Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I hope that this makes up for it somewhat!
Am I doing alright characterization-wise? Please let me know!
Enjoy, and PLEASE REVIEW!
Chapter 3
"Why are we doing this again?"
The question was asked by a young, dark skinned woman with red hair that fell messily down her back. Her amber eyes were narrowed in annoyance, and she vented her irritation slightly by spitting viciously into the bushes to her right. Her two teammates – one with similar dark skin and white hair, the other with pale skin and blonde hair – both sighed as they stole amused looks at each other.
The young man took his lollipop out of his mouth, flashing a smug grin at his teammate as he teased, "You fell asleep again, Karui? That's, what, the third time now? Isn't that right, Samui?"
Samui rolled her blue eyes, and settled her gaze on the miles of trees ahead as she tuned out the sounds of Karui slamming her foot repeatedly into the young man's ankles.
"Shut up, Omoi! I do not fall asleep!"
Omoi chose – wisely – not to respond, instead answering her original question, wincing in pain as they walked along the well worn road leading to the village of Konoha.
"The Akatsuki already got Yugito-sama," Karui's face fell, and the three Kumogakure shinobi felt a chill settle over them at the statement. "and it's only a matter of time before they target Bee-sama. Konoha has the Nine Tailed Fox, so they're bound to have some information regarding the Akatsuki. Raikage-sama wants every bit of information that can help him eliminate the group."
Karui nodded, her annoyance dissipating as Omoi's words sunk in. The three walked in silence for the last few miles, and the blonde was grateful for the brief lapse of calm the silence brought. There had been so little silence lately, ever since Yugito-sama had been killed. Between the Raikage and his advisors arguing about the safety of Bee-sama and the nearby daimyo whining about the safety of themselves and their subjects; the village of Kumo had been anything but quiet.
The woman rolled her shoulders, hoping to ease the ache in her back. The nasty feeling had been there for several days now, something that Omoi assured he was a result of her rather large bust. Samui was too used to Omoi's barbless teasing that she hadn't even deemed his comment worthy of a reaction. Who knows…he could be right. Highly unlikely, but the chance was still there.
Samui's composure – usually so well-contained – had been pushed to the breaking point lately, what with the loss of Yugito-sama and the new responsibilities that had been placed upon her as a result. Something dangerous was brewing on the horizon, this the kunoichi knew, without having to ask. The only question was how long until it fully revealed itself.
The leader's eyes glanced up at the sky, seeing the flash of a dark hawk, its wings outstretched and a piercing cry filling the air. The blonde nodded curtly to the two beside her, and their eyes snapped up as well, just in time to see the creature disappear into the trees. There were several significant chakra pulses surrounding them from all sides, and Samui quickly gestured for Karui and Omoi – who had both unconsciously placed their hands on their weapons in preparation for a fight – to stand down.
The air was still and silent as several masked figures appeared out of the shadows – Samui assumed them to be the infamous Konohagakure ANBU. They looked beaten and worn, but the tense power to their figures left no room for doubt of their abilities. Samui held up her hands in a peaceful gesture, and called.
"We come to speak with your Hokage. A peaceful meeting, nothing more. I have here a signed letter from our Raikage…" she said, and motioned toward a scroll strapped to her hip, not daring to make any movements toward it, in case the ANBU mistook it as a threat.
The five figures, faces covered by masks depicting various animals, were impassive as they stared at the Kumo ninja before them. Samui did not fidget or frown; instead letting the foreign shinobi branch out their chakra without argument. It was common procedure to check for illusions or traps before bringing outside ninja into the village. The only thing that was itching at Samui's mind was the fact that, according to her map, they had reached Konoha.
If that was so…then where were the village walls? Where were the sounds of a ninja village? It was quiet, but the sense of calm that had accompanied the silence a few minutes ago was suddenly absent. Now, an uneasy feeling was beginning to creep into Samui's mind.
Where was Konohagakure? Were their maps – usually so precise – somehow inaccurate?
The blonde glanced at her teammates, wondering if she was the only one to have noticed the strangeness of the situation.
Karui was oblivious, her amber eyes narrowing as her irritation swelled up again, and after a few long moments she put an impatient hand on her hip. Omoi was unnerved by the silence, sucking thoughtfully on his candy as he eyed the tense ANBU with mild curiosity. But Samui noted – with a sense of relief – that his posture was slightly more tense than usual, and his eyes flickered around with a frown of confusion.
"Did something happen?" Omoi asked quietly, and the ANBU simultaneously turned their heads to look at him, in an eerily synchronized way that could only be the result of years of team experience. It was a mechanism of survival, similar to how birds all fly in a neat formation. When one bird turned, so did the rest. If one reacted to a threat, so did the rest. For shinobi, if one of them reacted to something, it was only natural for them to be so in-sync with each other that they all moved at the same time.
Omoi didn't flinch under the combined stares, instead fixing his dark eyes upon each of them in turn, pulling his lollipop out of his mouth with a loud pop. Samui inwardly cringed at his boldness, and was relieved when the ANBU ignored his question, instead turning to curtly nod in answer to her request.
One of them – the mask resembled a cat – stepped forward, and unrolled a large storing scroll, laying it on the grass. The same shinobi spoke a moment later, and the deep, neutral sound was unmistakably male.
"Please deposit all of your weapons. They will be returned to you when you leave the village."
Neji Hyuuga scowled deeply as he listened to the others' jabber loudly about what they thought was going to happen. It was just after dawn, and when Neji had emerged from his tent, he hadn't been surprised to see that the others were awake as well. The young shinobi leaned against a lone piece of rubble, watching as Kiba and Tenten argued furiously.
His eyes instinctively found the dark haired girl standing beside Shino, her pale eyes flickering around nervously, her fingers curling around the spot where she had been stabbed. Rage boiled in Neji's chest at the sight of that dark splotch of blood on Hinata Hyuuga's upper abdomen. His attention was pulled away from her wound though, as the girl in question asked a softly spoken question.
"Umm…why d-do you think the e-enemy wanted H-Hikari?"
It all went silent then, and the others stole looks at each other. Neji was glad to see that some of the faces were as stony as his probably was. Good. At least he wasn't the only one to distrust the girl. But other faces were filled with genuine worry, and that angered him to the point of making it known on his face. Neji had always been in control of his emotions, so for his anger to be this strong worried him. But he decided to ignore it for now, and instead made a mental note to meditate on it later.
Neji knew that his dislike for Hikari was a bit extreme, but he didn't find it in him to care. She had hurt Tenten far deeper than any wound ever could. Ever since that day, whenever they went on missions, Neji would awake in the middle of the night to find Tenten shivering and mumbling in obvious distress, her arms lashing out to fight off an invisible enemy. Tenten had never done that before, even on missions in which assassination was required.
At the thought, Neji's eyes were drawn to the girl, and he watched for a moment as she bit her lip in a pout of frustration, her chocolate brown eyes meeting Ino's for a moment before returning to the others, who were also waiting for someone to answer Hinata's question.
Tenten.
Tenten.
Neji hurriedly added those…feelings to his mental note. This wasn't the time or place to wonder what exactly he felt for his weapon-obsessed teammate. In the dark depths of his thoughts, he secretly wondered if he'd ever be able to safely consider his so-called feelings for Tenten. It was a daunting and – frankly – frightening prospect that Neji was not looking forward to.
"I don't know, Hina. All we know is that it was indeed a kidnapping…there was no way that Hikari would go with them willingly…" Kiba said quietly, his slanted eyes flickering around in order to gain some kind of confirmation.
Neji couldn't help but let out a small huff of disbelief at that, and he didn't back down even under the combined stares the group gave him. He crossed his arms slowly, and forced his face to remain blank and emotionless as he spoke.
"There's no way of knowing that for sure, Kiba."
Kiba's face darkened as he quietly snarled, "What are you saying? That she went with them of her own free will?"
"Perhaps. Kakashi was the only witness, and a nearly unconscious witness at that. To blindly trust his story without any suspicion would be foolish."
Kiba was fuming now, and pushed aside Hinata's restraining hands and marched up to Neji, who tensed. The Inuzuka boy got right up in Neji's face, and his nose twitched slightly as he sniffed slightly. His eyes were narrowed into slits, and Neji stared right back, refusing to be intimidated.
"I smell resentment on you, Hyuuga. You're not saying this to be logical, you're trying to get us all to hate on Hikari! Why should we listen to you?"
Neji flared, his calm cracking slightly as he spat, "Why should we listen to you? You're so wrapped up your stupid obsession with her that you can't even see her for what she really is!" Neji felt his voice rising in volume, and found himself egging the rage on, relieved to finally vent his anger for once in his life. "She's the enemy, and trying to think otherwise is idiocy at its worst. But that's no surprise, because you've proven your blatant idiocy by having a romantic involvement with her! I wouldn't be surprised if she's giving information about our village to Madara right now, because that's the kind of person she is! Selfish, arrogant, and dangerous. But even that doesn't register with you! You'll keep pining over her, even when–"
"Neji, enough!" Tenten barked, silencing Neji effectively. Her face was calm, but everyone else's faces were ashen and shocked, and Neji realized that in his anger, he had abandoned his self-control and was practically screaming into the air.
A cool flush of embarrassment filled him, but he refused to let it show. Kiba was staring at him with pure hatred, and Neji prepared himself as Kiba tensed–
"Guys!" a familiar voice – filled with panic – yelled, breaking the strained silence, and Kiba reluctantly turned his head toward the sound. Neji looked over the boy's shoulder to see Sakura Haruno running over to where the group was situated, her hair mussed from sleep and her face frantic and paler than normal.
Hinata, whose hands had risen to cover her mouth at Neji's outburst, blinked rapidly at the expression on the medic's usually cheerful face. "Sakura-chan, what's w-wrong?"
Sakura bent over, gulping for breath, her emerald eyes flickering around them in search for something.
"Sasuke's…he's…he's gone!"
Not much of a surprise there, Neji thought, giving Kiba a smug sneer. Hikari and Sasuke were the same in that respect. Both had no sense of loyalty, and just came and went as if they–
"…and so is Naruto!"
Neji's thought process was wrenched to an abrupt halt, and he, along with several others, were shocked into speech.
"What?"
Danzō paced along the shadows of the underground tunnel, his face lighted only by the candle present on the table. The orange light sent rings of eerie illumination on the sturdy earthen walls, and Danzō examined the rings for a moment before resuming his graceless pacing.
The passageway was so far underground that it had been practically untouched by the explosion, and for that Danzō was grateful. He needed somewhere to think without the suspicions and badgering of the jounin and chuunin.
Tsunade was in a coma.
The light of the candle sputtered slightly, but regained its stability after a few agonizing moments.
It wasn't as good as the original plan – her being out of the picture all-together – but it would do. For now, anyway.
Danzō knew what had to be done. He had been planning it for several years now, and the invasion of Pain provided the perfect opportunity. Konohagakure had become weak over the years, as a result of the spineless leaders that were so accustomed to peace. This, and this alone, was the reason that Konoha had been the target of so many crippling attacks. The other villages were catching wind of Konohagakure's weakness, and they would be foolish not to take advantage of the lapse in military strength.
Tsunade's displacement would be for the greater good. Under Danzō, Konoha would become great once more, and would oversee all the rest with merciless eyes of power and of prestige. Danzō had to just convince the Fire Country Daimyo to place him in as Tsunade's "temporary" replacement, and all would fall into place. Tsunade would quietly die – it would be a quick death, a "result of the chakra exertion", with no connections to Root and/or Danzō – and Danzō would be free to reform Konohagakure.
The greater good.
It was all for the greater good.
The only problem was that the Naruto boy was missing. Probably off with the Uchiha to rescue the Uchiha's lover…what was her name again? Hikari? Ah yes, that was it. This new development put a horrible wedge into Danzō's plan, but it was of no matter. The man had a plan, as he always did.
When he became the replacement – there was no doubt in Danzō's mind, he would be Hokage, even if he had to kill in order to achieve it – the first thing he would do would be to record both Sasuke Uchiha and Hikari as missing-nin, marked for assassination-on-sight.
It was disgustingly simple. Simply weaving the tale that Sasuke had kidnapped Naruto in order to exchange the Nine Tailed Fox for Hikari's life would be easy, and even easier was the idea that Hikari herself had willingly joined Akatsuki. There was only one witness to her kidnapping, if his sources were correct. Only one witness was present to her kidnapping, and even then his story was suspicious, seeing as he was practically unconscious at the time.
But Danzō refused to take any chances. That one witness would have to be eliminated, the only thing left was finding out the identity of the witness. That wouldn't be hard to investigate…especially once he was Hokage.
It was all for the greater good, so that the potential of Konohagakure would finally become a reality.
Danzō smiled, a horrible, excited smile, and with a wave of his hand, the candle was extinguished. Nothing was visible, and Danzō's retreating footsteps were swallowed up by the darkness.