Prodigals

Chapter 08

Strange Relations

Akechi blinked. "Eh?"

"People. In this room. Hiding behind that wall." She gestured very specifically and forcefully to the wall behind his desk.

"Wha – ohhh! Akeno, Akemi, please come out and greet our guests. I'm sure you'll be working in close contact with them for the time being."

A portion of the wall was pushed forward and slid to the right, revealing a narrow passageway with just enough space for broad-shouldered Naruto to slip through. Through it came the two children of Akechi and Miyuki, both dressed in clothes similar to their parents. The boy, Akeno, was tall and slim, built much like Sasuke. His skin was pale and his hair was dark, increasing his resemblance to the Avenger; his eyes, however, were the same verdant green as his father's eyes. Naruto thought that if Sasuke ever worked up the guts to marry Sakura (she was hella scary, after all) their son might look something like Akeno.

The girl was different from her brother, the only resemblance being the green eyes. Her hair was the straw-yellow color that her mother might've once had, and her form was petite with minimal curves. She would've looked fragile and delicate if not for her bold stance and the flirtatious glint in her green eyes as she surveyed the newcomers. If he ever had a child with Sakura… she might look like Akemi. Naruto fought back a shudder (they weren't very manly). Ewwww. Sakura is SO not dating material. At least, not for me.

"Mitsuhide Akeno," said Akechi's son as he stepped forward, who seemed to be on the edge between boyhood and manhood. His gate was a little more awkward than his majestic stance had suggested.

"And that makes me Mitsuhide Akemi," purred the girl. She slinked next to her father. "Pleasure to meet you all, I'm so very sure."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the team leader," the blonde offered, not charmed by her attitude in the slightest. He kept his gaze cool and calm as Akemi looked him up and down.

"Uchiha Sasuke." This name seemed to perk up Akeno. He paid more attention to Sasuke immediately.

"Hinata." Everyone turned to look at her. She accepted the attention without a hint of insecurity. Naruto admired this change in her, but at the same time wondered what happened to her surname.

"Unfortunately, I have a meeting with some prominent members of the community," Akechi said with a wince. "I will leave you with my two children; both of them were witness to separate kidnappings. I'll assume you'll want to question them?"

"Yeah, that'd be good," said Naruto easily. "How long do you plan to be away?"

"Several hours."

"I hope your meeting goes well, Mitsuhide-san," murmured Hinata quietly as she bowed low. This was really an excuse to activate her bloodline limit and take a closer look around the house. Keeping her stance, Hinata realized that there were several hidden passages inside the house itself, and all of them could be detected without much trouble by both Naruto and Sasuke. She decided to hold off on telling them until later.

"Thank you for your support… I'm sure I'll need it! Well, I'm off."

With that, the cheerful man sped out of the room, looking slightly haggard.

"How would you like to conduct this interview, Uzumaki-san?" asked Akeno, correctly assuming that Naruto was leading the mission. His voice was soft, somewhat like his father's, but opposite to Akechi's in that it was colder, more calculating, like his mother.

"Well, I think I'd like a tour of the house first, please!"

"Very well. I'll contact Megumi-san –"

"No, no, no! I'd rather have the both of you give us the tour, if you don't mind. Do talk to – Megumi-san, was it? – and ask her to come here… Hinata-san can talk to her." They had reverted to the –san suffix for the mission; it was better than nobody but themselves knew how close they were.

Akeno frowned. "As you wish, Naruto-san." He quickly strode out of the room. Naruto turned back to face Akemi and found she was smiling at him strangely. Her smiled seemed…

"Hel-lo there, cutie!"

…lascivious.

"Hello," he replied without much expression. She pouted before turning her attention away from him.

"I'm ever so glad father hired shinobi to help us with our problems, especially ones as attractive as you," she continued, as if unaware that all three ninja were becoming quite uncomfortable with her little speech. Her eyes roved over Naruto, then Sasuke, and finally Hinata.

"But I think you're the cutest!" said Akemi with a short little laugh to the stunned Hinata.

"…eh?"

"These boys seemed pretty wrapped up in the other, if you know what I mean," said Akemi offhandedly. "Why don't you take a walk with me, Hinata-chan?"

The former Hyuuga was at a loss for words. She opened her mouth, decided against whatever she was going to say, and closed it again. This process was repeated several times. She had never seen Sasuke as a rival in love, but…

"I can see you're speechless… don't worry, I have better things planned than talking," Akemi purred. She was leaning in closer and closer to Hinata, lips pursed expectantly, before the kunoichi snapped to her senses and jumped behind Sasuke, peering out from behind his elbow cautiously. There was a bright, embarrassed flush on her cheeks. Akemi made a move to step closer, but Sasuke shifted his body and scowled. "Back off," he semi-growled at the forward girl. She fluttered her eyelashes at him, which made him take a wary step back and almost sent him stumbling over Hinata. Naruto, watching all this, had started to laugh.

"You're bi?" asked the blonde man, still chuckling. He had seen many weirder sexual orientations than that – especially on his trip with Jiraiya – but Sasuke and Hinata seemed absolutely scandalized. Akemi nodded, still grinning.

"Are you gay?" she shot back curiously.

"NO!" shouted both Sasuke and Naruto together. "We're just close," Naruto managed, humor all but disappeared. Akemi grinned apologetically.

"Oh. Sorry!"

"Akemi-chan, I hope you're not bothering our guests."

Akemi whirled around playfully. "Of course not, brother!"

Akeno had returned, their house's one servant trailing behind him respectfully. Megumi was an older, thickset woman with thick grey hair in a large bun on her forehead. Her brown eyes were sharp with intelligence, but she still seemed warm enough. She was currently reviewing the three intruders with a critical eye.

"This is our childhood nurse who stayed on as cook and gardener for our family," said Akeno quietly. Megumi bowed politely, but not very deeply.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, the mission leader. His subordinates are Uchiha Sasuke and Hinata."

"You two related?" Megumi asked of Sasuke and Hinata. Her voice was rough from many years' use and probably from the damage they could see on her neck. It looked as though somebody had slit her throat and she had survived.

"Distantly," answered Sasuke. He didn't elaborate, which irritated Megumi. "Her last name isn't Uchiha, if that's what you're asking." It sounded that way, from the way in which Akeno had introduced them.

"Then what is your surname, girl?"

"I don't really have one."

"Orphan?"

"No, my family just dislikes me." Sasuke snorted loudly. Dislike? What a fucking understatement. Hinata glared at him. Megumi, however, had softened.

"Tch, poor thing. Walk with me to the kitchens and I'll make some tea." Grabbing Hinata gently by the elbow, she steered the pale girl out of the room and away.

"I guess that leaves me to give you the tour of the house!" said Akemi too sweetly. Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a fearful glance that was full of meaning.

"I think I should come along as well," said Akeno. "You might forget things, with a head like yours."

Akemi pouted again. "Nii-chan, you're so mean to me! Fine, we'll all go." She flounced angrily out of the doorway, still managing to sway her hips enticingly and blow the two shinobi a kiss over her shoulder as she did so.

"My apologies. My sister has been confined to the house quite a bit as of late, and being cooped up has not been good for her."

"Yeah, we could see that."

She would do it tonight.

Nobody would have to know. Her body, finally decayed and rotting, would be found days, weeks later. It's not like anyone but Sakura-san would mourn her loss anyway. And this would just be altogether better for Konoha, with her home village being on the hunt for her and all. Apparently she still had some value.

No, thought Yuugito bitterly. Kumo probably just wanted her back to study the damage to her seal and then execute her. She'd seen the underbelly, the depths of madness to which her village had plunged. It had been a shockingly horrible break from the projected images she'd been fed without count as a child; Kumo is good, Kumo is the bringer of light to all the heathens! Isn't it wonderful that we can educate them? We will show them the Light of Solis, and they will understand, they will know! Kumogakure is ALL.

No.

No, no, no.

It was sick, their experimentations. Sick as Orochimaru.

Of course, there were always the backhanded little jibes directed only at her.

It's so great that you're finally being of use to us, Yuu-chan!

Yeah! We can use you to tell all the heathens in the Godaikoku about Solis… that's all you're really good for, you know?

All she had ever been to her village was a tool. People had mostly been indifferent or hateful to her, Nii Yuugito, the little girl, the troubled teenager. People had been ecstatic about the Nibi no Nekomata, the restrained beast, the perfect weapon.

But she was never going to give them that chance, their last opportunity to squeeze all use out of her. Come to think of it, that applied to every man, woman, and child in Kumo. Everyone submitted themselves to the Raikage slavishly to obtain utter cohesiveness as a whole. She'd never questioned it until her discovery and subsequent escape.

Really, the question now was how to do it. As a kunoichi, she'd learned a thousand and one ways to kill a man. As the container of the Nibi, she'd learned a thousand more. All of those choices, however, were usually to be used against another ninja as opposed to oneself.

She could always goad a fellow ninja into killing her… but that idea held to no appeal. Killing was not something she enjoyed. She would not force it on anyone else, especially not in the village which had been so kind to her.

Yuugito, wandering around in her mindless state, failed to notice that she was about to –

"OUCH!"

- walk straight into someone. She fell back on the ground with a thump and realized that her nose was throbbing with pain. Touching a hand to it, she quickly assessed that it was broken. She looked up to glare at her assailant.

"Sorry about that, I really wasn't –"

"Watching where you were going? Yeah, I can see that," she hissed angrily at the brunette ninja. He scowled right back at her.

"Well, excuuuuse me! You weren't exactly being the most attentive ninja ever – if you were, you could've avoided me. Hey!" he said suddenly, leaning down and squinting at her. "You're that kunoichi that Team 7's pretty tight with, aren't you?"

At the reminder of Naruto, the fight left her completely. She hung her head shamefacedly.

"We used to be," she said quietly, looking away. "Sorry for bothering you, I'll be going now."

"Hey, wait just a minute! I was kinda being rude before, I owe you an apology… and maybe more, it looks like your nose is broken! My sister's not a people-doctor, but she'll be able to fix you up just the same."

Yuugito submitted with a small sigh, taking the hand he offered. "I should probably know the name of my assaulter, so I can press charges when I talk to the Hokage tomorrow," she said with slight venom in her words, looking up at him. He chuckled sheepishly.

"I'm Kiba, Inuzuka Kiba."

"Then, when I had finally come back to Konoha, they started to dislike me even more. I've given up hope with them, mostly."

Megumi looked as though she didn't know what was worse: the things this girl was saying, or the nonchalant way in which she said them.

"B-but child… who is your family? Who do you count on?"

"Shinobi form very close bonds to each other… I live in my sensei's apartment, my two former teammates and Sasuke I count as my brothers, and the other kunoichi are like my sisters. It's really not as bad as you think it is."

"Blood… blood is a very important bond, child. It's thicker than water, you know."

Hinata smiled without humor. "I know, Megumi-san. All shinobi are bound by blood."

The older woman was speechless.

"I have some questions for you, now that you know my story. How long have you been employed here?"

"For about 18 years… after Miyuki-sama started to be impaired by her pregnancy with Akeno, they hired me to help around the house. After Akeno was born, they had me stay on as a nanny, cook, and housekeeper."

"What does Miyuki-san do, since you take care of all the chores?"

Megumi clearly wanted to say something scathing about her mistress, but her professionalism would not allow her. "Miyuki-sama has many other things she does, like reading."

This answer didn't convince Hinata in the slightest. "I mean does she do anything useful to anyone but herself? Remember, what is said here stays between us." Using her chakra, Hinata quickly assessed that Miyuki was nowhere nearby.

"To tell you the truth, no. She was a spoiled little princess shipped here from Rain and the harsh environment and people here weren't good for her. She's gone bitter."

"Hm. How bitter?"

"Nothing like you're thinking! She loves her kids to death, but her arranged marriage to Mitsuhide-sama made her hate him so much. He's a good man, though, he really is."

Hinata, who could've easily been the victim of an arranged marriage, sympathized more with Miyuki… but she didn't reveal this aloud. "I see. Besides Akechi-san, who has political power within the town?"

"Well, there's a Council; that's made up of elders who are elected by the people. They are mostly cooperative with Mitsuhide-sama, but as of late, they've been clashing. They haven't taken to his indecisive actions well… several of their children and grandchildren have been victims of kidnappings."

"Can you tell me anything else about the kidnappings?"

"At first, it was only younger children who disappeared. Then the older ones, then young teenagers, and finally people around Akeno and Akemi's age have started to vanish. That's why Mitsuhide-sama and Miyuki-sama have been keeping them in the house. They send me out to do errands."

"I see. I don't have any more questions for you, unless there's anything else you think you should tell me…?"

"No, Hinata-san."

"Thank you for the tea, it was excellent. Shall we rejoin the others?"

Naruto and Sasuke were eternally thankful that they had Akeno as a buffer to ward off his sister. She was like a starved beast yearning for attention. And not any innocent sort of attention.

"And that will conclude the tour of our house," said Akeno. "Akemi, why don't you go see if Hinata-san and Megumi-san need your help?"

It was clear that her attention had been lost after "Hinata". Her eyes were bright and a smirk curled her lips as she realized that neither Sasuke nor Naruto would be there to protect little Hinata. She giggled and skipped away.

"Again, I would like to apologize for her behavior. You needn't worry about your teammate. Megumi-san has a modicum of control over Akemi-chan that nobody else in this house has ever achieved."

Both men let out the breath they hadn't known they'd been holding in. "Thanks, Akeno-san," mumbled Naruto. "I think we're done here for today. We should probably head out… we rented a room at an inn."

"Are you sure? My father arranged some lodging for you here, if you'd like…"

"No offense to your sister, but I really don't want to be molested in my sleep. I think we'll take our chances with the populous."

Akeno's lips twitched. "Ah. I understand."

There was a decidedly feminine shriek from down the hall, followed by a loud voice proclaiming, "Don't be like that, Hina-ko!"

"Akemi! Have some restraint!"

"…sorry, Megumi-baasan."

The three women rounded the corner, Akemi being pushed forward by Megumi as Hinata trailed behind them at a safe distance. The kunoichi's steps were slow and cautious, as if expecting an attack at any second. When Sasuke attempted to catch her eye, she merely looked away, her cheeks a slight pink. A surprised smirk slipped across his face. He snickered.

"Shut up," hissed Hinata, glaring at him. Neither Akemi nor her brother or caretaker could hear what Hinata had said – she had been talking in a tone that only ninja could hear – but they could feel the negative energy. Megumi intervened.

"You should probably head along now. If you don't check in to your inn by a certain time, they may cancel the reservation."

"Eh? Is that normal?" Naruto had noticed that none of the hotels in the area were getting much business. The fact that they would cancel a reservation just for that seemed strange.

"We don't take very kindly to foreigners here. Ever since the Iwagakure ANBU came, people have shunned those who aren't from Tsuchi no Kuni, to keep them appeased. Before… nasty things would happen when we tried to oppose the Iwagakure occupation. So people mostly keep quiet now."

Megumi tried to break the uncomfortable silence with a strained grin.

"Now, you said you were looking for the Dark Horse Inn?"

The balding man sneered at the trio haughtily. "And how long will you be staying?"

"An indeterminate amount of time," Naruto answered sharply, feeling his hackles rise at the intense dislike behind the man's tone. "We'll pay you in advance for a month."

The innkeeper, still sneering – though to a lesser degree – took the proffered bills and handed them a room key. "Enjoy your stay," he said without much enthusiasm.

"Wow, cheerful guy," said Naruto quietly as he led the way up the staircase. Their room was on the topmost floor.

"I almost wish I could go back to Mitsuhide's," Hinata muttered as a man leaving his room leered at her. She didn't see Sasuke and Naruto glare fiercely at him until he looked away.

"Oh yeah? Even with Akemi?"

"I hate you, you know that?"

"What happened with her, anyway?" asked Naruto curiously, looking between the smirking Avenger and his glaring partner.

"How much?" Sasuke asked, still amused. Hinata huffed angrily and turned away from him.

"There was no tongue involved, asshole. I let my guard down while talking to Megumi-san, and her lips barely touched me."

Naruto shook his head, still slightly shocked Hinata had cursed even if it didn't show on his face. "Well, this is us: the Castle Suite." The blonde grasped the old, silver doorknob, cool to the touch, and shoved the oak door open. It was a moderately-sized room with two twin beds – unfamiliar to most Leaf shinobi, as futons were much more common – and a plain bathroom that was clean.

"Two beds." Naruto's thought processes were leading him in a bad direction. He didn't dare verbalize his own thoughts on the matter… Hinata might slap him. Or Sasuke might kill him.

"Hmmm… maybe we should ask for a cot."

"Or maybe we can be adults and take turns sharing," Hinata suggested. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other and seemed to come to a decision in the space of half a second. "I will not share a bed with him," they both said in unison. Hinata rolled her eyes.

"Fine. You two can share the floor, and I'll take the beds."

"But you don't need both beds!"

"Yes I do, one's for my travel pack."

He glared at her in disbelief. She smiled serenely back.

"Okay, seriously."

"You and I can share a bed. Team leader can have one to himself."

"Ugh."

"What? We've had tighter quarters than this."

"I know… but I smell like a girl after I sleep in the same bed as you."

"So? You kick in your sleep all the time! Plus, I can see all those weird dreams you have."

"That's not my fault you have a freaky de - thing, now is it?!"

"Guys, guys… relax." Naruto, who had been watching their reactions very carefully, chose this moment to intervene. Clearly, they were keeping something from him; but he wanted them to tell him themselves, not to reveal it inadvertently. He wanted them to trust him. Plus, Naruto would not let himself even think of the prospect of sharing a bed with Hinata, despite what he had said to Sasuke earlier that day. Their relationship was too fledgling for that sort of thing. He didn't want to kill it off before it really started. Her solution of sharing a bed with Sasuke while he got his own made sense in terms of rank and closeness at this point, though he intended to change that soon.

"I'm sure we can work something out. As Hinata said, we're all adults here. Have been since age 12, actually. Let's just give it a try."

They spent a few hours reviewing their information thoroughly and tossing theories around before retiring from the night. Naruto ignored the pang in his chest as Sasuke and Hinata got close enough to share the narrow bed, attempting to remember that they were like siblings to each other.

"Good night, Naruto-kun, Sasuke."

"Good night, Sasuke, Hinata-chan."

"Zzzzz…oomph! 'Night, dead last, jerk."

Naruto opened one eyelid and saw Hinata roll her eyes before smiling softly at him. Sleep well, Naruto, she mouthed.

He returned the smile and nodded at her, closing his eyes. Maybe, with Hinata's blessing, nightmares wouldn't haunt his sleeping hours.

Three hours later he awoke covered in cold sweat. He sat up like a shot and his eyes flew to the other bed, pulse calming. No, Sasuke and Hinata were not dead; no, they had not been killed by him. They were sitting side by side on the bed. Sasuke was staring determinedly at the wall while Hinata gazed at him, watching his face from behind her long indigo bangs.

"So."

Naruto's voice echoed around the sparse space. Hinata dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Sorry to wake you." His voice was apologetic – but cold. He didn't want them to see him this way. He didn't want them to see him this weak. But they had, so he compensated by putting on a mask of cool indifference.

"For all the things I complain about in regard to my partner," Sasuke began abruptly, looking awkward. "She's an excellent nightmare deterrent."

The blonde's brow furrowed. "Eh?"

Hinata looked confused, too. "What are you talking about?"

Silently, he motioned Hinata off the bed. She complied and stood off to one side, still not understanding. But when Sasuke started to push the two beds toward each other, she got a clue. Her lips turned upward as she walked over to the Avenger, who was staring into space uncomfortably, and squeezed his forearm in a gesture of camaraderie, kinship, and thanks.

"Well, get in then," said Sasuke gruffly.

Shuffle, shuffle. The crisp sound of bodies sliding into starched sheets. Uncomfortable silence.

"Sooo…Can I tell people you guys shared a bed?"

"NO!"

"Aww…"

The next time Naruto awoke, he could tell it was later than he normally did – around seven or eight in the morning. In his warm, sleep-fuzzed mind, he drifted for several minutes, not wanting to get up and face the day in his same little apartment that he had the day before, and the day before that, and back and back and back. He was content to imagine that Hinata was actually sleeping next to him, lying boneless and languid against him, like she belonged there. Wow, imaginary Hinata smelled pretty… and her hair felt as though it was truly brushing against his cheek –

His eyes snapped open.

This… is not a hallucination.

Hinata, still slumbering peacefully, yawned kittenishly and turned, pressing her front against him fully. He blushed. As the Kyuubi snickered, he almost missed the other chuckle in the physical world.

"Teme. Help."

Sasuke continued to laugh quietly at the stricken blonde, who was torn between pleasure at his current predicament and panic at the thought of Hinata's reaction when she woke up.

"She tends to gravitate naturally toward the source of the most warmth… and that just happened to be you. Poor circulation on my part, I suppose. Bad thing, it's genetic."

"Has this happened to you before, then? Or did you always find someone warmer than you to sleep in the same bed?" hissed Naruto in sarcastic anger. Sasuke shrugged.

"We've gotten closer than that," he said. He smirked at the coldly glaring blonde. "What? Jealous?"

"Of you? No way!" He lowered his voice as Hinata frowned in her sleep and her breathing caught.

"While we're talking about it, though, how close is close?"

"You are jealous, aren't you? I wonder if Hinata knows…"

"She doesn't! And I don't want you to tell her!"

"Why not? If she thinks you're not interested, she might just move on to better boyfriend material," Sasuke said lightly, closing his eyes as he put their mission objective scroll down and leaned back against the wall. "You wouldn't want that to happen if you really are interested in her. And if you're just playing with her…"

"Don't even think about suggesting it," growled Naruto darkly, still attempting to keep his voice down. He was distracted suddenly by Hinata's release – her arms, which had previously been locked around his neck, loosened and slid away. Her body curled into a little ball and, as if on cue, she snagged the blankets from both beds and wrapped them around herself. Naruto outwardly sighed in relief, and inwardly cursed. That had been enjoyable, if distracting.

"Well, that fixes that," Sasuke said. "Why don't you go downstairs and grab us some breakfast from the buffet?"

"But I thought the concierge said breakfast had to be eaten in lobby or ordered up to the room."

"What the hell kind of ninja are you?"

"Shut the hell up! See if I bring you your precious tomatoes, Sasu-chan!" With that, the blonde stomped out of the room.

"So? How long have you been up?"

Hinata sat up in bed, sleep-mussed hair sticking in all directions. "Mmm, 'bout ten minutes or so."

There was a sleepy yet satisfied grin on her face.

"Have I convinced you yet? There's no way Naruto is still with Yuugito, if they were ever together in the first place, which I doubt."

"I know… but what if –"

"Hasn't enough of your life been wasted on what ifs? Why don't you just cut the crap and go for it with all you have for once?"

She was silent.

"Think about it."

The next few days were spent similarly to their first – interviewing people who had seen kidnappings in action or who had family members that were victims. As Mitsuhide had predicted, the townsfolk were reticent and ornery; they did not like foreign interference in their affairs. Being on the border between Hi no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni had made them wary of both villages, especially since the Third Ninja War when the Yondaime Hokage had devastated many Tsuchi no Kuni towns.

They got very little information, but all three ninja were persistent and patient, something that surprised Sasuke. He expected Naruto to be jumping up and down with boredom, eager to fight. But apparently his people skills had improved drastically. He was extremely courteous and persuasive to those he spoke to, and it often fell to the Avenger to play bad cop.

Their nights ended the same way, with the same pushed-together beds, and their days would start in the same way, with Naruto in a semi-panic as Hinata snuggled up to him, sometimes conscious of the action but usually not, as Sasuke laughed in the background.

Day after day passed until they had been in Ukiyo-no-Urami for a week and still had no leads in their investigation. Three more people had been kidnapped. In order to counter this particular affect, they decided to patrol the village constantly, especially the borders where people were usually abducted, and asked people to relegate all relevant chores that lay outside the village proper to them. Naruto's kage bushin were kept very busy.

It was near the end of the seventh day when he arrived.

The team had gathered near the Tengu Mountain Range, so named after the mythical, long-nosed, bird-like creatures that were said to have been imprisoned under the mountains by other demons. They had wanted to discuss a interesting report from a younger girl who had witness her brother disappearing. Before Hinata, the one who had heard the interview firsthand, could get a world in edgewise, Naruto's head perked up.

"You feel that?" asked the blonde with a grin.

"Mm. Good or bad?" Hinata's hair rustled slightly in the wind; she could feel the pressure changing in the air.

Naruto laughed. "A little bit of both."

To their left, a shadow flickered slightly before a broad-shouldered, white-haired man stepped out of it. Jiraiya was standing there, unusually solemn.

"Naruto, we need to talk."

Sasuke and Hinata looked at each other and then at Naruto.

"We can leave if you want…?" suggested Hinata hesitantly. Jiraiya shook his mane of white hair, looking old.

"That's fine. We'll just go back to the border for a… little chat."

"You guys can hold down the fort here, right?" Naruto was grinning, but didn't fool either of his fellows in the slightest. They were both silent as they nodded in assent. Teacher and student took off, disappearing in a flicker of shadow.

Silence reigned as Hinata quietly activated her Byakugan. Frowning, she realized she couldn't see through the large mountain range, another feature that cut off Ukiyo-no-Urami from the rest of Earth country. The rocks here must've been particularly thick…

"Hmm." Comfortable stillness claimed the moment again. "What do you think they're going to talk about?"

"Whatever it was, it seemed serious. Do you think it was about the Akatsuki?"

"Something related maybe. The Kyuubi?"

As if on cue, the ground shuddered violently beneath their feet. "What the hell! I thought Akeno said there hadn't been earthquakes here in ages!" Sasuke regained his balance gracefully, but the ground continued to grumble.

Hinata's gaze shot up the mountain range, eyeing the precarious rock formations that were beginning to crumble, as well as the houses that were built at the very base of the mountains. Her mind immediately began planning…

"No!"

She looked at her partner strangely. "What?!"

"You can't use that chakra! It'll lead them right to you!"

"But it will save these people." Her eyes were skimming over the range as the shuddering of the ground increased.

"The Akatsuki will find and kill you!"

"It will save these people!"

"What about Naruto? You're putting him in danger, too!"

This was the one thing that could stop her, her greatness weakness. He exploited his edge ruthlessly; it was so like him. But Hinata already had an answer.

"He's used to it… especially from the Akatsuki." She looked him dead in the eye.

"I will save these people. Whether you like it or not."

"You're killing us all by doing this! You're hurting Konoha!"

Hinata shook her head violently. She had seen too much death, too much murder, too much of the good side of human nature, simply to let everyone in this village die just so she could get away clean. Even if every single person in this village turned out to be her enemy, she would not feel bad about sparing their lives; as long as there was one person who was innocent, it would be okay. And she knew there would be one, at least. Human beings were naturally contrary. It made perfectly logical sense.

"Nobody here will die if I can help it."

"I've been doing some research… about your seal."

Naruto's hand flew to his stomach in reflex. "Yeah? What about it?" His calm façade didn't fool either him or his teacher.

"The seal is merging the power of the Kyuubi and you together."

Naruto stared at Jiraiya before dropping his hand to the side and letting the tension flow from his shoulders. "Is that it? You had to pull me out of my mission…" And away from Hinata-chan… "To tell me that the fox bastard is finally surrendering all of his power to me? Why the hell would you do that!"

Jiraiya grimaced. "It's not quite that simple. Once all of its power is gone, the Kyuubi will die. And remember when I told you that when you die, the Kyuubi dies? Well, the reverse is true."

The sudden, horrible realization of that statement turned Naruto's insides to pure ice. "So… you mean to say that…"

"The Kyuubi is killing you."

Naruto was silent. But only for a moment. To the utter astonishment of Jiraiya, he chuckled, albeit darkly.

"So this is his revenge… a slow, painful death, just as I have regained two of my most precious people… damn clever."

"How can you just accept this?! Don't you want to know if anything can be done?!" The Sannin was absolutely livid – and frightened beyond belief. Minato had used this same tone and some of these same words right before that night…

"I never really appreciated the power of age and wisdom before I met a bijuu, some of the oldest living creatures on this plain. Damn clever, aren't they?" He'd said nonchalantly before walking to his death. It was a cold, terrible parallel.

Naruto looked into his eyes steadily. "Is there anything that can be done?"

"Well, no, but –"

"Didn't think so. How much time do I have?"

"How can you talk about this like that? You just said you've finally retrieved Sasuke and Hinata, have you thought about them? What about Sakura and Kakashi? Your classmates? Tsunade? Don't be so damn selfish!"

Naruto only stared at him levelly, waiting for an answer.

"…six months at least, a few years at most," answered Jiraiya begrudgingly. It was agonizing to watch another student go through this… except this time, it would be much longer and much more painful, because he knew exactly what was coming and could do nothing to stop it. Not for the first or the last time, Jiraiya cursed the Kyuubi no Youko.

"Wow! That much! I'll have time to set everything in order then…"

"Stop talking like that. Think about it all you want, but keep it to yourself." Jiraiya's posture was stiff and haughty as he turned away.

"As you wish." The boy's teasing tone turned Jiraiya's stomach. But before he could muster up the proper outrage, a huge mass of energy erupted, if he had detected correctly, directly from whence they had come. Naruto and Jiraiya exchanged wide-eyed glances before running off at speeds that even ANBU would have trouble keeping up with.

It took them ten minutes at top speed to reach Sasuke and the village, and the scene was horrifying. A huge amount of boulders and rubble was tumbling down the mountainside at breakneck speed, and Sasuke and Ukiyo-no-Urami were right in harm's way. Though the civilians had noticed and were screaming and panicking accordingly, Sasuke was unmoved, glaring balefully at the oncoming avalanche.

"Sasuke! What the f –" The rest of Naruto's words - …are you doing? – were lost as a colossal wave of earth rose up to clash with the avalanche. It curved in a graceful arc, cupping the boulders as they came to rest against it.

People stopped fleeing the city to stare in awe at the dirt that moved so fluidly, as if it were water. It looked like a sentient being, a protector of the tiny little town. The townspeople cheered their approval as the wave halted the avalanche completely. It shimmered in the mid-afternoon light, the specks of various metals giving the giant undulation a pale glow; it only stopped shimmering once every last pebble had been successfully halted by it.

The screams had ceased and everyone was gathering in a rough semi-circle, waiting to see who their savior was.

"Oi! Boy!" Sasuke turned his head very slightly. He was careful not to show the old man his expression of intense disdain; that would only increase the animosity between them and the residents of Ukiyo-no-Urami.

"Yeah?" His voice was guttural and strained. Naruto could see the vein pulsing angrily at his neck. What was he so mad about? But more importantly where was Hinata?

"Was that you?"

The man's voice was filled with grudging respect and a tinge of hope.

"No. It was my idiot partner," Sasuke growled out, glaring at the rapidly crumbling wave of dirt. The little clumps of earth flowed down to the ground being absorbed effortlessly into the ground again. Soon they could see Hinata, shaking dirt out of her hair effortlessly. But something about her seemed – off.

A new kind of energy sparked around her – energy that was much like Kyuubi's, Naruto thought. Her hair seemed wilder – untamed. She wasn't looking at him, so he didn't see the fang poking her lip dangerously or the dark chakra shimmering in her eyes. Long claws adorned her fingers and toes.

"You are some kind of imbecile," hissed Sasuke darkly as he approached her. "What the hell are you thinking? You're exposing yourself completely!"

"I did what I had to do."

"No, you did the dumbass-noble thing to do! You're turning into such a fucking Naruto!"

The dark chakra, which had started to recede, slowly began to flow back, conscious of the new threat. Hinata felt her ire rise dangerously. This was one of the drawbacks – or was it an advantage? – of having a demon in one's body.

"Better than being a conceited, angst-filled, pretty-boy-egomaniac!"

"Who's the egomaniac? Who sacrificed the safety of her teammates and the success of the mission because of her own needs? It damn well wasn't me!"

"If saving people is being an egomaniac, then I will gladly be one! And don't you dare talk about needs! Who sacrificed the safety of the entire Leaf Village because of his needs?! Cause that damn well wasn't me!"

Their faces were inches apart, despite the fact that they were yelling loudly. Jiraiya and Naruto watched from afar, slightly stunned at the display of emotion from two normally quiet people.

"Do you think we should… do something?"

"Nah… let them scream it out. It's healthier this way," Jiraiya replied.

"Is that really the way you see things?" Hinata said coldly, in response to something Sasuke had just said. They'd both missed it, wrapped up in their own conversation, but Naruto could hear an undercurrent of hurt in her voice. His frown deepened.

"Yes. Yes it is." Her eyes widened.

"Fine! I'll be going then."

She turned on her heel and started to walk away. Sasuke was watching her leave with no emotion on his face. His eyes were trained on her back as she form became smaller and smaller in the distance. Five minutes later, her form blurred; she was gone.

Phew! Sorry that took so long, I wasn't at home for Spring Break so I couldn't work on the chapter... well I could, but I was having way too much (G-rated!) fun.

Questions to address:

SakuSasuHana - Some people are calling SasuHana icky because he's SOOO much older... well, sorry, but he's like five years older, and when you compare the crack fics that pair up Sakura and Kakashi - that's like a seventeen year age difference, people - that defense doesn't really hold up. Especially if you're into crack pairings. I mean jeez, I've seen JiraiyaHinatas for pete's sake.
And can I define love triangle? The original love triangle as it's used in classical lit (sorry, english geek coming through here) is a relationship between two people with another person trying to intervene in that relationship, whether it be a man, women, or men and women, or whatever! Sorry, but when people use the phrase 'love triangle' they often do so incorrectly. And that bothers me.

Glad that's out of my system.

Anyway. Drop me a line. Tell me how I did. Good? Bad? Ugly? More than a just a few words would be greatly appreciated. I love all my reviews, honestly, but the ones who actually comment on the story rather than just saying 'update soon' or 'good job', even if it's criticism, are my favorites. Those reviews are the spoiled younger children who you know your mom favors. So go on! One-up them! Give a nice long review, because a nice long review equals a new chapter faster!