Hey guys and gals, sorry for the extremely long delay. A lot of stuff has been happening over the past year that prevented me from writing, but now I should have more time to write (hopefully). I had some personal issues that have resulted in a change of my career aspirations and as a result life was pretty hectic for a while.
Part of the problem was also severe writers block, but I'm starting to get my inspiration back so hopefully I'll be able to get back to a chapter every couple of weeks or so (no promises).
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in the manga or anime! They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto! If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic!
Key:
"Speech"
"Kyūbi and other large beings"
Thought
"Normal Speech Emphasis on a word Normal Speech"
A/N: This is my first ever fanfic, please go easy on me. I'll accept any friendly advice you're willing to give to help make this story better. Thanks in advance!
WARNING: THIS FANFIC IS RATED M FOR A REASON! THERE WILL BE BLOOD, GUTS, SEXUAL CONTENT (including eventual lemons), ETC. So don't get mad at me if you don't like that stuff because YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
Ch 9 Chaos
To say that Hinata was having a bad day would be an understatement.
Why me?The young heiress thought, both agitated and nervous at the same time.
She quickly dodged to her left in order to avoid the fireball that had been hurdling towards her. She landed in a crouch before quickly recovering and taking the traditional Hyūga stance, albeit a bit gingerly. The young Hyūga mentally cataloged the list of injuries she had acquired in her struggle with her opponent.
"You cannot win, Hyūga," her opponent gloated arrogantly, "I am far superior to you, always have been, always will be. Now, tell me where your boyfriend is and maybe I'll let you live!"
The heiress glared at her opponent before responding, "I would never betray Naruto-kun! I will stop you now so that you will never hurt him or our village again!" She grimaced as her ankle throbbed when she hardened her stance.
Although Hinata spoke confidently enough, in truth she was terrified. She had a sprained right ankle and two fractured ribs, not to mention all the scrapes and bruises. She scanned the area for allies, hoping for some assistance. Unfortunately, nearly all of them were currently engaged in battle and the rest were out of commission. She was on her own for the time being. She began to wonder how she would escape this predicament with her life.
"Then you will die!" a stream of fire erupted from the perpetrators' mouth, heading straight for Hinata.
Not good!Hinata thought as she quickly tried to dodge again. The stream of fire continued its' pursuit, however, following the heiress wherever she ran. She managed to avoid corners thanks to her Byakugan, but she wouldn't be able to run for much longer with her sprained ankle. Her opponent, however, had received very little damage from her and still had plenty of chakra left.
Hinata dodged once again as fireball collided with the wall in front of her. This time she was forced to roll in order to protect her damaged ankle.
She once again turned to face her opponent, and glared at him as she once again thought, How am I going to get out of this?She stood up and defiantly fell into the Gentle Fist stance.
-2 Hours Ago-
Hinata stood behind Tsunade, listening intently to the Kages' …discussion… about how the war would be handled. However the …negotiations… were not going anywhere fast.
Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro arrived in Konoha three days after Naruto's departure. After resting for the night, the group left the village for the meeting, discussing possible outcomes for the alliance's political and military hierarchy. They had arrived in Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron) two days later, after spending the night in a village near the border of Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire). And that was the last time they had experienced any form of peace.
She sighed as the Kage continued to voice their complaints and arguments to one another; decades of past wars and resentment were clearly causing their present problems. How she wished she could speak her mind and tell them if they didn't come up with a plan, there would be no world to save anymore. After all, she knew the dangers of the Akatsuki firsthand.
And Pein hadn't even been the strongest of the Akatsuki. The true mastermind behind the evil organization, Madara Uchiha, had used Pein in order to further his own agenda. Whatever his true agenda was, however, had yet to be made known. Strategists and genius' from around the elemental nations had been working for weeks trying to piece together what Madara's war was really about, but they were no closer to the answer now than when they first asked the question.
The Hyūga heiress sighed once again as the Raikage, Ē, slammed his hands on the table in front of him and voiced his disapproval with something Tsunade had said. Konoha and Kumo had a long history of bad relations, dating back before Hinata was born. Kumo had been the ones behind the kidnapping attempt that eventually resulted in the death of her uncle and Neji's father, Hizashi. Hinata had long since moved on from the painful memories of that time in her life, as had most of the shinobi in Konoha. Unfortunately, it seemed Ē was proving to be as stubborn as his reputation.
In addition to the grudges between nations and the stress caused by the threat of a new Great Ninja War, there had been no word from Naruto and their search/rescue party in nearly two and a half weeks, which worried everyone. The last message they received was delivered by one of Naruto's toad summons. The message was written by Kakashi and stated they were following a lead that placed them in a chain of islands in the sea bordering Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning) and that everything was going relatively smoothly. Unfortunately, this did little to calm the stubborn Raikage.
"This is going nowhere, Ē," Tsuande shouted in annoyance, "How are we supposed to form an alliance if you shoot down every idea the rest of us have?"
"Simple," the Raikage replied angrily, "I make the ideas and you follow them!"
Tsunade shook her head in disbelief, "That's not going to happen and you know it! You might be the most fit to lead the alliance, but you cannot disregard every proposition we have! I will not allow you to lead my people into battle without some sort of compromise! I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way, am I?!" Tsunade turned to the rest of the Kage and Mifune, the leader of Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron) in hopes of some back up.
Hinata sighed heavier this time, as it was at least the third time this argument had been made since the meeting began. She was beginning to think the alliance was going to fail miserably. She, along with everyone else in the room, knew the alliance was crucialin the effort to stop Madara's plan.
"Ladies, gentlemen," Mifune interrupted, "I think that it might be time to take a short break to cool our heads. Let us meet again in one hour to continue the discussions."
Thank Kami-sama, Hinata thought to herself as she and Tsunade exited the chamber alongside Gaara and Temari. The group made their way to an area just outside the meeting room and sat down at a table. Tsunade and Gaara exchanged a look that pretty much said it all.
"This is not going the way it should be going," Tsunade said, rubbing her temples trying to calm down.
"No, it's not," Gaara said, folding his arms across his chest. Gaara was usually very calm, but even Hinata could tell he was stressed.
"Let's not talk about it now, I need a break and a drink," the Hokage declared as she summoned a bottle of sake out of a scroll and poured herself a cup. "If only we had some information on Naruto, that would might help sway the Raikage to be more agreeable."
"Indeed," Gaara agreed with a small nod.
The group chatted for nearly a half hour, enjoying each other's company while eating their respective lunches.
"You worried about your new boyfriend, Hinata?" Temari asked with a slight smirk. Soon after her siblings and her had entered Konoha, the blonde had immediately asked the heiress if the rumors she had been hearing were true, much to Hinata's embarrassment. And unfortunately, Temari continuously assaulted with embarrassing questions and suggestive implications that caused the bluenette to blush and faint on a regular basis. One of the questions Temari asked was so suggestive it caused the heiress to have a nosebleed Jiraiya would have been proud of.
"H-hai, but I believe in him," Hinata blushed and smiled.
"That's good at least," Temari stated simply before changing gears, "What's it like? Having a boyfriend I mean."
"I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life, b-but it's also stressful knowing the dangers that follow him," the heiress confirmed.
"Madara you mean," Temari frowned.
Hinata nodded in response before continuing, "Hai, but that's why I've been training. I know Naruto-kun can protect himself, but I just can't stand by and watch Naruto-kun fight alone."
"I understand," Temari smiled at Hinata's determination,
"A-ano…is there someone you're interested in, Temari-san?" Hinata asked out of curiosity, which caught the attention of both Gaara and Tsunade.
"What? Don't be ridiculous," Temari said, sporting a light blush, "There's no way I could fall for that lazy—!" She covered her mouth, but unfortunately it was too late.
"You like Shikamaru-kun!" Hinata said with a small smile.
"N-no I don't," Temari tried to deny her feelings, but to no avail.
"Don't be ashamed, Temari-san. Shikamaru-kun is a very nice person," Hinata urged the blonde to accept her feelings.
"There's nothing to be ashamed about because I don't like him," Temari said, crossing her arms over her chest.
Tsunade watched the scene with mild amusement, while Gaara wondered if he needed to have a word with the young Nara the next time they met.
"Whatever you say, Temari-san," Hinata decided to drop it for now. Temari, however, had different plans. She pulled Hinata away from the table to avoid any further embarrassment.
"Suppose I did have feelings for someone, and I'm not saying that I do, how should I go about telling him?" Temari whispered to Hinata.
"Be honest and just s-say it," Hinata smiled. "Telling Naruto-kun how I felt was the best decision that I have ever made."
Temari didn't look very convinced, "But the situation is completely different."
"Not when you think about our profession," Hinata explained, "We're ninja, we could die at any time. Wouldn't it be better to know how you and Shikamaru-kun felt about each other in case something happened to one of you?"
Temari thought about it for a moment before nodding, "I guess you're right about that. But telling him is harder than it—HEY! I never said I like Shikamaru!"
Hinata smiled at Temari's obvious denial, "Whatever you say, Temari-san."
"Grrr...," Temari blushed as the Hyūga smiled at her.
"Hokage-sama," a familiar voice interrupted the two kunoichi. The pair turned to see none other than Shikamaru walking towards Tsunade and Gaara.
Hinata turned back to Temari and gave her a knowing look, a look that Temari returned with a slight glare that was partially ruined by the blush she currently had on her face.
"Don't…say…anything!" Temari threatened as she turned to walk back towards the table.
"Oh, I would never," Hinata said with a small smirk as she followed the blonde back to the table to hear what Shikamaru had to say.
"Shikamaru, I assume we finally received word from Kakashi?" Tsunade asked in an obvious tone as she too gave the Temari a knowing look.
"Hai, Hokage-sama," Shikamaru said as he handed the note to Tsunade. "We received this two days ago, it was troublesome to get it here so quickly though."
"Thank you for your effort," the Hokage said as she opened the scroll and began to read it.
A few moments passed as Tsunade read the scroll, which caused Hinata to begin to worry slightly that something bad had happened. Soon enough, however, the Hokage spoke.
"It seems the mission was a success," Tsunade smiled at the young heiress, "They have located Killer Bee and have begun Naruto's training to control the Kyūbi. We should inform the Raikage immediately."
Hinata sighed in relief at the information that her beloved was alive and preparing to become stronger than ever before. Thank Kami-sama.
The group walked back into the chamber to find Ē already back in his seat waiting for the meeting to resume. Tsunade approached the Raikage with the scroll in hand and placed it directly in front of him on the table.
"What is this?" the Raikage asked, slightly annoyed.
"The joint Konoha/Kumo team found your brother, the information is in this scroll," Tsunade said simply.
Ē's eyes widened as he quickly opened the scroll and read its contents. After a few moments he set the scroll down and sighed in relief. "Thank Kami-sama he's alright."
Tsunade nodded and began to walk away before the Raikage spoke to her.
"Thank you for helping me find my brother," he said simply, but sincerely. It was clear to everyone in the room how much he cared about his brother.
"You're welcome," Tsunade smiled in return.
"Also," he continued, "I am sorry about my behavior. I was so hell-bent on finding my brother I let my mind become clouded. I will try to work better with you, with all of you." He said as he looked up.
Tsunade turned to see the rest of the world's leaders had re-entered the room as well. They silently nodded and retook their seats, hoping they would finally be able to come to an agreement about the alliance.
For the next half hour, the leaders of the soon-to-be alliance continued to debate how the alliance would be organized. The talks where much more civil and eventually the job was nearing its' completion. All that remained was the signing of the document that would cement the creation of the alliance. The leaders signed one by one, starting with Tsunade and ending with Mifune. After everyone had signed, the leaders shook hands and declared the creation Allied Shinobi Forces.
Hinata sighed once again, this time in relief, as it seemed everything had resolved itself, her Naruto once again coming to save the day, though he probably didn't know it. And as the group turned to leave the chamber, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that the formation of the ASF had been successful.
Unfortunately for them, the feeling wouldn't last much longer.
**CRASH**
The group turned back towards the chamber where the sound originated and were stunned to see none other than Madara Uchiha standing on the table they had just been seated at.
"What, leaving so soon?" he asked menacingly, "Oh, but you can't leave yet! The fun is just about to begin!"
Suddenly, several dozen white Zetsu crashed through the ceiling just above the chamber and began their assault on the compound.
Mifune sounded the alarm, alerting his samurai to the infiltration of their nation. Soon after, he drew his katana and charged at the enemy. The shinobi followed suit and began attacking the infiltrators with deadly force. "Attack!"
Hinata wasted little time and joined the excitement, activating her Byakugan as she charged forward. She killed two Zetsu with two simultaneous strikes to the heart before ducking and sliding her leg out, sweeping the Zetsu that had attacked her from behind off its feet before quickly finishing it off with a strike to the head.
She then stood and called out, "Jūho Shōshike (Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fist)!" before rushing towards a group of five Zetsu with her fists ablaze with the twin chakra lions. She quickly eliminated the first two with simultaneous strikes to their abdomens, killing them as she continued to charge towards the next, who she decapitated with a single swing of her right fist. The last two charged towards her, intent on stopping her.
Hinata deactivated her jutsu to conserve energy; instead deciding simple Jūken (Gentle Fist) would do the job just fine. She assumed her stance and waited for the Zetsu to get closer before unleashing a Hakke Kūshō (Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm), killing one by breaking its neck and stunning the other. While the other Zetsu was stunned, Hinata rushed forward and struck her adversary in the heart, killing it instantly.
Madara had watched the heiress fight the Zetsu with mild interest and had to admit he was impressed with the young Hyūga's transformation. Prior to her fight with Nagato's Deva Path (Yahiko), reports indicated she was meek, timid, and weak compared to many of the other ninja her age. However, it seemed that since then much had changed. This had the Uchiha wondering what had changed the heiress in such a short amount of time.
Madara approached Hinata as she turned to face him, dropping into a defensive stance.
"Very impressive, Hyūga-san," Madara complimented, clapping his hands mockingly, "You have become strong in such a short amount of time. Tell me, what has changed since your encounter with Nagato?"
Nagato? Hinata thought before responding, "I don't know who you're talking about."
"Oh, my mistake," Madara began, "You probably don't know him by that name. What has changed since your encounter with Pein?" He clarified.
Hinata hardened her stance and flared her chakra slightly, gathering chakra for another Jūho Shōshike, the lions larger and glowing brighter than they previously were.
She responded to the Uchiha's question with one word, "Everything," before she rushed forward with the intent of stopping the man who wished to harm her beloved Naruto.
"Oh?" Madara said as he dodged the fierce strikes of the Hyūga with little effort, making himself intangible any time she came close to hitting him, but never returning her strikes.
For nearly two minutes Hinata continued to strike at the Uchiha, never once drawing a hit. Soon, she was beginning to tire, her chakra reserves fading fast. She jumped backwards, separating herself from Madara in order to give herself time to recover. Maybe she could distract him in order to gain enough time to recover, even slightly.
"Why do you want the Jinchuriki? What do you want with Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked keeping her fighting stance in case her opponent attacked.
"All in due time, my dear," Madara responded, taking no fighting stance, "You fight well, but you are not nearly strong enough to challenge me by yourself. How about fighting someone a little closer to your level?"
Hinata wasn't sure what the Uchiha meant by that, but figured she would find out soon enough.
A vortex began to slowly spiral out of Madara's eye, revealing a man with a white, high collar shirt, blue pants, and jet-black hair.
No, it can't be…Hinata thought, nervously.
The man raised his head and focused his gaze on Hinata revealing his Sharingan to the heiress, confirming her fears.
"Sasuke-kun."
End Chapter 9
Sorry for the shorter than usual chapter and cliffhanger after this inexcusably long wait, but this felt like the best place to end this chapter.
I feel as though Ē's personality is a little off, but I haven't really been able to get it right in a long time so I just figured it was close enough. Being as this is a fanfic, I have a little creative freedom, but i want most of the characters personalities to be as close as possible to their personalities in the anime/manga. Maybe someone can give me a tip on how to portray him better?
I'd like to apologize again for taking so long to write this chapter, a lot has been going on in my life in the past year so it was tough for me to get the inspiration needed to keep writing. But hopefully I'll be able to keep up with this story more frequently now that everything has settled down a little.
I'd also like to thank everyone who stuck with me despite the long delay in this story. Please continue to follow my story as it moves closer towards the end (which is probably still a ways off).
Anyways, please review and let me know what you think! I will try to update more frequently, but it will probably only be once a month.
Until next time guys and gals,
CBM-1701