Kaaru: Creepy crowing crows are crowing in the corny corn field.
Mitsuki: ...Good for you. ANYWAY, enough of tongue twisters. Let's get on with the story!
Kaaru: Impatient as always I see.
Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me.
::Depths of Blue::
"It's so cold."
A single matchstick was lit, the pale orange light casted dark shadows upon the young girl's face, making her look sinister. Wisps of air escaped her pale, thin lips as she held the small matchstick close to her frail-looking body, letting the meager amount of warmth spread through her pale, trembling hands. She looked at her surroundings through half-lidded eyes. She was inside a stone cell, the rough and hard floor was moist and damp, the air was cold and wet. She had been put in a different cell; away from the people she had been with. Why did they separate her from her family? Why was she isolated in this cold and lonely cell while the others were together, in a cramped yet warm cell? Why was she different?
"So...so...cold..." she said through chattering teeth.
She then heard the lock on the steel door click and a dim light filled her cell. They were here again.
"Kekekeke...hello again little matchstick girl." The man said to her, using the nickname that he had given her. The woman beside him crossed her arms and smirked, then she pulled out a syringe and injected a blue fluid into the girl's arm. "Time to go the Experimentation lab again."
The small girl's eyes widened, she suddenly felt her body heat up, making her skin itch. The coldness was gone, but it had been replaced by unbearable heat.
"N-no! Not again! N-no more! Please!" the girl cried out as she fell to the floor, the matchstick's flame going out. They did this to her, they had made her suffer and made her miserable. Those cruel, heartless people.
"Delta, go to the Experimentation lab and tell Charlie to get everything ready." the woman told the man, Delta.
"Keke, whatever you say Echo."
"Aghhh..! Get away! No more needles! T-t-too hot..." the girl then fainted.
Melon bread, cheesecakes, tarts and pies. Hinata loved them. They were sweet but not cavity-inducing sweet. Ice cream was on the top of her list, just beside cinnamon rolls. So many flavors to choose from, so little time (and money). Strawberry...chocolate...vanilla...cookies and cream...mango...even though Hinata was no longer a child, she was still eager to eat some of the cold treats. It was the perfect day to go out on a stroll around Konoha. The weather was nice, not too hot, not too cold; just right. White, fluffy clouds blocked enough of the sun's rays so that it was sunny and bright yet wasn't uncomfortably warm.
"This is the best ice cream I have ever tasted!" Tenten exclaimed, digging into the sundae she had ordered.
Hinata nodded, "This is my favorite ice cream shop."
They were currently in a small yet popular ice cream shop near Konoha Park. 'Frosties' was the name of the shop; short, cute and easy to remember. The place was normally packed, fortunately for them, it was a slow day. Hinata, Hanabi and Tenten had sat down in the table nearest to the counter. "Ahem, excuse me!" Tenten hollered.
A boy who looked about 18 or 19-years old, came out of the kitchen with a pencil tucked behind his ear, he approached their tables. "Well, what can I do for you ladies?" he asked with a flirtatious tone. Tenten's eyebrow twitched slightly at the guy's behavior, Hanabi tuned him out and continued to eat her banana split, and Hinata focused her attention at the guy's greasy, long, black hair to avoid eye contact. 'His hair...does he even wash it?' Hinata felt her scalp itch at the thought of lice probably residing in the older boy's hair.
"Why yes, the bill please." Tenten said flatly.
The black-haired boy didn't seem to be discouraged, instead he gave a wide grin. "Sure thing cutie, I'll be right back."
Tenten clenched the edges of the table with so much force that it made her knuckles turn white, all the while drilling a hole through the guy's retreating back with her glaring eyes. Hinata giggled quietly and finished her vanilla and strawberry ice cream bowl. "It looks like someone's getting attention." she teased playfully and pointed her spoon at Tenten.
Tenten rolled her eyes, "Yeah, unwanted attention." she muttered under her breath loud enough for Hinata and Hanabi to hear.
The three of them burst out laughing, when the black-haired boy returned with their bill, the simultaneously ceased their laughter. Tenten and Hinata wordlessly paid the bill, Hinata paying for Hanabi's cold treat.
"No tip?" the flirt pouted.
Tenten grimaced, "Here's a tip. If you want to keep your sanity, your limbs and..." Tenten whipped out a kunai and pointed it precariously close to the guy's crotch, "...junior here, I suggest you shut your trap and leave." she threatened menacingly.
The guy noticeably paled at the closeness of the sharp object and nodded frantically, "Yes, yes! Have a nice day, come again! Hopefully when I'm not around..." he muttered the last part to himself.
Tenten smiled, "Very good. And we'll be sure to come again, hopefully without seeing your face here again." she said sweetly.
Hinata, Hanabi and Tenten burst into a fit of giggles as they exited Frosties. "Wow Tenten-san, you really are good at torturing people!"
The weapon mistress smiled at Hanabi fondly, "Thanks squirt, I learned from the best after all." Tenten puffed her chest proudly as she practically absorbed Hanabi's compliments.
"Where to next?" Hinata asked.
Hanabi's eyes lit up with mischief, "Now we go to nee-chan's place and paint each other's nails!" she squealed.
Tenten's face was filled with terror and her shoulders went slack, "No! I mean, let's not..."
Hinata smiled deviously, "Not a bad idea. Let's go Tenten-chan~". Both her and Hanabi tugged struggling Tenten to the new, medium-sized, two-story house Kaaru, Naruto and Hinata had moved into.
Sakura had noticed something weird in Kaaru's movements. He would sometimes sway slightly when he walked, and there was a slight flush on his face. Naruto didn't seem to notice this, she wasn't sure about Shino though, but she bets the he has already noticed. It could be sea sickness, as they were currently on a boat to the Land of Shining Sun, which was the safest place to go to at the moment because there weren't any disappearances reported there yet. Sakura doubted that it was sea sickness though, seeing that Kaaru was probably used to being on a boat, and if it was sea sickness, his face would be tinted green instead of pink.
As a medic she knew that she needed to make sure that everyone in her team was in good condition or else it would endanger the team and put them at a disadvantage. That was why she went to Kaaru's cabin during nighttime to check him.
"Ah Sakura, what are you doing here?" he asked with a hint of tiredness in his voice.
"Kaaru-sensei, I'm going to give you a check up, if you don't mind..." Sakura offered.
Kaaru gave a weak smile, "So you noticed? I wouldn't expect less from a medic-nin." he complimented with a chuckle that sounded a little too forced for Sakura's likes.
The pink-haired medic merely nodded and pulled up a chair beside Kaaru's bed, she then placed both of her hands above her sensei's bare chest. She focused her healing chakra into her hands, the green chakra spread through Kaaru's chest. "Hmmm..." Sakura murmured and placed one of her hands on Kaaru's forehead. "Kaaru-sensei! Y-you're burning up!" she gasped. She would have scolded Kaaru for going on the mission while running a high fever, but there wasn't time for that now.
Sakura put one of her hand above the other and pressed them on Kaaru's forehead, a familiar, soothing green chakra seeping out of them and into Kaaru, easing his discomfort. The door suddenly opened and a certain bug-user walked into the room, holding a bowl of cold water and a hand towel in both hands. "I assumed that you would be here." he said.
The pink-haired kunoichi smiled at him gratefully and instructed him to cool down Kaaru's body. Shino nodded and worked wordlessly, dipping the towel into the cold water and placing it onto Kaaru's chest and arms. Sakura and Shino worked to regulate the jounin's body temperature. After a few hours they stopped and rested, Kaaru had fallen asleep. "That should do, we'll have to wait and see if his body returns to normal tomorrow." Sakura said, placing the damp, cold towel on Kaaru's forehead. She let out a tired sigh and stretched, "Let's get some rest, I need to restore my chakra levels."
They weren't given a time to rest though, without warning, Naruto suddenly burst into the room, he seemed to be confused on why Sakura and Shino were in Kaaru's cabin, but his confusion quickly changed to bewilderment, "Guys! Come and look at this." he said, running to the deck. Sakura and Shino glanced at each other before running after him, making sure not to awaken the sleeping Kaaru.
The three reached the deck and Sakura and Shino was shocked to see what Naruto was so worked up about. A large whirlpool was just ahead, it emitted a peculiar green glow. "We've got to do something!" Naruto yelled. Sakura shook her head, "What can we do?"
"Nothing." Shino said.
"What do you mean nothing?!" Naruto demanded.
Shino coughed, irritated by Naruto's outburst, "That whirlpool is probably linked to the odd disappearances, this may be our chance to find out what is behind this."
Sakura shook her head, "We can't, not right now at least." the boat was suddenly rocked by a wave, causing them to stumble slightly, "Kaaru-sensei still needs time to recover and I'm low on chakra and we have no sufficient information yet, we need to get to Shining Sun first."
Shino paused to consider this, "Alright, I'll just attach one of my Kikaichu on the captain. We'll follow him when time comes."
Naruto and Sakura nodded. Naruto went to fetch Kaaru while Sakura readied the dingy. Shino then went to do his task, he attached one his bugs on the captain, whom he had knocked out first. "I apologize, but that action was necessary."
Naruto returned to the deck and helped a half-asleep Kaaru into the lifeboat, Sakura and Shino followed soon after. "Let's go!" Naruto cried out and turned on the motor, speeding away from the boat and the strange whirlpool.
Sakura looked back and found the boat reach the whirlpool and started to get sucked into the cold, murky waters. She didn't know why, but she silently prayed that the captain would be safe from harm, maybe it was just medic-nin instincts. After that, she returned to tending to Kaaru, covering him with a light, thin blanket which she had taken from the boat earlier. She focused her eyes at the horizon, where the sun had yet to rise from, she knew that the ride would be a very uncomfortable one. But with the assurance that Shino would be first to do the night watch, Sakura fell into a dreamless slumber.
Tsunade felt a headache coming on, not from her obviously large intakes of sake (sake actually helped her ease it), but from the puzzling disappearances that seemed to take place not only in Sea country but also around the small villages bordering it; the strange was, it seemed that it was that they were targeting children. Something was absolutely wrong. But the thing that was bothering the Hokage was who exactly is behind the strange kidnappings. It couldn't have been the Akatsuki, they only took jinchuurikis. Speaking of the Akatsuki, they were strangely silent lately, there wasn't any reported abductions recently. Orochimaru, her defective former-teammate, could be behind it, he did like to perform those gruesome experiments with that silver-haired assistant of his. Or it could be a new threat, one unheard of. Tsunade grimaced, she'd choose Orochimaru rather than another nuisance to the ninja lands. She'd have to wait for Kaaru's team to gather information to be sure. "Shizune! Get me more sake!" she barked, causing her assistant to stumble out the door to fetch more alcohol.
'What is going on?' Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose. Being Hokage was so stressful, sometimes she wanted to resign and live an easier life, but she knew deep in her heart that Konoha needed her. She was the pillar of strength and guidance that the villagers sought for. Tsunade couldn't help but think of Naruto, the blond idiot had what it took to lead Konoha. He had the ability to change a person and make them a better individual, he had the power to inspire and motivate; he was Konoha's light, even though several hated him and barely acknowledged his presence. But the jinchuuriki had managed to win over some of the people who had once despised and feared him. With that thought, Tsunade was given temporary ease, which she probably needed after those long, grueling hours of stress.
"Naruto-kun? Kaaru-nii?" Hinata's soft voice bounced of the walls and resounded around the empty foyer. 'Strange...Kaaru-nii would usually be here after 4 o'clock.'
The dark-haired girl slowly walked into the kitchen, Tenten and Hanabi following closely behind her. Her pale eyes roamed around the room before landing on a yellow piece of paper on top of the dining table. She quietly picked up the paper and recognized Kaaru's slanted penmanship.
Hinata,
Naruto, Sakura, Shino and I had to go on a mission to Sea Country. We'll probably be back after 2-3 days. Feel free to stay at a friend's house til then, just make sure to lock the house. Wouldn't want anybody stealing my chocolates. Hahaha...
Or you could invite some friends for a sleep over, just as long as they don't break or steal anything (especially my chocolates).
Love,
Kaaru & Naruto
After Hinata had finished reading, she instantly heard a squeal beside her.
"This is great! Let's throw a slumber party!" Hanabi exclaimed eagerly, Tenten also nodded in approval.
Hinata pondered for a moment, then shrugged, "Sure. I'd get lonely being her by myself."
A grin appeared on Hanabi's face, "Great! We'll have the party tomorrow!"
"But where will I sleep tonight?" Hinata asked.
Tenten put a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder, "You can stay at my house. My parents have been pestering me to bring a friend over, other than Lee and Neji."
"A-are you certain?" Hinata asked shyly, "I wouldn't want to intrude."
Tenten waved her hand dismissively, "Like I said, my parents would love it if you came over."
"It's settled then!" Hanabi cheered enthusiastically, "I can't wait for tomorrow!"
Hinata smiled, she'd take time and enjoy herself for a change. Being a kunoichi, as well as trying to somehow break Orochimaru's strange jutsu was hard work; she deserved some fun. And so the girl quickly went upstairs to her room to pack her necessities. 'Naruto-kun...Kaaru-nii...Sakura-chan...Shino-san, please have a safe and have a successful mission.'
"Chakra condition: Dormant, unused...proceed with chakra extraction?"
"N-n-no! Please! Stop this! L-let...let me go!"
"Charlie, initiate the chakra extraction process."
"PLEASE! I DON'T WANT THIS!"
"Heh, initiating the extraction."
"AAAAAAAAAH!"
"How's the procedure Charlie?"
"Hmmm...it's still not extracting all of the dormant chakra, just some of it. It looks like we need to do more research Echo."
"Ah well. Looks like you're lucky again little matchstick girl. Heh. Back to the holding cell with you."
"I...I..hate you."
"I know. Che."
Looks like Naruto and the team's gonna be in for a wild ride. Hinata's going to be blissfully unaware as she has a slumber party. What will happen to them next? That's for me to know and for you to know on the next chapter of RMH. Please take some time to review! Thanks!