How Things Change:
Chapter I~ The Truth
Seven Years Later: Night of December 27.
Crunch
Crunch
SNAP
Hinata's eyes snapped open as she heard the loud sound outside of her bedroom window. Her breathing ragged, she tried to calm her racing heart.
'Don't be scared…it's probably just an animal outside my window…and even if it isn't my window is locked and bar—'
Hinata's thought was cut short when she looked to her window and saw that it was wide open, and there were no bars on it. Her window always had bars on it, and it was always locked, so why was it opened?
The snap of a twig she heard outside wasn't from someone messing with her window, the bars were on the inside anyways, and it locked from the inside. If someone had tried to open it from outside an alarm would have sounded, and it would have had to be broken.
But it wasn't.
It was opened.
As if someone left it so.
Hinata bit her lip. This wasn't good. She could feel it; something bad was going to happen.
'Did Kuro-sama leave it open…?' Hinata thought, terrified.
Kuro was her caretaker, and the only one with a key to her window. To all other orphans in the orphanage he was a kind and gentle man, but not to her. He mostly ignored and secluded her, but other times, when he drank that vile smelling liquid, he sometimes hit her.
He never let her forget that she caused the death of his wife, when he did those things.
Hinata never understood how she could be blamed for something as horrible as that, for something she couldn't have possibly done; she never killed anyone. However, that didn't stop her from apologizing over and over again in hopes the emotional pain would stop.
Sometimes, just sometimes, Hinata could see what looked like guilt in his eyes when he listened to her cry, but almost as soon as she would see it, it would disappear and his eyes would turn cold and heartless again and he would continue on with what he was doing.
That night's beating was especially bad because it was her birthday.
She hated her birthday. It always brought bad things.
Kuro always seemed to punish her more severely on it.
She knew that the others kids in the orphanage got treated better on their birthdays, and she always wondered why she did not. They did not have huge birthday celebrations, but they always seemed to be treated to something special, and she could always hear the faint sound of the birthday song being sang to them.
Happy birthday to you…happy birthday to you…
She never got that treatment. All she received from her caretakers on her birthday was physical and mental pain.
And tonight, it would be no different.
Hinata couldn't help but feel as if something bad were going to happen to her. Not only that, but she vaguely remembered that Kuro had injected her with some sort of clear liquid that put her to sleep almost instantly.
Is that why she never stirred when he removed the bars, because, surely something that was bolted into the wall would have made enough noise to wake her?
She still could feel the drowsiness that the medicine had caused, but it wasn't enough to put her back to sleep. She wasn't sure if that were a good or a bad thing…wasn't sure if she'd rather be awake to try to save her life if she could, or just sleep peacefully away as it ended.
These weren't the things a six-just-turned-seven year old should have to worry about, but there she was, a girl forced to endure pain and suffering everyday…a girl who couldn't help but worry.
She knew that many people felt some hatred or fear towards her; she noticed it whenever the Hokage or his wife would take her out for a walk when they visited. She didn't understand why she deserved the hate filled glares she'd get from many, and couldn't make sense of the fact that some even backed away with fear. She never did anything to anyone; she didn't even get to be in the company of others very often, so how would she get the chance to? She hated the feeling of loneliness that surrounded her, that entrapped her within its sticky web since she could ever remember.
She was breaking with every day that passed by, if things continued on as they were there would be nothing left to save…nothing left of Hinata.
She would become an empty shell of her former self, or perhaps someone who she would never want to become...something the villagers would regret ever creating.
On the nights that she received the worst punishments, she could always hear a small voice whispering in her head…a small voice telling her to kill…
Another sound brought Hinata from her thoughts and she hurried to cover her face with her tattered, old blanket and prayed to someone, anyone, to help her. She didn't want anything to happen to her; deep down she knew she'd rather live than die.
If nobody helped her something bad was going to happen to her, she could feel it. She just wanted anyone to be there for her once, to be there to save her when she needed it most.
She never felt more afraid for her safety than she did at that moment.
Hinata stayed curled in her musty smelling blanket, waiting. She didn't dare move, she didn't dare breathe, and she didn't dare make a sound. If she stayed like that, perhaps no one would notice her?
Seconds dragged by as if they were minutes, minutes as if they were hours. She stayed immobilized with fear for many minutes before she thought that maybe she had overreacted…
Slowly, she pulled the blanket from over her head, and as she did her body froze in terror. In front of her was a man, a ninja (she could tell by his headband), dressed all in black with a mask that covered his face from nose down. The scariest part of all was the look in his eyes, the look that screamed for blood.
He had the eyes of a lunatic.
"Now is the time, Akihiko…now is the time…" The man whispered to somebody Hinata couldn't see.
Before Hinata had the chance to let out the scream that was building up in her throat, a rough hand covered her mouth. Hinata was terrified and as her tears fell down her face she felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck.
The last thought running through her head before she succumbed to the darkness was, 'I'm gonna die… '
.
.
.
The ninja took no time in hauling the helpless monster (because, after all, she was far from being an innocent girl) over his shoulder. As soon as he held her securely, he silently jumped from the window. As soon as his foot hit the ground, he disappeared quietly within a puff smoke as he body flickered away to safety.
The man that had kidnapped Hinata was a man in his early twenties by the name of Dai Takeshi He was the sole survivor of his eight member family, all of whom had perished at the hands of the nine tailed fox. He, and his twin brother, Akihiko (who was also a ninja), were trying to get their mother, father, and younger siblings to the civilian shelters when they were attacked. It was so quick and unexpected, that they had no time to act. It was pure luck that Takeshi escaped death, if only just barely.
That day had changed his outlook on life completely.
Soon after the attack, Takeshi had become addicted to narcotic pain medication; he was prescribed them because of the damage that was done to him. He couldn't stop himself. He wanted the pain to stop more than anything, and the drugs helped him cope with his loss. However, the more pills he took the worse he got.
His head was never the same the day he was nearly crushed to death, and his addiction did nothing to help it.
It only made him lose his sanity more rapidly.
Wherever he went he could see his older brother, Akihiko, telling him he was a disgrace, telling him it was his fault for their deaths, telling him that it should have been him who had died…
Well, that was finally going to change! Finally he would rid the world of the demon that caused all of his pain, and his brother would stop haunting him, stop accusing him...
The elders of the village knew of his deep hatred for the Jinchūriki, and had approached him with a top secret mission, the first he had received in five years. It was so secret, that he was forced to have a special seal placed on his tongue so he couldn't reveal anything. Not only that, but if someone were to interrogate him, or look within his mind, the seal would erase all memory of the elders involvement, all mentions of this being a mission. It would happen so quick that no one would have time to try and remove the seal.
All anyone would find in his mind would be his deep hatred for the demon girl, and his need for revenge.
He had agreed to these precautions, and took up the task.
He knew he would be rewarded generously if he succeeded, but the best reward of all would be the death of the demon.
Takeshi originally wasn't planning to torture the girl. He had every intention to just dispose of her. However, he had done something he shouldn't that night; Takeshi had mixed drugs with alcohol which made for a very bad combination.
He was now going to make her pay for all the wrongs she had committed!
He was going to kill her, but not a moment before he made her suffer. Her last moments of life would be hell and he was prepared to do anything to make it so.
"Soon Akihiko, you'll be able to rest in peace…" Takeshi whispered, noticing the shadow of his brother following him. His eyes held a faraway, unstable look as he stared into the cold, dead eyes of his brother.
'Soon…'
When the man reached the spot in the middle of the forest he had planned on, he roughly threw Hinata from his arms and watched as she landed on the hard ground. Hinata jolted awake as a moan of pain escaped from her lips. Hinata's eyes opened slowly and when they did she quickly noticed she was no longer in her room…she didn't know where she was. For all she knew, she could have been outside of the village.
She was surrounded by trees, alone…well not really alone, the masked man was with her. But he was far from being wanted company.
Even though she knew it was pointless, Hinata scrambled to her feet and tried to run. She didn't even make it two steps when she was pushed to the ground, forcefully.
Hinata landed so hard she lost her breath. She looked up to the man and couldn't help but feel terrified. The way he looked at her…it was worse than any look that Kuro had ever given her, worse than anyone in the village had ever given her.
His eyes held insanity.
Hinata wished the mask he wore covered his entire face; she didn't want to see his malicious, wild eyes.
Hinata felt as if she were going to be trapped within his hate-filled eyes forever, never able to find a way out.
It was extremely hard for her to turn away from him, but she forced herself. She tried to crawl away, but that just angered him.
She didn't actually think she was going to leave alive and unharmed, did she?
Sending a powerful kick to her gut, Hinata's breath was completely knocked out of her. The pain was unbearable, and her eyes were on the verge of rolling into the back of her head as she was close to passing out once more. When the man noticed this, he pulled her up by her hair.
Hinata let out a small screech of pain as it felt as if he were going to rip all of her hair out.
Under the mask, the man smiled.
This was just the beginning.
The day was December twenty-seventh.
Not only was it the anniversary of his family's death, but it also was the day of the demon's birth. He couldn't think of a more befitting gift for the girl…a trip straight to the devil himself.
'Finally I'll have my revenge…finally my brother will forgive me!'
That was what it was all was about.
His brother.
He couldn't stand seeing Akihiko blame him for his and their family's deaths. He just wanted it to stop, just wanted him to leave him alone.
It's all your fault…
You killed us…
All your fault…
You should just die!
DIE!
"I am not the one who killed you, Akihiko!" Takeshi yelled out to an invisible entity Hinata couldn't see.
No one but he could see him.
'He's crazy!' Hinata thought as she cowered in fear as he pointed toward her.
"This little demon killed you! Don't you see? She did it. SHE KILLED YOU ALL!"
Then take care of her.
Kill her!
Kill her!
KILL HER!
Takeshi nodded his head to no one once more.
"What do you think I'm doing, Aki-chan? But I can't just kill her. I need to destroy everything about her…she needs to suffer as much as we did…" Takeshi mumbled to himself, his eyes became more and more unstable. "She needs the feel the pain we did!"
Then do it!
Destroy her!
Looking toward the cowering girl, Takeshi let out a chuckle. The demon would finally pay!
They were unlikely to be interrupted as there was a huge memorial celebration in honor of the Third Hokage, and his sacrifice for the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Almost all ninja and civilians alike would be in the center part of town celebrating, many probably as drunk as he was (though maybe not as high on narcotics as he was).
He wasn't even at risk for the gate's guards to catch him; he wasn't stupid, he doubted he could have made it out safely. So instead, he had head into the opposite direction. He was far in the forest that surrounded the training grounds, but still within the village's protective walls.
He was where his family house once stood, though nothing was left of it but ash.
He had decided on this place a head of time, and had even a sound barrier put up just in case. Also, even though he wasn't very good at it, he put up a small Genjutsu to try and hide him and the girl. Any ninja Chūnin and above were unlikely to fall for it, but it made him feel a bit safer with it up. He didn't want anyone to catch them before he finished with her, didn't want anyone to ruin his and his brother's revenge….
Bending down, he pulled Hinata closer to his face.
"Princess," He said hatefully, the smell of alcohol was far stronger on his breath than it ever was on Kuro's. "You weren't really thinking of passing out on me now, were you? Not when we have so much fun planned for tonight?"
Then he laughed.
The laugher caused her blood to turn into liquid ice inside her veins which sent shivers down her back.
"W-w-why a-a-are you d-d-doing this to m-me?" She stuttered out, on the verge of tears, his laughter had pierced right through her; she knew she wasn't going to come out of this unharmed.
"You really have to ask? I'm doing this because you killed everyone who I held dear…you left them in such a state that they weren't even recognizable! Pieces of them literally had to be wiped up off the ground! YOU TORE MY BROTHER IN HALF WHEN HE TRIED TO SAVE ME FROM YOU!" His anger skyrocketed.
"You're a demon who does not deserve to live! As soon as you were created, you should have been destroyed! And now it is up to me to fix the only mistake the Fourth Hokage made: letting a demon like you live!" He wasn't yelling anymore, but each word held so much hate and anger that it made it all the more terrifying.
"I-I-I've n-n-never k-k-killed anyone!" Hinata cried out, petrified.
The man was insane; how could she possibly do all that? She had only just turned seven, she was just a kid.
SHE LIES!
This caused the man to lose his temper as he backhanded her so hard she flew a few feet away.
The pain his hit caused made Hinata sob while holding her face. Her cheek was already starting to swell.
"The lies of a demon! Of course you did, you're the nine tailed demon fox itself! You were the cause of so much pain and suffering and now it is the time you will receive it tenfold!"
Hinata couldn't do anything but sit on the ground with her hand cradling her injured cheek. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she shook her head no. She didn't understand any of it, she wasn't a demon. She wasn't a demon, she couldn't be a demon. It didn't make sense. She was Hinata, an unloved orphan, not a demon.
He was crazy.
The demon was dead, everyone knew that. What was this crazy man thinking? How could he say such nonsense? Even at seven, Hinata knew it couldn't possibly be the truth…could it? She knew many villagers disliked her, but she had never seen the same kind of hate in their eyes as she did in the man's. He really believed in all of what he was saying…he never once stopped to think of how crazy he was being.
The shaking of her head and her refusal to believe what he was saying angered Takeshi more. He walked over to the fallen girl and dragged her up by the hair once more to look her squarely in the eyes.
"No more talking, it's time for your punishment!"
Hinata could hear the joy in his words. The way he said that caused her heart to crumble away in fear. A lump filled her throat, making her unable to breathe as the sobs resonated through her.
No one was going to save her that much was evident.
No one was ever there for her, and tonight it would be no different.
For hours Hinata suffered. For hours he did the most horrible things imaginable; she'd never been in so much pain in her whole life. The pain he inflicted upon her made Kuro's worst beating look like a small, powerless slap, a tap really. There was only one word that could come close to describing what he was doing.
Torture.
He was torturing her, and no one was there to stop him.
He would cut her, though not deeply, let her bleed out, wait for it to start closing, and start all over again. Hinata from a young age realized that she healed within hours from scrapes and bruises and he was taking advantage of that. She never hated her accelerated healing more than at that moment.
The only time she got a small break from the pain was when she'd lose the power to remain conscious…however, it didn't take long for Takeshi to revive her using some horrid smelling salts.
He broke a few of her bones, as well as her spirit in just a couple of hours.
He was relentless in the assault, taking out all of his pent up frustration on her. He was not thinking straight, and the only thing he could hear was the sound of Akihiko's voice in his head.
More!
More!
MORE!
It was hell what he was putting her through, and Hinata was incapable to fight back. She was only a small, defenseless girl in the hands of a raging lunatic. She couldn't do a thing except take the punishment he inflicted upon her. Maybe, she thought, he was correct in calling her a demon…why else would someone deserve the pain he was causing her? No one deserved what he was doing to her, nothing deserved it except, perhaps, for a demon…
Hinata's screams filled the quiet air, as she hoped desperately for it to all end.
Every time he touched her it caused her to screech in agony. Every time he cut her it caused a new sort of pain to rip through her entire body, progressively getting worse and worse as he went. She just wanted it to end; death would be so much easier, and a lot less painful. She prayed for death, but it seemed as if it were never going to come.
'Why can't I just die now?!' She thought to herself as the pain continued on and on and on.
Hinata shut her eyes tightly and tried to think of something, anything other than what was happening to her as she waited for it all to end.
She was dead on the inside already, why couldn't it just be over? What did she ever do to receive such cruelty? Why would no one help her? Why did no one care?
No one was ever there to help her. Not now, not ever. She was going to die alone in the world, and not a single person was going to care.
Not one person was going to care!
Hatred began to fill her, burning her from the inside out. She hated the Hokage and his wife for not being able to protect her, Kuro for allowing her window to be open and thus allowing this to happen, and the villagers for always looking at her as if she were going to attack them at any given moment.
She especially hated the man who stood over her and wished from the bottom of her heart that when he died he suffered for all eternity.
Takeshi, ignoring Hinata's hate filled eyes, continued on with what he was doing, all the while getting angrier and angrier and angrier.
Nothing was enough!
He could stab her all he wanted, but it did little to satisfy him, little to satisfy Akihiko!
She needed to pay for all of her sins, but none of it was cutting it!
His brother would never forgive him if it kept up!
You failed Takeshi…
He tried to ignore the voice of his brother, but could not as he continued.
YOU FAILED!
"I did not fail you, Akihiko!I promise I'll make her pay!" He yelled out frantically, getting ready for his next plan of attack.
He refused to fail his brother.
There was only one thing left he could try before he ended her existence, something no one would ever want to go through…
After he finished reviving Hinata once more, and he felt she were conscious enough to experience the full impact of what he was doing, he leaned forward to her and caressed her face. His touch sent shivers down Hinata's back; the feel of his hand softly brushing against her face felt worse and more wrong to her than when he was attacking her.
"I wonder, how you will you handle what's next?"
Under his mask he grinned, his eyes held nothing but craziness.
"Akihiko will be happy once I'm done…he'll be happy. My brother will finally be happy and will leave me alone. Once I am done with you…he will love me again."
Hinata's eyes widened in fear; what else could he possibly do to her?
It didn't take her long to find out.
.
.
.
Another hour seemed to have passed by, but it had only been a few minutes. No noise could be heard from the young, broken girl at Takeshi's feet, and it was because of that, that he stopped hurting her.
What satisfaction could he or Akihiko get when she was silent?
You couldn't even do this right, Takeshi…
Takeshi stood away from Hinata as he tried to ignore the voice, and pulled a kunai out from his vest.
"I guess it's time to end this…"
His brother was right. He did fail.
He would never free himself.
He needed to accept that.
Hinata, hearing him, turned her head toward Takeshi one last time. A deep hatred burned in her eyes. Takeshi jumped back slightly and almost dropped the kunai he held. He could have sworn her eyes had flashed red for a moment. However, when he took a second look, he saw that he must have been mistaken.
"I hope you enjoy your stay in Hell!" Takeshi spat out, ready to plunge the kunai straight into her heart.
In one fluid motion, Takeshi brought the knife down upon Hinata. When she saw this, she closed her eyes once again and couldn't help but feel relieved it was all over. Her death would be celebrated, she knew it would. Everyone would be happy, and she would be happy to be away from it all; she wouldn't have to be around to deal with anyone anymore.
Finally, she could rest peacefully.
Maybe she'd be able to meet the parents she was told had died during the Kyūbi's attack?
Hinata remained motionless for a few seconds waiting for that one last bit of pain she was to feel before resting eternally…only it never came.
Hinata was confused.
Had it happened so fast she never felt it?
Slowly her eyes opened and as they did they widened in surprise at what she saw. A man with silver, spikey hair held the man's wrist firmly in his hand. Hinata could tell by her torturer's grimace that it was painful, that his bone was close to breaking. The mystery man's eyes were full of anger, one of which appeared to be red. This time the anger wasn't being directed at her, however, but at the one who had caused her so much pain.
"Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you now." the unknown man said, threatening.
His voice was steady, but Hinata could hear the edge of malice in it. It was obvious he would like nothing more than to kill the man himself.
"I-it would b-be treason!" Is all he said in fear; he tried to explain it was a mission, but was unable to because of the seal.
He was in serious trouble, and knew he was unlikely to live, especially when it was Hatake Kakashi who had caught him.
Everyone knew of Kakashi. He was the disciple of the Yondaime, and he was rumored to have copied one thousand Jutsu.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes but, instead of killing him, knocked him out cold. The Hokage would deal with him…and he would be far angrier than Kakashi was.
Once the man was out of commission, he turned to the young girl on the ground, who was obviously starting to go into shock from the pain and blood loss. He knew who the girl was, he was sent specifically to find her. That wasn't the only reason he knew who she was, however, anyone would know if they saw her. He, like many, knew she was a Jinchūriki, but unlike many, he neither hated nor feared her.
He bent down to her and placed a reassuring hand on her head. He was going to put her into a Genjutsu induced state to help her feel no pain until she was treated at the hospital. He was going to make it so she slept peacefully, with no nightmares to disturb her.
"It'll be alright now, Hinata, I've got you. I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you, not now, not ever. You can relax easily now." He stared into her eyes with his red, Sharingan eye and began to weave the Genjutsu over her.
Hinata was about to fall asleep but, before she did, in a quiet whisper, she asked, "A-are y-you my g-guardian angel?"
Before he could respond, her eyes closed and she was finally at peace.
.
.
.
Kakashi had been interrupted while showering by his mentor and friend, Minato, and was told to help him search the village for Hinata. Apparently Kushina made a surprise visit to the orphanage to give Hinata her present, and it was there that she discovered the intoxicated caretaker.
He had been curled in the corner, clutching a bottle of sake, sobbing.
Kushina tried to talk to him, but he did not answer her. When she asked where Hinata was, he only pointed to her room.
Kushina rushed in, but was disappointed in what she found.
The room was empty.
Kushina took the owner of the orphanage into custody when she realized it wasn't opened by force, and he revealed to them that he had in fact left her window open on purpose; however, when they tried to get him to explain why he did so, it were as if something was stopping him from speaking.
He said he couldn't remember why he wanted to do it, only that he had to. He told her that he tried to fight it, but he could not stop himself.
Because it sounded like he was being influenced by Genjutsu, they then summoned Yamanaka Inoichi to look into the man's head. When Inoichi entered his mind, however, it was as if it were wiped clean about the whole ordeal.
They could, however, see his earlier members and it was then that they came to know about the treatment Hinata received in the orphanage.
After going through the memories he could see Inoichi had then informed the Hokage that he didn't believe Kuro was completely at fault for leaving the window open, as he did indeed feel the lingering side effects of a Genjutsu in his mind and that was something a civilian would have no chance of fighting against.
He told them it had only just recently been placed over him, though, and that it didn't explain all of his actions toward Hinata, though he wished it had.
The man, Kuro, was not really a bad guy and Inoichi couldn't help but a feel bad for him. He suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder after his wife's death and took it out on the person he thought was to blame: Hinata.
The pain of his wife's death completely broke the old man, Inoichi realized. She had been the only person he had ever known for most of his sixty five years of life; he grew up in an orphanage with her after both of his parents died, and later on fell in love with her. It was too much for him when she died as a part of him died as well, and for years he suffered untreated.
Inoichi learned that Kuro felt guilty for causing Hinata to suffer, however, at the same time, learned that Kuro couldn't stop himself and his drinking problem did not help matters at all. In fact, it made everything worse.
Inoichi was surprised that the elderly man hadn't succumbed to his inner thoughts and committed suicide yet, because that was where he was surely headed.
What made Inoichi feel even worse, though, was the fact that Kuro never intended on killing Hinata, and that he felt much guilt for ever opening her window.
Inoichi explained these things to Minato, and told them it would be best to transfer him to the mental ward once everything was figured out so he could receive the much needed treatment he needed.
Minato agreed, understanding it would be for the best. The elderly man could still be saved as he wasn't past redemption.
When they realized they were not going to get any more information about what was going on, Minato had summoned Kakashi to help find her. There would be no other ninja they trusted more in helping find her, and quickly. He was one of the best trackers the village had to offer.
So it had been decided that Kushina, Minato, and Kakashi would split up into different directions searching for her. They didn't want it to get out that the village's Jinchūriki was missing.
Kakashi had to act so quickly that he had no time to get dressed in his full shinobi gear, and wasn't even wearing his mask because he was showering when they found him. He barely had time to throw his pants on.
But he hadn't cared. All he wanted to do was find the girl he knew Kushina and Minato loved like their own.
When he found her, he had been horrified. She had been tortured, that much was obvious, and was soon going to be cut down.
He had almost snapped when he saw her lying there helpless.
Kakashi shook his head to clear it. She was more important than thinking about it.
As soon as she was fast asleep, Kakashi pulled his white shirt off and put it on the girl, and gently picked her up. He was glad he found her, but wished he had sooner...before that man had hurt her. The pain she must have been going through caused Kakashi to hurt for the girl.
Before setting off towards the hospital, Kakashi summoned one of his ninja hounds to watch over the man who lay unconscious on the ground until a member of ANBU arrived to take him into custody, and two more to let Kushina and Minato know where to meet him. As soon as that was done he concentrated his chakra to his feet and ran as fast as he could to the hospital.
At the hospital, he demanded that someone help the girl out immediately. As soon as he did that, he was surrounded by medical ninja asking what had happened. Many of these people held some fear and hatred towards the girl, but the sight of her covered in so much blood had softened many of their cold hearts.
It was hard to look at the girl and not hurt for her.
Even she didn't deserve what had happened to her.
"A man attacked and tortured her." Kakashi said sadly to group of medical ninja as he placed her on a bed.
The medical ninja who was obviously in charge rolled her down the hall to an examination room with Kakashi following behind. She was calling for an IV drip immediately, and the strongest pain killer they had, and, much to Kakashi's surprise, the rape kit.
"She was molested?!" He blurted out, feeling sick to his stomach.
The medical ninja nodded grimly.
"That seems to be the case, Hatake-san."
Kakashi's mouth hung opened in shock…how could he do that to her?
She was only a child!
The medical ninja quickly ordered for him to leave when his killing intent started to spike.
"I'm sorry, Hatake-san, but I have a lot of work to do and you are making it hard to do it." The medical ninja told him as she gently pushed him out of the room. "Go to the waiting area, and I'll summon you when I'm finished."
Kakashi nodded his head as he walked out, causing more than one civilian to pass out from his chakra.
He wasn't out there more than a few minutes when Kushina burst into the hospital room and demanded to know what happened. Kakashi was quick to explain how he found Hinata. It was hard for him to mention that the medical ninja in charge believed her to have been molested, and when he did, Kushina would have fallen to the ground if Minato wasn't there to steady her.
"How could anyone do that to her? She's just a little girl!" She shouted out as tears fell from her eyes.
Kakashi thought the same and shook his head. She was only seven. No one should suffer like that, especially not someone so young. He doubted she even knew what had happened to her when he molested her. She was too young, and innocent to know what that was.
Kakashi had known hardened Kunoichi who had been broken because of sexual assault. This was going to leave an emotional scar which would haunt Hinata's mind forever.
After a few minutes of talking, everyone got silent.
Minato held Kushina in his arms rocking her back forth, his face was displaying no emotion. Kakashi knew better than think he was unaffected by what had happened to Hinata, on the contrary, Kakashi new exactly what he was doing. He was thinking. And when he was thinking he became one of the most dangerous men imaginable…he became the Yellow Flash, the man who had slaughtered an entire army single handedly.
After what seemed like hours, the same medical ninja as before returned.
"I've done all I can do. All we can do now is wait for her to wake up. You may go see her if you'd like."
Kushina was the first to leap to her feet and dash into the room. What she saw made her sob uncontrollably in her husband's arm. She hated seeing Hinata so helpless. Hinata was covered in bandages, and was hooked up to quite a few machines. She had a tube down her throat to help her breath, and an IV in her arm. After what felt like hours, Kushina finished her crying and her own killing intent began to radiate off of her.
"I'll kill him."
Only problem was, she would never get the chance too.
.
.
.
A few days had passed, and Hinata still hadn't awakened. However, this wasn't because she fell into a coma. It was the opposite, actually. There were quite a few times she would have awoken on her own if it weren't for the fact that her health care provider had been the one to decide to keep her unconscious using drugs. The reason the head medical nin, who was named Manami Chie, decided this was because of the fact that she believed it best if Hinata was mostly healed before she was to deal with what had happened to her.
No matter what, it was going to be hard for her, but Chie had decided that it would be worse if she were still in pain.
No one argued with her as she was the doctor, after all, and nobody doubted she had the best of intentions in mind when it came to Hinata. It turned out that Chie had a daughter about Hinata's age and as such couldn't help but wonder what she would do if it were her own daughter lying in the bed instead of Hinata.
It turned out that most of the medical ninja in the Hospital had no ill feelings towards the girl, not after seeing how frail and hurt she looked. No one could seem to understand how anyone could have done that to her.
Minato and Kushina were happy that the people who ran the hospital had decided to accept Hinata, but were sad that it had taken such a drastic measure for it to happen. They hoped the villagers wouldn't need to see something as bad in order to accept her.
Even though Kushina and Minato felt that the medical staff posed no danger to Hinata, they still had decided to have her guarded at all times in case any outside threat emerged. Hatake Kakashi volunteered without hesitation. He, being one of the best Jōnin of the village, knew it shouldn't be too hard of a task, but he also volunteered because of the promise he had made to Hinata. He really would not let anything happen to her. Even so, not even Kakashi could run at his best without rest so had decided to ask his eccentric friend and rival, Maito Gai, to watch over her whenever he needed sleep.
Once Kakashi had explained what happened to her, Gai agreed to help without a second thought. Not much could piss off the happiest ninja in the village, but what that man had done to Hinata had easily done just that. Gai, always jumping in enthusiasm, had instead shaken in rage after Kakashi had informed him and he swore on his honor that he would not let anything else happen to the girl.
Neither Gai nor Kakashi ran into any trouble, however, and they hoped it stayed that way.
While Kakashi and Gai were at work protecting Hinata, Minato and Kushina were trying to figure out why and who attacked her. With the help of the village's best interrogation team— Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko, and Yamanaka Inoichi—it didn't take them long to find who the man was.
The man's name was Dai Takeshi, and he was a Chūnin level ninja. Also, it turned out, he was the only survivor of a family of eight; the other seven perished when the Kyūbi attacked. He had been put on suspension after burning down his house in a drug influenced frenzy, losing his ability to continue life as an active Chūnin; his mental state had been questionable, and he was sent into rehab, which in turn did nothing for him.
After doing a thorough investigation of his mind, Inoichi realized that he suffered from a severe case of Schizophrenia, something that should have been picked up years ago, while he was being treated for his drug abuse, for example. However, because of all of the casualties and injuries during the attack on the village, he had just been patched up and sent home with medication. No wonder he became addicted to the drugs.
Normally this sort of information would have caused Kushina or her husband to take some pity on the man, as they did with Nobuo Kuro, but after what he had done to Hinata, that pity would never exist. While Kuro had done some horrible things to Hinata, it was nothing like what Takeshi had done. And Kuro never once tried to kill her (not purposely anyways), and he actually felt guilty for what he had done to her.
Takeshi did not.
His job, as a ninja, was to protect the village and its people; not to cause them harm. Takeshi knew it was his responsibility as a shinobi to seek medical help when needed, no matter what. Instead, however, he turned back to drugs after leaving rehab and tortured one of the people, a civilian, he swore to protect.
After much interrogation, and yes, a bit of torture (nothing as severe as what he did to Hinata…his mostly involved Genjutsu), everyone involved in the case came to the conclusion that he was not working alone.
During the thorough investigation, they soon discovered that he had a seal placed on him that sealed his mind and tongue to keep him quiet. When they went back to check Kuro, they realized that he had the same seal placed on him. Even though they could not identify the true culprits after the seal wiped his mind, it brought attention to that fact that more than two people were involved in the plot.
Now they just needed the evidence to prove it.
Minato and Kushina told Ibiki, Inoichi, and Anko not to dig further as it could possibly cause them some problems. The two of them had a feeling they knew what other people were involved, but they were not going to release that information until they were absolutely sure. The three interrogators agreed to leave the case alone until their services were asked for again. They weren't sure when, it could be years for all they knew, but they had a feeling they would be needed again to help the Hokage and his wife. Those two weren't the kind of people to let a case go unsolved and the perpetrators go unpunished indefinitely.
After the interrogations were over, Dai Takeshi and Nobuo Kuro were confined (in separate cells) to an empty part of the prison and were guarded at all times. The ninja, who had to guard the two men, were only the Jōnin that the Hokage had complete trust in. He even had gotten his best Genjutsu specialist, a Chūnin who was sure to become a Jōnin, place them in illusions so they would get no rest (she, knowing exactly what Takeshi did to Hinata, made sure the Genjutsu he was trapped in made him suffer completely).
After both men were out of commission, and posed no threat to anyone else, Minato and Kushina had to figure out what was to happen to them and what they were going to do with Hinata after she was released from the hospital. And that brought them to the secret meeting they were currently having with one Hyūga Hiashi, leader of one of the most powerful clans in the village.
Hiashi was a powerful man, but even he needed his rest in order to run his clan as best as he could. And, for that reason, he found himself a bit irritated at the late meeting they were having. He, however, kept this to himself as he stood in front of the Hokage.
"What was of such importance that I needed to sneak out of my house in the middle of the night, Hokage-sama?" He asked in his usual stoic voice.
Minato sighed and hoped he was making a good decision. He knew that Hiashi held nothing but love for Seiko when she was alive, and he wondered if he still did even after her death…even after she betrayed him. He thought he might as he was one of the few clansmen that never said anything about Seiko even to this day, so he hoped that that was a good sign.
"Hiashi, this is an S-class secret I'm about to tell you, so remember if anything leaves this room I will consider it treason against myself and the village."
Hiashi nodded much more interested now. He was very curious as to what could be so important.
"I understand Hokage-sama, not a word of what you say shall leave my lips."
Minato nodded his head. "What I'm about to tell you involves Seiko, Hiashi. Before I begin, may I ask a question?"
Hiashi slowly nodded his head unsure of where this was going to go. "You may, Hokage-sama."
He, unlike many members of his clan and village, did not hate her for lying to him, and he knew she hadn't tricked him into falling in love with her. He still was hurt that she called their wedding off, but he could never hate her. He loved her too much to. Still, it had been years since he heard anyone speak of her. Not counting, of course, the times he overheard people starting those awful rumors about her.
"Before I begin, what I'd like to know is…what are your feelings about Uzumaki Seiko?" Minato asked slowly.
He wanted to make sure he wasn't making a terrible mistake by telling him what he had decided to tell him. Minato was watching Hiashi's every move, and would pick up on if he were telling the truth or not.
Hiashi thought for a moment, contemplating on what he should say, and then decided to just speak the truth. The two people before him were the least likely to give him any trouble for what he was going to say, he was, after all, standing in front of who Seiko called her older sister.
"I miss her every day, Hokage-sama, and wish she was still here." His once emotionless eyes held sadness. "I miss her every day, even though I am married. I fully intended on marrying her, even had I known about her Jinchūriki status, but she called the wedding off. It hurt me and I felt betrayed, but I could never hate her for it."
Minato realized he was telling the truth but still had to ask one more thing. "You feel this way, even though you are married to another woman, and have a child with her?"
"I care for my wife, and am happy to be by her side even though I was pushed to marry her so soon after Seiko called the wedding off and I'll never regret brining Hanabi into this world with her. But, even though that is the case, my love for Seiko meant so much to me. When she died, a little bit of me did as well." Hiashi stated, trying hard not to let the mask he always wore to hide his emotions break.
It was true. While he had grown to love his wife, he still couldn't fight back his feelings he held for Seiko.
Minato stared Hiashi down for a few minutes, looking for any sign of a lie.
When he was satisfied he was being truthful with him, he said, "I believe you, Hiashi, and I'm sorry I never told you any of what I'm about to tell you before now. You should have been one of the people to have known about this, but we were afraid of what would happen if you did know. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me…"
Hiashi was becoming a bit frustrated.
"What am I supposed to forgive you for, Hokage-sama?"
Minato looked away sadly as he spoke. "Hyūga Hanabi is not your only daughter, Hiashi, and she is not the rightful heiress to the clan."
Not much could utterly surprise Hiashi, but what he had said had done just that. "Come again?"
Minato looked back up and said, "I guess I should start from the beginning…"
And so that's what he did. He let Hiashi know everything that had happened all those years ago when Seiko had gone into labor. He was sure not to leave anything out. Hiashi had every right to know he had fathered a child with Seiko, and that his little girl was still alive. When he finished, both Kushina and Minato couldn't help but feel guilty for withholding information from the man who had obviously loved Seiko more than anything.
Hiashi, who had begun to listen to the tale standing, was now slouched in a chair with a defeated look about him. He felt betrayed by the Hokage and his late wife's sister for keeping this from him for so long. He also felt a bit betrayed by Seiko for keeping this from him when she was alive.
"Why didn't you tell me this before? If I had known about Hinata being my daughter, I would never have allowed her to grow up thinking both of her parents were dead."
Minato bowed his head. "We held the information from you because we didn't want Hinata to be in danger. We felt she would be in more danger within the confinement of your clan's wall, than outside of it. We know the elders of your clan, or most of them, hate Seiko and we felt they would do something drastic in order to keep her daughter, a bastard child, from bringing dishonor to your clan."
"So, why tell me now? I know what you speak has some truth to it, the elders of my clan do hate Seiko and I wouldn't put it past them to harm Hinata if they knew she was her daughter…so why are you telling me now?" Hiashi asked, knowing the answer wasn't going to be good.
"We're telling you because…we failed at protecting Hinata."
Minato went into detail of what had happened a few nights previous to the meeting they were having.
When Minato was done speaking, Hiashi was shaking in rage. He was mad at the man who had caused his little girl so much pain, and he was angry at the Hokage and his wife for keeping it from him.
"And where is he?"
"Before I tell you, you need to promise me you won't kill him." Minato stated.
He would like nothing more than to have that man killed for his act of cruelty but he needed him alive…but only just barely. When Minato saw Hiashi narrow his eyes at him he decided to clarify what he wanted.
"I'll tell you where he is, but I need you to promise me he will still be alive after you finish with him. I don't care if he is only just barely alive, and will only be able to stay that way if he is on life support the rest of the time. I need him alive. His head holds a lot of answers if I can reverse the effects of that seal."
Hiashi calmed himself and nodded. "I understand, Hokage-sama. That man will still be alive."
Minato nodded, believing him. "Dai Takeshi is on the west side of the prison, in cell one hundred and thirteen. In an hour and a half there will be no one on duty. You will have fifteen minutes…and, please, don't leave any evidence. I do not want you connected to him at all."
Hiashi was confused. "Wouldn't I have a connection to him as soon as everyone knows I am Hinata's father?"
Minato sighed. "No one will know, you swore to keep what you heard in here to yourself…" when Minato saw just how angry Hiashi was becoming at this, he stated, "however, I do have a plan and you might find it interesting…"
For the next few minutes Minato explained just what he was planning to do with Hinata, and none of it involved Hiashi taking her home. Hiashi listened intently and realized it might be the best option out of everything. Even though he would have liked to take Hinata home with him, he did realize his clan posed a threat to her, especially since she was so young and had no training under her belt. They would not like her coming into the family, especially since she was a child born out of wedlock. The elders would think that Hinata's existence put Hanabi's, a full and pure Hyūga, position in danger. Hiashi was a busy man and would not always be able to be there for her.
Minato's plan would take care of everything so by the time Hiashi turned to leave the room he had agreed to go along with it.
Before he went, Kushina decided to speak up.
"Hiashi…I just want you to know Seiko loved you more than anyone. She wanted to marry you, and was looking forward to becoming your wife, and having a family with you, but she hated seeing you under so much stress from the clan. She thought she was helping you when she broke off the engagement…"
Hiashi looked toward Kushina briefly, a sense of relief showing in his eyes.
"Thank you, Kushina-sama, for telling me that."
He then turned and walked out the door.
After he closed the door, Kushina turned to her husband. "You think he really won't kill him?"
Minato nodded his head.
"I trust him," then he sighed. "But I believe it will be a while before he trusts us again."
Kushina lowered her head in shame. "And for good reason."
'I hope you too will forgive me, Seiko-chan...'
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About an hour had passed since the meeting Kushina and Minato had had with Hiashi. And within that time, a man dressed all in black crept into the village's security prison. He was silent, careful to never make a sound as he made his way to cell one hundred and thirteen.
As he arrived to the cell he noticed the man contained within it was fast asleep. Using a bit of chakra, the man easily broke the cell's lock with only a small amount of noise. Even so that amount of noise would easily echo around the deserted prison. That is, if the masked man hadn't had the sense to put up a sound barrier.
That sound barrier did not erase the sound the breaking of the lock made in the cell, however, and the sound that had echoed within the enclosed space had easily woken the man who lay on a stiff mattress.
As Takeshi's eyes opened, fear had slowly crept over him. He would have no chance in fighting off whoever it was after him; his own chakra had been sealed away upon imprisonment, after all.
"Akihiko…?" he whispered, believing it was his brother coming to finish him off for his failure.
However, soon it became apparent that it wasn't his brother rising from the dead.
"Who are you?" he tried to ask in a neutral tone.
"Why would that matter to a dead man?" Hiashi simply stated.
A few minutes later, if it hadn't been for the sound barrier, Takeshi's screams would have been heard on the other side of the village.
Hyūga Hiashi left as silently as he arrived, leaving a man with a barely beating heart behind.
He had kept his promise to the Hokage, if only just barely.
End.
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Here are the character profiles for Kuro and Takeshi…
Name: Nobuo Kuro (Kuro Nobuo)
Age: 65
Occupation: Orphanage Owner/Civilian.
Family:
Wife- Nobuo Mai; 58; Deceased; killed by the Kyūbi while evacuating.
Mother- 28; Deceased; Jōnin; Killed on a mission that went wrong.
Father- 32; Deceased; Civilian; Drank himself to death when Kuro was young after his
wife died.
Personality/Background:
Kuro's father and mother died when he was young, making him an orphan. He doesn't remember much about them.
Kuro had been somewhat of a troublemaking kid.
When he grew up and married his wife he became very protective of her. She was his sunshine. They had been childhood friends, growing up together in an orphanage, and he came to love her more than anything. She was the only girl he had ever met that was more of a handful than he was and she never let him, for one moment, believe he was better than she because he was a boy and she was a girl.
After they were married, he and his wife tried to conceive a baby as they wanted something they never really had: a family. However, after much heartache, they had to accept the fact they never would conceive, so they stopped trying. Much to their surprise, however, his wife became pregnant at the age of 47. They were so happy to learn this. They knew that pregnancies at that age could be difficult, but they believed it would turn out alright.
However, unbeknownst to them both, his wife's pregnancy was not normal. Her age had led to complications. The baby was not growing in the womb where it was supposed to be, but in the fallopian tube (Ectopic Pregnancy). The fallopian tube ruptured and his wife almost died because of it. Their unborn baby did not survive and they were unable to conceive ever again. Kuro's wife had secretly always blamed herself because of it. Kuro never once blamed her, however.
Because of the fact that they were unable to have children, they decided to open up an orphanage in order to care for all for the children who had lost their parents. They became one of the most reputable orphanages in the village as they cared for the children as if they were their own.
After the Kyūbi attacked, however, he changed. His wife was killed during it, and he ended up turning to what he swore he never would: alcohol.
He, just as his father had when his wife died on a mission, became an alcoholic.
During The Kyūbi's Attack:
When the Kyūbi had attacked, Kuro and his wife had taken it upon themselves to make sure every child in the orphanage had been evacuated before they even tried to leave. When they finally were ready, they rushed from the Orphanage just in time. One of the Kyūbi's tails crashed into the building as soon as they exited. Had they continued on, they both would have lived.
However, right before they ran to the shelter, a scream pierced the air. A child was trapped inside of the now burning building.
Before he could stop her (he wouldn't have been able to anyway, as his leg was broken at the time of the attack from an unrelated fall down the stairs), his wife rushed back in to save the child.
That was the last time he ever saw his wife alive.
Almost seconds after she entered the building, a second tail from the Kyūbi completely crushed the building, killing his wife and the child she tried to save.
After The Attack:
Because of their Orphanage's reputation, The Fourth Hokage had left Hinata, the Jinchūriki, in his care. He didn't want to accept her, but had no other choice as it was the Fourth Hokage who asked him to.
Though he was reluctant to do so, he agreed to take her in as his wife would have wanted him too.
At first Kuro tried to not hate her, but because of his drinking problem he just couldn't do it. He wasn't a ninja and had trouble understanding what a seal meant; he had trouble distinguishing the Kyūbi from Hinata and, in the end, took out his frustrations on her. It also didn't help the fact that he suffered from untreated posttraumatic stress disorder after the attack.
He loved his wife more than anything, and was absolutely crushed when she fell during the attack.
Subconsciously, however, he knew he didn't want her dead and didn't do anything to her that would lead to her death.
When the elder's came into contact with him, he had agreed to help them, though they had a bit of difficulty getting him to do so. They had thought it would be easy as he was intoxicated when they went to him, however, he surprised them when he told them no, he would not do it. He made Hinata suffer, yes, but he could not wrap his mind around the idea of having her killed off.
Eventually he agreed, but only after the elder's had placed a Genjutsu over him.
He stood no chance against the Genjutsu as he was a civilian.
Name: Dai Takeshi (Takeshi Dai)
Age: 23
Academy Graduation Age: 12
Chūnin Promotion Age: 14
Family:
Mother- 45; Deceased; Home maker; Killed during Kyūbi attack.
Father- 47; Deceased; sickly and handicapped. Used to be a ninja, but was forced to retire after being critically injured; Killed during Kyūbi attack.
Brother- 8 Months; Deceased; Killed during Kyūbi attack.
Sister- 4; Deceased; Killed during Kyūbi attack.
Sister- 4; Deceased; Killed during Kyūbi attack.
Brother- 8; Deceased (had just entered ninja academy); Killed during Kyūbi attack.
Twin Brother- Dai Akihiko; 16; Deceased; Older of the two by
five minutes; Chūnin (promotion age was the same as Takeshi); Killed during Kyūbi
attack.
Personality/Background:
Before the attack, he had a shy personality. His twin, Akihiko, was the outgoing one, while he was the quiet one. He had a deep love and respect for his whole family, especially his brother. They were identical twins and had a very close bond with one another. He looked up to and admired his twin more than anyone.
He and Akihiko entered the academy together in order to become ninja so they could help support their mother and father after their father's accident. They knew how hard they had to work to support their big family and wanted to be able to help.
Day Kyūbi Attacked:
Takeshi and his twin brother were taking their family to the civilian evacuation center, when the Kyūbi crashed into the wall of the village (they lived on the outskirt of the village, and were close to the village perimeter when the Kyūbi attack started). Almost everyone was crushed by the debris, including Takeshi. Takeshi survived, but couldn't free himself, and had suffered severe trauma to the head. Takeshi's twin brother, Akihiko, was the only one who hadn't been crushed and he refused to run even when Takeshi yelled for him too.
Akihiko told Takeshi that he would never abandon him, no matter what, even if it meant he would lose his life in the process.
Takeshi could do nothing as he watched in horror as one of the Kyūbi's tails came crashing down on his twin brother, severing his body in two, killing him instantly.
Witnessing the death of Akihiko changed his life forever.
After The Attack:
After the Kyūbi's attack he became cold and developed a deep hatred for the Jinchūriki. He couldn't see them as different beings, and he never tried to.
It took Takeshi months for his injuries to heal. During that time, he became dependent on the narcotic pain medications he was prescribed.
Not only that, but his head injury never fully healed. He never made Jōnin because of it, and was put on inactive duty because his mental state was questionable. No one realized just how bad it was, however.
Over the years, because of the drug abuse and old head injury, he lost more and more of his sanity, often seeing his brother who blamed him for his and their family's deaths.
He burned his family home down under the influence of the drugs, hoping it would force the voice of his brother to stop. It only made it worse, though.
He was fined for the fire, but nothing much more was done as 1) no one had been hurt/the surrounding area wasn't too badly damaged, and 2) they believed it had been an accident while he was under the influence of drugs. That was when he was taken off of active duty, however. He was 18.
After the fire, Takeshi was forced to undergo treatment for his addiction. After a few months of drug therapy, he was deemed completely clean and was released.
However, once he finished rehab he soon went back to using drugs, this time, however, he was not caught.
He had become quite skilled at hiding his drug addiction ever since.
Around When Hinata Was Attacked:
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura knew of Takeshi's hatred for the Kyūbi, and knew that he would like nothing more than to kill her. They didn't realize just how bad he wanted her to suffer, however, and thought that he would be happy with just disposing of her. They also didn't realize he had continued his addiction after finishing his rehab. They believed he was clean.
They asked him if he wanted to take the mission and he agreed. He didn't realize it, but the two elders were planning on having him killed afterwards to cover their tracks.
After he agreed, they sealed his tongue and mind and sent him to do the job.
When he attacked Hinata he was supposed to assassinate her while she was asleep (drugged with a non-traceable substance), making it look like an accident.
He had disobeyed them, however, and decided to do it his own way. He had been taking more pain medicine than normally as it was the anniversary of his family's death. Not only that, but he had also consumed much alcohol the night he was supposed to finish the mission. That mixed with his drug use, led to him torturing Hinata.