Sorry for how the last chapter ended. I had a large paragraph at the end that didn't make it through the upload. I'll put it at the beginning of this chapter along with the last part so it all fits. Now on with the tales of the Void Nin. Im sorry for those who got an earlier alert. For some reason whenever I upload to the site it seriously messes with the documents.
Tales of the Void- Chapter 02- A long rest and a new beginning.
Present: Chunin Exam Preliminary Arena
Hinata didn't even consider the side effects. Her job was to defeat Neji at all costs and prove that she had grown. Not to impress her father. Not to show the dominance of the main branch. Not to get Naruto to like her. No, this was for her and herself alone. "Nibi seed grant me your power," she whispered and watched it shine gently as she put it in her mouth and swallowed it whole.
Everyone watching was in shock. As soon as she ate the seed, her body began to pulse with power. Dust and debris from earlier fights was swept away by the waves of energy as her body was surrounded by two coils of blue chakra swirling around her. Her eyes flared open and revealed a bright yellow iris with a slit pupil in the center. Her nails lengthened and sharpened to a point and her canine teeth grew longer and sharper.
She lowered into a feral stance similar to the one Kiba had taken against Naruto not even one match earlier. Her attack however was far different. A single wave of her arm caused Neji to fly back into the wall with four deep gauges along his chest and blood spraying out from the forces of attack and impact. She wasn't far behind the wave and slashed at his side sending him flying into another wall before kicking off from the wall Neji had landed in first, leaving crater in the wall larger then Neji had when he hit.
Before she could reach Neji for the next attack a bright flash let out in the arena and Siren stood between them hand raised as Hinata seemed to be choking. Siren seemed to be chanting something as bright dark blue markings appeared around her neck. A circle directly in front of her neck and then sealing inscriptions wrapped around her neck in both directions, passing over the other, and attaching back to the circle on the other side, as a cat paw print faded into the center of the circle.
The changes in her features faded away and the chakra flaring around her died down as she fell to the ground unconscious. "I warned her not to use the seed unless she was in dire need. Hokage, award this match to her opponent. She will be unavailable until I have completed the assimilation that's taking place." With that Siren bent down, picked Hinata up, and faded out with her in her arms.
The Hokage had seen a similar process only twelve years earlier. Another demon had been sealed and in another Leaf ninja. He stepped forward as the medics rushed to Neji's side. "The events here are to remain a secret. As far as those outside of this room are concerned Neji defeated Hinata through his own power." He may have not known why Siren requested that Neji be given the victory but he was sure she had some reason. Should Hinata survive her mission to spy on the Void would begin upon her awakening so all precautions had to be taken.
Kurenai approached the Hokage after the matches. "Hokage, I was wondering what you thought about Hinata being taken?""She can be trusted for now. With her power to slip into the village like she has twice already I doubt she would be a threat."
"Twice?" As far as she knew Siren had only shown up once, and that was just recently.
"Yes. When she was in my office it was because she had simply faded in there. I called for Hinata at her request. She can slip through even the strongest detection barrier unnoticed.""That kind of power is unheard of. How strong do you think she really is sir?"
"Truthfully, she outclasses me and even the Fourth." With that he left for his office as Kurenai stood stunned.
Four months later: Void Lair
Siren walked along the dark forest trail to the rocky cavern she called her lair. The walls were solid rock and carved to a smooth finish. The single hallway wide enough for three people to walk in with five doors along each wall. The end of the hallway was a large chamber with a large couch, table, and cooking area in it. She walked up to the door closest to the living chamber and walked inside. "How is she doing Yugito?" she said addressing the young blonde standing beside one of the two beds in the room.
The young woman turned to Siren. "She's doing well. She should come out of her stasis today if we are lucky. But it still bugs me you even gave her that seed. You collected almost all of us who have demons already. Are my skills so weak you need a second Nibi container?"
"Nothing is wrong with you Yugito. But I have seen how the people hunting you will work. You only contain half the demon so they won't be able to get what they are after should you fail. Precautionary tactic is all." Yugito didn't look any happier about the situation. She was proud of her powers so having the young Leaf nin joining her as another Nibi master was slightly annoying.
Hinata stirred slowly on the bed she was laying on. Slowly opening her eyes she looked around and saw Siren and another nin talking. Seeing the symbol of the cloud ninja on her headband she tensed up. 'Oh no. Is this another ploy to get the Byakugan? I have to be careful about how I deal with them.'Her slight movements didn't go unnoticed. "Well welcome to the waking world sleepy head. How was the four month catnap?" Sirens voice was cheery as Hinata's eyes went wide
Yugito turned to her and raised her eyebrow. "What? You scared of me? Well stop being a scared cat or you will give me a bad name, Sis."
"Sis?" Hinata couldn't help the small sound she made when the cloud nin called her sis.
"Yes Sis. You are now one of Void aren't you? Since I am too that means you're like a sister to me so get use to it or I'll sink my claws in you." Yugito let some of the Nibi chakra out as she said the last part, the blue tail instantly flaring behind her.
Siren laughed and slapped Yugito on the back. "Be nice Yugito. She just woke up and doesn't know about the changes."
Hinata sat up and looked at Siren. "What changes Lady Siren?" Siren handed her a mirror and she looked herself over. Her hair had changed to a light blue color with her original color streaking along her hair every so often. The nails on her hands had grown sharply to a point. Her eyes had lost the distinctive white iris and changed to a golden colored normal eye. "My Byakugan! What happened?" she panicked seeing it gone for the first time since she was born.
Siren chuckled at her response. "They didn't go anywhere. The changes are merely part of your fusion with the Nibi seed. It's been four months since the tournament, three since the finals."
"Who won?" Hinata wondered how Naruto did in the tournament.
"Shikamaru was promoted to Chunin, other then that no one knows. Although Naruto defeated Neji, much to the surprise of the village. The finals were called off when the Sand and Sound banded together to attack the village."
"What happened to my village?" she asked panicked at the news.
"They were able to fend off the attack. Many died, including the Hokage and the Void nin I sent to take your place while you were here. As far as the Leaf is concerned you died defending the civilians in the stadium." her calm voice didn't help Hinata one bit. Her friends thought she was killed in combat when she had never even been there.
"So what will happen to me now?" The life of a renegade ninja wasn't one she wanted to live. At the same time she couldn't just walk back to the village or they would think she had used a disguise jutsu on herself.
Siren pointed to a nearby table. "There are the clothes you will wear from now on. The mask will help disguise you in case anyone remembers your face. The stone is a Siren Crystal I created. It will prevent any genjutsu attacks on you and prevent mind reading techniques. As for what you are doing, you're going on a mission. As a Chunin of the Void, I order you to assist Naruto Uzumaki, Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, in his training to master the powers he holds, as well as come to master your own as the Jinchuriki of the Nibi."
Hinata looked to the cloths on the table. The mask was a plain white mask similar to the ANBU mask with a small Void nin symbol in the forehead. The stone was an egg shaped stone the size of her palm and looked to be very light. She moved slowly and walked to the table picking up the remaining cloths and looking them over. They were thin and light when she picked them up. 'The Hokage wanted me to spy on the Void. If I follow their orders I should be able to sneak around between missions and find out more.' she thought as she started to plan out her secret mission. "I have a question Lady Siren. What are the Jinchuriki?"
Siren smiled at her curiosity. "Most people cringe at the mention of Kyuubi, yet you stand there like it was nothing."
"If being one was bad then Naruto wouldn't be one," was her reply.
Siren clapped at that. "Good girl. A Jinchuriki is a host to a demon. Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed within him the day he was born. Same goes for Yugito here and the Nibi. When you ate the seed I gave you it remade your body into that of a Jinchuriki of the Nibi. Yugito already controls her demon with expertise. I will leave training you with your powers to Jiraiya. You better hurry and change, Naruto leaves tomorrow."
Hinata's eyes went wide and she paled slightly. All those years watching Naruto be tormented finally made some sense. Why the village saw him as the demon inside him she didn't understand. "What do you mean he leaves?"
"The Toad Sage, Jiraiya, is taking Naruto on a training trip. Sasuke Uchiha has left the Leaf to join the Sound. Orochimaru will likely try and take his body for himself. You are to meet up with them and train with them. If you let them in on who you are is up to you. Other then Naruto and Jiraiya you will be known from this day as Yuki Nekomata."
Hinata blinked at the name. Siren really had gone to a lot of trouble to help her out since she was given the seed. Nodding her understanding, she asked for some privacy and was happy when Yugito and Siren left the room. She sat back on the bed and looked around the room. The whole room was painted a light blue and carved out of rock. "This place must be inside a cave. I wonder how close it is to the village. If it's too close the new Hokage might think it's a threat."
Slowly she rose of the bed and stripped off the light robe she was in and changing into the clothes Siren had given her. Her shirt was a tight fitting white as her mask with a fishnet undershirt. She stretched and practiced swinging her arms and was surprised how loose and fitting the combo was even as the cloth clung to her body. A pair of tan shorts and a long blue cloak finished off her attire as she tied the weapon pack to her leg. Clad in her new clothing, she put her mask over her face and slid it over her forehead as she stepped outside and into the cave. Looking around she noticed the living area and saw Siren talking to a Void nin clad in the outfit most Sand nin wore. Curiosity made her approach the two as their conversation reached a mild downturn.
"So Gaara killed another Void nin I see. Well I do need to introduce him to our forces. I rather dislike having such a loose end out on the middle of nowhere." Siren spoke softly but Hinata was surprised how easily she could hear her. Siren looked towards Hinata as she came in. "Well good to see your finished getting dressed. I hoped those clothes would fit you good. It can be difficult to get measurements when the person in question is limp as a noodle."
The obvious joke about her previous comatose state didn't really bother her much. "Lady Siren, may I ask a question?"
"Go ahead and ask anything you want, Yuki."
She blinked at the usage of the name before remembering it was going to be her codename. "Well I was wondering how you knew so much about the village and what was going on in it."
Siren smirked at her statement. 'When she tries to be subtle she's as open as a book. The old man had good taste in trusting her, but horrible taste in making her try so hard.' "Well the truth is the Void are everywhere. Many ANBU agents are also Void and through them we have been preventing major war outbreaks for some time now."
"So by spying on our own village we are also protecting it by keeping large battles at bay."
"Yes, at least as much as we can. There will be battles in which we can only help, others we can prevent or finish easily." Siren giggled slightly at her before patting her on the head. "Either you are trying to spy on us or the Nibi has increased your curiosity. Either is fine as I have no secrets to hide."
Hinata blushed and stepped away bowing slightly. Being read so easy just made her doubt her own abilities as a kunoichi. Deciding that she had embarrassed herself enough she turned to head back to the room to see Yugito standing outside the door."Hey Yuki, looking for the exit?"
"Yes. I don't know anything about this place really." Yugito nodded and handed her a small piece of paper with some kanji written on it.
"That is a Teleport charm. Just use the summoning jutsu signs and use that instead of blood while thinking of the place you want to be. Lady Siren created them to allow us to get to any battle we needed in a flash." She let out a small grin at the word "flash".
Hinata looked at the charm closely. Getting the exact seal sequence from Yugito, not having known them due to her lack of a summon contract, she quickly tried it. The world dissolved into a blur as a tunnel of light formed around her. Closing her eyes to guard against the light, she felt herself hit something hard and opened her eyes to see the gates of Konoha and Jiraiya and Naruto walking her way. Looking around to make sure she hadn't been seen she pulled the mask over her face and knelt to the ground as the two came up to eyed the young lady with suspicion.
He had seen her appear just like he had heard Void ninja were famous for. "So who are you miss cutey."
Naruto just looked at her and then to Jiraiya. "Come on Ero-sennin. Don't tell me you're going to start hitting on every girl we pass."
"Would you stop calling me that already, kid?"
Seeing this as her chance she stood and turned to the old pervert. "I am Yuki of the Void ninja. My leader has asked me to accompany you two to help Naruto become stronger and to master my own power." She hesitantly pointed to the seal on her neck as she spoke of her own power.
Naruto saw the mark and tilted his head to one side. "Hey I remember Hinata getting something like that back during the first part of the tournament, right before the weird lady showed up and dragged her off."
The light blush on the girls face wasn't missed from the expert pervert. "Well before I agree I want to have a small private chat with you." He started walking over to the forest and watched as the young lady followed behind him and stood between him and Naruto. 'She must either not have any skill for battle positioning or no intention to fight.' Smiling kindly he started the questioning. "And what power do you possess?"
"The Nibi, sir."
"And why do you want to come with the two of us?"
"To learn to control my new power, become stronger, and help Naruto become stronger."
"Why does Naruto remember the mark on your neck?"
She looked down at that point. "Because I'm not really who I said."
"And who are you really?"
"Hinata Hyuuga. I was put into a coma during the Chunin exam pre-lims so Lady Siren had a double take over for me. The double was killed during the exam so everyone believed I was dead. If I just showed up alive, too many questions might be asked about how I came back to life."
"A Hyuuga huh. Well that's news to me. From what I heard the Void usually avoid inducting large clans to keep their secrets safe from Kekkai Genkai."
"I don't think Lady Siren would keep a secret from a toad, sir."
"And who do you think you're talking about young lady?" Both were surprised to see Siren appear behind Jiraiya. "Hello to you too, Legend of the perverts."
Jiraiya's eye hadn't twitched as much as it was now ever before. "Well I take it you are her leader then. So what are your reasons for this."
"Quite simple, I am collecting the Jinchuriki and making them strong enough to fight the Akatsuki. I already have another Nibi container to keep them from the Nibi's powers for a small while in an emergency."
The sage simply stood there taking it in. The new girl was a clan heiress who was thought to have been K.I.A. but was really still alive, although now a container and Void nin. The Void nin was fighting back against the Akatsuki just like he was but had a much larger network. 'If I play my cards right I may be able to get some help on stopping them completely.'
"So I hope that adding her to the mix will not be too much for you."
Waving his hand he responded to her. "It will work out. She is one of our ninja after all. Plus her powers should provide enough challenge that we can bring out the most of Naruto's power."
Siren smiled at his words and waved to them as she faded away again.
"I am started to think I know how she does that." Hinata spoke looking to Naruto.
"So do you want to inform Naruto about who you are or let him think you are someone new?"
Hinata just looked down. Letting him know had advantages, but so did keeping her secret. If he knew he would consider her shy and maybe fear him for what she had done to Neji. If he didn't know then she could try and build a new relationship with him. That thought made her blush brightly and wobble a little. 'Ok, so thinking about Naruto and me was a bad idea.'
"I'll tell him someday. For now I don't want him knowing in case he tries to go easy on me considering my past with him."
"Well then lets go and get back with Naruto." She followed him as he walked back to where Naruto had been standing the whole time. "Well Naruto, say hello to you new training partner. Now you two lets get a move on."
Naruto looked the new girl over and shrugged following the sage. Hinata smiled following the two down the path. Maybe learning to control the Nibi wouldn't be as hard as she thought. None of the three noticed Siren sitting on a tree top watching them. "Well that would make two Jinchuriki taken care of. Now to go see about the Ichibi." she said as she vanished from her perch.
End of Chapter
Well that is the end for now. With all the recent developments in the manga I've had to really try to work to make sure it still makes sense to me. I'll work on the chapters when I can. Lots of things keeping me busy, but I write when it comes to me. Hope you enjoyed this one. For one fan I got, you did inspire adding Gaara to the chapter, though as a Void is about all I can see him as now. But…who can read the future.