comes to appearance. You are still so beautiful, Hinata… so gorgeous… who is like you in this world?"

Hinata, despite being now a ruthless, bloodthirsty undead, still blushed up adorably. "You're making me shy, my love…"

I sniffed her hair, which was something I never did before. To my honest disbelief, the green apple shampoo she used along with the natural graceful and wonderful natural smell, Hinata was intoxicating. If my cheeks were tinted with crimson, perhaps I wouldn't have gotten away with it as well as I did.

"Do tell me though… do you feel any different?" I asked, my seriousness returning by a portion.

"Different? Why, I never felt better." Hinata said genuinely along with a lovely smile that did not suit an undead well.

"Let me put it this way… did you find anything specifically peculiar?"

"I feel light, very light,"

"As in faster?"

"A lot faster, and it's not because of my delightful mood, which of course is playing a role nonetheless."

"Perhaps you and I share the same traits…" I stated in a preachy type of way between superiors and their followers. "Another agility based type warrior using cunningness and deceit… Is Anthris running out of ideas, or does she only know how to make assassins out of her undeads?"

"We are shinobis, not barbarians," Hinata stated in a blunt tone. Her hands snaked a bit more around my back so she could secure our lock more efficiently, and to experience more warmth although my body emitted little heat in order to survive the harsh weathers of either season more effectively.

"You got a point there. Oh, Hinata, I am… I-I am…"

"What is it, my love?"

If there was anything in the world that I wasn't good at, then it had to be apologizing. This time, however, it was my fault and mine alone. Knowing that Hinata might not actually have minded that I murdered her earlier, I felt the need to admit my sins before the guilt overwhelmed me. Usually, I went overboard with the shame before my thinking would go haywire. "I'm sorry…"

"Hmmm?" Hinata didn't make out an audible word; instead she chose to be cute (despite being dead) and made an inquisitive pitch. That sound was starting to affect my thinking with mushiness before abolishing my natural nature. "For what?"

"For killing you…"

"Oh, that's okay," Hinata said wholeheartedly. "I can't thank you enough for allowing me to accompany you, my love."

Yeah… that issue still bugged me, and Hinata knew that it did when my appearance, the rare apologetic one, vanish and swapped with a sceptical one. There were plenty of things that were on my mind, and being honest with her about it right now did not seem to be such a bad idea. Besides, these were major concerns. "Are you sure you want to do that… there are still many things I want to discuss with you about the rashness of your decision, Hinata… despite technically it was my fault for causing it…"

"I can't go back to Konoha now, Naruto-kun," reasoned Hinata, taking one arm off my waist and showed it to me as if I was either blind or not so observant. "I am undead, like you. Although the changes are not totally evident, my skin looks different enough from what it was this morning. This does arouse a lot of questions."

"I am not in charge of your life," I said, letting out some of the frustration I had built up. "You can do whatever you want."

"And what I want is to be with you. Forever."

"That sounds like a promise that many can't keep," I laughed lowly although Hinata was quite serious and certainly able to keep up her end of the promise. "At any rate," I coughed, abolishing my silliness when I should be calm, collected, and strict. "What are you going to do now though, dear? Without planning, you are now an undead, monstrosity to the living. You can't go back home, you can't be part of Konoha… you… y-you… no… do you have any methods of survival like this? Money? Food? Clothes?"

"I'm a rich bitch, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with one of the straightest faces I had seen. If she was going to be so spontaneous from now on, I didn't know what I'd do. No, perhaps I would. I always did. Adjusting was my strong trait in more ways than one. "Access to money is the least of my problems in this world."

She ended the last part with a subtle coat of bitterness whether her tone did not change at all. I knew her that well. Everyone had a dark side it seemed.

"Right, I forgot you are the Ojou of the family…" I sarcastically remarked. "I should really start calling you Ojou instead of 'My dear' since our social status is really off by such a significant margin."

"No, I like you calling me by 'Dear', my love," she insisted, whining in her cute voice. "Don't change it to anything else… Unless you don't like me calling you by 'Love'…"

"It doesn't matter," I said, my awareness going up despite our intimate moment. "Names can always wait, Ojou."

"I told you not to call me that!" she shouted, no threat involved.

By the end of today, I would be calling her by Ojou, that was a promise.

"Sure, Ojou,"

"Mooouuu!" she whined like a baby. "You're so mean!"

"Silliness aside, Ojou," I said, looking at her gorgeous faint pools that were even more enticing than when she was alive. In fact, I felt that I was having trouble watching her. "Do you really wish to come with me to Undercity?"

"Yes," Hinata replied with no hesitation or stuttering following. "I have the sword you made for me… that should be good enough to protect me."

That aroused a good question though. "You have mastered swordsmanship?"

"I have practiced with Father and Neji-ni-san occasionally when I had nothing to do."

I showed a not so persuaded expression, also because I was fairly sceptical and doubtful. Not that I pressed the issue, mind you.

"At any rate, you should speak with Anthris later on. Your body… your luscious body…" I couldn't believe I said that out loud. Hinata gave me a strange look in an endearing way, which made my throat dry, completely curious as to why I said something so daring when it was my nature to be utterly and ridiculously conservative when it came to emotions. "Let me state it again… This undead body does have its differences compared to your old one although you share the same body. Anthris may know what style of combat suits you best despite it is quite obvious that your style would be agility based, but only asking would grant you the answer."

"Why, don't you know?" Hinata questioned on the mark. I shook my head. "Don't you at least have some pointers?"

"An undead assassin like ourselves are killers in the shadows, like typical ANBUs, yet we enhance our strengths further by being talented in certain aspects that make us unique and special. From what I can see, you need to discover yours as soon as you can."

"But… why can't you discover it with me?" Now I knew she wanted attention and affection at the same time. Was I going to give her that sense of satisfaction? It would really depend on my mood and it was definitely not right now. "Or… perhaps you are not as much of an assassin expertise as I think you are?"

Was that supposed to be an insult?

"No, you're right, I am not that knowledgeable," I admitted, grinning in victory. "You know what, Ojou, I think I am so inadequate for this position that I urge you to look for a real specialist, like Anthris. Yes, I do believe that it would be better for the two of us if you walk down that path."

Speak of the devil, the said person had returned from her little walk.

"You called me?" she asked, her voice coming from an area above ground. "So, did you two kiss and make up yet?"

I turned myself around, making Hinata release her embrace a little reluctantly on her part. The undead Hyuuga girl, even as a walking dead, still loved affection from me, if not more in her current state. I promised that I would get back to her once I finished some discussions with Anthris. "We were talking about you, yes," I said, sighing. "I was just suggesting that Hinata should be knowing what style she should be now that I killed her so beautifully, and I can't help but think that she should be coming to you, my dark mistress, for some humble advice."

Anthris, kneeling on a branch, laughed out pleasantly. "Oh, Naruto, it's so like you to avoid that subject, even if you should be jumping for joy that your adorable lover is alive and well."

"What is that subject?" asked Hinata, clinging her delicate and smooth hands on my shoulder.

"Hinata-chan," Anthris' calling perked her interest instantly, it was more effective than having me to say her name. "Listen to me. Are you, as of this moment, happy at what you have become?" The Hyuuga girl nodded, giving Anthris the appropriate confidence to continue. "Why do you wish to become an undead? Is it because you want to be with my little apprentice for as long as you can?" Once more, Hinata nodded obediently. Deep down, I was envious of Anthris' authority, that I couldn't control Hinata as well as she did. Then again, it could be due to the fact that Hinata did not associate with Anthris as often as she did with Rika, thus the new undead girl knew very little about what Anthris could be peeved of if she were to be angered.

"Anthris, what are you getting at?" I asked, and all I received was a stern stare, ordering me to remain silent until it was time.

Her attention switched back to Hinata quickly, and the Hyuuga girl was more than willing to listen. "Hinata-chan, you have to realize what sort of big step you are taking here. I, for one, have never seen anyone who is willing to become this sort of… monstrosity, as named and viewed by humans. You have to be prepared for anything, and perhaps you need to hide your true identity given certain times and never reveal any other undead's identity to any other person who isn't an undead. This is considered to be a treasonous act against your fellow brethren with high consequences, unless that specific someone is posing to be a dangerous threat, but I doubt that is ever going to happen when people like Naruto are struggling to find a home of their own."

"I understand, Anthris-sama," Hinata said with no hint of silliness whatsoever.

"Well, I am glad that we had this talk. But let me get to the real stuff."

Real stuff?

My master resumed her talking despite that look on my face, suggesting ridicule and disbelief all at the same time. Hinata, like Anthris, failed to notice it also. "Now that you are an undead, you can ask Naruto for anything."

"Anything?" Hinata questioned quite innocently, her real intentions masked excellently. "What do you mean?"

"For someone as naughty as you, who has an feisty beast behind that demigoddess exterior, you should know exactly what I am talking about." Anthris grinned widely as she finished, causing the Hyuuga girl to blush up furiously. Even so, that blush did not last long, since her own smile soon formed evilly on her gorgeous visage, turning her into a dangerous vixen. Yes, this was the perfect moment to fear, to jack up that vigilance that had kept me alive for as long as I have, but it was a little too late when Hinata's arms ensnared themselves around my waist before I could even move.

"Naruto-kun," I heard Hinata moan in my back seductively. "Naruto-kun…"

"What is, Hinata?" I asked back, deep down already expecting something very treacherous and unclean from her.

No hesitation was detected when she made this next request. "Can we celebrate later in the night?"

"Celebrate what?" I inquired, although I had quite a vivid idea as to what she was referring to.

"For me being a part of you and Undercity."

"It's strange how you can see it as a blessing," I told her, eyeing Anthris with a look, one that hinted I was cheated and betrayed. "It's a curse, Hinata, not something you should relish in or find delight over."

"Oh, but I do," she persisted in a fashion that showed no pressure or did she seem to press her opinions into mine. Deep down, however, I was silently told to agree with whatever she was believing in. "Naruto-kun, my love, celebrate with me… tonight… intimately…"

This opened three choices, which could lead to very dangerous results if I picked either one. The first one would involve me obliging in her demands and take her right there without worrying about anything, making passionate love to her that she wouldn't dare to ask me for another round unless she wanted to kill herself from fatigue under multiples and multiples of orgasms. Ever since Hinata turned into an undead, I couldn't stop thinking about her, and her ever-growing lust was finally having a dire effect on me that I did not know if I could control with my own sense of willpower alone.

Second choice was to have me ignore her needs and postponing them until a further notice, which Hinata would never agree to since her hormones were at an overdrive. She didn't want affection and love, she needed the affection and love, and at the same time I was the only being on this face of existence who could give it to her. Perhaps she would pounce on me and rape me if I refused to acknowledge her vitalities.

Lastly, and definitely the most irrational of the three, would be using violence to solve everything, which included me to bind her and perform the Genrou Zan on her neck, making her faint from immense pain. I had my worries though. Firstly, how would I even pull it off on her? Secondly, even if I did, what would she do to me afterwards? Hinata was not going to let it go, and then she would be empowered with rage and passion before she would jump on me, possibly even in public, and give me a whole torrential wave of love as she rapes me entirely. Yes, I didn't think highly of Hinata in this aspect, but neither should she view me as anything different. If she could read my mind, then she would know that an undead woman in my eyes was undeniably desirable, someone that I could love and unleash my love upon without any provocation if the feelings weren't restrained.

I was sure Hinata felt the same way…

"Worry about that later," I said, in a voice that contained all the seriousness I could muster at this intimate situation. "It wouldn't be long before someone catches us. I suggest that we leave the vicinity and never plan to return. And… Hinata…"

"What, Naruto-kun?" she asked, still holding onto me.

"Are you okay with this? Will you be fine if you leave Konoha forever?"

"Forever?"

"Well, maybe we will return… just to destroy it."

"What?"

"You should know my intentions well before following them, dear," I told her, sneering a dark grin. "Ever since I became an undead, the living was doomed from that day on. I always had a deep indoctrinated notion for vengeance, but a human killing a human was just immoral and revolting. As an undead, who cares what people think! Maybe I am just a blood crazed killing machine now, but I'll let them believe whatever they want. It's not like I don't intend to walk out victorious in the end, where as they would be struggling to survive. In a way, you can say I never grew up, I just gained more intellect to enhance my rage throughout these years, and I knew I couldn't accomplish it alone. That is why I am so desperate to look for people who thought like me, who looked like me, who shared the same rage and hatred."

"… And Undercity is your solution?" Hinata asked, her tone carried a worried element that should not be there.

"Of course," I honestly elaborated, making a fist with my right hand. "Justice will be served, the obsolete shall be destroyed, and those humans will regret for ever mistreating me. If it weren't for you, Hinata my dear, I would've left Konoha a long time ago," I rubbed her cheek lovingly, so approvingly that it got her aroused. "You were the only obstacle that held the remnants of my humanity, but now… even you are part of the dead, there is no living person now that is not worth killing. Maybe I wanted you to live so I wouldn't get so irrational, but oh well, what's done is done."

It was shocking to find myself speaking with such a carefree attitude, where as I still had some rationality of compassion when I murdered her earlier.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered before she embraced me further. "Are you really going to kill everyone… even those who still love you in there?"

I was quite bitter. "They love me as long as I am useful. They don't need me, and I don't need them."

"My love…"

"Come on, Hinata, we're leaving –forever."

I kissed her on the forehead, her skin, although now on a dead body empowered by demonic chakra, was still supple, smooth, and soft. Indeed, she was the most beautiful undead woman I had seen. Truth be told, I haven't seen any other undead women, but I certainly doubted that their looks would be anything near decent, let alone acceptable. "God…" I huskily growled. "You're beautiful…"

"Naruto-kun?"

"With you dead, nothing is holding me back," I told her, pressing my lips onto hers, practically devouring her mouth before invading with my tongue. Never had I been so aggressive before, and thank goodness I snapped out of it by slowing pulling away, a trail of saliva parting from our lips before our distance was too far and broke off. "Come on, Hinata, our new home awaits."

The Hyuuga girl did not know how to react… In the end she just dumbly nodded and followed my lead out of the town.

(Uritake, many, many hours later)

"This is Uritake?" Hinata asked delicately, watching the small town from a large plateau from the outskirts, wind blowing her way to make her silky hair seem divine. She seemed absolutely mesmerized at the small town, stretching from twelve kilometres in length and eight kilometres in width.

"Quite a sight, isn't it?" I inquired, sitting down with my back against a tree, staring at the horizon without much emotion.

"It's wonderful… I can't believe Rika-chan lives in such a wonderful place. Naruto-kun… why did you bring me here?"

Truth be told, we haven't talked to another for hours. The first conversation we had was, well… when Hinata said, "This is Uritake?" I didn't want my feelings to go overboard, knowing how I wasn't able to resist her although she made no initiative to be affection. Her new look, her new being was affecting me, and after one kiss I knew I wanted more. I needed more from her, but I couldn't afford to look like a lusty freak. I was sure Hinata felt the same way… her fidgeting did not go unnoticed. When you think about it, after travelling for thirty or so miles on foot without saying a word to another, it was just another way of reaching insanity from loneliness.

"I didn't."

"What?"

"I didn't bring you here just because you have a curiosity of seeing what kind of place Rika lives in. Besides… the unholiness here is absolutely overwhelming…"

"Unholiness?"

"Not a word, I know," I grunted. "But where we need to go is northeast of here. There is a ship dock that can give us access to the northern continent, and it's located not too far from here. Obviously, that port was made by our brethren, masking their identities with a human looking shell… or whatever methods they decided on fooling those imbeciles. I am sure Uritake has many undead as well right now, trying to mingle their way in and transforming whoever they can, or making relations so their invasion of this town would be that much easier."

"So… Uritake is doomed?"

"They are already initiating my dreams without me…" I came to my lover's side, grinning. "Bastards, aren't they? Then again, it's exciting for anyone to realize what a mortal does best –watch them die."

"You are much darker than usual, my love," commented Hinata, moving in closer as my arm snaked around her narrow waist. "Is anything wrong?"

"I never felt more free. With the one and only girl that I actually care about now as an undead, why need to hide your true feelings? Besides, if I see you talking like a human, I would find you astoundingly pathetic. You are more vital to me than you can ever imagine, and now with your death I will fully take advantage of it and banish that spark of humanity down to the shadows, drowning his spirit with the entire wrath upon it as it transforms into a fading essence of the past, never to be seen by anyone again."

Hinata giggled at my words, to my surprise. "Naruto-kun, you really want to kill someone don't you?"

"Tenten makes a wonderful candidate. I'll make sure she suffers so much that paying a visit to hell would seem like a paradise."

"If it makes you feel any better… you can kill someone in the town."

"You are allowing me?"

"Only if you drink their blood…"

"So, you like it, don't you? And you made me feel like a monster the other day for having nothing but raw meat."

"I never knew how wonderful and addictive it was…"

"And now you do. But that's not the time to do that. Killing will become part of our lives very soon, like a daily practice, or simply a relaxing leisure. If you really want to, you can stay here and kill some more wild animals and save their blood while I go to town to buy more supplies. Besides, I think you need a better outfit. It still has that tear from my deathblow and it reeks with your blood… You have no idea what sort of effect it had on me… it nearly made me want to rip your shirt off-"

Hinata grew excited, aroused, and hot. Her blush told me enough. "You wanted to make love to me?"

"No," I corrected. "Just your blood, yet leaving you topless at the same time. Yes, it's a win-win."

Her face turned very naughty, in which caused my vigilance to rise if I wanted to leave this place as a virgin. "I wouldn't mind tasting your blood… I'll bet it's delicious." she slurred her words, alluringly welcoming.

"Don't talk so sexy, Hinata, you're almost irresistible."

"Almost isn't good enough, I'm afraid. I don't like being an underachiever, but I think my act does need some work."

"Keep dreaming, girl."

"It doesn't hurt to be persistent in what you believe in."

"As long it doesn't get the other person killed."

"Don't you want to make love with me?"

"I'll think about it when I go insane."

"Aren't you already?"

"Just find some animals and kill them. I'll buy you something nice, or I can always have Anthris make you something. She is an excellent clothier despite her consistency to go off the tangent when you speak with her. That is why I always end up buying my own clothes when I could ask her to make them to save a several thousand yen although I am obscenely rich."

Hinata looked at me inquisitively for a brief moment, then a smile broke out from her lips. "You seem very talkative today, my love. I think you're really happy."

"And I think you're sexually frustrated. If you are not, then I am straight." My lover's eyes completely opened when they were half closed before to the point where it nearly popped in her sockets. In fact, she nearly wanted to vomit but I pinched her butt to refrain her from doing it. Really, I didn't want puke to ruin my fashionable clothes, although they were quite stained from her blood earlier. In addition, Hinata really did have a nice rear… perhaps it would look even better without panties… "It's a figure of speech, dear. But seriously, we shouldn't waste time. Speak to Anthris about your clothes as you… k-k-kill… and I'll go to town to restock on our supplies and possibly gather any crucial information."

"It sounds like a plan," agreed Hinata, finally taking the action to break out of our entanglement. It did feel cold without her beside me, especially now since it was dark. "But, my love, if you want me wet, try pinching me at the front. It's a hundred times more effective. Trust me."

"I'll think about it when I go insane."

"Aren't you already?"
"Oh, would you shut up?"

With that said, Hinata and I leaped away towards different directions with very different motives.

(Later in the night, close to 10PM, at a local coffee shop)

"How was feasting?" I questioned, clearly amused, as I inspected Hinata's form as she took the chair out of the table and sat down. I offered the second beverage I saved for her, and she gratefully took it and sucked on the straw to savour that deliciously sweet flavour of frozen cappuccino. She nodded happily, perhaps forgotten my question entirely when delight overwhelmed her… tastebuds…

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, smiling. "This is great!"

"Of course the damned cappuccino is great, it's made by a major cooperation that will cease to exist if the undead lay siege on their head office."

"I thought I answered your previous question quite well, my love. I really did have fun feasting, but the salt in the blood made me so thirsty… After drinking blood…. water tastes like filth to me."

"And this isn't?"

"You said the cappuccino was great."

"Don't you know sarcasm when you hear it? This coffee is crap. My face might've remained neutral if I drank out of the toilet…"

"You don't mean that…" said the Hyuuga girl. "Oh, did you find anything interesting while you were in here?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, no," I replied, sipping the remaining coffee I had in my mug. "Just the undead population is at a percentage that they could make a political party if they wished. This town will become our new bastion soon enough, especially many of the inhabitants have either been killed or transformed as our brethren. Even that teenage guy at the counter has our unholy smell. I got a lot of food and bought a new backpack, too, and did some pointless window-shopping to see what sort of people walk in this town. That's my report, what about you? Did you find anything though?"

Hinata weakly grinned a mature snicker. "Do you really think that I was just doing whatever I wanted? Have more faith in me. However, why haven't you commented on my new outfit?"

"Outfit?"

Perhaps I didn't take much notice when I saw that she was wearing something appropriate for a female assassin. Her hairstyle remained the same, but her neck had a dark fabric scarf loosely wrapped around it, possibly used as a mask of some sort. Her blouse was gone, but replaced with a tight leather vest that hugged her frame, especially outlining her large breasts. It was so sensually made that she had a zipper up front, which Hinata had it opened down to midway so her heavenly cleavage was exposed, much more than what a petit girl like her should have, yet she was actually 5'4. Inside, she had the symbolic shinobi net-mail-shirt, which was doubled as a minor body armour, and coincidentally, it made her trapped breasts look that much more desirable from their minimal prison.

Moving downward… well, I could only see her hands, since the table was blocking the rest of the view. She had the same matching coloured leather gloves on that reached her elbows for no apparent reason that I could name, and I only assumed that Hinata was wearing a figure-hugging style of pants and boots, since sandals weren't the greatest assets for a cunning shinobi. In all honesty, I used a lot of cheap shots on the feet to assure my victories before, and so I wear boots to prevent that ever from happening to me.

Overall, Hinata looked sexy. And her knowing grin did not help my focus either. I tried to ignore it, but her smile only got wider, my discomfort clearly feeding her with a sense of satisfaction that made her ego grow more powerful.

"At least you're clean," I only said, nodding at her clothing in agreement. "But don't you think whatever you're wearing isn't too… outright different? Can't it be something more… casual? This is too distinct."

"The lack of restriction makes my mobility so much better though," Hinata reasoned, smiling since she had me totally focused. "Besides, I look good."

I sneered a little before swapping back with an honest look of discomfort. "You can look good with other clothing. Currently, you are drawing the wrong attention."

"No, I think I am doing just fine." Hinata proudly stated, sensing luck was on her side, and which it was.

"Annoying…" I muttered under my breath.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing,"

"Liar,"

"You're getting better at this,"

"No, you're getting worse. It does look like you are avoiding this in a desperate attempt to deny your feelings. Come on, my love, admit it, you do love me."

"What about your report?" I changed the subject, wiping my lips with an available napkin after that terrible aftertaste of death.

"Several people found me walking around in the forests," she said, giggling for no apparent reason. "Well, dead people, rather."

That perked my interest, at least good enough for me to look at her in the eye. "Were they guardsmen?"

"Pretty much, yes. What are you going to do now though, my love?"

"This town has become an undead encampment in such a short amount of time…" I muttered, somewhat cursing the fact that I had been so ignorant of the facts until recently. "The last time I was here it was still very living… Looks like we have more friends than I thought. We can't stay here though, Konoha's people would be searching for us soon. After enjoying your high cooperate merchandise that tastes no different than shit, we better get moving."

Hinata's temple throbbed, obviously disagreeing with the harsh terms I used on her heavenly drink, which was now considered to be her new drug -aside from affection, flirting, and constant crave for sex. "It's not a bad beverage, Naruto-kun. If it's so terrible, why did you buy it for me?"

"Oh, I have my reasons," I chuckled evilly, causing Hinata to frown. "But it obviously backfired when you still have that smile on your face after swallowing that evident poison. Like I said, I'll take my chances with toilet water." Fuming at my persistence at being so negative, Hinata just kept drinking without saying another word, her lips making an evident pout, which was a silent demand for me to cheer her up later on. "Silliness aside, we should get going to the dock by tonight."

My request caught her attention, forcing her to break out of her cute expression and replace with a vigilant one, in which I needed to cherish more often. "Tonight? So soon? But it's already so late… Can't we stay at a motel for the night instead?" Yes, her intentions did not go unnoticed…

Wait, did she just lower her zipper further?

"Staying on this continent can pose as a great threat, knowing that our absence in Konoha would be worldwide news sooner or later, courtesy of Tsunade and her unbelievably large breasts that can motivate any men to move their legs and aid her if she was that daring enough to show a small fraction of her massive cleavage. If we get our butts out of this side of land early, perhaps that would increase our chance of not being detected."

"So you're saying that we won't get caught if we go across?"

"I didn't say that."

(Ship dock, an hour later)

Our trip, once again, was strangely silent, but love, as Hinata would put it, was in the air. She clung onto me by the right arm, showing the world that I was hers, purring occasionally as her soft cheeks rubbed against my shoulder as moaned, everything she did demanded attention of some sort, in which I barely gave her, according to her undeniably high standards, but ridiculously high in compared to my expectations.

I kissed her forehead, cheek, and nose frequently enough, I think twenty times within an hour was sufficient, yet to her it was barely adequate. She wanted some attention on her lips, which I deliberately avoided, and she grew more desperate as each minute went by. It was amusing while it lasted, right until we reached the dock. That was when Hinata took me by surprise and pulled my head towards hers and kissed me deeply.

"Mmmm…" she moaned heavenly into my mouth.

"….." I failed to produce a sound as her skilful invading abilities virtually muted me from doing anything.

Two damned minutes later I was released, gasping for air where she was having the time of her life. That was what I get for neglecting her. Perhaps I should do it more frequently, just so I could tease the hell out of her… but she would just kiss me more because she liked the humour that came from my teasing, and whatever I did with her was fuelling and empowering her confidence and delight due to the attention. Why must I always lose when it came to this woman? To the very least, she never gloat about it like a bitch, instead she enjoyed it with me. Although now dead, Hinata was very much like her living self, if not more daring and cheerful knowing that loving her at this precise second was no longer serving as a troublesome task, but one that should spark up more romantic hopes and envious affection that one should be jealous of if they were desperately searching for a mate of any kind.

As our lips parted from another, I saw her giggle happily. Never had I seen her so enchanting and high spirited, like she was free from a curse that had bound her for as long as she could remember. And if her undead life were to be cut short, she would die a death of no regrets although there was one thing that she wanted to claim; my willingness to make her mine.

"Blast you, woman, why must you always catch me off guard?" I inquired, my rude manners coating over the fact that I actually enjoyed that kiss.

"You are getting careless, my love," she replied, still smiling and totally unaffected by my words, clearly knowing a deeper meaning. "Hey, look Naruto-kun, we're here. I can see boats."

"Of course we are here, you trickster, that's the only reason why you kissed me in public so everyone in the damned existence would know we are a couple who don't know how to control our urges. I don't know about you, but I intend to keep my image in check."

Hinata had her own set of reasoning, and despite how invalid it initially was, she managed to make it sound reasonable. "It's a way of showing to other people that even the dead can love another. Hope is not lost in spite our appearances and our new lives."

"And they don't need you to tell them. You have been dead for less than twenty-four hours, Hinata, in comparison they have been suffering for at least years or decades for all I know. If there is anything that they should know, they would be seeking others than to accept obnoxiousness from a beautiful young girl."

"Is there a need for you to be so consistently negative about hope?" she inquired with a notch of hidden seriousness, evidently agitated.

"Cautiousness comes with awareness and sceptical thinking," I retorted, playing the wise person role with all the answers yet Hinata was not one bit persuaded with that carefree look, "Without these, you would be taken advantage of all the time. Come to think of it, why don't I do that more often?"

She smiled slyly, practically seductively if she wished to be so enticing. "I've been dying for you to do that for the longest time, yet you never do when I am so eager for you to act. Please, consider it soon…" And she left it hanging, blushing a very fake shade of red when she was hinting naughtiness while most fools would believe that this was her timidity's work.

Beautiful as she was, even a rose had its thorns.

"Talk about it on the boat," I said, releasing her by the waist as I slowly separated from her wonderful body. "I'll check if the tickets I received are valid and perhaps we can get on the next ride if we are fortunate."

"Why should I do then?" asked Hinata, rubbing her fingers together for a brief moment.

"Be a treasure and enjoy this scenery of the waters at night while you still can. The next time you are looking at it, you might be having the objective to kill every living being you see. Besides, this is a damned beach, do whatever you girls do best when you are at a shoreline: swim naked; flirt with other guys; wash your feet in the waters; make sandcastles; get a suntan; show off your bikinis or lack of, you know what I'm talking about."

"Why do you sound so British?" inquired the Hyuuga girl, snickering with mischief that I rarely saw.

"How could I sound British? I don't even speak the language."

Wait a second, did that even make sense?

"In any case," I presumed hastily, "Be a dear and let me handle everything. There are some undead at the docks down at the far end of the waters, maybe you can stir up a conversation to gather more information." Hinata looked over at where I was pointing and grinned as she saw at least a dozen people towards that general direction. Some of them were workers associated with the port, and the others were obviously customers. Hinata's grin gotten wider when she and I realized those other passengers were humans. I saw a peculiar intent in her eyes, yet the same ones were building up inside me as well.

I wanted to kill them.

No, that would make too much commotion and my personal interests must be prioritized more properly for the sake of Undercity.

In that respect, I left Hinata to do her own thing as I entered the small cabin-like building behind me to pay for the fare and to attempt to gather more info on our journey.

"Good evening, sir," I heard someone greet me from within when the bell above the door made a ringing sound as I pushed it open. "How may I help you?"

"I am not sure if this is too much trouble, but is this place still opened despite being so late?"

"Why, we are opened twenty-four seven," the man behind the counter said, his standing posture was indeed strange for a person who appeared to be in their twenties and spoke like one, too. He had a hunchback, and no twenty-year-olds should have one. Then again, that youngster at the coffee shop also stood like this… and he was an undead… perhaps this one is also our brethren. "There is no such thing as trouble."

"Oh, really?" I asked, stuttering a bit. "Then may I ask if there would be a boat that will go across the Kuroshiki Sea anytime soon?"

"You're in luck, sir. According to the schedule, there should be one coming back to this dock in twenty minutes. But do allow me to ask you, why are you, a Japanese, hoping to accomplish on the other side? You don't look like the most dedicated traveller with just a large backpack and your companion doesn't even have anything but her clothes. Also, it's a Chinese territory, don't tell me you are just curious at their culture that you can't help yourself but to satisfy your curiosity."

"Are you in any position to ask that out of me?" I cringed my eyes, my expression turning slightly hostile. "I have these tickets," I continued, taking them out of my breast pocket and placed it on the counter. "You should know what they are for, do you not?"

The clerk grinned devilishly and took the two passes and read it to himself. His smile remained when he was done, not saying a word as his green eyes observed me carefully. His eyes seemed like contact lenses than real eyes… just like that blacksmith from Konoha. Yeah, this person was clearly like me, yet he seemed more dead than alive in comparison to Hinata and I. "It's pretty clear to me where you are going. This is a all expenses-paid ticket that offers the customer our Water-Express can provide… you are definitely not a common customer."

"What do you mean?" I questioned, earnestly confused yet I had a feeling why.

"Only people heading to Undercity would possess such a ticket, and all of them are undead. Think of this as a hero's welcome. Let me guess, you got this from one of our many agents that are serving as scouts in this continent, didn't you?"

"Not sure if he's a scout or not, but he is a blacksmith in Konoha right now…"

"Oh, you got it from Maki? That's not surprising, since he was one of the greatest assets Undercity has to spread out the word. You have heard a bit of the operations he pulled off, haven't you? If you did, you would understand why so many of our agents are stationed here in the first place." The clerk laughed as he said that. Okay… so what should I do? Laugh with him? Stare as though he was retarded? The best option left was to remain neutral, although the act was quite poor compared to my other ingenious displays of deceit.

"I have heard some," I admitted humbly.

"So, you're from Konoha? What about that girl outside that came with you?" My nod told him enough. "I have to say, no offence, that your friend has the loveliest smell." My brow was raised at his comment, and although I wasn't upset by any means, he quickly withdrew. "What I am saying is… I-I apologize for saying something like that…"

"No, it's fine," I assured him, taking back the tickets and placed them securely. "I want to know what you mean by loveliest smell. I don't quite understand these terminologies since Maki-san was the first other undead person I met… until I made her…" The 'her' I referred to was of course Hinata.

"You should know that undead have an unholy smell around them despite that it is faint. Our brethren can easily pick up this smell to differentiate whether you are a human or an undead. Your friend has it, too, but it is just so surprisingly pleasant, so good that it's alluring and welcoming. There is something about her that ignites that sense of unholy adrenaline in us. I have to say, she is so beautiful… I would be convinced if she was actually a human, but the smell never lies… ah, there really aren't many undead women as gorgeous as her… You are definitely a lucky man."

I didn't know how to react than to sigh. "You just don't know the details… I'll gladly switch places with you, believe me…"

"Really?" he excited asked.

"I lied. Hinata would never leave my side, not even if the Undercity Queen demanded it," I muttered under my breath, yet very audible. "Is it even normal for the dead to know affection and lust?"

"It's very normal," the clerk replied honestly as though he was a natural bad liar. "I would drool for certain if I had no pride. She is… that Hinata girl… marvellous… like a goddess from a dream… It's so damn rare to find a dead woman as gorgeous as the Queen herself… I would die to look at the Queen's jealous face…"

"Just what kind of person is the Queen of Undercity anyway?"

"She is a very powerful necromancer that no one should challenge if they have a clear mind," he told me very directly. "Clearly a shadow magic expert, yet very versatile in all sort of other magic. She is our Queen, yes, but she does love her brethren very much and cherishes each one of them with respect and dignity instead of being a ruthless tyrant. There is no need to fear her, because she would make sure that Undercity would take care of you. With any luck, you might even be favoured by the Queen if you prove yourself worthy."

As useful as his description was, it just wasn't what I was looking for. "You kind of answered another part of my question… but… what I am trying to ask is… well, how did the Undercity Queen come to be? How did she become an undead? What made her have such a resolve to create a home for the undead to stir up a revolution in the near future?"

The man behind the counter scratched his head, like he was thinking, and which he was, but the confusion on his face did enough of the talking without him actually having a need to speak words. "That I really don't know… I am just a dock attendant after all… and the Queen doesn't really share much about herself, unless it's to her most personal servants, which were usually other high ranked necromancers and doctors. But I do know just how long our home has been established. Almost sixteen years ago… in February or so…"

That was four months after I was born…

"Oh, did I mention that our Queen was from Konoha?"

"Are you serious?" my words held great anxiety and surprise. He nodded in response. "The Queen is from Konoha? What happened to her in Konoha? Why did she leave? Was she exiled? Did she die in Konoha?"

"Who knows," the man said back, shrugging his shoulders, raising them for a second before he dropped them down again. "I am just a dock attendant. If I were a warrior, maybe I would know more because our Queen is more open to them than the commoners. I am just happy that my life has more of a purpose after she found me, cold and alone. She is the reason why we have a home, you know, I can't really complain."

He did have a point, a good enough one that I didn't keep pursuing with my questions. "I guess you are right…"

"Naruto-kun!" I heard Hinata calling me from the outside, the door and wall weakened her volume but at least I heard her. "The boat is here! Are you done yet? Come on!"

I smiled a little when I heard her voice, and the clerk noticed it for sure but not that I really minded. It felt good to smile sometimes, in spite the fact that I usually was rewarded with hugs and kisses and flirts and affection. "Well, she's calling me. I better get going now."

"Since you are heading to Undercity, I might as well shorten your trip by giving you this pass. Show this to the sorceress named Setsuka and she will be able to transport you to the entrance of Undercity than having you travel for weeks up north. Give her this and she would be more than willing to summon up a rift. She is pretty picky when it comes to charity services, except if it's from the queen herself." I took it from his hand and placed it where I could see it properly. On the sheet of paper, it had no words… just a rune, a mystical symbol that meant absolutely nothing to someone who did not know the language. And I thought the symbols on our forehead protectors were already weird enough, I couldn't even tell why a several squares could represent 'Sand', or how some lame drawings that looked nothing like rain was rain.

"And what is this…?"

"Just show it to Setsuka and she will know what it means."

"And what if she's not there?"

"Then you're on your own."

"Well, thanks anyway… I better get going, I don't want to keep her waiting." A smile came upon my face when I left, waving a goodbye as I closed the door shut. When I turned around, now that I was outside, I found Hinata smiling approvingly at me, her gentleness was as kind as ever. "So, how was it? Did you find anything?"

"Remember those humans over there earlier?" she asked, still smiling.

"Did you kill them?"

"No, I just heard they don't have a ticket to go on."

"Your point being…"

"We have the boat all to ourselves, that's what," she sweetly finished, tiptoeing slightly to kiss my cheek ever so affectionately. "Oh, but there is one thing that bugged me… Those other dead people were watching me in a… bad way when I was speaking to them… I felt like I was Tsunade-sama when other perverted men looked at her…but they weren't just looking at my chest…"

"I think I know why," I said, remembering what that clerk told me earlier. The unholy smell… it was so strong and enticing, yet carried the elements of the dead. Even I was starting to pick it up, not that I didn't before, but I was paying more attention… And damn, she did smell very captivating…

"How come? Do you know why, Naruto-kun?" It would appear Hinata only loved bad attention when it came from me. Any other source was considered revolting and sick before she needed to find a way to rid herself from it. In this case, how was that possible? It was a natural thing that not even she could alter with technology and science. Perhaps she should just accept the fact that her demigoddess attributes was a positive thing more than a negative thing. Besides, she could just get whatever she wished with a bit of seduction, right? Not that I was going to start hinting her towards that direction, but being the smart girl that she was, it was given that she would discover her talents, whether it might be quite immoral in some cases, and apply it in daily life to make her life easier.

"It's probably your delightful aura," I suggested, in which was part of the reason why I loved Hinata and found her attractive with it. "And your innocent façade, of course." The Hyuuga girl gave a puzzled look, asking me why I even recommended that explanation. Unmistakably, I wasn't going to start elaborating it to her. After all, she was a smart girl, not like my human self. "Come on, Hinata, let's get on the boat."

"You haven't answered-"

"What if I were to tell you that we are going to get the best service that this cruise, so to speak, can offer?"

That truly caught her attention; it was good enough for her to completely abandon her previous inquiry and replaced with a cheery enthusiasm that did not suit her. Then again, happiness was happiness… what could I expect…

"You got first-class reservations?" Hinata excitedly asked, holding my hand intimately without thinking. Not like either of us would comment on it, especially I, due to the fact that we were used to this by now.

"I don't know… that's what that guy inside told me… Remember though, we are the only ones on the ship."

"And what is this best service? Any details, my love?" Great, now she was seeing this as her honeymoon… and we weren't even married, yet alone engaged. Fuck, I shouldn't have brought it up altogether, and now I was responsible for starting this conversation in the first place. That happy look of hers was too much to bear, destroying it by proposing relatively mood-ruining topics would look bad on my part, and yet getting her in the mood was not any better. That blush, the silence, the heat spoke louder than her actions… I knew she loved it… and couldn't wait when it was time for us to sleep… but I doubted that we would do any sleeping…

"No idea," I said in a quieter voice, terror flooding into my emotions. "Let's ask, shall we?"

Great, now what have I done?

Clinging onto my arm, Hinata and I walked to the furthest end of the dock, excitedly anticipating the events that were to come, although we were the only two passengers on a somewhat large boat that was used for a travel cruise. With technology like this available, rowing a boat was totally obsolete, an unthinkable method that should be dwelled in the past and stay there for as long as other options were easily accessible.

Certainly it was no surprise to me when the shipmaster and a several of the present crewmembers were also part of Undercity's agents. I had been completely sheltered from the reality of another race walking with the humans for all this time, or perhaps they just have been more daring and open for the past two months while I was in Konoha. It was nearly unbelievable how foolish some of these humans were, not able to differentiate the fact that some of the people walking among them everyday were in fact a part of another race, a merciless breed that would soon annihilate them all when the opportunity comes, and they would make sure everyone suffers.

Hinata only held me closer to her when she caught some of the gazes that were made upon her, maybe she was getting a little paranoid from all the attention. In all honesty, however, their looks weren't as disgusting as Hinata mentioned. Perhaps I was a guy, or it could be the fact that Hinata was just a tad too sensitive to her liking. They actually appeared to like Hinata's presence and earnestly wanted to make this trip as enjoyable as they could, since she was as gorgeous as the Undercity Queen herself, as the clerk earlier explained. In addition, we were the only riders at this hour. When I observed the crew's looks towards me, I sensed envy, envious that I had such a beautiful girl by their sides whereas they didn't.

Now I had more to worry about… talk about a twist of relentless predicaments that never wanted to make my life more enjoyable when it had more than enough power to leave me alone…

"Good evening, you two," said the captain of the ship, who was wearing a blue trench coat that reached his knees. He even had a sword equipped on his hips, thus enhancing his fashion by an incredible notch, yet proving societies stereotypes to be legitimately correct at the same time. Not that he needed to know. "I'm your captain of this ship, and I go by Captain Mizu."

"Captain Water?" I repeated, turning to look at Hinata for her share of reactions. She was just as confused as I was, if not more. "What kind of name is that?"

"That's just my nickname, since I am the best sea captain around at the next continent. In case you were wondering how long it might take for us to get there, we should be there by early morning if we get there slowly."

"Wait, why would you want to go slow?"

Captain Water raised his brow, completely shocked at my question. "You want us to go fast? Why?"

"Why would you go slow? Isn't it better if you get there faster to save time?"

"I thought I would be doing you a favour by going slower…"

"And why is that?"

"So I give you more time…"

"To do what?"

"Are you pretending or are you just stupid?"

"What's so stupid about asking to go faster?"

"Look, kid, I would go as fast as I can given you were the only passenger on board or during the day. At night, I always give my riders the favour of offer of slowing down a notch so they can… sleep… okay?"

"Well, I don't need any goddamned sleep, so take this thing and go maximum burn until the blasted engine explodes."

"What part of alone and day did you not understand? You have a companion with you, so use the time wisely."

"Use them wisely for what?"

"It's clear to me that you are utterly hopeless…" Captain Water then turned to Hinata, smiling gently as he did so. "Young lady, do you want me to take it slow or fast? Your choice."

Hinata's answer was deathly immediate. "Slow. Very slow, please. Take all the time you need. If you ever wanted to change speeds, then you should only go slower."

"Your wish is my command, my lady," the Captain bowed as he spoke, signalling the other two crewmembers and left us be. Hinata's smile widened noticeably, then I felt her grip increase before she leaned her head on my shoulder just to be more adorable to get her way.

"Okay… what the hell just happened…" I asked her dreadfully.

"He's such a considerate man, don't you think? But I never got to know what is the best service on this ship…"

"Who cares what it is… As long as I get a room to rest, I am fine with it." Something just hit me, and I trembled with fear. "Do you know what, dear, I am going to find myself a bar…"

"No," she pleaded instantly, "I don't want to be alone… be with me instead…"

"You can always come with me to the bar to have a few drinks. You are undead, dearest, your body should be craving for alcohol and other poisons that a weak human body rejects. Trust me, you will enjoy it immensely!"

"I'll love it more if you celebrate with me in our room, my love…" Her voice was dripping with lust and desire, one so strong that ignoring it would be suicidal, harmful to one's mind, capable of destroying innocence that was so forcefully established. "You did promise, remember?"

"I promised nothing," I retorted very proudly.

"I guess you left me no choice," her sinister voice said, causing every bone in my body to crack before my muscles shivered against their will. I grew tremendously afraid.

"What do you mean by that, Hinata?"

I gasped in horror as my waist was entangled and restricted which seemed to be a pair of legs. A split second later, an arm locked my right shoulder and my neck had another powerful arm choking in a lock. Wait a second, this seemed like my Genrou Zan throw, or neckbreaker, yet no energy knife was involved. When did Hinata know this move? Don't tell me she had been hiding it from me after all this time…

"Sorry, my love," she whispered, nearly lovingly, "I can wait no longer."

Pain surged throughout my whole body as she performed a devastating blow… and my vision soon after was covered in darkness, obviously I lost consciousness.

When I woke up, which was soon since I never stayed down for long, my senses told me that I was on a bed without being tied up or anything. However, my waist seemed tight, like someone had their thighs on either side, positioning me perfectly so I wouldn't move.

"W-what is… this…?" I groaned, my strength slowly returning as I opened my eyes. I didn't even bother to check my surroundings, other than the fact that I was in a dimly lit room. Under total fear, my eyes fully opened up when I saw that it was Hinata that was imprisoning me with her… thighs… well, she was kneeling… sort of… No, what really made me scared were her eyes. No longer did they hold any innocence, it was like she was possessed by a wicked, sinister spirit, but I knew this was no outsider's work. This was the dormant nature she had all along, and she would only show it to anyone who she loved and who was assertive enough to take her as a woman. Even in the past, her seductiveness had that small spark of adorability regardless of the subtlety. But now… it looked dark… desperately in need to be satisfied… and that ominous smile on her face did not help me ease up at all.

"I thought you would never wake up, my love," she spoke in an entrancing purr, capable to killing men if they were to hear the voice.

"Where am I, Hinata?"

"Our bedroom for the night, of course. You wouldn't think I would just let you sleep on the deck, would you? I am much more considerate than that." Hinata was a natural villain… and her being an undead only complimented her skills as a seductress, in which she already knew with immense confidence that heightened her ego. Without warning, she unzipped her tight leather vest all the way down, exposing a great amount of heavenly cleavage that all men in Konoha had been dying to see although it was imprisoned by her see through net-mail garments. Even so, it was more than enough to catch my interest despite it was incredibly difficult to fight back my carnal instincts especially now she was my brethren than a human.

She left her vest fully opened and did not continue to take it off, possibly just to tease me out of amusement but always willing to show more if I humbly obeyed her requests without treachery. Those breasts truly look large on her slim frame… how I wanted to feel them… No, this was not the time…

"Hinata… r-release me…"

"Don't worry, my love," she huskily whispered, lowering her body downward so her lips brushed against mine for a brief moment, further enhancing our arousal for each other.

"Hinata… no… NO!"

"I'm going to spice up your life."

AN: Yes, Hinata is going to spice up his life, you know what I am talking about. As for the threat from the shotguns, where some of you decided to use aggression, meaning rifles, and subtlety, which are sniper rifles, yes, it motivated me quite well.

Well done, readers, your forceful methods are definitely a sign of effective motivation.

For two months of no update, at least SiC, I am glad to have made this. Another chapter done, and another step closer to Undercity. Thank you so much for bearing with me for over a year now. This experimental fiction has been a great leisure to ensure my sanity over this corruptive world, your comments have been ever so kind, always eager, in one way or another, to push me to achieve a greater height. Yes, I am deliberately being British, although Chinese blood runs in my veins, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!

Perhaps later on I would make more one-shots, commentary fictions towards your reviews after receiving some inspiration from YouTube. I think it would be quite funny, so if you are a dedicated reader, perhaps I would comment on your words to spark up some humour from the perspective of either SiC characters (Either Anthris, Human/Undead Hinata, or Undead Naruto) or from Hime Murasaki (Naruto or Hinata.)

Well, I'll just see how much time I have on my hands to waste. Hope you all loved it as much as I did. Dark Hinata is always a sight to die for, don't you think?