The Ultimate Price
By Ten no Tsubasa
Disclaimer: Naruto is not my creation. Any other characters and ideas I create are mine to own. I am not profiting from this story, thus – Please don't sue me.
Chapter 2: Give and Take
Shikamaru was tall and lean. His overall appearance had not changed much; just that he was taller than most of his friends and a slight gloomier. He had lazily made his way up on top of a roof with both hands stuffed in the side pockets of his trousers. It was a place where he often came to watch the clouds roll by. He found himself a seat on a wooden bench and then lit a cigarette.
Smoking was a habit he had acquired from his late sensei, Azuma, who was no longer in this world. Though he personally hated the scent and taste of a cigarette, he still smoked it. It was his way to feel the presence of his sensei's spirit. The smoke reminded him that Azuma had traded his life for his and was still around to protect him and guide him.
Though it may not seem like it, Shikamaru's personality had changed considerably. On the surface he did seem like the same person he was during his Ge-nin years, but a closer inspection of his work record would reveal that Shikamaru was anything but lazy anymore. After his sensie's death, his mission performance had increased by 300 percent. He had seemed particularly more interested in training new abilities and to find means for increasing his team's mission survivability rate. Even if there were no official mission to undertake, Nara Shikamaru was known to head out on his own missions and his main targets were mostly organizations like the Akatsuki.
As his eyes dosed off into the distant sky, he heard a loud shriek from the streets below. Quickly he scrambled to see the cause of the noise. At a 50 yards distance he noticed that man had snatched a woman's purse and was running in his direction. He rolled his eyes upwards, which usually meant that he was annoyed, and let out a huge sigh.
"Can't I get some peace?"
Looking up slightly he said, "I wish I could be a cloud."
With another sigh he looked down again to assess the situation. Just then he noticed that a young boy had started to give chase after the purse snatcher. From the distance he could only make out the scarf flying behind the boy's neck and a green goggle, which was holding his hair straight up.
"It's Konohamaru?!" He exclaimed with his eyes wide open in a slight disbelief.
With a calculating look he observed the boy, who had just slide tackled the thief's feet. The thief fell face first on to the road knocking him self out. The boy than picked up the hand bag and had started walking towards its panicking owner.
Just as she was going to say "Thank you young ma…." Her face froze and her eyes widened with fear.
Shikamaru screamed, "Behind you – you FOOL!"
The thief was about to stab Konohamaru in the back. Thinking ahead Shikamaru had already started to weave the seals for his shadow bind technique. As the shadow from the building he was on stretch-out to bind the assailant, Shikamaru mumbled "Please, let it be in time…" He had no intention of loosing his sensei's only nephew, the last of the Sarutobi clan in Konoha.
Shikamaru screamed again, "Come on come on, PLEASE!" as he fought to concentrate on his ninpo.
He saw that his technique was too slow and that the distance between him and the thief was too great. Just as the assailant's knife was about to make contact with Konohamaru's back, a man appear out of no where.
The dark figure was standing upright with his left hand in his pocket and held the back of the disabled thief's neck under his right armpit in a strangling hold. Without much effort the mysterious character tightened his choking hold and rendered the thief unconscious. Shikamaru was shocked and his heart raced faster causing a slight pain in his chest.
'Hey, that taijutsu technique is familiar. Where have seen it done before?' After a few mili-seconds Shikamaru realized that his sensei had used that same technique to save his life from six sound ninjas, at the time when the village was attacked, during the chu-nin exams.
Shikamaru closed his eyes and shook his head so that he may clear his mind to focus on the mysterious man. He quickly looked up again, unable to get a clear fix on the man, who was now fleeting in the opposite direction. The last things that he could notice were the ANBUs, who were chasing the mysterious man.
"Azuma," he whispered to himself.
Konohamaru was stunned, stiff, and unable to speak. He gave the lady back her hand bag. She thanked him with a sighing relief. The woman even gave him a handsome reward for risking his life for her sake. Fear struck, he stood there contemplating the outcome if the mysterious man had not intervened.
Shikamaru walked up to Konohamaru, who jumped to defend him self fearing that the thief had regained consciousness once again.
"Sa… Konohamaru. What kind of a ninja are you allowing a mere thief to sneak up on you like that, HUH?" Shikamaru squinted eyes looked at the boy in a condescending manner.
"Err… Err…" unable to speak Konohamaru looked at the ground with embarrassment as he twiddled his fingers.
"And who was that man anyways? Did you see his face?" Shikamaru questioned with a raised brow.
Still feeling the gravity of the situation, Konohamaru uttered, "Err… Err.. Yes I saw his face but – I don't know! I have never seen him before. Kore."
"You know you could be a little nicer to me, I almost died. Kore!"
"Well consider yourself very lucky, cause you could have been laying six feet under next to Sandaime-sama (Konohamaru's grand father) by this time tomorrow." Noticing that Konohamaru's face was turning purple with fear, Shikamaru stopped lecturing the boy. He rolled his eyes up to the sky with his hands in his pocket and his back arched and said as he sighed,
"How troublesome."
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In the training grounds, three large logs where planted side by side each other. Though mainly used for shuriken practice. Some teachers had a habit of tying their uncooperative students to them. Naruto was one of such students. A smile came slowly and painfully to her lips.
Standing in front of the logs a pink haired girl was reminiscing about her past again. She remembered the first time Team 7 met their Kakashi sensei on these grounds. She and Sasuke were eating lunch while Naruto was tied to the middle log. It was good times for her and thinking about them gave her a bit of warmth, but soon after a cold truth sank in with the realization that Sasuke is no longer a part of their team. This was enough to produce a single warm tear that flowed down from the corner of her right eye.
Flash Back:
"Sasuke, don't leave me. Please don't go. If you have to go, then t-take me with you. I-I… will do anything for you. I-I… I will even help you get your revenge. I-I… I-I c-can't live without you. Just don't leave me, PLEASE! Sniff sniff." Tears pouring from her eyes as Sakura tried her best to change Sasuke's mind. She was surprised that she had the strength to confess her love for him. But she was hurt that all her attempts to breach his emotional barriers were futile.
"Sorry Sakura – Thank you." Hearing those words she felt a blow to the back of her neck and she blanked out.
Remembering that night was especially painful for her, for she had failed to change Sasuke's mind. She was powerless – her love was powerless.
Lee being nearby, training as usual, stumbled upon a figure of a girl near the mired logs. Taking a closer look he realized that it was no other than the object of his affection, Sakura. Lee had become a more mature and stronger version of himself. He was taller and much more muscular. But not surprisingly his hair style hadn't changed since his Ge-nin years. It was the same old bowl cut that he wore so proudly - because his dearest sensei also had it. He turned Jou-nin a while ago, and had stayed so ever since. This was not because of his lack of skill to become ANBU, but simply because he could not perform a mission as an assassin. He just could not see why he must end someone's life just because he was ordered to do so. As for Sakura, she had been the fire in his heart for a long time. He never openly admitted it to her, for he knew that her heart only seeks one person - Sasuke. It pained him to see her so grim. They both had become good friends over the years. Every time he was injured, she would be the one to take care of him.
Ever since Sasuke left the village 5 years ago she had been heart broken. Sakura had sworn to her self that she would become strong and be able to be of use instead of weakly hoping that others (Naruto) would fight her battles for her. She was afraid that her uselessness had caused her to fail in changing Sasuke's mind that fateful night. She had finally recognized that she could not be a combat specialist; therefore she turned to Tsunade, the 5th Hokage, for her tutelage in the arts of healing and medicine. After years of intensive study and practice Sakura had finally become a medic-nin. She was very good at what she did, second only to Tsunade and Shizune. Other ninjas feared her fine chakra control. Some said that she could part boulders with a single punch. People always thought of her as Tsunade Jr. But of course they also accepted that she had far more potential than Tsunade and would someday surpass the Hokage (chief of the village), who was also her mentor.
Sakura was a little taller. Her hair was still short like they were since she had cut them during the Chu-nin exams. Her body had matured. Her breast and hip curves were more pronounced. Her taste in clothing had also developed accordingly. She now sported a leather mini-skirt, which sat on top of her black shorts revealing her legs mid-thigh down to her knee high leather boots. She wore a shirt like top with no sleeves revealing her bare skin from shoulder down except for the parts hidden by her elbow guards. She was simply sexy in every sense of the word.
Sakura's sadness gripped at Lee's soul. He had to do something to cheer her up. 'What can I do? Guy sensei always says that one should be true to their feelings. It helps to bring out the 'Youth Power.' Be true to my feelings? I feel like giving her a huge hug! Wait but that might be disrespectful and not to mention potentially quiet painful… BUT she seems like she needs a good hug! I must do it. The Power of Youth shall overcome all Pain especially if it's from the person I love!'
And with no further adieu Lee snuck behind her in three blinks of an eye. Lee's speed was demonic. The only other ninjas in Konoha, who could match his speed, were his teacher Might Guy, Hatake Kakashi, Uzumaki Naruto (in his demon state) and Jiraya. As he arrived behind Sakura, Lee's arms opened wide so that he could wrap them around his beloved friend. His wide grinned face was red from blushing. He was just anticipating her body in his arms, when he realized what he had done, 'Masaka?!? (Oh no)'
Sakura shook out of her day dream and prepared to defend herself. Not knowing the identity of the ninja who had just crept up behind her, instinctual self defense mechanism kicked in. She focused her chakra in her right fist. Twisting herself around 180 degrees, she aimed for the largest target, which was the chest. Upon contact she flushed her accumulated chakra against the unidentified character. The impact caused a large bang and Lee flew away about 30 feet from her creating a cloud of dust and debris as he landed on his back.
When the smoke cleared her eyes widened with recognition, 'it is Lee!' She immediately ran to where Lee was lying. Sitting on her knees besides her unconscious friend she quickly yet thoroughly inspected his injuries. After she carefully activated her healing chakra and started to repair the damage she had caused.
"Wakeup, Lee-san. PLEASE WAKEUP!"
She screamed to no avail. Lee was unconscious, his body cold and still. Tears started to well up in Sakura's eyes. She had repaired the damage, but she feared that the damage may have been more severe that the naked eye could register. She was torn and was crying out a waterfall. The thought of her losing another of her precious friends was smothering her heart. She had to take him to the hospital to be examined thoroughly. This time it will be different she thought, 'this time I will not loose my friend.' She reached out and tried to pick him up.
Just as Sakura's hands came down to him, Lee reached up and caught her hand. Shocked, Sakura could see him smile.
"Oh, Sakura-chan. My body burns with the power of Youth!" He mumbled to himself. Lee's eyes were still closed and his cheeks blushed slightly. He was savoring every moment of it.
"Our Youthfulness shall set us free from the pain!" Lee said in-coherently still enjoying the touch of Sakura's hands.
Puzzled at the scene unfolding before her Sakura asked, "Uh, Lee-san?"
Upon hearing Sakura's question Lee's eyes shot open. Afraid that he would get the second beating for the day, he quickly shifted to his knight in shining armor composure.
Maintaining a heavy handsome tone of voice Lee said, "Hello, is it me you are looking for? You don't have to cry me lady. I will never leave your side for I am truly yours." Lee ended his sentence with his 'Nice Guy' pose – He held up his thumb and smiled so brightly that a streak of light reflected off of his tooth.
"Lee-san no baka (You Idiot!)" Sakura cleared her tears, and then she let out a sigh and a smile that warmed Lee's heart.
"Did I do alright Guy sensei?" Lee still was in his 'Nice Guy' pose but added a wink to the question.
All of a suddent Guy appeared in a flash! "BOOM" Followed by a cloud of white smoke. When the smoke cleared, Guy was also in the 'Nice Guy' pose and held up a thumb saying, "Oi, Lee, Omae wa (you were) Nice (great) da zo!" A streak of light reflected off Guy's tooth.
Lee stood up with tears streaming from his starry eyes. "Guy sensei!" Lee shouted.
Guy too had tears streaming from his starry eyes. "Lee!" Guy shouted
Lee hugged Guy, who hugged Lee. "Guy SENSEI!!!" Lee screamed.
"LEE!!!" Guy screamed.
Backing away from Lee, Guy said in a loud deep handsome voice, "The Power of Youth has once again prevailed! A damsel has been rescued from the clutches of sorrow! LEE! I shall always bee proudly watching your Youthful Progress!" Then "Puff," he disappeared in a cloud of smoke, while leaving Lee standing clearing his tears with his fore arm.
All the while Sakura was mesmerized and stunned with a drop of sweat appearing behind her head. She tried not to laugh but could not resist a slight chuckle.
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"The ultimate ninpo scroll has been under Konoha's protection for years, Master." A dark voice spoke with cold malice.
"Progress?" An expressionless voice inquired.
"We have spies who have already infiltrated Konoha and are investigating the whereabouts of the Hi no Hitomi (Eyes of fire) scroll. It is only a matter of time, Master." The owner of the dark voice kneeled for his master's forgiveness.
"If they got caught, Konoha will know about us and me."
"Do not be concerned Master. Our ranks have a new addition of a squad of men who are not of this world. Or at least that is what they claim. I have personally checked their background and it would seem that there is nothing known of them. It may well be a slight proof that these men are what they claim to be. Never the less even if they are caught, Konoha will not get any information by merely running a background check. And I have cursed them with a seal that would kill them in the case they were forcefully made to divulge information about us. These men have been personally trained and augmented by me, Master. I beg for your patience Master, for in time I will present you with the news of our success."
"Go and personally over see this mission for my patience wears thin. And this time failure will mean your death."
"Yes, Master." The dark voice's figure blurred and then vanished into the darkness.
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Sakura and Lee were making their way into town. It was late in the day and the sun shone warmly in the sky. They thought that it would be nice to sit and have some tea and dango at the shop where all their friends frequented.
The ally in which they walked in was not too wide or too narrow. The distance between the walls, which formed a fence around the houses, was around five meters. Lee was content to see Sakura smiling and giggling. 'She is so beautiful when she is happy.' His train of thought was disturbed as he noticed a man who was rapidly closing the distance between him and them. Puzzled they stood their ground to assess the situation. Lee realized than the man was fleeing from what seemed to be two ANBU warriors. Fearing that the man could be a high ranking criminal, Lee took his fighting stance to try to subdue the man. Sakura followed Lee's lead and entered her own offensive stance.
Reacting to Lee's obvious intentions the man stopped in his tracks. Calculating his options the man figured that he was surrounded. At his front was a pink haired girl with a large forehead. Beside her, a couple of feet away, stood a thick eye browed guy with a green combat suit. Sensing their unwavering battle intention he knew that they were at least Jou-nin level warriors. The man was panting hard as he had been involved in a high speed chase with the ANBU for the past 10 minutes.
In a few seconds the ANBU had caught up with them and he was trapped. Fear welled up inside the man; he could not believe that life could deal him such a shitty hand. Two jou-nin level ninjas were at his front; to the sides were head high fence walls of the houses, and two ANBU assassins were to his rear.
'Great, this is the end of the road.' he thought. 'What the f did I do to deserve this?' The man was standing straight up now. He was at least six feet tall with a fair complexion. His rough shave revealed a very light mustache and a light trace of a beard. His short dark brown wavy hair was combed back and stuck up slightly a low angle.
'At least he is cute,' Sakura thought.
With both his hands in his pocket the man said, "Hey guys, I have no intentions for fighting you. I don't know what I did to deserve such a welcome. This is my first visit to Konohagakure. Could you just cut me some slack, huh?"
One of the ANBU warriors announced stiffly, "Seize and desist! You have been spotted harming a Konoha resident. You will be arrested and taken under our custody until further investigations prove your innocence!"
"I suggest that you comply. I would hate to see you get hurt," Sakura said with a slight smirk as she cocked her fist and started to gather chakra in it.
The man looked at Sakura, sizing her up from her boot to her pink hair. "Hi there, pretty lady." He said with a slight wink and smile.
"I would not talk to her in that fashion, if I were you, sir!" Lee tightened up the fist behind his back.
"Why? Is it's a crime to speak the truth? She is gorgeous! So pretty lady, please tell me your name or maybe Angels have no name just beautiful faces!" The man brushed his hair back with his palm and smiled freely.
Sakura blushed slightly, but quickly returned to her battle composure.
"Hey what's up with you guys? I just helped a boy from certain death. The guy that I knocked unconscious was going to stab him with a knife! And this is the thanks I get? Should have known to just mind my business!" The man seemed a bit irritated.
"Should you indeed be innocent as you claim to be, we will release you with our sincere apologies, Sir." Lee stated respectfully. "At this point I recommend that you allow the officers to take you in for further investigations. May I remind you, that four to one are not good odds for combat." Lee smiled and a stray beam of light sparkled of his tooth.
"I don't really have a choice now, do I?" The man sighed disappointingly. "But what I hate more is being threatened." Just as he finished his sentence the man threw a smoke bomb to the ground with the flick of his wrist. Engulfed in the smoke he leapt aside to the right and headed for the tight opening between Lee and one of the ANBUs. He quickly scaled the wall with a jump, using his hands he caught the top of the wall and forced himself up, and jumping of the top of the wall to the top of the roof.
Lee intuitively sensing his escape vector launched himself in the same direction and was follow by an ANBU, who was followed by Sakura and the remaining ANBU.
"Konoha Senpu," cried Lee. With a smooth motion the man duct under Lee's whirl wind kick. Lee smirked slightly as he changed his whirl wind kick into a drop kick. The man interlocked his fists at the wrist and blocked the kick over his head pushing Lee back forcefully over the roof.
As the man turned around to make his get away, he was greeted by a plam flying straight for his face. Moving his face aside to the left while keeping his body stationary, the man launched his right fist covered with knuckle bracers, which forcefully cracked the ANBU's mask sending the unconscious warrior flying off the roof.
The man's nerves tightened as his heart beat was racing. "Come on… Just two more…" he muttered under his heavy breathing. Noticing a shadow approaching him from behind, he adjusted his weight to a back kick stance. "Leave me ALONE!" He brutally extended his kick out while screaming in anger. The ANBU took the kick to his abdominals, though the armor took the bulk of the impact, the force from the kick forced the ANBU to fold over. Just at the moment the man generated momentum through a 180 degree clockwise spin and sent the ANBU flying sideways across the roof with a fierce left round house fist.
He fought to focus his thoughts as his heavy panting made him feel a bit dizzy. He figured that the shinobi in the green out fit was not damaged and would be up on the roof again pretty soon. As for the pink haired kunoichi, she had not engaged him yet. This was his chance for escape, for he was running low on stamina.
As he turned around he felt a chakra packed fist screaming at him. Barely evading the fist by ducking under it, he made his way behind the pink haired girl and stood still. His adrenaline was pumped and his movement speed was enhanced as a result. Sakura could hardly keep up with his maneuvers.
Her eyes shot wide open. "Sasuke," she whispered as she felt an object touch the middle of her back.
"Don't move or I will shove this kunai into your back." He said breathing heavily.
"Sir, if you harm as much as a hair on her… I will tear you apart limb from limb." Lee had made it back up onto the roof and his eyes were burning with anger at the sight of Sakura being taken as hostage.
"Lee-san, don't worry about me. And mister I am a Konoha ninja… I don't react well to treats either." She spun 180 to strike the man. Lee's eyes shot open with concern.
"NO! SAKURA!!!" Lee screamed out loud with one hand in front motioning her to stop.
Sakura turned around to face the man and stopped abruptly. Lee thought that she had been stabbed for sure.
A drop of sweat trickled off the man's temple. Sakura noticed that he did not posses a kunai and that it was his finger that was touching her back.
"Um… That did not work as well as I had planned. Um… is it too late to surrender?" The man said with a wishful smile and his right hand behind his head; hoping that Sakura would let him off the hook without harming him.
Sakura just stood there stunned. She was confused that the man never really meant to harm her, while she was about to knock him inches from death. She stared blankly at his left hand, which looked like a pistol with figures extended.
"Sakura-chan, please back up and away slowly. And sir, maintain your position and don't flinch a muscle." Sakura slowly backed herself towards Lee all the while staring at the man's hand.
The ANBU warriors had recovered from their crash and were standing behind Lee. Lee-san we will take it from here and thank you for your assistance. "Drop the knuckle bracers and put your hands above your head so that we can see them." An ANBU barked sternly.
And so the man was arrested. Feeling the situation had return to normal, Sakura let out a
sigh of relief. "Who was that guy anyways?" She questioned Lee.
"I have no idea Sakura-chan. But if you really want to know we could ask Kiba. I have heard that he too is a member of ANBU."
Normally Sakura would just shrug and move on without thinking twice about such criminals. But there was something about this particular criminal that bothered her. Sakura smiled at Lee and said, "Um… if you do see Kiba, please ask him for me."
"I am pretty sure that Kiba would be hanging out with Shino at the Dango restaurant." "Let's go and find out." Lee said with a smile. He felt relieved that Sakura had made it through the battle without being hurt.
When they reach the dango restaurant, they saw Kiba and Shino just as Lee had said. They were both sitting at a table with Akamaru lying by Kiba's feet. Spotting Sakura and Lee, Kiba waved and said, "Oi… look what the cat dragged in. If it isn't the famous Konoha couple, Rock Lee and Haruno Sakura!" His remark brought a bright red blush to both Lee and Sakura's face.
"Hey Kiba-kun, a gentleman should not embarrass a lady in such a manner. It is considered impolite." Lee said as he walked towards Kiba's table with Sakura at his side.
Shino was quiet as usual. "For once I agree with Lee, Kiba, you should learn to control yourself,' Shino pointed out with a cold voice.
"Eh… Shino, you are no fun," Kiba laughed hysterically.
When they finally reached Kiba's table Sakura sat down next to him and patted Akamaru gently. Lee sat next to Shino and placed an order for tea and dango from the beautiful hostess.
"So what's up?" Kiba said inquiringly.
"Well we bumped into a criminal who was being chased by ANBU." Lee said with his eyes closed and arms folded in front of his chest. He went into his professor mode and started recalling the incident for his friends.
"Sakura-chan was wondering who that criminal could be and I thought maybe you could acquire that information for her."
"A Criminal eh? And why would Sakura want to learn about a criminal?" Kiba said brushing the top of his upper lip with the side of his index finger.
"Oh, nothing really. I was just curious that's all." Sakura moved closer to Kiba. Noticing the disbelief in Kiba's calculating eyes, she asserted herself.
"Why? What's the problem, Kiba? Can't you get me the info? Huh?"
Waving his hands furiously Kiba stuttered, "Ah… no .. No problems really! Ha ha ha." "I will check in with the squad tomorrow and get you some info by the evening. Is that ok?" He was pretty scared of an asserting Sakura. If she had lost her temper, he would be in a world of pain.
Sakura smiled and said, "Thank you Kiba-kun." Sakura was the kind of girl who was extra pretty when she smiled. Her happy gesture relaxed Kiba and of course it filled Lee with joy. And all five of them sat there enjoying their tea and dango.
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Hinata hurried as she finished up the last finishing touch ups of powders and perfumes. She really did not need much makeup to enhance her features. Her slightly purple lavender Kimono helped to enhance her complexion. As she got up to exit her room she heard a light knock on her door.
O nee-san (Sister)?"
Recognizing Hanabi's voice she gently moved forward and opened to sliding door.
"Yes, Hanabi?" Hinata greeted her sister with a warm smile.
Hanabi was surprised to see her sister dressed up in the new kimono that she had bought for her as a present for her birthday.
"Why are you all dressed up?" Hanabi inquired coolly.
With a slight blush on her face Hinata tried to conceal the reasons. "Oh, nothing really. I just…"
Hanabi immediately recognized the tell tale signs in sisters reactions and asked with concern, "You are not going to see that Naruto again are you?"
Hinata was caught off guard by Hanabi. Though she knew that her sister would catch on sooner or later, she had hoped that it would be much later. "No… I just…"
"O nee-san, I think Naruto is a nice person but…"
"O nee-san, you know our family well. I don't want you to chase empty dreams."
"You will be more hurt when he does notice you, but you will be unable to return his feelings."
"I-I…" Hinata was at a lost for words.
"O nee-san… you and I are both Hyugas. We have a destiny that forbids us from being owned by anyone other than a Hyuga. And father has already entered into negotiations with…"
Hinata realized what Hanabi was going to say and started to stare at her sister with discontent. The cold ANBU look returned to Hinata's face.
"Hanabi, father has chosen you to be the Heir to Hyuga main house since we were little. He always thought that you were superior to me. I have lived a long time in sorrow ever since that day. I had tried to change myself so that I may feel like loving my pathetic self a little bit more. Until one day I realized that my change was not for Hyuga, but was for myself. I wanted only one person to notice me and that is Naruto. I love both you and father, imoto (little sister.) I would die to protect the Hyuga, but I live for only one person and only him shall I marry (Naruto.)"
Hinata walked past Hanabi with a cold face. As she exited the Hyuga residence she wiped away the tears which riddled her eyes. Her grim future was smothering her soul, but she was committed as she walked towards Naruto's apartment.
"They can take my life, they can take away my dignity, but they will never take my freedom; that I will only surrender to you, Naruto." She whispered to her self.
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The room was dimly lit and the air was stale. His hands and feet were shackled to a wooden table in a crucified pose. The only source of light in the room shined directly upon him casting darkness into the outer radius of the light. They had stripped him of his clothes leaving only his under pants. He felt and strange drowsiness in his system, 'Oh great, they have drugged me.' He heard to pairs of footstep approaching him and from the sound of the steps echoing in the background he figured that he was in a stone room.
"I am your interrogator. You will answer my question willing or otherwise." A think voice addressed him.
"Do not test my patience for I did rather you answered my questions otherwise than willingly." The same voice said darkly.
"What is your name?"
"…" He twitched from side to side gently as if in a trance.
"Answer me!" The voice demanded.
"F off" he said coolly. 'Hm… maybe those were the wrong choice of words.' "I thought this was an investigation? How does an investigation turn into an interrogation? Why am I shackled to a table? I have done nothing wrong. Release me!"
"I will be the one to ask the questions. But if you satisfy my inquiry, I might indulge you with yours. SO! Who do you work for? What is your business here?" The voice was stern and commanding.
"I work for no one. And my business is none of your concern." His voice was weak but steady. 'This should teach me not to go saving other peoples necks.'
"Hahahaha…. Good… GOOD… you have got balls! It will make this interrogation the more interesting." A slight darkness crept into the voice. "Remove his testicles!"
A blonde kunoichi stepped out of the darkness with a scissor like tool in her hand. She walked over to the side of the table and untied the lace of his boxers. At this sight his eyes shot wide with fear as he struggled to break free of his shackles. His futile struggles left him feeling further exhausted, but he fought to remain conscious. The drug had impaired his systems completely.
"Wait! What are you doing? Stop… STOP… I will talk… just give me a chance! Wait! Give me a Fing chance!" Sweat rolled off of his entire body. He was panicking; something he rarely ever did in his life. But the stakes were too high this time. The consequence would mean absolutely no sex for his entire life and that would be a pretty severe punishment for any man.
"Alright then. Tell me who do you work for and what is your business here." The voice inquired calmly as the kunoichi had stopped in her tracks.
"AAARGH!" He screamed as a massive amount of pain struck his body. At first he thought that the kunoichi had cut off his man hood. Tears rolled off from his eyes. He arched his head back and blood vessels popped up all over his body and especially his neck.
"NO!!" He cried at the top of his lungs through the shear amount of pain. Soon he found out that the pain did not come from the area in the middle of his legs, but it stemmed from the right back side of his neck. 'That damn seal!' His body had entered into a state of shock. His eyes blackened and he became unconscious.
"What's wrong with him?" The heavy voice expected an immediate reply.
"It would seem that a seal is being activated, sir." The kunoichi claimed
The kunoichi turned the man on to his left side a little and examined the seal. Dark straight horizontal lines appeared in a vortex forming a circle in the middle. The seal appeared to be changing in color. Half of the lines were black while the other half were turning red.
"A seal?" The heavy voice inquired.
"Yes sir, it is a class four constricting seal and it seems to be reacting to our interrogation of the subject. It is killing him, sir!" An alarm could be herd in the kunoichi's voice.
"So he is a spy. And the seal is meant to protect the secrets within him. Is there anyway to deactivate the seal?"
"That's a negative Sir, if further aggravated the seal will just kill him."
"Damn! Unshackle him, put him in a cell and feed him. I will have to go and consult with the Hokage."
"Yes sir!" The kunoichi accepted her orders and stood at full attention.
A Couple Hours Later:
He watched the blonde ANBU as the kunoichi brought him his food. He could not see her face since it was covered with an animal mask. She had a beautiful physique, which was well endowed in every department. 'Man… she is hot. Must be the work of the rigorous physical training these ninjas are put through.' He smiled a little and felt a bulge in his boxers. He immediately covered it up. 'She will castrate me for sure if she saw this!'
"Wipe that silly smile off your face and eat your food." The kunoichi commanded.
He immediately stood up straight with a salute, but used his left hand to cover the erection in his boxer. "Yes, Ma'am." He barked with respect.
'He is handsome, he is funny and he has got a hot body to boot. Too bad he is a criminal.'
"New orders Ma'am." An ANBU male appeared next to her holding out a white scroll.
"Thankyou." She took the scroll to study its contents.
"Release the prisoner." She sternly commanded.
"Release him?" The ANBU male inquired.
"Yes, that's what the order says." She said in an irritated voice pointing at the scroll.
"Yes, Ma'am!" The ANBU male stood in absolute attention as if terrified of the kunoichi.
"Um… Can I finish my meal first? I am starving!" He said without even looking up as he enjoyed his meal. "I would appreciate it if I had my clothes back too. Can't just walk around town in a boxer." He gave the kunoichi a smile and wink.
"Do that and you will just end up right back here." She said with a challenge.
"So I can see you again? That maybe worth it!" He had a big grin on his face.
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Thanks for the review.
This chapter should have plenty of action for you folks as the plot thickens. Don't worry I am a martial artist myself. So I love action. I understand that too much plot and romance can get pretty boring pretty fast. So action is a good way to add some excitment. But too much action can also become senseless so humor is a good counter balance.
Feed Back is appreciated.