"Talking."
Thought.
"Kyuubi talking."
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Naruto could only grin at what stood before him. He had just left his cave for his habitual morning trek to the creek, the dead leaves from the multi-colored trees crinkling quietly as he walked. When he arrived he found something in it that would satisfy his hunger for the whole day easily. He couldn't tell how tall the beast was considering it was standing in the creek, but he knew it easily towered over him. It was covered in brown fur, and more than twice as round as he was. It's ears were rounded. It kept swinging it's paws at the water, for what reason Naruto did not know.
"That'll be fine, brat. Be sure to try to keep it's pelt in decent shape. You'll need it for the winter."
Naruto finally saw the purpose of the bears swatting as it knocked a fish out of the water and onto the bank. The beast climbed out and prepared to take it's catch in it's maw when the boy saw his opportunity. Allowing his red aura to cover him, he leapt out of the bushes and started running directly at the animal.
The beast failed to notice the stealthy boy until he was literally on it's back. It felt the kids fangs sink into the back of it's neck. It stood and began trying to shake the youth from his back letting out a roar of pain and agitation. After a bit of the thrashing and evading the beast's claws, Naruto lost his hold on the animals neck and went flying. Flipping in the air and shifting his weight the boy landed on the ground, digging his claws into the soil to stop his momentum.
Having successfully stopped, he began to charge the beast that was approaching him on it's hind legs. The boy let out a feral growl while dodging around the bear's powerful swipe. He dropped low and raked his sharpened claws deep into the bear's leg causing it to emit another howl of pain.
Naruto used his superior speed to stay behind the beast as it kept trying to turn towards him. The two danced around this way for a short time before the bear dropped back on all fours to reveal the weakness the youth had been waiting for. He jumped on the animal's back again. Only this time he threw his right arm around the bears neck, piercing his claws into it's thick hide, and with his left hand he reached around and ran his claws deep into the animal's eyes.
The bear began thrashing wildly, trying to shake the boy; panicking from the pain and loss of sight. Naruto leapt off of the animal, and he watched as it continued thrashing and clawing at it's face in panic. He sat back and patiently licked the dripping blood from his hands as he waited for the animal to tire.
After a few more minutes of wild thrashing the beast collapsed to it's side breathing heavily. The boy proceeded to walk over to the blind and near helpless bear. He leaned over the animals head, and used his fanged mouth to bite down on it's throat, crushing the bears windpipe. He then jumped back to avoid the dying animals last feeble attempts at lashing out, and continued to play the waiting game as the animal slowly suffocated.
"Remember how I told you to do it," Kyuubi voiced in his head.
"I remember," Naruto replied aloud in a guttural tone.
He took his claws, that began glowing red, and began running them around his fallen prey's neck using the portion he ripped out as a starting point. After making a full circle, he ran them down the animals stomach until he reached it's groin. He, also, ran them around the beast's legs and down each one in turn. When he was sure all the cuts were made successfully, he grabbed a couple of loose flaps of the animal's hide and, giving it a sharp tug, began removing it from it's body.
Having removed and cleaned his prize from this battle, he began digging into his spoils. He was gorging himself on the large animal, thinking the entire time of how he wouldn't have to hunt for a while. A grin came to his blood splattered face as he chewed a piece of the raw meat he had just ripped away from the body.
"There may be hope for this brat yet," Kyuubi laughed in the back of his mind.
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"Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou." Hinata said, channeling chakra into her hands.
"Two Palms." She struck two of the gouges in the wood column.
"Four Palms." She struck four more of the gouges.
"Eight Palms." Her hands sped up.
"Sixteen Palms." Her hands moved even faster.
"Thirty-Two Palms." Her hands blurred as she continued striking more of the gouges.
Around the fortieth strike the exhaustion of her intense training sat in. She turned, leaned back against the post, and collapsed into a sitting position as she pulled out the scroll she had pilfered from the Hyuuga main family's library. Reading the scroll, she was completely oblivious to the fact that she was being watched.
Kurenai couldn't believe what she was seeing. The wall flower of the Hyuuga family, the girl she was concerned about because of the inferiority complex her father had instilled in her, had just about pulled off one of the Jyuuken's most powerful techniques. Granted it has been two years since I last saw her. Something extreme must have happened to break her out of her shell. Poor girl. If I find out what Hiashi-teme did to her, he'll lose that which defines him as a man. Glaring at nothing in particular, she vanished into a whirlwind of leaves.
Hinata, still panting, continued going over the scroll of her family's art. The constant training she was doing had significantly increased her chakra reserves and control. She smiled inwardly, as she continued researching a new technique. Having reread the scroll for the third time. She tucked it away in a hidden pocket on the inside of her jacket and leaned her head back against the post. Her eyes closed as she let the warm sun bathe her face.
I'll do it Naruto-kun. I'll become strong so you'll be proud of me. She thought in a determined manner as unconsciousness welled up and over took her senses.
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Naruto was making his way back to his cave, making sure to avoid the piles of white slush that still littered the ground. The cool, wet, freshly returned grass, indicating the return of Spring, feeling soft under his feet.
"It's time you found a new den, brat."
"What is wrong with my current one? I've been there for a year now." Naruto inquired from the voice in his head.
"You nearly froze to death this past winter. You need a larger den with more areas in it. A larger source of water will serve you better as well. Your growing, and this creek soon won't be enough. A river would suit your needs perfectly. I'm not about to die because my vessel was too stupid to find a more suitable den. I'll not have you die from the elements, or due to the lack of sustenance!" Kyuubi angrily admonished.
The boy cursed inwardly. Damn, I should know better than to try to argue with that bastard of a fox.
"Yes, brat, you should know better. Now learn that lesson so I won't have to deal with your ignorance anymore," Kyuubi said annoyed. "Now get moving!"
Having already ate, Naruto immediately began searching. Under Kyuubi's instructions he gathered all his possessions in his current den, taking time to revel in the feel and scent of the white silk rag he still valued above anything else. After wrapping them in one of the larger of the many furs he had accumulated for bedding, he left his den that had been his home for the past year without looking back. Arriving at the creek he began making his way up stream.
After a couple hours of walking he found where the stream had branched off of the river. Looking up through the trees, he could tell he only had a couple of more hours before dusk began to set in.
I have to find one quick. He thought. Adjusting the pelt turned bag, he began wearing it like a backpack. When he was content that it would not come undone and fall off, he dropped to all fours and began running through the woods looking for large rock formations that might hold a cave.
It was well into the night before he found a small collection of lonely mountains that held a cave similar to what he was searching for. The entrance was fairly large, about ten foot high by twenty foot wide. A large outcropping extended out from above the entrance. The cave inside was multi-chambered. The main chamber just inside the entrance was about twenty foot high with a forty foot diameter. Each of the cardinal directions contained another smaller chamber. In the center was a small pit surrounded by a circle of stones. In the center of the stones was a pile of glowing embers.
Naruto removed his bag, placing it down quietly, and dropped onto all fours in preparation for a fight at the obvious signs of life. He began sniffing the air. Though the smoke obscured the scent a bit, he finally caught a whiff of the caves inhabitants.
Strange. I've not smelled animals like these.
That was when he heard footsteps. Cursing silently he ducked into a shadow next to the wall.
"Ah, nothing like a good piss. Especially when you hold it in that long. Damn guard duty." He heard the masculine voice come from outside.
"Humans, brat. Maybe shinobi. Prepare yourself."
Naruto nodded to the voice in his head as he prepared to jump, and silence, the man when he entered. His muscles were tense and he waited, only for the man to stop outside. He growled, too quietly to be heard, at this turn of events.
He stalked towards the entrance way and looked, with one eye, around the corner. What he saw was a man who had his back to him. He was about six foot tall, wearing solid black, with what appeared to be a mask tied behind his head as well as a piece of cloth tied in a knot about the middle of his head.
"Good he hasn't noticed you. Go for his spine. Sever it in one strike."
This only confused Naruto.
"Damn, brat, how stupid are you. The back of his neck, aim for the base of his skull. And make sure it's quiet! We don't know how many more are in here."
Naruto nodded and charged.
His target didn't hear him. The only sign of anything wrong was the brief flash of killing intent he felt just before the clawed hand ripped through the back of his neck and out the front. His eyes widened in horror as he looked down at the blood covered hand that protruded from his throat. Slowly, quietly, he lowered the body and laid it on the ground.
I'll deal with him later. Now on to the rest. Naruto thought to himself as he began stalking into the cave to try to find if there were anymore.
After re-entering the cave he went to the chamber to his left. Inside he saw four figures in sleeping bags. Not wanting to take any chances he quietly ripped out each of their throats. The only sounds were gurgling muffled by the boys hands over their mouth. After the job was done he went to the next chamber, the one in the back of the cave.
In the back he found a couple of crates, four burlap sacks, and a small stack of scrolls. Not wanting to waste time and risk getting caught he decided he'd check this area later. He left and went to the last chamber.
Something was off as he entered this room. The air smelled sweet, pleasant, with a slight hint of flowers. There were three forms sleeping in this room in sleeping bags, though Naruto could only make out the humanoid shapes, not details. Walking over he leaned over the closest human to him, preparing to put his hands in position to kill it. What he saw caused him to freeze in place. It was beautiful. The soft features, the long dark hair, the pale skin.
"Stop staring at the bitch, brat, and kill her! She is our enemy!"
Naruto only stared.
"NOW!"
Snapping out of his dazed state he did as Kyuubi ordered out of reflex. Then it hit him what happened. He felt the still warm flesh of her face under his left hand and her rapidly cooling blood covering his right. He didn't look, however, he couldn't break his eyes away from the wide eyed, shocked look in the woman's eyes.
"Get on with it!" Kyuubi growled.
Naruto did as he was ordered and ended the lives of the other two women who shared this room.
She... She reminded me of her... I... I killed her. Naruto sat in horror looking at the blood on his hands.
"Stop your blubbering, brat! They were our enemies."
"But I killed her," he mumbled entering a state of shock.
"Damn worthless meat bag. Snap out of it! We don't want our new den over ran as soon as we acquired it. Now get those bodies out of here!"
Naruto complied as he gathered the bodies and began dragging them away. The entire time mumbling things that only Kyuubi could make out, not that he cared enough to listen.
By the time Naruto returned, having ditched and looted all the bodies a good distance away, the sun was already rising on the horizon, even though he couldn't see it. The sky had taken a purplish-orange hue. He returned to his cave. Upon arrival he grabbed some of the clothes he removed from the corpses, and wiped up the blood from the floor. He tossed the bloody rags onto the dying embers, and watched them smolder into ashes. He then grabbed the white silk cloth from his possessions and held it curling up. Sometime around midmorning the mourning boy dozed off.
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Hinata was heading towards her usual vacant training ground. It was still early and she should have been at the academy, but the classes had been canceled due to the fact that Iruka had been called away on a mission. She didn't understand why they would call Iruka-sensei away on a mission, but she wasn't going to complain about the chance to get in more training.
When she arrived at the training ground she took extra care to examine the area; to be sure there was no one to spy on her. She didn't want anyone to see what she was working on. After she was content that no one was in the area to watch her train, she moved to the center of the grounds and began to prepare to put the fruits of her research to use.
From all of her research she had concluded that the kaiten used too much chakra since a person pushed it out from every tenketsu at once. She had a different idea. She was going to use the basis of the Jyuuken to form a technique of her own. One that was less wasteful of chakra.
Hinata closed her eyes and took a calming breath as she began focusing on her chakra system. The crisp Spring breeze caressing her face, making it easier to relax. When she had entered the calm state she began focusing the chakra out of her palms. She felt too much leaking out as she began trying to restrict the flow into a finer point. Despite all of her control, she was having trouble forming it in the manner she had wanted. Sighing she snapped out of her semi-meditative state. Looking down at her hands she noticed as the ambient chakra wafted from her hands.
When the chakra had completely dissipated from her hands, she began the exercise again. She got the same failed result. Refusing to give up she repeated the attempt many times. After forty-five minutes she began growing tired from such strenuous use of chakra.
Laying down and looking up at the sky, she began to day dream about her first friend, running thoughts through her mind about what he would look like after all this time. Seeing his grin in her mind she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.
Hinata awoke some time later. Opening her eyes, she stared into a pair of red and brown dual irised eyes that were leaning over her. She sat up quickly and turned to the new addition to the training ground. Before her stood a woman in her early twenties with red and brown eyes and slightly messy long black hair. Her slender body was wrapped in bandage like cloth, leaving only her cleavage which was covered with a chain mesh, and her right arm where she wore a red sleeve.
The woman watched as the young girls face scrunched up in a look of contemplation. Then a look of recognition lit up her face.
I was beginning to wonder if she was going to recognize me. The woman thought.
"Kurenai-sama? What are you doing here?" Hinata asked curiously.
"I saw someone I recognized, laid out in a training ground, and I figured I would check to make sure everything was okay," Kurenai responded somewhat sweetly.
The girl nodded, smiling, "I'm fine, Kurenai-sama. How are you doing?"
The woman returned the smile, "I'm fine, Hinata-chan, and drop the sama stuff." Hinata blushed slightly and apologized while bowing. "None of that either. Now how about we go get something to eat?" The woman offered.
The girls eyes lit up as she returned her face to look at Kurenai. She nodded in agreement. "I would like that very much, Kurenai-sama." The sama said out of force of habit.
"Okay then. Come on, and please, drop the sama, it isn't necessary," Kurenai stated as she turned and walked away.
"I'm sorry, Kurenai-sam... Kurenai-san," Hinata apologized, as she began following the woman.
"That's better." The woman called back to the girl, who was following her.
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The pair of females arrived at a relatively small, though quaint, restaurant. Having chosen a table off to the side, they already had their food sitting in front of them.
"Hinata-chan, may I ask you something?" Kurenai inquired of her young companion.
"You can ask me anything, Kurenai-san," the girl replied looking curiously at her older companion.
"Has Hiashi done something to you?" The woman asked while looking concerned towards the young girl, whom she saw as a younger sister.
"Um...'' the girl began growing confused. ''No. Nothing out of the ordinary," she responded.
"Are you sure? You know you can tell me," the woman pressed. Hinata nodded to her in reply. Her face still had a slight look of bafflement about her. "Then why have you been training so hard?" Kurenai continued.
The perplexed look dropped from her face as her eyes widened. How much has she seen. "I... Well..." the girl stammered.
The older female, sensing her companion's worry, offered, "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. I just saw you training a while back, and again today. I was just wanting to make sure everything was okay." The woman mentally congratulated herself as the young girls look of worry faded, only to mentally slap herself when she noticed a look of sadness replaced it. "Hinata-chan?"
Hinata's face fell to look at the table. "I... I met a boy. He and I became friends."
Kurenai, momentarily forgetting the young girls despair, said energetically, "That's great! Who is he?"
"Naruto Uzumaki," the girl stated in a subdued tone. That was when the realization struck her. It was common knowledge among the ninja what happened to the boy. The Hokage himself even posted missions for people to try to find him, though he only allowed people he trusted to even know of the mission. That was up until one of the search parties returned, with Naruto's bloody and severely ripped clothes.
I wonder if she knows about them finding the boys clothes. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan," was all the woman could say, and even that was stated in a sad voice. The girl finally found a friend her age only to have him vanish, and maybe even die.
"That's okay, Kurenai-sama," the girl said obviously distracted.
Kurenai decided not to correct the girl this time as they ate their food in silence. After they finished, Hinata stood up and excused herself. The crimson eyed beauty could only watch sadly as the young girl left in a subdued manner.
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"Ayuusan Kisoku no jutsu!"
Naruto had been tracking the origins of the voice for the better part of half an hour. Much to his chagrin every time he got remotely close, to it's possessor it would move.
"Ayuusan Kisoku no jutsu!" Unlike the last time, the words were now accompanied by a sizzling sound.
Reaching the edge of the clearing Naruto was plainly able to see a ninja dressed in green baggy pants that were tied at his ankles, a tight green long sleeved shirt, and a vest. He had short, green, spiked hair, but from the angle he had approached from he couldn't make out any more details. Looking the direction the man was facing he saw a notable gouge in a tree which contained a few puddles of a bubbling green liquid of various sizes.
"I know you're there. Why don't you come out and we can settle this like real ninja," the green ninja said as he rolled up a scroll and tucked it away in his belt pouch, "or I could always force you out.'' He started flashing through some hand signs, ''Ayuusan Kisoku no jutsu!"
Naruto jumped forward and to the side to avoid the green liquid the ninja had sprayed from his mouth at him. Landing he could hear a familiar sizzling sound coming from the space he had just vacated.
The ninja was shocked at what he saw. He had seen many things in his years as an active chunin, even more since he fled his home of Kirigakure; to get away from the bloodline purge. However, never had he seen a preteen boy jumping out of the bushes in the nude glaring at him with red, glowing, slitted eyes and baring fangs at him. And that red aura, he had never seen or heard of anything like that.
Naruto, seeing his target was dazed and confused, took the opportunity to charge. The green ninja was even more surprised to see the aforementioned naked boy charging him on all fours. He snapped out of his befuddled state in time to try to dodge the boy's lunge, though he failed to evade it unscathed. He reached up with his hand, and he felt his cheek where the boy had raked his finger nails during the lunge. After a second, he pulled it away only to see blood.
A dark sinister growl drew the nukenin's attention as he looked up and saw the boy charging at him again. Quickly speeding through six hand signs, the former chunin yelled, "Ayuusan Kisoku no jutsu!" The green nin inhaled an excessive breath and exhaled another large spray of acid at the boy. Only to watch as the youth retracted his right arm and pushed off with his left leg to roll on his shoulder to the side, effectively evading his attack again. After the roll the youth was on all fours and charging again without losing any momentum. Reaching the, now wide eyed, ninja he went straight for his gut with his claws in an attempt to disembowel him, only to take a chunk out of a log that was occupying the space previously held by the ninja.
Letting out a growl of rage at this new turn of events Naruto began sniffing the air in an attempt to find his prey. The acrid smell of the green liquid was all around him, almost making it impossible to find his target. Then he caught the scent again. Looking up into the tree behind him he saw a brief movement. He tensed his legs as he kept a close eye on where the movement had been and the scent remained. The boy jumped and landed on the branch next to his target, only to notice he had landed on some strange liquid. It only took a moment before it registered that the liquid he stood upon was burning his hands and feet.
"How do you like my bloodline limit, brat? I don't know what kind of weird bloodline limit you have, but it won't save you," with that the ninja took out a kunai and threw it at a water skin that was hanging on the branch above Naruto causing it's contents to spill out on the boy. "You see, my bloodline limit allows me to turn any liquid into acid, and..." he cut off as the realization hit him that the smoke rising from the boy was not where the acid was burning him, but from where it was evaporating. The skin that had blistered and turned red from the acid burns, was quickly converting into healthy pink flesh.
"What? How? That's imposs..." his last words became nothing more than gurgles as the boy was suddenly in front of him. He felt the hand in his gut and the other embed itself deep into his throat as he looked at the boys scowling, fanged mouth and glowing vermilion glare.
After dropping back to the forest floor with the corpse Naruto wiped his hands on the man's clothes and began searching through his belongings. He removed his pouch and began stuffing everything in the man's possession into it, excluding his clothes. After he was sure he had everything, he placed the pouch strap in his mouth and dragged the body, removing it away from his den and placing it a good distance from his territory. When he was content it was far enough away, he began making his way back to his lair, leaving the corpse for the bears and other scavengers to take care of.
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Hinata had just left the training ground she had frequented for her practice since that day years ago. She was a little tired after working on her new technique. She had been at the grounds practicing since the academy let out for the day. Despite her weariness, however, she decided to take the scenic route home.
The girl looked up at the suns location in the sky. She estimated it to be around five in the afternoon meaning she had been strolling for about twenty minutes. She had walked the path she was taking every day since she started the academy. This allowed her to walk it unconsciously as her thoughts wandered. She thought about many things, school, training, and about Naruto. She chose this path because it took her right by the gate to the city. Granted it took her a good distance out of the way, but to her it'd be worth it just for the chance to be there when her Naruto-kun finally returned to the village. The wishful thinking of a young girl.
I miss you, Naruto-kun. I'll keep waiting for you. I want to show you how strong I've become. She thought to herself as her hand unconsciously came up and began rubbing the frame of the goggles she still wore around her neck.
She was so lost in her wondering, that when she reached the gate she almost missed the surprise of her life.
"Hinata-chan?" The voice snapped her out of her thoughts instantly and she turned to it's origin. Her eyes began welling up with tears of joy. Before her stood a boy about her age wearing an orange jump suit, bright blond hair, and sparkling sapphire eyes. His right hand was scratching the back of his head as he wore his trademark fox grin. That is until he noticed the tears. "What's wrong, Hinata-chan? Did someone hurt you?" He asked, his grin being replaced with a look of concern.
"N-no, N-N-Naruto-kun," she mentally berated herself for stuttering, especially in front of her greatest source of strength, since she hadn't had that problem in the previous few years. The slight agitation was crushed in a matter of moments as the overwhelming happiness took her again. During the course of her brief mental conflict she had failed to notice that Naruto had come closer, now only a mere couple of feet from her. "Naruto-kun, I was worried. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again," she said, while blushing slightly at their close proximity. Her hands had unconsciously gone to gripping the goggles around her neck as she was prone to do when she got nervous or scared. She looked up, directly into Naruto's eyes, tears in her eyes accompanied by look of deep sadness. "I was so afraid," Hinata admitted, looking down again, only to see Naruto's feet move closer. By this point they were barely a foot away from each other.
"I promised, Hinata-chan. I promised I would protect you, and I always keep my promises," Naruto said in a placating voice to reassure her. Hinata was shocked with what happened next. His arms reached out around her, and pulled her to him in a strong embrace. She was shocked, and bright crimson from one of the most severe blushes she'd ever had. She tried to pull away briefly; a torrent of emotions ran through her, only to stop when she realized this was what she wanted more than anything. She reciprocated the embrace, which caused the boy to squeeze her more tightly for a moment and let his grip lapse to where he was still holding her, but not as tightly. His body was warm, his toned muscles pressing against her in the embrace, her head resting on his chest as she listed to his heart beat. It was soothing to her. This was heaven. After what seemed like an eternity later, their timeless embrace was broken as Naruto pushed her to arms length. He gently lifted her chin up. She shyly looked up at him expectantly.
"I have an idea," his fox grin returned, "let's go to the woods where we first met and have a picnic." Hinata pulled her hand up to her mouth, giggling, then nodded her consent.
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They had already been to the store and gathered everything they needed for their picnic. They reached the small clearing in the woods where Naruto had found Hinata crying many years prior. Hinata was spreading out the blanket as Naruto was laughing and joking with her.
When everything was set out and ready she invited the boy to join her on the blanket. As he was preparing to sit opposite of her, she patted a clear spot right next to her. Naruto got the hint and sat down right next to the girl, who blushed again at the closeness. They ate the meal they had brought as they recounted what had transpired the prior years. In other words Naruto spent a lot of time bragging and going on about his time out of the city, his training, and his accomplishments.
"Wow, and you're not hurt?" The wide eyed girl asked her crush.
"No, it'll take more than that to stop me," he responded good-naturedly as he hit his chest with his fist. She smiled and pulled him into a hug at that. Then she remembered. She stood up and pulled Naruto with her.
"I have something to show you." She said as she turned and took off, pulling the confused boy behind her. They soon reached the training ground the woods was a part of, having left the picnic supplies behind for the time being. "Watch this," she then began showing her friend the fruits of her training, completely forgetting her earlier exhaustion. After running through everything she had learned, she looked up hopefully at her long lost friend, who only stared back in awe.
"That...your..." he stammered. "Hinata-chan, your amazing," his wide eyed look of surprise was replaced with a slightly cocky smile as he began to walk towards her. "I think you deserve a reward." He put his arms around her, closed his eyes, and began moving his face closer to hers with his lips puckered. Hinata closed her eyes, lifted her face, and puckered her lips preparing to receive her first kiss. She waited, and nothing happened. She began growing confused then, as more time went by, worried.
Hinata opened her eyes. Darkness was all she could see. When she looked straight ahead, she slowly was able to make out, that she was staring at the ceiling of her room. That was when she noticed the warm embrace she felt was not from her love, but of her blankets wrapped around her.
She sat up in her bed, tears began to run down her cheeks. Another dream. It was so real. She let out a sob. She reached over and grabbed her main source of comfort from where she had hidden it. Hinata placed the goggles on her lap, letting out another sob, as she stared at them through tear blurred eyes. Why is it so hard? Why is waiting so hard? Another sob. When will he come back? I know he's not dead. He can't be dead. Naruto, please come home...to me. She pleaded in her head as she felt her heart break a little. A bit more hope of ever seeing her friend again faded into oblivion.
The next day the Hyuuga heiress wasn't to be found at the academy or at any of the training grounds. Her usual stomping grounds were all deserted. She went to the gate and sat from sun up to sun down waiting, hoping, with a forlorn look on her face.
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It had been over five years since Naruto found himself living in the woods. He had procured quite a collection of scrolls as well as some valuable baubles from the bandits and nukenin that he obtained his current residence from. His blond tipped red hair ran down to the middle of his back. When he wasn't hunting he usually read, and thus had every scroll in his possession memorized, though he couldn't make sense out of most of them. He had developed quite a taste for reading since there wasn't much else for him to do.
Naruto had just finished consuming his meal of fresh rabbit and was returning to his den when he heard the sound of leaves rustling. It was too high from the ground to be a land based animal, and there was no accompanying sound of wings flapping ruling out birds. The thing that caught his attention the most, however, was the fact that chain of leaves rustling seem to be heading right for him.
Agitation flared up in the boy as something unknown decided to trespass into his territory. Not wanting to wait for whatever it was to reach him, he set off on an intercept course. He reached his target in no time, considering how fast it was approaching him. What he saw approaching him was a man of average height with shoulder length silver hair. He wore blue pants and a blue shirt which was covered by a green vest. On his head was a blue hitai-ate with a metal plate that had the leaf symbol engraved on it. What had really caught his attention was the large scroll strapped to the man's back.
Much to Naruto's dismay, the man didn't even slow down as he flew past on the tree limbs over head. The anger in the boy grew, not only for being ignored, but because the man was heading towards his den. Refusing to let him get any closer,than he already had, Naruto dropped down and gave chase. He caught up relatively quickly and jumped the man, knocking him from the trees and the scroll from his back, when his claw severed the cord holding it.
"You! How dare you! Do you even know who I am?" The man demanded before even turning to look at his assailant.
The only response was a angry growl.
"What the hell?" He said as he turned to see the nude boy standing before him. Why the hell is a naked boy out here in the middle of no where and why the hell would he attack me? Oh well, it doesn't matter. ''Look brat I'm in a hurry, I won't kill you, but I'll teach you not to just attack people at random." He entered a taijutsu stance. He expected the boy, who was obviously disturbed, to flee, freeze, or even cower. What he did not expect was what the boy did next. The youth dropped to all fours, and darted straight for the mans legs, who responded just in time to jump over the racing form out of reflex.
When Mizuki landed the boy was already on him again. He saw the kid's sharp nails coming right for him. Not having enough time to evade, he threw up his arms to block. When contact was made, the man felt the boy's claws dig heavily into his forearm. Quickly deciding he had underestimated the boy, he grabbed the youth's extended arm and pulled him forward into a punch. The kid weaved slightly to the side. He turned his head to the side and bit down brutally on the the man's wrist; piercing it with his sharpened fangs. The man attempted to pull his arm away from the boy's mouth only to fail.
Mizuki's anger began getting the better of him after his failed attempt to free his arm. Using his free hand, he grabbed a kunai. He stabbed Naruto in the stomach. Fortunately for Naruto having to reach across his body to stab the boy only allowed for a shallow wound. This was still enough to cause the boy to exhale sharply and release the man's arm, and also caused new pain to flare in the older ninja's arm from his injury. Cursing at the pain in his arm, the silver haired man took a horizontal swipe with his kunai, at the boy's face, followed up with a roundhouse kick directly towards the boy's temple. The youth leaned back to avoid the kunai, and quickly rolled under the kick, dragging his claws though the ninja's achilles' tendon and up halfway through the gastrocnemius muscle on the back of his calf, on his supporting leg, making a spray of blood arc through the air; a mono-chromatic parody of a rainbow.
This placed all of Mizuki's weight on an mangled leg, that had no possible way to support him. Which caused him to lose his balance and fall. The momentum of the kick placed him on his stomach, lying perpendicular to Naruto. Lowering his hand as the man fell, the youth knew this was the perfect opportunity. He was on the fallen ninja's back the second he hit the ground preventing him from making any attempt to get away. The prostrate man didn't even have the chance to react as the ferine child bit into the back of his neck and gave a sharp twist, severing his spinal cord.
Naruto got up and looked down at his most recent kill. He nodded at his victory and began rummaging through the man's belongings. After gathering everything that appeared to be worth while, he made his way over to the scroll and tied it to his back using it's strap. After it was secured he dragged the fresh corpse to the border of his territory and left it for whatever animals and scavengers to find. Having finished that task, Naruto made his way to his den to store his new possessions.
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Hinata had just celebrated her eleventh birthday. No one else joined her for the celebration, however. Her father still considered her weak since he knew nothing of her training. She wanted nothing to do with that man and the only other person that had ever witnessed it despised the man almost as much as her.
She had another dream of Naruto the night before. They had become more and more frequent, and they were seriously starting to take their toll on her mental state. She went to the academy a mere shell of her former self, when she actually went. Her grades in the academy were slipping badly. Her training also suffered as she went to the training ground less and less. Eventually it had stopped all together.
It was auspicious for her; that they were on a winter break from classes at the academy. She walked through the streets of the village drudgingly, the bags of an insomniac under her eyes. She wore her general black pants and black shirt as well as her tan fur-lined jacket, but anyone looking at her could tell that she was occupied when she dressed herself by the general state of disarray. As she walked, her eyes downcast and unseeing, she was unaware of the world around her.
"Hey, Hinata. How's it going?" A voice called to her which she didn't seem to hear. "Hinata? You okay?" The voice called to her again as moments passed. A boy, about her age, with black, feral looking hair, ran up to her. He wore dark gray pants, and a lighter gray coat that was lined with black fur, and the usual dark blue ninja sandles. When he caught up with her he turned his dark eyes toward her revealing the red triangle marks on his cheeks.
"Hinata? Hello?" He said again in an attempt to catch her attention. "Hello?" He waved his hand in front of her face. Agitation got the better of him after a few more moments. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him. "Hinata, what's wrong? Talk to me!" He pleaded, concern evident in his voice. Hinata didn't even look up, her unfocused eyes just looked through him. Kiba finally gave up his attempt to catch his classmates attention and turned to leave, leaving her to her own devices.
Hinata, completely oblivious to his attempts to converse with her, turned back and began walking the streets again. Her mind was occupied replaying the images of the previous nights dream. Hope had long since gave away to despair from the dreams. It had been five years since her friend and crush had vanished, and three years since the dreams began.
Following the path she had been walking, she found herself at the city gates. Not even missing a beat she walked through the gates and out into the woods, as she had done in her dream. She was so distracted that she failed to notice the movement in the trees that closed in on her. All she noticed was the strike to the back of her neck that knocked her out.
"To think, the Hyuuga bitch would come right to us," a blond man, wearing a loose fitting, dark tan outfit, and a blue kumo hitai-ate with a scratch across it, said to his companion.
"Sure made our job easy," the black haired ninja in the dark blue outfit, responded. He wore a similar hitai-ate that depicted him as a kumo nukenin. They quickly examined the area, and when they were content that no one had witnessed what happened, they grabbed the girl and took off. The blond nukenin had thrown her over his shoulder while the black haired nin pulled out ropes to prepare to bind the girl. After having put some distance between them and the village they stopped. The blond man dropped the unconscious girl on the ground and his friend bound and gagged the young girl.
"Let's go. They'll be waiting for us," the blond ninja stated, picking up the bound girl and tossing her back on his shoulder. His black haired companion nodded his reply and the both began making their way to the fire country border.
A/N:
The same stuff applies. I enjoy receiving reviews, and they inspire me to work quicker. I would like to thank my prereader Enymionrose. Enjoy.
Legend:
Aryuusan Kisoku - Acid Breath - Class A - 6 Seals - After the completion of the seals for this jutsu the user sprays a highly corrosive acid from his mouth.
Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou - Sixty Four Points of Divinity. - One of the Jyuuken's most powerful techniques. This taijutsu attack is used to seal sixty four of the opponents tenketsu.
The Gastrocnemius - (pronounced /gæs.trak.ni.mi.əs/) muscle is a powerful superficial muscle that is in the back part of the lower leg (the calf). It runs from its 2 heads just above the knee to the heel, and is involved in standing and walking. Along with the soleus muscle it forms the calf muscle.