The Avenger stood before her, black hair swaying slightly in the wind and pale skin alabaster in the bright sunlight. His katana gleamed, the wicked edge held high.
Uchiha Sasuke...
Naruto-kun and Sakura-san were between her and the rogue shinobi, kunai gripped tightly. Her teammates stood next to her, Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-taichou flanking them. Sai-kun was hidden in the leafy trees, ready to counter any ambush.
Their target was not alone. Three stood next to him, a short red headed woman with glasses, a large man, and a younger man with a mouth full of pointed teeth.
She could see no others, the expanded view of her blood line limit encompassing the surrounding landscape. But, she decided, tensing and cautious in stance, shinobi could hide within my gaze. Remembering warnings and her own experience, just because she could see didn't mean she saw those there.
Hinata saw Naruto tense, his knuckles white from gripping the kunai so hard, she could see the deliberate stillness in his form, the intensity of his blue eyes. It was almost too much, she could have lost herself watching him, could have found herself watching him, she wasn't sure. But she watched nonetheless.
"Sasuke..."
"Sasuke-kun..."
She saw him smirk, his black eyes cold, "You're in the way." She wasn't sure who he was talking to.
Sakura-san looked away, fists clenched tightly, but Naruto shouted his heart like he was want to do, "Sasuke! You bastard! What the fuck do you think you're doing?"
A laugh, hollow and brief, "Getting revenge."
Revenge... that unsatisfactory ambition. The goal that left none happy or fulfilled.
"You idiot!" she heard Sakura shout, tears in her teal eyes, "You idiot..."
Hinata looked to her surprised, never had she heard a single negative remark of Sasuke-kun, never a contradiction of his behavior, never a stray comment painting him in an unflattering light. To think that she could speak so.
"Sakura-chan..." she heard Naruto whisper.
"Sasuke-kun! Why? Why are you doing this?" she pleaded, uncaring of her audience, "Your brother is dead!"
He frowned, his pale features marred, "My brother is dead," he agreed, the Uchiha fire coming to his eyes as they changed, "Because of Konoha."
She heard Kakashi-sensei gasp, a sound unnoticed by the others, What was going on? she thought, weary and confused.
"Konoha?" Sakura echoed her own thoughts, "What does Konoha have to do with him?"
"Konoha killed my brother," he said, "As sure as if they had done the deed themselves."
Her mind reeled. She knew little of the Uchiha massacre besides the fact that Itachi Uchiha killed his entire clan in cold blood. What could the village have to do with his death? And why did his brother care?
"What are you talking about?" Naruto shouted, defensive of his village, "He killed a whole bunch of people! He deserved it!"
"Perhaps," the avenger agreed, "However, it was Konoha that ordered it."
The genocide of an entire clan. Konoha ordering them destroyed from within. She frowned, How could that be? Why would they?
"What?" she heard Naruto gasp out, his boyish face clouded with confusion, "They wouldn't"
"They did." It was Kakashi-sensei this time, his voice old and weary beyond his years, "It makes so much sense now."
"Please explain," Sakura pleaded, looking between the two Sharingan users desperately.
The copy ninja stared at his former student, "The Uchiha were always envious of the Senju's power, from day one of Konoha's founding. It festered, like a sore in the green village until they plotted destruction-"
"-a coup d'etat," he interrupted.
"Destruction," Kakashi-sensei repeated pointedly, "Destruction and death would have been all that resulted from their pride. But the elders must have seen this course of events, they must have put in motion measures that would stop the clan."
Sasuke snorted in derision.
"Uchiha Itachi."
"Was their tool, their weapon," Sasuke continued, "Their pawn."
Hinata frowned in the silence that followed, no one contradicted the claim, no one pointed out any lapses in logic. Perhaps it was true, perhaps the elders of Konoha had ordered the grim mission. However, that still left one important fact...
"But your brother still did it!" Naruto shouted defensively, "He still did it! You can't excuse him for that!"
"No," Sasuke shook his head somberly, "No, I can't excuse him, but I can't forgive Konoha for making him choose either."
"Then what now?" Sakura asked in despair, "What should we do now?"
"You die," the avenger stated matter of fact, "Your death paving the way for those in the village to follow. Your sacrifice heralding the destruction of your home. We will prevail."
"Like hell you will!" Naruto growled out, stepping forward purposefully, "Just because we went looking for you doesn't mean you'll get away with that! We'll stop you."
Sakura stepped up next to him, her face showing nothing but determination, "You're wrong, Sasuke-kun, you're wrong!"
"I'm disappointed in my prized pupil," Kakashi stated, lifting his forehead protector, " What kind of teacher would I be if I didn't correct you?"
She saw Yamato-taichou step forward too, her teammates circling around to opposite sides. Shino-kun drawing a cloud of insects to him, Kiba-kun and Akamaru mirroring each other, blurring the distinction between beast and man. Out of her peripheral vision she saw Sai-kun getting ready with his calligraphy brush and notebook.
A heartbeat, then two.
The pointy teethed man appeared in front of Kiba, his oversized sword crashing down onto the ground where he stood not a moment before. A signal, like the blast of a whistle to start a race.
And suddenly the world was a maze of chakra and bodies, crossing her vision in a vague shadow, streaking across her awareness in a scream or shout. She saw everything and nothing at once, each action blurring into the next, separate but indistinct from the next.
She fought. She felt the chakra flowing through her, flowing out of her, striking her opponents rapidly and without mercy. Bend, thrust, parry, strike. Each action becoming the next in swift precision, her chakra strong yet supple at the same time. A brilliant blue in her eyes against the bleary black and white background.
She allowed herself a smile, hoping it would put her opponents off their guard, hoping it would show her battle prowess, hoping it would hide her insecurities. Nothing in battle was certain, only yourself.
She felt it more than saw it. The hideous red chakra, that burning malevolence at the corner of her sight. She turned, her vision narrowing until that red filled her, scorched her, laughed at her. She saw its eyes amid the swirling death, the hideous gleam of power without restraint.
Hinata stared, her pale eyes widening at the sight of Naruto changing.
His nails sharpened into talons, his teeth into fangs. His boyish features stretched into something else, his eyes deepening red, so very red. She couldn't connect the Naruto of her childhood with the monster she saw now.
The red chakra enveloped him. Burning him. Fortifying him. It twisted in a cruel mockery of his own chakra, filling his limbs and bursting from his joints. She stared, unable unwilling to believe her own eyes. Those eyes that revealed so much.
Hinata saw the grin of the fox, the swirling of charkra concentrated on his navel. She saw the beast her cousin warned her of and understood. The stares, the hatred, the loneliness.
He was the container, the living human sacrifice so that the village could survive.
Her heart went to him, unwavering in its intensity. She understood, and while he may never know, she understood.
And when the avenger's katana swept down towards him, she interfered. Stopping the blade with her own kunai, stopping the hatred with her protection. Naruto fell behind her, slumping over in exhaustion as the link was broken with her own pale eyes.
The avenger's eye twitched, the swirling kaleidoscope of his pupils focusing on her own, "You can't stop me."
Maybe she couldn't, but maybe she could, "I won't let you hurt him."
He smirked slyly, porcelain features ready to crack, "Touching," he stared at her.
He was chakra and shadows, lines upon a vague human shape against the monochrome landscape. She saw his pupils swirl and dilate, spinning into something unhuman, something that could trap the unweary, the foolish. But not her.
The Byakugan saw beyond him. A defense inherent in the very nature of her sight. His eyes could capture and torture, but only when his opponent couldn't see, couldn't visualize beyond the spiral of his iris. The Byakugan sees beyond, she heard her father, beyond the physical, the material. Only energy flares across our retinas, and while the Sharingan is powerful, it draws its power from an ordinary source.
He hesitated, unused to his prey escaping his snare. That was all she needed.
Hinata thrust her palm forward on the offensive, grazing him before he sprang away. His chakra flow slowed, she saw it stagnant across his left shoulder. He dropped the katana in surprise, his right arm in mid seal. His gaze hardened.
"Hyuuga..."
A voice on the horizon, filled with contempt and hatred. She saw him, red cloud robes and distinctive mask. The one that had escaped them earlier.
"Madara," Sasuke muttered, holding his arm, "Why are you here?"
"Just being cautious and checking up on you," she could have sworn he was smiling, but the laughter quickly died from his voice, "Kill her."
"Oh?" Sasuke seemed surprised at the sudden change, "Why?"
"She's Hyuuga," he spat out her family name in contempt, "They deserve nothing less."
She felt the waves of disdain flaring from behind his mask. Madara? Madara Uchiha? She racked her mind for information, but couldn't finish her thought for the simple fact that Sasuke atttacked, moving so fast he seemed to just appear in front of her.
She blocked his strikes, her limbs moving faster than she could think, could feel. She moved on instinct alone, but it wasn't enough. While she was confident in her own abilities, she just couldn't match up to the Uchiha prodigy.
She faltered, a single misstep here, a tiny lapse in defense there. And he gained the upper hand. Perhaps if she was her father, or Neji-nii-san. But she was merely herself and the avenger was the better shinobi. She retreated to the defense, using her all to hold him back, to prevent him from contaminating Naruto-kun further.
However she failed, staggering to her knees in between her beloved and his best friend. She looked up, could see the expressionless face, the cold hard marble of his features, "You'll die now," he said without remorse.
She saw the prone form of Naruto breathing peacefully behind her. Like he was merely sleeping after a long day. She smiled serenely, "No, I won't."
He frowned a second before turning behind him where Sakura laid a quick left handed jab to his jaw.
He flew back, rolling over the hard packed ground, "Watch Naruto, okay?" Sakura asked before running after Sasuke, punching the ground and creating a decently sized crater underneath the rogue shinobi, "You idiot! He's not the only one who will stop you! I'll help too!"
Hinata turned away from the fight to focus on the ninja laying next to her, "N-Naruto-kun?" she whispered, gently shaking his shoulders, "Naruto-kun, get up."
He slowly opened his eyes, the brilliant blue staring up at her uncomprehending, "Hinata-chan?" he quickly looked around, "Where's that bastard Sasuke?"
She turned wordlessly, her sad gaze saying everything.
"I see," he said, sending her a smile, "I... I have to go fight him now, huh?"
She nodded, helping him up to his feet.
Naruto grimaced, trying to hide it behind a shrug, "Some people just need a beating to get something through their thick skulls."
She smiled in spite of herself, in spite of the situation, "That's what you're best at, Naruto-kun."
He was speechless momentarily, but quickly found his bravado, "You know it!" he saw Sakura and Sasuke fighting, "I have to go."
She nodded, seeing the other's fighting as well, "Do your best."
Naruto smiled one of his true smiles at her, "You got it!" he took off after his teammates.
Hinata jumped away, dodging a stray ninjutsu technique. Scanning the area for her comrades, she saw them as clear as if she was next to them, fighting but not in immediate danger. She ran after Naruto and Sakura, the ominous words of the Akatsuki member drifting through her mind, Hyuuga...
She was Hyuuga. Born and bred into Konoha's premier clan, she had many enemies before she took her first breath. But enemies were weary with respect, this Madara had nothing but hatred.
A rumble and the ground split open in front of her, she leapt over the jagged chasm and saw them. Sasuke and Sakura, it looked more like dancing than fighting, the closely intertwined movements flowing smoothly.
And Naruto and Madara, the latter holding the former in his gaze. Naruto was stiff, kneeling and gasping for breath. She paused at the smile on his maskless face.
So did Sakura, "Naruto?" she asked after dodging a kunai, "Naruto, what are you doing?"
Laughter, cold and cruel and nothing like the voice from their previous encounter, "Just holding him."
Holding? "Holding?" Sakura echoed her thoughts, taking cautious steps towards them.
"The tool of our vengeance."
Eyes wide Hinata crept forward, camouflaging herself. It didn't work, "If the Hyuuga knows what is good for her she'll stay put," his pale profile eerily mirroring that of Sasuke's who was next to him.
"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura looked between the two Uchiha, "What's going on?" she pleaded.
"You should stop too," Madara sing songed, "Or this will happen."
Naruto screamed.
Sakura stood shock still, "Stop it!"
Falling to the ground, Naruto collapsed bonelessly, "Why?" he growled out.
"The container asks why?" Madara put his mask back on, "Perhaps you should hear it from your comrade," Sasuke walked to Naruto, left arm hanging uselessly at his side, "Your arm?"
The slightest twitch, "It's nothing."
And indeed it wasn't, he didn't need his arm - his eyes were enough.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"You won't stop me," he said simply, "You never could, not in this," and Uchiha Sasuke focused his spiraling pupils on his best friend.
Hinata poured chakra into her own sight, ready to stop them by force and saw Sakura preparing herself. It only lasted an instant though, for something else flared across her vision.
It wasn't the powerful blend of chakra and spirit, nor the vague indistinct form that signified physical matter. Something else, dark but warm, ominous but familiar. She felt peace.
And Sasuke blinked. He stepped away slowly, his face slack with shock.
"What are you doing?" Madara hissed, his boyish voice changing to something more sinister.
Crouching back down, Hinata hid herself again, using the distraction to try and flank them. She crept while Sakura lunged forward.
"Sakura, stop," Sasuke said quietly.
"Like hell-"
"Sakura-chan!" this from Naruto.
The other kunoichi stopped, "What?"
While Naruto was still, he wasn't screaming or changing. He seemed confused, but his expression was hopeful.
"Madara," Sasuke's voice was conversational, "May I ask your opinion of something?"
Silence.
"Why would my brother protect him?"
He was answered with fire. A billowing inferno that scorched the new grass. And in the flames were the two Uchiha.
She saw Naruto roll away towards Sakura, the two watching the fight. Knowing that this would be settled between the two scions of the noble Uchiha.
The shinobi clashed again and again, each strike being met by the other, each feint seen though, each dodge copied. But Madara was fresh and soon gained the upper hand, trapping Sasuke in his own body, "Your 'gift' won't help you," he held the other Uchiha close.
"I don't need it," and his eyes spun anew. It was different this time, eccentric helices shadowed in red.
"That won't be enough," Madara laughed, "You can trap me for a while, torture me, but I'll regain me freedom."
Sasuke shook his head, snakes slithering out of his arms and sliding around his opponent, "Not if you trap yourself."
"No..." Madara whispered, "No!"
"An eternity torturing yourself."
"No!"
"Bleeding..."
"No! It wasn't supposed to - I want my revenge!"
"Crying..."
"The Senju, the Hyuuga, Konoha..."
"But never death."
And Uchiha Sasuke trapped Uchiha Madara within his own mind.
The snakes retreated back and Madara slumped to the ground breathing peacefully, no sign of his internal struggle.
Hinata stay still, unwilling to test out Sasuke's loyalties, but that didn't stop Naruto, "Sasuke! You bastard!"
Or Sakura, "Sasuke-kun!"
Or even Kakashi, helping a struggling Yamato, "Sasuke-kun?" he asked as if the burden of the world rested on his shoulders.
He was followed by her teammates who looked none the worse for wear, between them were the big man and the red headed woman. She relaxed, glad that Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino were not injured. Sai appeared next to her, splattered with ink.
She spotted the missing one behind her, broken.
"Well Sasuke-kun," Kakashi continued, helping Yamato sit, "What now?"
They all looked to the Uchiha. Hinata tensed, her nerves on fire.
Sasuke turned towards them, a solitary figure amidst the blackened landscape, "Maybe," he paused, "Maybe my revenge is complete."
Naruto grinned like an idiot, fatigue forgotten as he headed to his friend, "You bastard!" he laughed.
Hinata heard a shout and Sakura was running past Naruto, "Sasuke-kun!" she launched herself at him, gripping him tightly, "Don't ever do that again! Or I will hurt you!"
Sasuke smirked slightly, wrapping his arm around Sakura.
Kakashi huffed, there could have been a smile hidden behind his mask. Sai watched curiously, and the woman prisoner seemed peeved. The others were indifferent, but Naruto stopped suddenly his grin slipping to something bittersweet.
Frowning, Hinata watched him as he shrugged and sat down near Yamato, "Hey Sasuke! I need to borrow Sakura-chan!"
Red faced, she abruptly stormed up to the blond, "What was that?!"
"Umm..."
"Yamato could use some medical attention," Kakashi interrupted.
"Oh! Of course," she hurried over to assess Yamato's improvised splint. The gentle glow of healing soon covered his leg.
"Shino-kun, are the prisoners secure?"
The bug user nodded, "Uchiha Sasuke?"
At Kakashi's grunt of agreement, Shino went to Sasuke to restrain him. He offered no resistance, "Kiba-kun."
The energetic ninja bounded forward, followed by Akamaru, "Boss?"
"Inform Hokage-sama of the situation, we will follow shortly."
"You got it!" he jumped off, an excited bark before disappearing into the forest.
Kakashi surveyed the rest with his droopy eye, "Let's go."
The gates of Konoha stood open, shaded red in the fading light. Sentries were posted at the towers, dark specks against the purple sky. Between the doors was Hokage-sama, one hand on her hip, a serious expression on her youthful face.
Behind her seemed to be every ninja in the village.
"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said amiably, "Mission complete, I'll have my report on your desk eventually."
Tsunade waved him off as he passed her, followed by Sai and Yamato favoring his leg. Hinata walked next to Shino on one side, Naruto and Sakura on the other. The three prisoners stayed outside the gate.
"Good," Tsunade said, stepping forward, "You know what this boundary symbolizes."
Naruto turned and frowned, "What?"
Sakura sighed, "That gate is the entrance to the village," her voice growing more serious with each word, "Those welcomed my freely pass through, but..."
"To those who have left," Tsunade continued, "Abandoned their village. This gate only opens one way. So it seems you have a choice: Turn back and travel to the ends of the earth, for if we find you only one thing awaits- death. Or walk through, never to pass through again. The village walls will contain your world, breach them and we will hunt you down.
"So what is your choice?" she looked behind her, "You have until sunset."
The petite red headed woman looked up at her large companion then to Sasuke, she seemed to make up her mind and took off into the trees. The big man watched her go and shook his head. He came forward, holding up his bound hands, "You are Tsunade? The Legendary Sannin specializing in the medical arts?"
Tsunade nodded, "Yes."
"Good," he came through where two jounin escorted him away.
The shadows lengthened and streetlights came on in the village, and Sasuke stood with his eyes searching the sky. Hinata found herself wishing he would just move, either one way or the other. Anything to erase the hopeful but anxious expressions on Naruto and Sakura's faces.
"What is your choice?" Tsunade repeated.
Sasuke walked through the gate.
Disclaimer: No, no, no...
A/N: Well, this is easily the longest chapter... so far. I have to admit I quite like it, even if a good part of it was written while I was tipsy. I am easily in an alternate timeline now, and know that several other characters would probably make an appearance in an attempt to capture Naruto, but this was the third chapter I started. A few notes:
So the Byakugan's secret is out! I didn't want to overpower Hinata, but wanted something that could give her an advantage.
I must admit I don't like Sasuke or Kakashi that much, but I do hope I've kept them in character.
Tsunade is awesome, even if her chances of survival are growing slimmer and slimmer in the manga.
The spellcheck wants to change 'Sasuke' to 'Seasick"