Woot. One last chapter before I head out tomorrow. I wanted to include more in this one, but since it's 1:30 in the a.m. and I have to get up early to drive to Santa Cruz, I settled for this much. Don't worry though, I'll just import the 'missing' content to the next chapter.
disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own this storyline and all its total kickassness (That is now a new word. I decree it!)
After two weeks of traveling alongside numerous back roads, the easterners finally reached the border of the two countries. Amazingly, the invisible boundary between the nations was only separated by a flimsy wall. Of course, the point at which they crossed was a blind spot in the security, so their trek into the large commerce country went unimpeded. After another day of trekking through serene rolling grasslands, the group reached a small town.
Apparently, the red-eyes were not persecuted in this country. Hinata learned from the blonde that his comrades in this part of the world were heavily involved in the business-oriented politics of the country and provided top-notch protection for the majority of its interests. Although many normal citizens were understandably wary of the strange-looking people, the red-eyes were regarded with peaceful apathy.
The foreigners reached a decent-sized house that was simply decorated. They entered the establishment and were met by a handful of red-eyes who were dressed in the most detailed, colorful, yet practical clothing the Hyuuga had ever seen in her life. Everyone's attention turned towards a woman with a spiraling metal spear approaching Naruto.
"Uzi!" She called out with an enthusiastic cheer and raised arms. "It's been too long!"
"Hey, Sheila," the blonde responded happily but with less enthusiasm than her. "How's it going?"
"It's goin' great!" Sheila, upon reaching the red-eyed blonde, reached out and promptly planted her lips against his.
Hinata instinctively brought her hand back to wield her pistol, but caught herself before she made a terrible mistake. She lowered her arm and fought a losing battle to control her quickened breathing and raging temper.
Sheila immediately noticed the blue haired woman and approached her with a bright, unwavering smile. "And who might this be?" She inquired with her voice still full of life.
"That's the White Eyes of Death…"
"Hinata Hyuuga," the white-eyed woman interrupted the blonde out of stifled frustration. She managed to force an unpleasant greeting. "Nice to meet you."
"Oh! So you're the one who's been taking care of our Uzi?" The colorfully adorned woman exclaimed. "So good to meet you!" She suddenly surprised Hinata when she leaned in and kissed her on the lips as well. "And who are you guys?" She continued on to the four newcomers and proceeded to greet them in the same fashion.
"What the hell?!" Hinata thought.
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Everyone was comfortably seated in the back foyer, the non-red-eye easterners still reeling from the shock of being intimately kissed by a total stranger. Karin rubbed the pressure points of her jaw, trying to soothe the pain brought on when Sheila restrained her when she attacked Sasuke's greeter.
"So, how are things up north?" Sheila asked Uzi while reclining on a small couch.
"They're fine, I guess. Everything's going according to plan so far. We should be ready in about a month's time if everything goes well. The only thing I'm concerned about is outside support."
"Ah, it'll be fine even without it. We can take it all on our own."
"Yeah, but if no one else is directly involved, we might just be repeating history."
"They're not gonna challenge anyone powerful enough to take the capital. Hell, I'll bet we'll even be declared heroes when we hand the government back to those who deserve it."
"Uh, excuse me…" Hinata interrupted. Her curiosity was strong enough to overcome her earlier bewilderment and lingering jealousy. "But what plan are you talking about?"
Sheila turned to her and responded in a soothing voice. "We plan to attack the capital of the country up north and forcibly dispose of its current dictator. Once we do that, we'll hand the government back off to the politicians who actually deserve to keep it running."
"So it's a revolution?"
"Yeah, I guess you can call it that," she grinned widely. "But enough about that, let's talk about you! You've been looking for our Uzi for quite some time, haven't you?"
"Wha- how did you know that?"
She pointed to her crimson eyes. "Telepathic, remember? Plus, I'm one of the three apprentices. I got skills!" She sat up in an exaggerated position of strength. Her loud, friendly personality reminded Hinata of Naruto when he was young. "Oh, that reminds me," she turned back towards the blonde red-eye, "You visited Sünden not too long ago. How is he?"
The blonde's demeanor became sullen. "He's doing fine, but… his seal's beginning to weaken. He doesn't have much time left."
For the first time since the travelers met her, Sheila was openly saddened by the news. "Oh… That's… That's too bad…" She tried laughing off her misery, but failed awkwardly. "Well, I guess it was bound to happen eventually. But other than that, he's fine, right?"
"Yeah. He gets some occasional pain from the seal, but it doesn't last long. He seems fairly content."
"Well that's good…" Sheila stared into space with a hopeful smile. "Ah! You guys are probably tired!" She changed the subject. "Your rooms are ready whenever you are!"
"Huh?"
"You guys want to take a break, right? I mean, you're always running from the law up there, so I figured you don't get much sleep in a proper bed." She glanced at Hinata and winked. "So, lemme show you the rooms we got for ya!"
She got up and led the easterners down a hall. On the right was a small bedroom with a double bed, and on the left a room that was hastily cleared out for the unexpected newcomers, containing a few mattresses piled up against the wall.
"Make yourselves at home!" Sheila said as she excused herself. The two groups headed towards their respective rooms.
When Naruto and Hinata saw the single bed, the blonde muttered, "Sheila, you really are evil…" He reclined on the soft mattress and closed his eyes to relax.
"What was up with that kiss?" Hinata questioned him before she could stop herself.
"Oh, yeah." Uzi sat up and looked at his white-eyed companion. "That's a common greeting around here. As you can tell, Sheila's… easily excitable, so affection comes real easy for her, even if it makes for an awkward situation."
"I see," she said, jealousy slightly dieing down with the explanation. "So she didn't really mean anything by it?"
"Nothing beyond 'hi'," his face became apologetic. "Sorry about that. I should have warned you beforehand."
"Don't worry about it," she waved it off with a smile. "Shove over," she said as took the spot next to the blonde.
It was well into the afternoon, but the unfamiliar softness of the mattress commanded sleep in short order. Soon enough, the two weary travelers were lost in their dreams.
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Hinata's sleep-induced illusion had taken a turn for the odd. She was standing in some kind of underground bunker that was partially flooded. The pipes high overhead leaked water, and the air was dank with an unpleasant odor. She sloshed through the two inch high water past turnoffs that ended in utter darkness. She finally found a corner in which the dull lights actually illuminated and started down the passageway.
She walked until she approached a pair of massive closed gates with a slip of paper over the entryway. She squinted to read its markings and was taken aback when she recognized that it said 'seal' written in the eastern language.
She jumped back when a pair of red eyes and a massive mouth full of sharp teeth suddenly slammed against the cage. Her heart beat monumentally fast when the demonic face appeared, but then slowed when she realized that whatever was behind that barrier wasn't getting through.
"Who are you?" She called to the disembodied face.
"I am the nine-tailed fox, little girl…" replied the deep rumbling voice of the demon.
"Why are you here?"
"You already know, so why ask?"
Hinata was slightly puzzled by the tone of its voice. She had imagined that a demon with such power would look down and demean any creature of lesser power. This voice, however, sounded subdued, as if it were tired.
"Why do you sound so tired? You're the nine-tailed fox; full of power and hate! I thought you'd be…"
"You know the answer to that one as well," it interrupted. "You just don't know it yet…"
"What do you mean?"
The evil voice gave a low cackle. "You'll see soon enough, little girl. A word of advice…" The face turned and began to fade into the all-consuming shadow of its cell. "When you do see it, don't step into the shadows…"
"What?" She asked inwardly. "What could that mean?"
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The Hyuuga awoke from her strange dream to find that the room was darker than before. The sun had set, and it was now in the early hours of the evening. Though she was still tired, she knew it was merely the immediate affects of disembarking from her slumber.
She was more interested by her current position, however, to care about the time of day. Once again, she was in Naruto's arms, but this time it was a bit more… affectionate. During their sleep, both parties unconsciously moved towards the center of the comfy cot and became locked in an unusual embrace. Uzi let loose a light snore mere inches from her face as she felt the blood rise to her head in an attempt to blush. She eventually decided to make the most of her 'predicament' and go back to sleep.
After a few more hours, she exited her peaceful slumber to find that her unique position had not changed, with the exception that her instinctive jolt to consciousness had woken the blonde up as well.
"Eh?" He muttered as his weary eyes opened somewhat. "What? I'm tired…" he complained.
"Sorry," she said as she blushed. "Again!! Damnit, am I gonna blush forever?!"
Naruto's eyes started to dip as he drifted back to sleep. "S'kay," he muttered as his trip to dreamland intensified. Before he completely nodded off though, he did something she didn't expect of him.
He leaned his head forward and kissed her.
When his consciousness finally fled, it left behind a pleasantly surprised blue-haired Hyuuga.
"Wow," she thought to herself, "That was… really nice…"
Happy Thanksgiving! Now go stuff yourself and drink lotsa booze!
If any of you guys are traveling, be safe! I don't wanna loose any of my loyal readers!
Seeya!
