A/N: Sorry this update took so long! Exams took away a lot of writing time, but I plan on churning out updates at a faster pace the next few weeks. Also, whatever direction you thought this story was going is probably wrong, as you'll see in the next several chapters (and if you can guess how it's going to go, a hundred kudos to you!).
Unwind
Cycle VI
Hinata makes her ascent to the Archives with a heavy feeling in her chest. She feels guilty and angry at the same time – guilty because Sasuke is still comatose, and angry because, well, what did they expect her to do when they're the ones who tried to poke through her mind in the first place? She's still unsure about what's going on, and ever since she died, ever since Neji told her about those stupid pomegranates, it seems as if all the foundations in her reality are crumbling…
Gloomy. That's what sums it up. She feels gloomy.
Itachi had glared at her in disgust as if she were a poisonous parasite. The blonde boy in the corner looked about ready to attack her if she so much as twitched, and for a moment, Sakura looked so afraid of her that Hinata felt that same horror in her own self as well.
After she gave her side of the story, they all looked a bit more intrigued, albeit still suspicious, and told her that she had passed and would go work at the Archives the next morning. They made her eat her meals alone, and when she asked questions, they either responded stiffly or ignored her completely.
Hinata bites her lip bitterly. She never asked for this, and though she tried to be optimistic about her situation in the beginning, her confidence is dwindling now. She feels homesick. She misses her family, her friends, her old life, even the villagers that turned their heads when the priests pulled her name out of the veil.
And that memory that she saw in that shadowy chasm…
She shudders. If only she hadn't seen it, because now, it feels like it's been imprinted in her mind, and she can't forget those hollow dark eyes, the motionless body curled up like a shriveled husk, the inflectionless words repeated over and over in some mindless mantra:
Get me out, get me out, getmeout, getmeoutgetmeoutgetmeout...
She shakes her head firmly. She has a job to do. Even though she has only a faint idea of what's going on, she can at least give her all into the few tasks that she has. This, at least, gives her current life some purpose.
The thick clouds rub off more celestial dust on her as she approaches the Archives entrance. She sneezes, toddles forward, and lingers around the door uncertainly. Should she knock? Is she allowed to just barge in?
Luckily, she doesn't have to wait too long before the doors open of their own accord, as if welcoming her in.
"So you're the new addition to our team," someone drawls from above. A boy with spiky brown hair in a ponytail sits with back hunched on top of a bookshelf.
"Hello," Hinata says uncertainly. "My name is Hinata Hyuuga."
"Shikamaru Nara," the boy responds.
Ah, a Nara. He must be in the charge of the Archives then.
He raises an eyebrow. "So you're the troublemaker."
Hinata's face colors. "I – I never meant any harm."
"Hm."
When the boy doesn't say anything else, Hinata asks, "Um, do you have a task for me? Sakura was supposed to give me a list of books and scrolls to familiarize myself with but…"
She doesn't need to finish her sentence. Shikamaru nods understandingly and leaps off the bookshelf, landing lightly on his feet.
"Sakura gave the list to me this morning." A piece of paper materializes in his hand. "Luckily for you, I gathered them already."
"Thank you."
"No, you won't be thanking me." He snaps his fingers, and a heavy thump resounds in the library as dozens of thick tomes and a pile of tightly bound scrolls land on the nearest table.
She gives a small cry of dismay. "Am – am I supposed to finish all of this today?"
"I have no idea. But knowing the Uchihas – you might want to get started now."
The girl presses her lips into a thin line and approaches the table warily. She has always been a quick reader but this… this might make her brain explode.
"If you need anything, just shout." Then, he disappears, leaving her alone with the mountain of words.
…
…
After several hours of poring through the texts, Hinata cannot help but doze in and out. Her mind is foggy; all the information stuffed in her head about symbology and cartography and theoretical physics floats around in her head into a mishmash of absurd laws and corollaries. Through the haze, she vaguely recalls a white room of beautiful peace and silence… so unlike that gray chasm with all those terrible images… where had they come from anyway? Were they really a part of Sasuke's memories? The more she thinks about it, the more unlikely it seems that a god, of all beings, could know about such a thing…
"Hinata?"
The pale-eyed girl flinches awake immediately. The blonde boy from yesterday towers over her in her seat. He wears a grin that borders on feral.
"I – I'm sorry I fell asleep – I know I wasn't supposed to, but there was just so much—" Hinata flaps a hand at the pile of half-read books and scrolls, and her voice dies down to a squeak at the unreadable expression on his face.
There is an awkward pause.
"I guess I haven't introduced myself yet," the blonde says, seeming to ignore her predicament about the information she was supposed to read. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."
"The Uzumakis… ah, your clan is in charge of sunshine, right?"
When he gives her another strange look, she says quickly, "Or maybe not. Erm, let's see, Itachi said the Aburames and Inazukas were supposed to be wildlife, so, um—"
She startles when Naruto laughs loudly.
"No, you were right. It's been so long since anyone charged my clan with that that I'd forgotten about it." His voice is half-bitter, though he offers a more pleasant smile.
"How could it have been so long? The mortal world never stops receiving sunshine…"
"The gods' relationship with the mortals doesn't work like that," Naruto explains. "The mortal world can run by itself, without the help of the gods. It's only when some of us want to or need to interfere that we involve ourselves with mortal affairs."
Hinata takes in the new information with alarm.
"My entire village worships the gods. They make sacrifices for them and spend their time to pray to them. Does that mean that all of it…"
"That most of it was a waste? Probably." At her downcast face, his molded cast of a smile softens slightly. "Some gods like the attention. Others don't. The ones that don't typically try to warn the mortals against devoting their lives, but often, the signs get mixed up."
"That's what must have happened with my village," Hinata mutters. "Itachi mentioned something about trying to prevent them from making another sacrifice. The winds were a warning."
"From what I've heard, yeah." Naruto takes the seat next to her. "But that's not what I came here to talk to you about."
Hinata ducks her head, ashamed. "I'm sorry I couldn't finish reading—"
"No, not about that either." He chuckles dryly. "Itachi tasked me with telling you about our mission."
Ah. The mission. The one she's a part of now that she passed, ever since she somehow proved herself, in ways she can't even begin to comprehend, and now they're asking what – what exactly of her?
"Please tell me everything," she says, making herself comfortable in her seat.
Naruto procures a pen from thin air and twirls it idly as he speaks. "Itachi tells me you've noticed it too. Reality is bending in ways they shouldn't be bent. These changes are usually covered up well by whatever's doing this, but there are some loopholes that we've discovered in the past few months."
He stops twirling the pen and sets it on the oak desk.
"Watch."
A small blue ball of fire hovers over his palm like a lantern. He brings his hand near the pen. Nothing happens at first, but after a while, the shape of the object warps and flickers between its original colors and a strange shade of metallic silver.
"In high heat, every object goes through this transformation."
The pen slowly flattens out and curls into the shape of a rune-like figure. Hinata stares at it with her mouth agape.
"How are you sure it's not celestial powers that are doing this?" she asks.
"We're sure it's not. Sakura's tried it too, and she doesn't have an ounce of godly blood in her. I let her borrow some of the Uzumaki fire for a night, and she reported the same results. And not only that – look at the pen again."
Naruto squeezes the fire out into his fist. The silvery rune shape unfolds into its original form, and color seems to magically bleed into the object again.
"I – I admit that this isn't normal," says Hinata, pensively staring at the pen. "Well, it doesn't feel normal. But what I don't understand is how we feel this. Um, how do I say this – it doesn't feel right, but how do we know it isn't just a law of the world?"
Naruto nods grimly. "That's a good point. We don't know. Or, well, we didn't. The past few months, ever since the team was created, we've just been looking out for things that don't feel right. You know, in case it means the heavens are getting unstable."
He looks around the domed space before he turns back to her and leans forward. Hinata's cheeks, much to the girl's dismay, erupt in a deep blush.
"But a few weeks ago," he continues in a hushed voice, unaware of her discomfort, "someone made contact with Itachi."
Personal space forgotten, Hinata stares at him incredulously. "Someone like… an alien?"
"What? No. Gods, no." The blonde shakes his head fiercely. "Not an alien. But close enough, in my opinion."
"Who is he? What does he want?"
"He said his name is Deidara. We don't know his intentions, but Itachi has a few ideas. Never mind that for now – this Deidara guy is crazy. I wouldn't have believed him if he didn't mention a few things about us that no one else is supposed to know."
"Believed what? What did he say?" Hinata chews her lip impatiently.
"He said that in forty moons – so, seventeen from today – the worlds are going to collapse."
A beat. And then:
"What?"
"Yeah, I know. Crazy, right?"
"Th - that's insane!" Hinata wrings her hands in frustration. "How? Why? On whose whim?"
"We don't know. But the plan is to find out." Naruto takes one of her hands and places the pen in it. "That's where you come in. Itachi thinks you've got something in you that can help us out. Will you do it?"
Hinata sighs heavily. "... Are you guys really giving me a choice?"
"No." He smiles apologetically. "But I have a feeling you want to help us anyway."
"If the world is ending? Of course." Hinata examines the pen in her hand wonderingly. "I'll do my best."
"You're going to need more than that. Come on, you can ditch the books for now." He stands up and tugs her wrist.
"Wh - where are we going?"
"To the veil. I think you need some motivation."
Hinata lets out a confused squeak as they leap from the Archive doors and glide toward a building made entirely of glass.
chapter six fin