Chapter 10! Been a while since I posted sorry again. Hmmm. I seem to be using that excuse that a lot...oh well
(I don't own any part of Naruto)
Chapter 10
Hiashi Hyuuga, Head of the Hyuuga clan, strode at a measured but rapid pace. The Hokage's tower loomed before him. He felt like someone was twisting a hot knife in his back. His daughter Hinata had become strong. He had reinstated her as the heir to the Hyuuga clan. He had even given her permission to train on her own, as a consideration to her wishes. He cared for her more than ever. And now she had disappeared, vanished into thin air. Tsunade wasn't giving him a straight answer and he had started to believe that something was terribly wrong.
By now he was tired of her stalling. He wanted answers and by Kami, he would get them.
Tsunade was ill equipped to deal with the massive amount of paperwork without her assistant, but she just couldn't risk having Shizune by her side. No matter what problem she had right now, it seemed as though they all related in some way to vampires. The whole problem would soon blow up in her face if she didn't find a solution soon. However she couldn't even begin to form a strategy until Jiraiya arrived. Because of his impressive spy network, he had the soundest understanding of the threat vampires posed. And he knew their abilities and weaknesses better than anyone. He was crucial to figuring out what needed done
The door to Tsunade's office flew open and Shikaku hurried in, followed by Asuma. Before Shikaku could speak Asuma said, "They escaped!" Tsunade was frozen for a moment, "Who?" Shikaku said, "All of them. They just vanished. We went to check on them and the cage was empty." Asuma added, "Plus we found about a dozen Ambu knocked out along the way." Tsunade cradled her head in her hands. She didn't have enough sake in her system to deal with this.
Asuma turned just as the door opened again. Hiashi Hyuuga entered. He looked so pissed, it was otherworldly. His pale grey eyes were set and angry. He asked, "Where is my daughter Lady Tsunade?" The Hokage took one look at him and paled. She knew that he would accept noting but the whole truth. She sighed. Shikaku muttered to himself and Asuma paced to the window. Hiashi asked again, "Where is my Daughter?!" Tsunade said, "I don't know." Hiashi grimaced, "So you were lying yesterday when you told me you knew exactly where she was?" She shook her head. "No, Yesterday I did know exactly where she was. But she disappeared. I just found out before you came in."
Hiashi turned to Asuma, "Do you know what happened to Hinata? Answer me. She has been gone far longer than she should have. What do you know Sarutobi?!" Asuma said, "Hinata was bitten by a vampire while out on a mission. We have been keeping her, along with a few others who were bitten, in a special holding cell under this building. Somehow they all managed to escape this morning or late last night...without alerting anyone."
The Hyuuga clan leader felt the blood in his veins run cold. He quickly found a chair. He sank down into one by Tsunade's desk. He clutched his heart, "Why didn't you inform me?" Tsunade said, "None of them have lost their minds Hiashi. They are still themselves so far as we can tell. Your daughter was fine last I saw." Hiashi looked up, "Do you mean she didn't fully turn?" She nodded, "But they still have most of the symptoms. Altered features, massive strength and speed, craving blood. Tsunade turned her wrist to show Hiashi. "Your daughter shattered the bones in my wrist just by squeezing. But after we knocked her out, she seemed to return to her old self. Shikaku says that she even was cuddling with Naruto."
"Naruto? Was he bitten too?! How did this happen. I thought Naruto was supposed to be even more skilled than you?" Tsunade looked away. She said, "That's the thing. Naruto was the one who bit your daughter. He has been infected for the better part of two years, but we put a seal on him to stop the symptoms. We were even working on a cure. Your daughter was sent with the rest of her team to escort Naruto to a facility where he could be treated." Tsunade clenched her fist, "But the cure failed. Naruto had some sort of reaction to it and went on a rampage. So far we have seven confirmed victims. All of which were under quarantine."
There was several minutes of complete silence. Shikaku said, "Inoichi told me that Sasuke Uchiha was snooping around last night and met Sakura when he was taking her upstairs to change. Sakura explained the situation to him and he went home. On the condition that he would come back this morning to hear the full story." Shikaku turned to look at them. "We all know that if Naruto is the most powerful shinobi in the Leaf, Sasuke is the second most powerful. And I'd like to know why Sasuke didn't show up this morning."
Tsunade asked, "Do you really think that it's that important? Sasuke might have once served Orochimaru, but he is just as loyal to the Leaf as Naruto." Asuma said, "Kakashi would know how to handle this. He know both of those boys better than anyone." Aggravated, Tsunade slammed her fist on the table, "But he won't be here for at least a week! If Naruto and the rest of them left the village they could be hidden away in any number of places by now." Shukaku agreed, "None of them lost any of their abilities. If anything they have all become stronger if our experience with Sakura and Hinata is anything to go by. If they did leave the village it might be impossible to find them."
Tsunade sighed and sat back in her chair, "I still find all this hard to believe. Naruto seemed to be fine. He was thinking clearly, being helpful. What could convince him to leave and take everyone else?" Hiashi asked, "Is there any way to track them?" The silence that followed was answer enough. Hiashi cursed loudly. He stood up quickly and began pacing. Tsunade and Asuma watched him warily. Asuma said, "There is nothing we can do at the moment. A civilian vampire can keep pace with a shinobi. A high jonin level vampire could sprint for days without getting tired. If they wanted to, they could be in the land of Wind by now." His tone of voice didn't resemble anything close to optimistic.
It was three hours before anyone found a hint about where the escapees had gone. A piece of fabric, resembling part of a bandage, was found near the southern village gate. However there was no real gain from this discovery. If they assumed that it was from Tenten. The only one who was injured, then it only proved that they left, going south. And that merely changed their task from inconceivable to impossible.
There was a bit of good news and more bad news later on. All the Ambu who had been knocked out as being health and safe. But it came as a shock when the medical nin in charge said that the Hyuuga clan secret technique had been used to paralyze them. Hiashi had been under the impression that Hinata had been taken against her will, but that was apparently untrue. The final nail in the coffin proved to be Sasuke. The Uchiha heir was gone. Tsunade herself inspected his apartment.
She didn't explain her fears to the rest of them. She found a few pink hairs in the covers of the bed and she could smell the faint smell of strawberries. Sakura had been here and Tsunade would have bet her soul that she had convinced Sasuke to go with them.
All in all there was very little she could do to improve the situation. And a few people were only making it worse. Hiashi was one. He wouldn't stop fussing over the fact that Hinata was gone. The other person who was becoming a pain in the neck was Danzo. Tsunade wanted nothing more at the moment than to kill the smug bastard. Danzo kept on interfering with the search for Naruto and the rest of them. Of course she hadn't informed Danzo of what really happened, but he knew something was wrong and he could meddle with the best of them.
Naruto stood in the middle of decayed finery. Fifty years had turned this old bunkers beauty into a dusty ruin. But the place still had its own appeal. It might have been dusty, but it was an underground palace. Shizune claimed that it had been built during the third great shinobi war to house the lord of the Land of Fire. It was easy to believe her. Even though she knew it's exact location it had still been difficult to find the entrance. And while it was old, there were the trappings of royalty everywhere.
Their group was stretched out at the moment. Shizune had taken Tenten and Ino to search for anything still of use. Kara and Aumi were back re-disguising the entrance. That left Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Sauske. The four of them waited in what they had deemed the main hall. It was a long corridor with low tables positioned everywhere. There was a huge magnificent red carpet that stretched the length of the hall. Naruto figured that it would probably yield a mountain of dust if they tried to clean it. He looked over to where Sasuke was sitting. The black haired boy was sleeping. Sakura was snoozing silently in his arms. Naruto wondered what they did to completely tire themselves out. Sasuke he could sort of understand, since he was always lazy. But he thought it was odd for Sakura to be tired as well. Naruto thought, "Maybe she isn't tired. She might just be faking it so she can cuddle with Sasuke. Who I might add, seems totally fine with it. And they say I'm acting weird of late."
Hinata stirred in his arms. He well knew she was exhausted. He had carried her most of the way here. It had used up a ton of chakra to subdue all those Ambu and she needed to rest. Hinata raised her head. Her eyes were still closed. She took a tentative sniff from the air. Then her whole body tensed up. She went rigid for a moment then sneezed explosively.
Her eyes opened after that. She looked around, her gaze finally falling on Naruto. Hinata relaxed back into his arms. She mumbled, "It's really dusty in here Naruto kun." He brushed his hand over her hair, "It'll look cool though, once we clean things up." She nodded in agreement. From one side of the hall came he sound of footsteps. It was Aumi and Kara returning. Aumi quickly made her way to Naruto where she wrapped her arms around his neck. She said, "We took care of the entrance Naruto kun." Kara came up behind saying, "It was getting cloudy out there pretty quick. I think we're in for a summer shower." Naruto said, That should wipe away our scent right?"
Aumi shook her head, "Not completely, but it will spread it around and we did make an awful lot of problems for anyone tracking us." Naruto smirked. Hinata turned around in his embrace so that she was facing him. He waited for her to speak, but instead she pinched at Aumi's arms. Aumi said, "Hey Hinata...that hurt." Aumi released her hold on Naruto and stood up. Over in the corner, Sasuke watched the exchange. He saw Hinata hug Naruto close just before she bit down. Sasuke thought, "Just how many times has Naruto been bitten. He didn't even react when she bit into his neck like that. It must hurt like hell. I remember when Orochimaru bit me there during my first chunin exam. It was excruciating"
As he watched, Sakura lifted her head to look around. Sasuke heard her stomach growl. She grimaced in pain and sat up strait in his lap. She looked almost longingly to where Hinata was feeding on Naruto. Sasuke asked, "Does it feel that good to drink blood?" Sakura looked sharply at him. She said, "Yes." Her gaze drifted back to Hinata. Sasuke saw that Sakura had bitten her own lip and was sucking on it. Sasuke said, "You shouldn't do that Sakura." She looked back at him again. Her eyes were hungry. She gulped loudly. Sasuke suddenly realized that she might bite him right then, but from across the room Naruto said, "Kara chan would you let Sakura bite you so she doesn't hurt Sasuke." Kara nodded.
At the prospect of fresh blood, Sakura stopped admiring Sauske's strong neck. Kara walked over and sat on the arm of the chair. Sauske had a first class view as Sakura smoothed Kara's long blond hair out of the way. As Sakura's fangs pierced Kara's neck, the blond moaned in pleasure, nearly falling off the chair. Blood dripped from the wound as Sakura drank. It seeped under the shirt that Kara was wearing and dripped down Sakura's chin. Sauske felt Sakura shudder in delight as she greedily drank from Kara's neck. Soon however the blond went limp in Sakura's arms. They both fell back in Sauske's lap. Sakura was now liberally coated in thick red blood. Kara was fast asleep, Sasuke guessed from blood loss.
Sakura giggled nervously and licked her lips. One stunning green eye turned to look at him in question. She asked, "Want a taste Sasuke kun?" Sasuke's own eyes almost popped out of his head. Her voice was seductive and what she was offering sounded, coming from her, to be far too enticing. Naruto shouted, "Sakura, stop trying to turn Sasuke. He'll do it if he wants...without you doing it for him!" Sakura pouted over at Naruto, "No fair Naruto kun!" She turned back to Sasuke, "You are curious aren't you?...Sasuke kun" She nuzzled his chin.
The problem for Sasuke was the he was indeed curious. About the power it granted, the way it felt, and maybe even just a little what it tasted like. Sasuke thought, "What I curious about is how Naruto was even able to hear what she was saying from where he is. Hell, It's probably just part of being a vampire." As he thought that, Kara woke up and flopped, inelegantly, out of his lap. She stood up shakily asking, "Sakura...grrr...Why do you always have to take so much!" Sakura grinned, "It's not my fault that you taste like hot chocolate." Kara rubbed her neck, "That's what I taste like? I thought all blood tasted the same." Sakura rolled her eyes, "You should know better than that by now. Everyone tastes different."
Kara looked wistfully over where Hinata was chatting with Naruto. She said, "Yeah, but I've only really tried biting Naruto kun..." Sasuke thought, "What the hell does that dobe taste like and why is Kara acting like it's liquid sugar or something." Another thought popped into his head, "What does Sakura taste like." He quickly banished that thought to the back of his mind. He didn't want to know. Just then the door at the far end of the hall opened and Shizune, Ino, and Tenten came in.
The three took seats around Naruto. Tenten sat on the arm of Naruto's chair. She sighed, "Master...are you sure you weren't Lord of Fire in a previous life, cause we found about six lifetimes worth of ramen in the food storage." Naruto's eyes lit up with something akin to greed, but it quickly dissipated. He asked, "Did you find anything else in the way of supplies?" Shizune nodded smiling, "We found tons of supplies three floors down. They abandoned this place in a hurry, since it seems they left just about everything" Ino said, "These old guys sure knew how to throw money around. They even have working restrooms here." Tenten added, "And showers too, but their as cold as ice."
Naruto smiled, "Seems like this place has everything. Hey Ino chan, what about bed rooms. Did you find everyone places to sleep." Ino bit her lip distractedly, "Well um..." She shifted and seem at once disappointed and very pleased. "You see that's the thing...There's only like four beds in the whole place. We found a master bedroom that we all assumed was the Lord of Fires room. And then there were a couple of other small bedrooms scattered among the different levels. If there was a place with a ton of sleeping space...we missed it." She went silent while everyone digested the news. Shizune said, " I figured that Sasuke and Sakura could share a bed and that would leave three beds between seven of us. Aumi and Kara could take another. Me and Tenten could take the third. And that leaves three people to the...um...master bedroom..which easily can fit three of us." Shizune looked around at them as if expecting objections.
Sasuke shrugged at the same time that Sakura gave a quiet cheer. Aumi and Kara shared a quick glance. Ino and Hinata who hadn't been mentioned, but obviously went with Naruto, smiled. Tenten had to break the mood by saying, "I'd rather stay with Naruto. That bed was huge. It could have easily fit six as three." Tenten's reasoning for wanting to sleep with Naruto was rather off target, but no one challenged her claim to the size of the bed. Aumi said, "If it's all the same..." Shizune guessed, "You want to be in the...master's bedroom too I take it?" Shizune stressed the master and added an s for effect.
The effect was Aumi blushing red with embarrassment. She ducked her head, hiding behind Naruto. She muttered, "Tenten started it." The weapons mistress's cheeks tinged pink at that. Everyone except Sasuke heard what Aumi said. Kara tried to change the subject, "Um, how clean were the bedrooms. It's going to be dark outside in about five hours so we need to get cleaning if they are as bad as this hall." Naruto whispered to Hinata, "Get up ok...I need to do something." Hinata got out of his lap. Naruto stood up and walked a few paces to the left.
"Shadow Clone Jutsue!" A huge puff of smoke filled the hall. When it had dissipated there were at least fifty clones. Naruto said, "Alright, I want this whole level clean got it. make it neat too!" The clones hurried off and Naruto said, "Hey Shizune, why don't you go make sure the clones are doing what their supposed to be doing. They are copies of me." Naruto grinned, scratching the back of his head. Shizune stood and went to oversee the cleaning.
As Naruto sat down Ino said, "I told you he would do that Tenten. What's the point of Shadow Clones if you can't use them?" Tenten yawned. She saw Hinata stretching and turned the yawn into a fall...right off the arm of the chair. She snuggled up to Naruto, while keeping a cautious eye on Hinata. Naruto made no move to stop her. The Hyuuga turned around and saw Tenten had taken her "spot". Tenten yelped as Hinata grabbed her arm and pulled her off Naruto. She landed sprawling as Hinata resumed where she had left off.
Tenten pouted at her. Hinata paid her no attention. Naruto didn't know whether to be amused or scared at Hinata's behavior. He thought, "When did she become so bossy?" Naruto's second self spoke up, "She has decided that she is the most powerful of the girls so she just asserted her dominance." "Yeah...but Hinata isn't the dominant type." "That wasn't really Hinata doing that. It was her vampire instincts telling her to do it." "Oh..."
Hinata glanced at Tenten, who had scooted into another available chair. She thought, "Naruto is mine. She won't take him from me." "That's right Hinata. Make sure the rest of them know that you're the master's favorite." "Am I Naruto kun's favorite?" "Yes! can't you see that. You're the only one who he will always side with. You're the only one who can..." "Hinata? Hinata!? Hello earth to Hyuuga." She sat up in his lap, "Yes Naruto kun?" "He is Master girl!" Naruto said, "I need to get up now." She acquiesced, getting off his lap and sitting on the floor next to his chair. Naruto motioned to Ino, "Could you show me where everything is?" Ino jumped to her feet, "Sure Naruto!" They walked out of the room, leaving the rest of them to wait.
Ah, well they escaped! What will happen now? You will have to see.
On a separate note I will be introducing my Name sake in the next chapter. Kyoto! Hope you like him
And remember to review, fool ya fools!