The courtship of Naruto Uzumaki

XXXIV. The games afoot

Naruto lay prone, unmoving on the ground halfway down the alley.

A large, dark shape squatted menacingly over him.

Hinata now knew what the phrase tunnel vision meant, because nothing else existed for her except the sight of Naruto, and his attacker. Everything else in her view was simply black. In one frozen moment her world went from unknown fear to alarmed rage.

She opened her mouth, and screamed in a voice no one had ever heard before. "Leave him alone, you bastard!!"

Without further pause, she ran towards the dark shape, and when she was close enough she jumped and kicked him away from her Naruto. Her force was so great that he went flying several meters. She spared herself only one all-encompassing glance towards Naruto—just to reassure herself—but that swift glance offered her no immediate relief. He simply lay stiff, and stared sightlessly into the night with blood trickling from two puncture wounds in his neck. She steeled herself from wanting to immediately drop to her knees beside him, and stepped firmly away from him so he wouldn't get hurt in the fight. She turned her gaze to her opponent, and positioned her hands and feet ready for the enemy's return attack. She couldn't take time yet to check out Naruto's condition. She had to subdue his attacker first. He would expect her to take care of business before attending to him. She knew that to be his nindo way.

But the man in the completely camouflaging black robe with his further shielding wide-brimmed straw hat scrambled quickly to his feet, and instead of rushing forward to attack her—without any obvious hesitation turned and ran away.

Hinata stared after him in shock, her mouth gaping open. The last thing she had expected was for him to run. Her adrenaline was primed for a fight. It took her a split second to recover, and when she did she called to the two young genin waiting confused at the other end of the alley. Now you don't see him, now you do was all they understood about Naruto's sudden appearance. When she'd entered the alley, Hinata was the only person they could see. They'd exchanged confused looks when she'd jumped at nothing they could determine. Naruto suddenly appearing had been a complete surprise to them. They both began to feel a great appreciation and respect for Hinata's Byakugan after witnessing it in action.

"Botan! Akira! Take care of Naruto. Use his radio to call for help. Stay here, and guard him. I'm going after his attacker!"

She didn't wait for their response. She immediately took off after the dark figure. As she ran, she used her radio to inform the others undoubtedly awaiting them at the front gate for the shift change.

"Shikamaru—Naruto's been attacked. I'm chasing the man now. He's headed for the front gate. Only I can see him. You won't have time to close the gate. If he gets through follow me," she ordered as if she'd been leading teams all her life. The front gate doors were held in place with a sturdy iron fastening which was too large and heavy for them to close quickly enough to cage the man she followed. He couldn't hide from her in the village not knowing that she could see him. He'd have to escape into the outside, and hope to shake her there, she reasoned. However, he underestimated her determination. She wouldn't allow that to happen if she could help it.

She raced on, but the man was incredibly fast. Her instructions to the others had slowed her down enough that he was out of her direct sight for a short time. Although she could see through buildings, there were a lot of objects and moving people obstructing her view of just this one man. Since his movements were quicker than any of the others she made an assumption as to his identity even though she'd lost the chain of sight.

He was already approaching the front gate just as it came into clear view for her. Choji, Shikamaru, and their genin partners were blocking the gate opening, but from her vantage point she could see the dark robed man crouch then leap completely over their heads, and far through the gate not even touching them. Despite herself, she was impressed by his abilities. He certainly had the athleticism of a ninja to accompany his skill of invisibility. She wondered what other talents he could be hiding. Certainly, confidence in his fighting abilities was not one of them. That might prove a good thing once she'd caught up to him.

"Let me through!" she called. "He's gotten past you!"

They stood aside looking around, but seeing nothing. Shikamaru was already ordering the genin to stay and guard the gate. He and Choji waited for Hinata to run through, and then they turned to follow her.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked as they ran.

"He attacked Naruto. He can make himself invisible to the naked eye as well as making his prey invisible. I couldn't see either of them until I engaged my Byakugan."

"That's why we could never catch him in the act!" Choji exclaimed.

"Is Naruto alright?"

"I don't know," she said with some anguish in her voice. "I think the attacker was feeding on Naruto when I arrived. There were two puncture wounds bleeding on his neck, and Naruto wasn't moving when I kicked his attacker away. I think the man can paralyze his victims—maybe through his saliva. If you can't see him—he can bite you before you know he's there."

"Invisible, and a paralytic agent in his saliva? I wonder what other skills he has up his sleeve?" Shikamaru pondered. Those were nasty enough, but he knew to never underestimate an enemy.

"I wish I knew, but he didn't demonstrate any other skills to me. I left Botan and Akira with Naruto to radio for help."

"The Hokage will have gotten word from your message to us. She's probably already there," he reassured her. "Did you recognize him?"

She shook her head. "No. I couldn't get a good look at his face even with my Byakugan. He's completely covered in a long, black robe, and he has a wide-brimmed straw hat which shelters his face. There were no identifying features on either garment. Even when I kicked him away from Naruto, I couldn't get a good view of him. He knows how to protect his identity even when surprised."

"He didn't try to fight?"

"No. He recovered almost immediately from my kick then took off without hesitation. If I'd known he wouldn't fight, I would have followed up my first attack with another more quickly," she confessed regretfully. "My first attack was just to get him away from Naruto. I'd taken up my defensive stance preparing for him to attack me, but he didn't even try."

"Don't let it worry you. We're used to enemies of that caliber fighting back. I'd have done the same. He probably wasn't expecting someone to see him. He took the coward's road," Shikamaru continued to reassure her.

"Anyone who attacks unsuspecting victims in such a sneaky way is definitely a coward!" Choji agreed.

"We'd better stop talking, and conserve our energy. Considering the pace you're setting, Hinata—this guy is fast."

"Yes, he is," she concurred. As the only one who could see him, she had to keep the pace wicked to keep him in view on such a dark night. While he stuck to the road, that was no problem, but when he ducked into the woods, it became considerably more difficult even with her Byakugan. The man almost seemed to fly over the ground as he ran from them. That must have been another of his unusual skills.

The three of them had no choice but to simply follow the man. The only question was—who would tire first?

They ran for what seemed exactly like the hours it actually was.

The man never seemed to falter although she, Choji and Shikamaru were steadily tapping into chakra to maintain their pace. They even lost some ground as the hours passed. His stamina was extraordinary. He must, also have had some superior vision abilities of his own to avoid running into trees in the dark. Hinata kept her group from disaster, but the man they chased never connected with anything either.

Although intent on her pursuit, Hinata couldn't help thinking of Naruto lying helpless back in Konoha. How long had the man been feeding on him? How long did it take him to drain enough blood to kill his host? Had she reached Naruto in time? Would the nine-tailed fox have any measures to protect him in this situation? Would she sense anything if Naruto were truly in danger?

Naruto.

They had already moved beyond the range of the radios. If she'd thought about it earlier, she could have called in to check on Naruto's condition. But she'd needed all her breath and attention for the chase. Shikamaru must have thought so, too, or surely he would have called in? He was capable of thinking out these details much sooner than she could. He hadn't suggested an alternative to her plan to chase after the attacker, so that must still be the best course of action.

Why hadn't she realized what was wrong before Botan had come for her? When they'd been parted for long periods of time, she'd swear that she'd had a connection that made strong emotions filter to her that were not engendered by anything occurring in her own life. But Naruto hadn't been available for her to verify these feelings.

Naruto.

Despite the natural worry she couldn't seem to completely assuage, she knew deep down that Naruto was at still alive. Beyond that she sensed nothing positive or negative regarding his condition. Her only reasonable conclusion was that he was still unconscious. Perhaps when he was unconscious, but not yet in serious danger, there was nothing for her to sense. Or perhaps, this connection was just her imagination. She'd have to consider this more carefully when she wasn't so pressed, but she couldn't believe that she wouldn't know if Naruto were in real danger.

Naruto.

She felt a tear form in the corner of one eye. She brushed it away impatiently. She had no time for tears, fears, or anything beyond the chase. She had to catch this man for Naruto, as well as all the others he'd already attacked or might attack in the future. It was her mission, and she didn't intend to fail.

They ran on.

It was still night, but morning could only have been perhaps an hour or two away when the tenor of their chase changed.

They'd left the woods reaching another road. On this road, the attacker overtook a horse-drawn caravan and jumped onto the driver's bench. The driver whipped the horse to speed, and they took off at an even faster pace than the man alone had traveled.

While their enemy was resting comfortably in a rocketing caravan, Hinata & company just gritted their teeth, and pushed on. They began to lose more ground, but never lost complete sight of the caravan even in the dark—not with Hinata's Byakugan.

She was convinced that he'd thought his invisibility a surety against being caught. He'd never anticipated that someone could detect him or he would have chosen his victim more carefully. It had only been a matter of time before either she or Neji had spotted him. It was now just a question of catching up—even only it were that simple.

Fortunately for them, the horse pulling the caravan, and at least two people couldn't maintain a fast pace for more than an hour. As the horse struggled and slowed, despite the influence of the whip they could hear cracking furiously, the team from Konoha began to finally gain ground in their pursuit.

Choji ran to one side of the caravan while Shikamaru and Hinata went to the other side. She chose the side she'd seen the attacker jump aboard. As they began to approach the driver's bench, Hinata asked to make sure, "How many people can you see on the driver's bench?"

Shikamaru strained forward for a full view of the bench. "One."

She nodded her head. It was as she expected. "I'll take care of the invisible one. Since only I can see him, it's best to let me handle him alone. You and Choji take care of the driver."

Shikamaru agreed. "Right. How—" he began to ask her what she planned when she leaped forward, grasping at the driver's bench of the caravan.

He watched her grab what appeared to be nothing but air, pull her arms towards her body in a jerking motion then fall backwards and roll on the ground. He didn't have time to watch any more. He trusted her judgment. Instead, he surged forward.

The driver whipped his horse in an attempt to speed away, but Shikamaru was already beside him wresting the reins from his hands. The driver raised his whip to beat him over the back and head, but Choji had swung up on the other side. He clamped a strong, viselike grip on the man's arm effectively curtailing his attack on Shikamaru.

As the caravan came to a grinding halt, the man suddenly slumped forward putting his face in his hands, no longer attempting any attack or defense. It was then they heard the back of the wagon burst open with a crash, and a scream rend the night. There was something or someone coming out of the back of the wagon.

Meanwhile, the invisible attacker was no longer running away. He'd scrambled to his feet, kicking out at Hinata before she'd found hers. She managed to twist and flip out of his way with his foot merely grazing her shoulder.

"You can see me," he stated not even breathing hard. He'd lost his straw hat, but she still wasn't certain who he was, as he smiled showing large, white fangs.

"Yes." She positioned her hands, and carefully watched his movements. Her primary concern was the paralytic agent accompanying those fangs, not the bite itself.

"How interesting. You're the first I've met who can. I thought there was something strange about your eyes, but it doesn't matter. It won't help you, you know. I'll get you in the end. I always do. I'm too strong for you." He circled around with her matching his movements staying just out of his reach.

"We'll see about that," she said through gritted teeth as she quickly jumped forward then back punching a chakra point on his arm. Her gentle fist technique was her first line of offense.

He laughed barely feeling the blow. "I really shouldn't play with my food, but this is too much fun." He punched back managing to graze her shoulder as she again twisted out of the way. "Not only am I strong—I'm fast, too."

"So am I," she said punching another chakra point.

He laughed again. "Sure, you are."

They parried hits for many minutes exchanging blows or blow attempts. Hinata's hits were more accurate than his were, but his had more brute force behind them. For now she was intent merely to dam his chakra flow. If he relied on chakra for any of his skills that strategy would severely hamper him. He may not even realize how dependent he was on chakra. She hoped to surprise him with his sudden lack. If he continued to be amused and unconcerned at her seemingly trivial blows then she would succeed. However, he had the power and speed to thwart her efforts whenever he wished. She needed to distract him.

"What are you?" she asked in her attempt to keep him off-guard.

He laughed. "I'm every child's nightmare—and every adult's if they only knew."

"I've witnessed a lot of nightmares in my time—which one are you?"

"Your time? Why you're only a child! What do you think I am?"

"A killer who needs to be stopped."

"I try not to kill. I only do it from necessity to throw off suspicion. No one misses the ones I kill."

"I don't believe that."

"It's true. You're angry because of that bright boy. I wouldn't have killed him, but he would have been a long time recovering from what I intended to do to him."

"I don't believe you." She'd punctuated each sentence with a hit to his chakra points. She had almost accomplished her goal.

"It really doesn't matter since I'm afraid you must die." He lunged towards her before he finished his sentence with a blow that glanced off the side of her head making her eyes tear, and her head sting.

Despite her own speed and abilities, Hinata couldn't manage to avoid all his blows. He was as fast as he bragged himself to be. And unfortunately, he was as strong as well. The few of his hits that managed to connect were actually quite painful, some almost knocking her down when they connected. She was kept constantly on her toes. She couldn't just focus on his chakra points; she had to dance around his blows as well. However, she managed to keep damaging them without his seeming awareness. She was fairly certain his invisibility was tied to his chakra, but she couldn't be certain his strength was, too. At some point she would be forced to use other methods to meet his brute strength, but he would lose a certain advantage once he no longer had access to his chakra.

It was quite sudden that he became aware of his gradual return to visibility. He couldn't see himself when invisible either. He'd had years of practice in that state so it no longer mattered what he could and could not see of himself. He was able to rely on his intent to reflect his movements when he couldn't see them.

He abruptly stopped moving. "Hey! What did you do?" he demanded staring down at this hands and arms. They were faintly discernable even in the darkness.

"I stopped the flow of chakra to your kekkai genkai."

"With those little punches?"

"The gentle fist technique. Yes," she told him matter-of-factly.

"Damn!" he growled. "You fooled me. I don't like that. Not one bit."

This time he punched her with a blow that sent her reeling. It seemed he was no longer amused—no longer playing with her. He'd come to the realization that she just might be a threat to his security afterall. He hunched his shoulders in a threatening crouch, and lunged at her again.

Hinata jumped to her feet, twisting away, and readied herself for some serious fighting.

At the same time, Shikamaru had his hands full with another problem.

"Take care of him," Shikamaru told Choji pushing the driver towards him, before he headed to the back of the caravan to check out who or what had been traveling inside. It didn't sound like as easy a problem as the driver had been.

He almost sighed when he found himself confronting a very angry woman. Of course, he'd get the female. Whether friend or foe he was always stuck with the female. And if anyone ever tried to claim that women were easier to deal with than men even in a fight—well, then, they just didn't know a thing about women.

She looked somewhat familiar to him. He tried to place her, and almost had it—until her lips curled back to reveal fangs completely altering her formerly attractive appearance. No female of his acquaintance had long, sharp, menacing incisors like that.

He felt a little thrill of fear race through him accompanied by the awful thought vampire.

He'd been one of the naysayers when the whole vampire concept had been advanced. His mind was too logical to believe in fairytales and folklore. He'd been convinced there had to be a logical explanation for the attacks. Vampires just didn't fit his well-ordered theory of the world. But here he was facing a woman whose appearance gave truth to the folklore. Did she just look the part or was she the real deal? Apparently, he would find out sooner rather than later.

He circled her cautiously. She ignored him looking intently at the fight between Hinata and nobody visible. Was invisibility a vampire trait they'd never heard about? Could one vampire see another? Or was invisibility from another source—such as a kekkai genkai? As he watched her, her eyes seemed to focus solely on Hinata's movements which led him to believe she couldn't see her confederate. When she took a determined step towards Hinata, Shikamaru stepped just as determinedly in her way.

"You deal with me first," he told her.

She lashed out with her arms and hands extended. The nails on her hands were long, pointed, and red. She could do some serious damage with those nails, but could she paralyze with them—or was that the sole function of her saliva?

He didn't care to put that question to the test, so he stayed out of range.

She smiled wickedly. "If you insist, little man, but I think you'll regret your decision."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've heard it all before. Just get on with it," he said impatiently. It may have been foolhardy to taunt her, but it was so tiresome to listen to their enemies brag. If talk could kill, they'd have a powerful weapon, because they all liked to tell just how great they were.

The smile wiped from her face, and she growled as she began to advance on him. She continually swiped the air between herself and him, trying to make contact. Despite her obvious interest in hurting him, she was moving them directly towards Hinata and her fight. He had to put a stop to that. He wasn't equipped to be in the middle of a fight with someone invisible.

He looked up and around as he jumped out of range.

There was no moon, and therefore no shadow for him to use with his trademark shadow possession jutsu. That was unfortunate. He'd just have to do this with his other ninja skills. Good thing he wasn't a one-trick pony.

He dropped down on one arm, swung out with his body fully extended, and clipped her in the back of her knees knocking her to the ground. He swung out of the way so that she fell forward, and away from him. While she wasn't looking, he performed a substitution jutsu. When she sprang to her feet to attack his substitute, he kicked her from behind sending her flying in the opposite direction of Hinata's fight.

While she was down, he performed another substitution jutsu, but this time he didn't catch her off guard. She swing around reaching wildly, and caught his leg with her slicing claws shredding the material of his pants as well as breaking the skin. He hopped out of her reach.

Mentally, he analyzed the skills he'd witnessed thus far.

She was fast. She recovered quickly. She appeared to be stronger than average. She had the equivalent of ten knives at her fingertips. This fight would be no walk in the park. He was in some real trouble without his special jutsu to fall back on. He watched her carefully while he plotted his next move. He couldn't continue to avoid her or she'd give up and go after Hinata. He couldn't surprise her anymore with substitution jutsus, she attacked everything near her. And she appeared impervious to his attacks. So what was left?

Hinata was too intent on her own match to be more than peripherally aware of another in the vicinity. She couldn't spare any attention to the others. She had her hands full with a strong, angry man no longer able to use his chakra, but nonetheless still an ugly threat. She could not match him strength for strength. She had no choice but to engage her other Hyuga skill. Would it work on him?

She began her shugo hake rokujuu yon shou as soon as she recovered her feet. She spun and struck her opponent more quickly than he could handle. Her blows landed hard and swift on his torso, legs and arms. He couldn't back up far enough away to avoid her, he could no longer land a blow, and he couldn't move as fast as she could in the spell of her jutsu. Eventually, he simply crouched into a ball as tight as he could to protect himself. His back collected most of her hits so she couldn't tell what impact she was having. She simply kept pounding with her speed and strength.

Finally, she completed the course of her jutsu dance, stepped back and watched to see the effect.

He unfurled slowly into a standing crouch. He didn't move as smoothly as before so she must have done some damage, but that didn't stop him. His hands clenched into fists, and he roared as he came at her.

Shikamaru heard nothing through the frustrated screams of the vixen he was fighting.

Her anger made her movements heavier, but faster. He used his chakra to climb the trees, and use substitutes to surprise her from different angles. It worked up to a point. Unfortunately, half the time her nails managed to connect slicing through his clothes and sometimes skin. His protective vest was in shreds. One arm and one leg were bleeding profusely where she'd caught him. Forced to avoid her fangs the quality of his attacks had been limited. Without his shadow possession jutsu, he had more difficulty avoiding close combat, and subduing her. She might not have possessed any finesse in her fighting style, but she didn't appear to suffer from that lack. None of his blows had slowed her for long; she'd gotten up, striking out from every blow. If he tried to stay out of range, she'd turn and head towards Hinata. He'd had no choice, but get closer than was wise in order to keep her fighting him.

If this fight came down to just stamina—did he have enough to last her out? He really wasn't confident in the answer to that. The thought left him undecided what his next move should be. He didn't like not having a logical answer to his dilemma. He'd always been the man with the plan, but right now he couldn't seem to think of one that would get him out of this.

He bit his lip showing his first sign of anxiety.

What could he do to stop this creature?