A/N: Okay so here's chapter three. TOOK FOREVER. By the way before people get frustrated. I needed to set up a back ground, and a quest before I can really take any of the characters into depth. We're getting there I PROMISE. And to .lover yes this is loosely based on the book by Alex Finn (to answer your question .lover).
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the book Cloaked only this very loose interpretation while I borrow some characters.
Chapter 3: Foxes Named Naruto
"Wake up Hinata." a soothing voice said in her ear. "Come on Hinata, honey. You need to wake up."
Slowly the girl opened her eyes and blinked trying to clear her vision. Hinata was finally able to focus on the woman standing over her. Kurenai gave her a small smile before replacing the cool cloth that was on her head.
"W-what happened?" Hinata asked weakly.
"Well," Kurenai said taking a deep breath as if trying to calm herself. "You popped into the kitchen and then fainted."
"I...w-what?" Hinata asked, her face paling again, as the memories came back to her.
"No no no! Hinata! Hinata, breathe." Kurenai said in a panic. "Just take a deep breath."
Hinata followed her guardian's instructions as the woman coached her through breathing exercises in order to keep her conscious.
"So I just a-apeared in the kitchen?" Hinata asked incredulously after she had calmed down.
"Well yes..." Kurenai said after a moment. "I'm curious as to know exactly how you managed that but..."
Hinata cut her guardian off as she quickly stood from the couch she had been laying on. She crossed the room where the cloak sat, draped around one of the kitchen chairs, and next to it sat the small bag with the other items. Her fingers ran over the cape, as she contemplated what all this meant. She had just literally appeared out of nowhere in the middle of her kitchen. Whatever doubts she had had about Shikmaru's story were gone.
"Hinata?" Kurenai asked softly, her voice tinged with worry.
Hinata wheeled around and offered her guardian a small smile that didn't reach her eyes, waiting for the older woman to speak.
"If you don't want to talk about what just happened that's fine, but I want to make sure you're okay." Kurenai continued.
"I'm f-f-fine Kurenai." Hinata answered brightly.
"Alright, if you're sure." Kurenai said uncertainly. "I'm going to head for bed."
"A-alright!" Hinata stammered.
"Goodnight, I love you." Kurenai said. "Go to bed soon okay?"
"I will! G-g-goodnight, I love y-y-you too!" Hinata called after the woman as she walked to her room.
When Kurenai moved out of sight Hinata collapsed onto a chair and covered her face with her hands. When Kurenai woke up the next morning she found Hinata cooking breakfast with a small smile, but the bags under her eyes were proof enough that she hadn't gone to bed that night.
-Page Break-
"H-hello?" Hinata called as she walked up and down the third or fourth dingy, dirty, alley that were common in the city of Konoha. "Can anybody h-h-hear me? Or u-understand me?"
She felt idiotic, which was becoming somewhat of a pattern for her. Here she was walking down the disgusting alley's of Konoha, calling out for someone to answer her. It was a testament to her luck that she hadn't run into any people, who would think she was insane. For the fifth time in the last twenty seconds she tugged at her ears. Sure enough the heavy earrings were still there. After finding out that the cloak worked Hinata wasted no time in trying to find out if the other magical gadgets worked. The bag worked well enough, and she wasn't willing to try the cloak again. She had opened the cell phone and clicked one of the numbers, and it was only when she heard Shikamaru's voice, concerned and confused that she realized his number was on speed dial. Now she was on the last object to test, and that was the earrings that were supposed to allow her to talk to people that had been turned into animals. That's why she had spent the last half hour wandering around the city calling out to every animal she had seen. Suddenly there was a rustle behind her and Hinata whipped around to see a rat scamper out from behind a trash can. Hinata fought the urge to flinch away.
"Hello?" Hinata said again.
The rat turned it's black eyes on her and Hinata thought her heart was going to stop. She looked around to make sure no one was watching before she crouched down in front of the small creature.
"C-can you understand m-me?" She asked softly.
The rat turned around once in a circle before sitting back down and staring at her. Hinata gave a soft smile in response.
"I don't know exactly h-h-how this is supposed t-to w-work." Hinata said, confused. "You see, I'm s-supposed to b-be helping this nice prince find his s-sister, but I d-don't know where to start."
The rat didn't respond to her, instead it licked it's paw and scratched idly behind it's ear. Hinata let out a slight frown opening her mouth to speak again.
'What are you doing?' a curious voice asked.
Hinata jumped and the rat quickly ran into the shadows. She looked around quickly, trying to see where the voice had come from. She was confused when there wasn't anyone in sight.
'Are you okay? You seem a little distracted.' the voice said. 'Then again you probably don't understand, or hear me anyway.' the voice continued taking on a forlorn quality.
Hinata spun around again, but still didn't see anything or anyone. Desperate to find out what was talking to her she called out.
"I c-can hear and u-u-understand you." she answered. "Where a-a-are you?"
'Really?' the voice turned chiper again. 'You can hear me?'
"Of course I-I can." Hinata responded.
'Well then it's nice to meet you!' the voice cried.
Hinata looked around again but still saw no one. She crossed her arms and pouted, thinking that someone was messing with her.
"I w-w-would return the s-sentiment but In h-haven't met you yet." Hinata said, trying to make her apprehension and irritation present.
She felt a tug at the hem of her pants and she turned and looked down. Sitting at her feet, a grin on it's face was a small yellow fox. Her mouth dropped open of it's own accord as she dropped to her knees to look at the small animal. Hinata reached out a tentative hand to the animal. The fox seemed to respond immediately and rubbed it's soft furry head across her palm.
'Nice to meet you! My name is Naruto Uzamaki dattebayo!' the fox chirped. 'Or it was until I was turned into this fox.'
"M-my name is H-hinata." the dark haired girl answered.
'You never answered my question from earlier, Hinata-chan.' the fox said brightly, making Hinata flush slightly. 'What is a nice girl like you, doing here?'
"W-well like I w-was trying to explain to that r-rat earlier, a n-nice prince a-asked me to h-h-help find his sister." Hinata said, and before she knew it she had spent ten minutes in an alleyway talking to a fox.
'That's some story Hinata-chan, but you just explained the problem yourself. You can only talk to animals that were once human. That was a normal rat, I'm the only animal around here that was once a human.' the fox explained.
"O-oh." Hinata said, her voice quiet, as she thought of what to do.
'But don't worry about that Hinata-chan,' Naruto began. 'I'll help you!'
"Really?" Hinata asked hopefully.
'Of course!' Naruto responded.
Hinata smiled brightly and fought the urge to smother the fox in a hug. Instead she patted him gently on the head. Naruto allowed her, before gesturing for her to follow him. Hinata trailed behind the blonde fox, as they made their way out of the alleyway and onto the sidewalk.
'Alright Hinata-chan we'll...' but the fox stopped as he sniffed the air curiously before running off.
Afraid that she would lose the one lead she had she ran after him. She was surprised to see him pacing restlessly in front of a small restaurant.
"W-what is it N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.
'Ramen!' he exclaimed.
"R-ramen?" Hinata asked confused.
'I'm starving!' He exclaimed. 'It's not easy being an animal. I can't order myself ramen anymore.'
Hinata bit her lip and looked into the ramen stand. She smiled softly at the fox before petting him once more.
"W-wait here, o-okay?" she asked, receiving a wary nod from Naruto.
Minutes she reappeared holding a large styrofoam cup. She bent forward and gently lifted him with one arm. Naruto let out a shout of alarm, and Hinata's cheeks had turned a light red but she refused to put him down until they reached the park. She stopped under a tree and sat down with Naruto in her lap. She opened the cup revealing ramen. Naruto let out a loud cry of excitement before digging in. Hinata giggled gently petting his back, as he continued to devour the food.
'Thank you Hinata-chan!' the fox finally said, pulling his head from the cup for the first time in ten minutes. 'You're the best friend ever!' he finished snuggling up in her lap.
Hinata giggled again before she pulled a long noodle from his fur and tossing it idly to the ground. She gently ran her fingers through his fur, feeling as if for once things were finally going her way.
'Hinata-chan!' the fox said quickly as he jumped to his feet leaning close to her face, a pair of big blue eyes, that she hadn't noticed before, freezing her to her spot. 'I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.'
"I t-think so t-too." Hinata answered with a smile.
-Page Break-
"Oh man you're just too cute!" Shikmaru said, after his laughter had calmed down.
Hinata blushed bright red, half because he had called her cute and the other half because she admitted that she had attempted talking to a rat.
"So this...Naruto, he's searching right now?" Shikamaru asked, his face serious once more.
"He s-s-said he had s-some contacts t-that he c-c-could check on." Hinata stammered. "Your highness."
"What did I say about calling me that?" Shikamaru asked with one eyebrow raised.
Hinata didn't answer, instead she tucked her knees into her chest, and glanced over at him through her bangs. Shikamaru was lying under the same tree that she had sat underneath with Naruto. His eyes were focused on the sky but it was obvious that he was listening intently to her.
"Something wrong?" he asked, when she hadn't spoken.
"Oh! N-no! Of course not! I-it's ..." Hinata trailed off, looking over at him.
His sharp eyes met hers, and it wasn't for the first time she wondered how some one with such overpowering intensity in his stare could seem so lazy a second before.
"Just what?" he prompted.
Hinata blushed and turned away allowing her hair to hide her face. Shikamaru shifted beside her and moved some of the hair out of her face.
"If there's something wrong just tell me." Shikamaru continued. "If you've changed your mind that's fine, but don't leave me in the dark here."
"It's r-really nothing." Hinata said softly.
"Okay," Shikamaru relented. "Let's head back, my body gaurds will notice I'm not in my room any minute now."
Hinata nodded and allowed him to pull her to her feet before he pulled the baseball cap that was supposed to hide his identity lower over his face. He grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her behind him as he led the way back to the hotel, seemingly oblivious to her bright red face.
"Oh!" Shikamaru said suddenly stopping. "I have something for you."
Hinata looked up confused as he fished in his pocket's. He pulled out a picture and handed it to her. Hinata took it and felt her heart skip a beat. The picture was of a young man with raven black hair and coal black eyes. He was dreadfully handsome, but his face gave off an unapproachable and cruel feeling that had Hinata shuddering in fear.
"W-who's t-that?" she asked slightly fearful
"That's Sasuke Uchiha, one of Orochimaru's flunkies." Shikamaru said a frown on his face. "He's the one you need to look out for Hinata. He's not like the other's. He. Will. Hurt. You. And if it's convenient for him, he might even try to kill you."
Hinata felt the dread settle into her stomach and she immediately regretted ever accepting this job in the first place. Shikamaru placed his hands on her shoulders forcing her to look up at him.
"But Hinata this is why I picked you." Shikamaru said. "Sasuke and Orochimaru wouldn't even glance in your direction, you can slip under the radar and get this done. I know you can."
Hinata wasn't sure if she should feel insulted or glad about what he said, but she nodded dumbly in response.
"You should keep that close at hand, that way you know what he looks like." Shikamaru stated boredly.
Hinata did as she was told but doubted that she would ever forget that cold face for the
rest of her life.
-Page Break-
"T-Temari-hime?" Hinata called timidly as she walked down an alley. "T-temari-hime?"
Suddenly there was a loud bang behind her, making Hinata jump. She turned around quickly, shining the dull beam of her flashlight down into the depths of the darkness where she couldn't see anything. She couldn't hear the tell tale signs of the city anymore, instead it seemed like the silence had pressed in around her, the only thing she could hear was the erratic beating of her heart. Fear got the best of her and Hinata began to walk faster and faster until she was flat out running. Her breath came in shallow gasps as she ran through the dark, a cold lump of fear settling in the pit of her stomach. Running blindly through the dark. Suddenly she jolted, crashing into something hard and falling unceremoniously to the ground. Looking up she was met with murderous red eyes and something cold was pressed to her forehead realizing the chill came from the barrel of a gun. The young man cocked the weapon, and with a twisted smirk pulled the trigger.
Hinata sat up gasping for air, cold sweat drenched her shaking form as she tried her hardest to calm herself. She buried her head in her arms and let out a choked sob, she hadn't been able to sleep for the past few days. This favor for Shikamaru consumed her. Every second of every waking moment was spent trying to find his sister, and even while she was sleeping she couldn't help but think about it. She turned and reached into her drawer pulling out the crinkled picture of the young man with alabaster skin, and coal black hair and eyes.
Sasuke Uchiha. She knew he had been intimidating in the picture. She had no idea that he, and the prospect of being found out, could cause her such nightmares, because she knew, looking back on her dream that it was Sasuke who had pulled the trigger.
"What am I doing...?" Hinata asked herself, her face cradled in her hands.
She felt so forlorn and lost and so utterly...defeated. Rubbing her hands across her face she didn't notice the small fox until he was sitting in front of her.
"Oh!" she jumped in shock when she noticed him.
Naruto didn't say anything instead he crawled into her lap and nuzzled his face against her cheek, making Hinata giggle. She hadn't noticed before but she was crying. She quickly wiped the tears away and reached over to grab the special earrings that Shikamaru given her.
'Why are you crying Hinata-chan?' Naruto asked in a melancholy tone, after she had secured the jewlery to her ears.
"N-no reason N-Naruto-kun." Hinata replied quickly. "W-why are you h-here?"
The blonde fox immediately brightened and began to pace in a little circle, his big blue eyes closed in what appeared to be a smile.
'So I followed that lead I told you about, and after walking through the nastiest garbage I've ever seen, I finally found another one of my contacts, well not really my contact more like my contacts contact. And boy am I glad I'm not friends with that guy! He smelled and was...!'
"Naruto-kun." Hinata interrupted softly. "W-what did you f-find?"
'I found the princess of course!' Naruto replied brightly.
A/N: okay so here it is. A little more into the plot, a little moment between Hinata and Shikamaru the introduction and helpfullness of the adorable fox Naruto, and we introduced Sasuke as the dastardly villain we all know him to be etc. Anyways REVIEW please people.