Depth

A Naruhina fanfic

Chapter 6: Revelations

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Disclaimer: Who came up with these anyway?

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Tsunade surveyed the body of the girl on the medical table before her. "What are we going to do with you?" she wondered out loud. Naruto and team had brought her back that afternoon, with a strong warning that she could disable most usual seals with ease, and only by using demonic chakra could they hold her.

But as she looked and examined, using special infra-blue light, she could see other, more permanent seals on the girl. The red chakra seals covered her entire body, but an abnormally larger than usual bijuu seal covered her stomach from just under her breasts down to her pelvis. However, that was not the only anomaly. Her uterus was a mess, a seal of her own chakra was there, deliberately tampered with to damage her reproductive system. She had obviously been deathly afraid of conceiving to do that to herself, risking her own death and never being able to conceive in the future.

But it was mainly her head that drew the Sannin's attention. There were multiple seals wrapped around her head, delving into both her eyes and brain. The seal over her eyes was written directly onto them. It was a lot stronger than the caged bird seal, and was of the same chakra flowing through the girl's network. For some reason, this jinchuuriki had sealed her own eyes and blinded herself.

The seal was extremely intricate; there was no way Tsunade could pick it apart without the help of the creator. There were also foreign seals in her brain specially designed so that the victim could never remove them herself. They directly targeted certain aspects of her brain, to kill off emotion, to persuade her to obey the sealer, and numerous other seals used to control a tool. But most important and obvious of all was the large seal wrapped around her head, with a spike driving deep into her brain. It was a kill switch. With a thought the owner could kill this jinchuuriki, and if anyone tried to remove it, they would most likely kill her too, it was so deep.

Tsunade groaned. This girl was a lost caused, her head was absolutely covered in the normally invisible seals. She turned off the light and sighed again. So much for gaining another jinchuuriki; but at least they could deal a crippling blow to the Cloud by removing this one. She was obviously too dangerous to be contained, she would just have to be killed.

Tsunade left the room. She could allow herself a short reprieve; she had been examining the girl for hours, with both chakra and physical eyesight. She now knew she was the host of the Two Tailed Cat, and was definitely a tool for Kumo, but questions kept niggling at her. One in particular dominated the others.

Why had she sealed herself?

This question was too much for the acting Hokage. She needed answers, and the only way she would be able to was to have a little chat with their captive jinchuuriki. Of course, she would need back up. And who better than the one controlling the restricting seals on the girl right now, the barely hours old sixth Hokage of the Leaf, Naruto Uzumaki.

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Hinata opened her eyes, her four other senses opening alongside them. However, she still couldn't see anything so quickly delved into her mindscape, created a tenuous link of chakra winding through the seals that had obviously been toned down to allow her consciousness, and looked out through the eyes of a bijuu. She could now see perfectly clearl in the dark room she found herself in.

Her gaze shifted to the blonde woman in front of her. With her was a man clad in orange, with a white cloak hanging from his shoulders.

"Congratulations on your new appointment Naruto-sama" she said coolly, her subconscious immediately recognizing the Fourth's cloak around his sons shoulders. Her cold gaze again turned back to the other blonde. "Tsunade-sama" she said equally coolly.

She then noticed a presence further back in the room. Well, three presences. She recognized them as Konoha's interrogation unit, Ibiki, Unko, and Inoichi. 'This should be fun' she thought with wry humor.

Tsunade spoke up then. "We have some questions for you Megumi, and you will answer them" she said with an air of power.

Hinata didn't move; she just stared down her targets opposing her. She could feel the Kyuubi seals still locked most of her chakra away, and every muscle from her head down was inoperable. But now she had her senses back, she started analyzing the situation, taking in all aspects to look for both an escape route and a way to take out her targets. It was fortunate that they were together; it cut her job time in half.

She waited for the Hokages to continue their interrogation. She wasn't worried about the actual interrogators though; Killerbee had made sure she dealt with a lot of pain in her training, both physical and mental. And she was not about to let Inoichi into her mind to risk finding out who she really was, she had a bijuu to defend her from that.

So, she just decided to unnerve her enemies by giving them a wide smirk. It worked. Both Hokages looked taken aback, but Tsunade hid it better, having been in the position longer and more used to dealing with such enemies.

"Why do you work for the Raikage?" she asked forcefully. Hinata's smirk never left her face. Seeing no answer, Tsunade forged ahead. "Why did you seal your own eyes and uterus?" she again asked.

This time, the smirk faded. "To stop them stealing something that wasn't theirs" Hinata said emotionlessly.

"And what was this?" Tsunade said. She hadn't expected to get an answer that easily, but the girl didn't seem to care about that question. This one however, she did. She stayed silent. Tsunade sighed. "Who put the kill switch in your brain? Is this why you have to work for the Raikage?" Tsunade questioned. Again no answer. Again she sighed. Obviously, this was going to be difficult. She waved forward the three interrogators. "Please, get to work" she said resignedly.

While she had dismissed the hopes of the kunoichi becoming their ally, they had still been in the back of her mind. However, after this, Megumi Hinata would forever hate Konoha, even if her life was only measured in a few more hours.

However, Naruto stepped forward. "Please, Tsunade-sempai, let me try" he said. Tsunade smiled slightly at the term of respect from the 6th Hokage, and then backed out of the way.

Naruto stepped up to the sealed girl and kneeled down where her head was about waist level, since she was trapped within a sealing cylinder along with all the other seals and his own littering her body. Her gaze never wavered as he got closer, until they're faces were but a meter away.

"Why are you doing this?" he whispered, his voice full of sorrow and regret.

Hinata's eyes widened. 'What? Did he figure out who I am? No, that's impossible! There's no way!'

Naruto continued on. "You remind me so much of her, yet you're so different. Please, tell me, how did you know her, how did you know Hinata Hyuuga?"

'That's what it is' she thought, remembering how she had told Sasuke she used to know Hinata Hyuuga. "Sorry, she's dead" Hinata said simply.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fist. "I, I know. Just, I wanted to know more about her. I never got to know her well enough. How did a murderer like you know her?"

Hinata stayed blank. 'What to say, what to say. Nothings a good choice' she mused.

So she just waited, staring into Naruto's brilliant blue eyes. He stared back into hers unflinchingly, noting they were different than when he had first saw them. They were now a darker lavender color, with the gold flecks sparkling like tiny stars. He would have thought it the embodiment of beauty, had this girl not been a top priority enemy of Konoha, and a cold hearted murderer.

But, she was just like he was, and he wanted to help her. Plus, he wanted to know more about Hinata, even if she was dead, but that track didn't seem to be going anywhere at the moment.

He decided to drop it. For now. "I want to help you" he said softly. "You're just like me, but being used and forced into slavery by people. I'm a jinchuuriki too; I know what it's like" he said sincerely. "Let me help you."

"Sorry, I cannot be helped" she replied, almost cutting him off, her voice icicles. "And I know you are a jinchuuriki, the host of the Nine Tailed Fox, the sixth Hokage of Konoha, and one of my priority targets. I am here to kill you and the fifth over there" she said simply, outlining most of her mission orders.

"A-Are you serious?" Naruto said, slightly taken aback by her boldness. She gave him a firm nod. "You know you're in no position to do that" he said just as firmly as said nod.

She didn't move. Oh yes, she knew they would kill her soon, but she actually welcomed it with open arms, to get away from this wretched existence, to be free of a world ruled by men.

"Who are you?" he said again, more to himself though. This girl just didn't know when to stop surprising him. "Please, just tell me something about Hinata. Anything. I need to know" he pleaded.

The silence dragged out and he thought she wasn't going to answer. Naruto never used to give up, but since Hinata's death, his will had faltered, enough so that now he rose, and gave up on the girl sealed before him. As he turned his back though, a few whispered words stopped him.

"What was that?" he said, whipping around.

Hinata looked back up to him, locking his eyes to hers. "I said she loved you" she said solidly.

Naruto's heart leapt in his throat. "H-How did you know that? Were you close to her?" he stuttered in shock.

"Closer then you" she replied, fully intending the hurtful rebuff.

He sank to his knees again before her, a broken man. "I know; I was such an idiot. I kept her at arm's length with my density, I was, am, too stupid to realize it. Even when she confessed to me, I was too confused to say anything. Not until after she died, did I realize I loved her…"

Hinata's eyes widened, the dark purple fading from them as the Nibi retracted back into her cage, the dominant spirit of Megumi coming screaming back into the mindscape as well.

Hinata stood there, outside her cage. She had heard every word.

"He, he loves me?" she asked herself in dismay.

That's when Nibi decided to put her plans that had been formulating over the last few days into action. "Now Hinata!" she screamed and a paw came flying out from between the bars, pinning Megumi to the floor of the room.

Then Hinata was rushing towards the light, towards full dominance of her body that she had not had ever since Nibi had been caged inside her and Megumi had come to the light. She reached the surface and the world rushed around her in a myriad of senses, all apart from sight.

All this had taken but a second, but Naruto noticed a slight change in their prisoner. He looked up curiously to see her eyes were back to what they had been when he had first seen her. She was swiveling her head back and forth slowly, as if surveying the room in a new light, yet her eyes caught nothing, lingered on no particular object.

'What is this?' Naruto thought, remembering Kakashi's words. 'Could she really be blind? But she was clearly seeing just before. Again, what?'

Then she spoke, and all trace of coldness was devoid in her voice. Instead, it was rich with emotion he never thought he would hear again. Her soft voice washed over the room.

"N-Naruto-kun?" she asked.

Naruto's heart froze. 'That voice' he thought. It was incomprehensible, but, he would still recognize that voice even if he hadn't heard it for another ten years.

She heard his breathing sharpen at her words and snapped her head to where she thought he was. "Who-who's there?" she whispered, slightly panicked, remembering the memories of her near rape. And she knew she was sealed. She could do nothing. Her body was completely binded, there were no loop holes.

Naruto stood up, now extremely confused. This was definitely not Megumi Hinata. This was a completely different person, and it was so painful that she reminded him exactly of the girl that had haunted his mind for the past year.

But Hinata Hyuuga was dead, and he was just fooling himself.

"Tsunade, come over here, something's changed in her" he said, motioning for the sannin to approach.

Tsunade instantly saw the difference; the cool, calm and cold prisoner that they had just been interrogating was now looking around the room in a full blown panic. She could almost feel the nervousness dripping off her.

"What did you do to her Naruto?" she asked.

"I don't know" he said. "But it was like she had a sudden revelation or something, she just gasped and changed."

Hinata latched on to that name and looked towards the voices. "Naruto?" she asked again. That was his voice! And Tsunade's who had just said it was Naruto! Then the questions came back.

"Why do you work for the Raikage?" Tsunade again queried, though still not really expecting a reply.

"H-he planted seals in me that control me, and he saved me from becoming a b-b-breeding whore, and sealed inside me the Two Tailed Cat bijuu" she answered.

Tsunade already knew all this, but was flabbergasted that she had actually told her. "Okaaay" she said cautiously. 'What is going on here?' "Why did you seal your eyes and uterus?" she again questioned.

Then the most unexpected thing happened then. A blush flowered over their S-rank jinchuuriki captives face at talking about her uterus with Naruto present.

"I, um, it was to make sure they didn't steal my kekkei genkai" she said meekly, eyes towards the ground.

"And what kekkei genkai is this?" Tsunade said, eyes narrowing. There were not many eye bloodline traits in the ninja world, and two of those were in Konoha, so it was very likely this girl had sealed the Byakugan or Sharingan. That could explain why the Sharingan had no effect on her, if she herself had had it, but sealed it.

Hinata took a deep breath, and said in a quiet voice "The Byakugan."

All her old comrades heard was a mumble. "Sorry, what was that?" Tsunade said.

Hinata looked up and again took a deep breath. "I sealed my own Byakugan when I realized I was captured by Kumogakure. I am Hinata Hyuuga, the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, who you thought died a year ago."

Then her gaze slowly shifted to where she knew Naruto was, and she gently smiled. Even if the seals killed her, she had heard what she had wanted to hear for so long.

She knew, Naruto Uzumaki loved her.

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