Chapter 4: The mask comes off

(A/N Okay guys, at the rate your reviewing, I'm going to make chapter 4 a reply to your reviews. Why? I got so freakin' many that I don't know what to do with it. Seriously, once again, you guys weren't supposed to like this story. Its was just a written on a whim)

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Naruto barely had time to stuff the box inside the jewelry box and clip it shut before the ninja in black forced him of the branch and to the ground. It came up faster than he expect and didn't have time to brace himself. The jewelry box flew out of his arms and may have saved his life, seeing how it smacked the ninja who was about to stab Naruto square in the face. Apparently it flew harder and faster than Naruto expected for there was a sharp crack as the ninja's nose was broken and he fell to the ground, barely breathing. Naruto had barely stood up when Tenten was thrown into him. She was clearly pissed off. Her hair was in several different directions, her eyes were wild and she has a scratch on her chin. The few seconds they were together Naruto asked a question.

"Tenten, who are these people?!" he asked, panting.

"Sound ninja. NEJI GET YOUR SORRY ASS UP!" she snarled just as ninja surrounded them.

Suddenly the picture of Nata's face entered his mind and he froze. The jewelry box! He grabbed Tenten's big clammy hand and…paused. Tenten's hands weren't bigger than his. He looked up at the surprised sound ninja he had grabbed the hand of. Naruto chuckled.

"Sorry about that. Here let me fix this for you" Naruto said with a small smile, bending the Sound ninja hand back until there was a satisfying crack and he was on the ground screaming, his hand at an unnatural angle .

Naruto smiled and left the man screaming on the ground. Number 1 priority, find and make sure the girls are okay. Number 2, find that damn jewelry box before something happens to it. Number 3, find the boys and make sure they're breathing. Naruto jumped into the trees, slightly hidden in the shadows. The girls were all fighting angrily around the hollow while the boys were seperated somewhere in the crowd of black ninja. There were at least 50 Sound ninja squeezed into the small clearing. For a second his eyes met Erhen's who was confidently fighting the ninja around him. His eyes flickered to where the girls were in an obvious order. 'Do what you need to do quickly and help the girls.' Naruto nodded and turned his gaze, looking desprately around the area searching for a spark of ebony somewhere…There! A sound ninja was poking at the mother-of-pearl Egrets on the jewerly box, trying to make them come off. Naruto could only guess how much each one was worth.

"No!" Naruto yelled, rocketing off the branch.

He smashed into ninja head on and snatched the jewelry box from his grip. He looked at it and winced. The golden-bronze fish had a large crack going down its curving body and there was a long white scatch going along along the top of the box. There was no way Nata would not notice that. Well…we're screwed. In any other situation, Naruto would have laughed…if the Kyuubi wasn't right. Naruto pushed the jewelry box in his jacket and ran to the hollow, breaking bones as he ran towards the hollow. Skidding between Tenten and Sakura fighting, he dove into the hollow and put Nata's jewelry box on her matt before running right out, in time to save Sakura from a shuriken to the head.

Nata-san is gonna be pissed. Unless she blames the ninja. Its kind of a three point blame here. You for not giving it back when you first got it, Erhen for allowing us to keep it, and the ninja for destroying it The Kyuubi rumbled thoughtfully.

'Nata-san? Why does she get a respective term? And what do you mean Erhen allowed us to have it?' Naruto asked.

The fox was silent so Naruto took in the area around him. The Sound ninja were rapidly decreasing, about 20 on the ground, 10 missing and 20 still fighting. Naruto's eyes flew to Nata but she didn't nothing to prove she was anyone but a Golden Assassin Ninja. She was sticking to taijutsu that even Lee would be proud of. It was clear Tenten was wounded, her right leg was drenched in blood and stiff but she still flew around with the gracefulness any gymnast would be envious of. Tenten, who was mainly long range, was working with Neji, who was closer ranged. It was deadly efficent. He turned his attention to Nata and Erhen. The two were both clearly short ranged but it was just as deadly. Sakura…oh no! Where was Sakura?! A flash of pink was hidden under a swarm of black ninja and the girl screamed. Naruto hissed and ran to assist his girlfriend. He blinked for a second, surprised that he wasn't furious about the girl he was dating getting jumped but the fact they were just attacking period. He shrugged it off and literally kicked the first ninja he saw in the ass. The man did a face plant into a tree. Suddenly the ninja stopped being so fierce and were even stopping to pick up their wounded. The one with the broken nose paused and looked Naruto in the eyes.

"Dis is your warming. Orochinaru knows bout you. Go back before we come back wif more help. Don't make us have to kill you fo early" he said, his words badly slurred from his broken nose. With that, he ran through the trees like a scared schoolgirl.

Sakura jumped at Naruto with surprising speed and just buried her face in his shirt. He wrapped his arms against the girl and looked around the nearly empty clearly. Everyone was near the hollow in some way. Naruto, being the closest, looked around. Tenten was obviously the worst off. The adrenaline had been keeping her leg's pain at bay but now that the fight was over she was leaning heavily on Neji and tightly gripping his hand in pain. Neji was just holding the girl, whispering softly to her and staying perfectly calm…even if his usually pale fingers were dark purple. Erhen walked up to them, Nata in tow.

"Okay everyone who's hurt in the hollow. Everyone else, keep watch" Erhen ordered, taking Tenten's hand.

Neji glared at him but Tenten patted his shoulder and limped into the hollow. Nata followed, both her thighs were bleeding pretty badly making her pale legs turn red. Neji, Sakura and Naruto were left outside. Naruto started pacing the edge of the clearing, Neji took to the trees, while Sakura stayed close to the tree, in case Erhen needed more medical help. It was pretty calm now. The birds were singing, the grasshoppers playing, the trees sighing…Nata screaming in pure rage. Naruto yelled in surprise and stumbled into a tree and Nata, her pain forgotten, stormed into the clearing.

"Those bastards! I'll kill them!" she screamed, running into the trees in the direction the Sound ninja disappeared. Erhen stomped out just as Nata disappeared, her jewelry box, in all its destroyed beauty, under his arm. He stared at Naruto it a way that clearly said 'What did you do?' He gestured his arms widely.

"Well? Go after her! You three! Those wounds are in a horrible place. There is an important vein in the leg and if it is cut or poked than she will bleed to death! Go after her!" he ordered quite angrily.

Neji stayed were he was.

"I'm not leaving without Tenten. Naruto and Sakura can go" he said, but Naruto had already disappeared, followed by Sakura.

They ran for a while until they came to an even smaller clearing where Nata was on the ground panting. She was sitting in a puddle of blood bigger than a minor wound would give. She was pale and panting when Naruto landed in front of her.

"Sakura put her on my back" he ordered.

Sakura complied, forcing the girl onto Naruto's back. She obviously had enough blood left to fight.

"Let me down! They destroyed mother's jewelry box! I'll kill them all!" she screamed, tearing at her hair.

Sakura stood in front of Naruto, so she was at eye level with Nata. "Nata you can't do that! Your bleeding and blind. Wait for us" she said in a reasoning voice.

"No!" Nata screamed. "I can stand the loss of blood and I am not blind!"

"Yes you are Nata! Let Naruto and I take you back!" Sakura begged.

"I am not blind! I can prove it!" Nata yelled, then ripped her mask off.

Sakura stared and dropped to her knees, stunned. Naruto turned his head to the side, intending to look Nata in the eyes and froze. Nata had dark hair so Naruto could only guess what color eyes she had. He had always thought violet or brown, maybe even dark green but Nata's eyes were not dark. In fact they were lavender. Milky lavender. The same color eyes as Neji. The same color eyes as the Hyuuga. The same color eyes as Lady Hinata Hyuuga, heiress of the Hyuuga clan.