Summary: A series of violent rapes and murders targeting long, dark haired, young women have caught the attention of the Hokage. Her plan? Use a qualified, long, dark haired kunoichi as bait. The only one that fits the criteria? Hinata. NaruHina.
Warning: Rated M. Contains violence, rape, cursing, sex and murder.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it. That belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. (However I believe I have a claim to the idea I wrote about).
White Kunai
Chapter 17- Reveal
Naruto Uzumaki was forced to disperse most of his clones while one shadow clone sat and gathered natural energy. Some years back, when he first learned Sage Mode, he could only summon five clones but he was proud to say, he improved. Still, too many clones interfered with the focus of those gathering senjutsu chakra. There were a few clones jumping around, searching frantically for his friends, and now that he dismissed many of them, the one concentrating was able to gather energy faster.
Naruto stood at the top of a building and shut his eyes. He reverse summoned the clone and entered Sage Mode. Red outlined his orange, slitted eyes and he felt slightly relieved, able to sense chakra clearly. He broadened the field as wide as he could and felt with an ache in his heart…neither Hinata's nor Ino's chakra.
He let out one, heart-wrenching scream. He searched everywhere!
Maybe I'm not close enough? He thought hopelessly. He sprinted throughout the village. It hardly took him several minutes. Still nothing. His thoughts went back his fight with Pain. He was able to sense Hinata's chakra, faint as it was, when he was afraid he killed her. Where is she? He couldn't sense them anywhere in the entire Village of Ash.
"DAMN IT!" he yelled, back in the lower district. "Damn it all to hell!"
He wasn't about to give up. He didn't know what else he could do but he wasn't about to give up! Hinata! He wasn't going to lose her. Ino! He would help his friends. They have to be in this area, he contemplated. We were all suspicious of this place. The murders… Okami and Uso… Tsuma and Otto…
Naruto's eyes widened. Slowly he furrowed his eyebrows. Tsuma…she did have this strange feel around her. Naruto grit his teeth and headed towards the married couples restaurant.
Sounds of clinking chains and muffled whimpers brought Hinata back to consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open as she remembered what situation she was in. Her eyesight was hazy and it didn't help that the small room was lit only by a single, weak, light bulb hanging from the ceiling. From what she could see the walls were crumbling, with bricks missing in big chunks here and there. The Hyuga blinked a few times and noticed a woman opposite her. Tears streaked her face and she looked around frantically, struggling against the cloth around her mouth. Her arms were pulled above her, shackled to chains coming out of the wall.
Hinata tried to move towards Tsuma but was tugged back. She lifted her tired head warily and realized she was in the same position. She turned her head to her right and saw Ino bound just as she was.
"Ino-san," Hinata said quietly. She didn't know where the killer was right now but they had to do something about their situation quickly. "Ino-"
The blonde beside her gave a weak cough and jolted awake, immediately struggling with her chains. "Hinata!" she exclaimed with a slight tremor when she realized their position. She quickly examined her surroundings and tried to think of some plan to escape. Being on Shikamaru's team for so long had some perks. "You have enough chakra to do anything?"
Hinata shook her head. Her eyes turned to Tsuma in front of her. She remembered how she acted strangely the first day she met her. She was careful in her movements as if she were afraid of hurting herself or something of that sort. Then the way she acted before…when the killer held the kunai to her…she didn't act the way a person normally would. She didn't try to push his hand away…no she did something else.
"I have an idea," Ino said, interrupting Hinata's train of thought. "It's not a very good one but it'll work...I think."
"We have to save Tsuma," Hinata said.
Ino nodded. "First we have to get out of here," she said, starting to explain. "You won't like this but-"
Suddenly they heard faint footsteps get louder and louder and Hinata felt herself go cold, and not because of the dampness of the cellar they were in. As the steps grew louder so did Hinata's heartbeat. She looked at Ino who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Hinata grimaced. She hated feeling this helpless.
The cracked, wooden door creaked open slowly. They knew who it was before he entered, dressed in white.
"I see you all are awake?" the White Kunai said, walking into the room. He was masked but Hinata knew now. She glanced at Ino. She was sure she was putting things together too but it was easier for the Hyuga. She had direct contact with this man. She knew him. They got that much right. "Maybe you're wondering why I didn't pass out? My mask isn't just for show. It doubles as a gas mask."
"No one asked you," Ino said viciously.
"Why're you doing this?" Hinata asked, trying to maintain her gentle and calm composure.
There was a small pause in his steps but he continued heading towards Tsuma. He ignored Hinata's question. "Now I'm going to show you," he said, addressing Hinata. "What will happen to your pretty friend beside you if you don't do as I say."
The kunoichi's eyes widened. They knew where this was going.
"Don't you fucking touch her!" Ino yelled, struggling with the chains futilely.
Tsuma gave a muffled cry as tears streaked her face. The man pulled out a white kunai and twirled it around his fingers. "Well, first I'll threaten to hurt your friend if you aren't cooperative," the killer went on, as if undisturbed. He raised the Kunai to Tsuma's face and scratched her cheek slightly, drawing some blood. "Maybe if I get excited enough I'll play with her a little," he said, running the kunai slowly down her neck and lingering on her chest before finally stopping near her heart. "Then I'll kill her," he said. It was actually a bit unexpected. He did it so quick. They barely had time to register before the kunai plunged into Tsuma's heart. She had struggled before, raising her leg towards her stomach right before the weapon made contact.
"NO!" Ino yelled in surprise.
Hinata's eyes were wide and her voice caught in her throat.
Tsuma was in pain. As tears streamed down her face, blood streamed down her chest. She convulsed a bit and uttered muffled sounds of pain before, finally, the light went out in her eyes and she went limp.
"She…" Hinata said, her voice cracking. "She was pregnant."
The Killer froze. "I didn't know," he said slowly. "That was not my intention. I picked the wrong hostage."
"You're a monster!" Ino screamed, twisting and turning, kicking her legs at the empty air and slamming them against the wall. "Unlock me! Maybe-maybe I can heal her!" Ino's voice broke and a tear ran down her face. "Fuck!"
"She's dead," the killer said emotionlessly. "There's nothing left to heal."
"Fuck you!" Ino said, hitting the wall, strung up though she was. "God damn it! DAMN IT!"
"I do regret it," he said, giving the dead woman a glance over. "Not many months in though," he said, running his hand across her stomach.
"Don't fucking touch her!" Ino snarled.
"How'd you know, Hinata?" the killer asked. "That she was pregnant? Real in tune with other people's feelings, huh?" Hinata remained silent. "What else did you figure out?" he asked, approaching the two. He stopped in front of her and stared at her through his cold, white mask. He brought a gloved hand up to her face and ran a finger down her cheek. Hinata flinched and turned her face away. "Aw, don't be like that. I'm sure you let your boyfriend touch you like this. I'm not so different. I can show you better. I'm more…experienced."
"Stop," she said.
"You're a smart girl, Hinata," he continued, running his fingers down to her neck and shoulders. Hinata was about to kick him with her legs but he stopped them easily. "Now don't do that," he said with a tut. "I'll have to kick up the chakra depressors a notch if I think you two are getting too rowdy," he wasn't paying much attention to Ino, which Hinata was relieved about. She didn't want him to do the same thing to her as he did with Tsuma.
Tsuma…Hinata thought sadly. She was right there and she wasn't able to help her. They thought she was a suspect for crying out loud!
Suddenly the killer grabbed her face roughly and forced her to look at him. "Tell me what you think," he said softly, rubbing his nose against the crook of her neck, inhaling her scent.
"Get off her!" Ino said angrily.
The killer looked at the other woman lazily. "I'd advise you keep your mouth shut unless you want to end up like that woman over there."
"Don't hurt her," Hinata said coldly.
"Ah, she speaks again," the killer said, moving his hands down her body, finally resting on her hips. "I'm sure you know by now. I'd understand if your friends didn't…but… you should."
Hinata swallowed. She wanted to try and push him away but that would cause more trouble for Ino and herself. If he made it so their chakra went even lower she doubted she'd even be able to move.
"Come on," he said, pressing himself against her. Hinata closed her eyes and her thoughts went to how Naruto would touch her. "Talk to me, Hinata," he said. "I won't bite…much."
Ino knew she should keep quiet. Her outbursts would do nothing to help Hinata…in fact she was afraid they would make things worse. But she had a plan and she really wanted to go through with it. She'd have to wait for the right opportunity though.
The killer seemed to get a little bit annoyed. He gripped Hinata's hips roughly and placed his face directly in front of hers. "I don't want to hurt your friend if I don't have to," he said, but the two ninja's knew he was lying. He wasn't going to just let them go. He moved one hand up to the zipper of her jacket and pulled it down slowly.
"Don't-" Hinata said, trying to kick him away weakly. She was still a bit tired from the chakra dampers and that strange gas he used.
The killer stopped halfway down. "Why?" he said. "You let your boyfriend touch you I'm sure. I won't be any different." He continued fiddling with the zipper, bringing it lower and lower, taking his time.
"Yoru," Hinata finally said desperately. The man froze. "Why're you doing this?"
The man grunted and pushed himself away from the dark haired woman. "Ah, so you did figure it out."
"Tell me why," she said gently. She didn't want to excite him or make him do anything they'd all regret. Her heart was beating fast and inside she was worried. She couldn't get out of her chains, she still felt a bit weak, and she wasn't sure what happened to Naruto. She watched him murder Tsuma in front of her eyes in mere seconds and he was threating both Ino and herself. No, on the inside she was scared. Sure she was a trained ninja, adept in the arts of assassination and no stranger when it came to blood, but in this moment…she felt weak and helpless. But she put on a façade of strength. Her breathing was sound and her hands were surprisingly steady. "Yoru," she repeated, "Why?"
The White Kunai Killer tensed. His shoulders shook slightly and then he angrily strode up to Hinata once more, ripping off his mask. There was a gruesome scar cutting through his right eye and up to his forehead. Hinata stifled a gasp. She knew how he got that.
"You're asking why?" he snarled, losing his cool demeanor. "Why? Because you and your fucking teammates failed your god damn mission!" he exclaimed, slamming his fist against the wall right near her face. Hinata flinched. She always regretted that.
"We tried-"
"Like hell you did!"
"Yoru-"
"You let Mizuki-you let Mizuki…" he pushed away and groaned. "Fuck! You let my sister get raped!"
Hinata's thoughts went to that mission so long ago. She remembered what she told Naruto before the start of this mission. Yoru was very protective of his younger sister…a pair of bandits were trying to escape with the girl and Yoru tried to follow. Things took a dark turn right after. It was out of control. It was dark and without my byakugan, Kiba-kun's heightened senses, and Shino-kun's bugs we would have been blind. Yoru practically was in the lack of light but he felt his sisters' grip get torn from his hand and he ran blindly into the fight. I jumped in to protect him and…it was too much. I was weak.
Hinata swallowed and watched Yoru pace the damp cell, muttering obscenities under his breath. A kunai made it past me and scratched poor Yoru's cheek, cutting through his right eye and up to his forehead… Akamaru had to carry me bleeding and bruised to the nearest village. Yoru was left with a scar. Mizuki cringes each time she sees him. It reminds her of the ordeal she went through. I'm sure…I'm sure by the time Kiba-kun got to her…some of the bandits had their way with her. Her clothes were ripped and there was blood where there shouldn't have been.
"She was fucking raped!" Yoru exclaimed again.
"That's why you did that to the other woman?" Hinata spoke up weakly.
Yoru snorted. "You didn't think about every detail did you?"
Hinata went silent. She remembered that day the mission went wrong. She remembered when she was struck down she had visions of Yoru and Mizuki. "Your genjutsu is strong," Hinata stated.
Yoru smirked. "Yes. It came natural to me after that day. I didn't realize I had the potential to become a ninja. It never crossed my mind. Son of a man with high power…no need to become a ninja. But after that day I dug into my abilities. I sharpened my skills…and my kunai. That's how I could see through undercover ninjas transformations. That's how I wasn't so easy to be found. After all, who would dare to suspect or blame the son of someone so powerful? Not in this village."
"I don't understand," Ino finally spoke up quietly. She just wanted this Yoru guy to leave so she and Hinata could leave.
Hinata understood her confusion. She didn't know his past.
Yoru gave Ino a fleeting glance and Hinata quickly racked her mind to distract him. She did not want her hurting Ino…not like how he hurt Tsuma. "Yoru. Please. You…I don't think you hurt any women after…after that incident. Not right away."
Yoru slowly looked at Hinata, walking up to her once more. Hinata shivered, she couldn't help herself. The man gently ran a finger down her cheek. "You're right about that."
"Why then?" Hinata said, wincing slightly as she felt his finger running across her lips.
"I wonder how your boyfriend will react once I take you for mine," he said, ignoring her question.
Naruto, Hinata thought. She had to keep him talking. The longer he talked the better chance they had of Naruto finding them. The better chance she had of making sure Naruto was the only man to touch her.
"You loved her," Hinata stated. "Your sister."
"Of course," Yoru said, furrowing his brows. His hand lay surprisingly gently on the crook of her neck. "She's my sister."
"That's not what I meant," Hinata said. "You loved her. You love her."
She noticed Yoru's jaw tense. "I'm a fucking monster," he said with disgust.
"Yoru-"
"Shut the fuck up!" he said, moving away once more.
Hinata let out a shaky breath she didn't realize she was holding. She glanced at Ino briefly, who looked at her apologetically. She had nothing to be sorry for though.
Yoru let out a strained yell. "I fell in love with my fucking sister!" he strained. "Who the fuck…why…fucking hell!" He ran his hands through his messy, black hair roughly. "I didn't want to," he said, trying to justify.
"Yoru-"
"She's my sister for god sake!"
"Yoru-"
"I didn't want to fall in love with her!"
"Yoru-"
"Her long, dark, hair…"
"Yoru-"
"WHAT?"
"Yoru," Hinata said gently once again. "You can't control who you fall in love with."
The man stared at her with a glare. "I guess you would know," he said roughly. "You fell in love with that blonde idiot."
Hinata felt some anger grow in her. He could hurt her verbally, emotionally, and physically…but he had to leave her friends alone. "Leave Naruto-kun out of this."
"Oh, don't worry about him right now," Yoru said, approaching her once again. Hinata maintained eye contact with him, her expression cold. "My dear sister…Mizuki…is taking care of him right now."
Hinata stiffened and felt the blood drain out of her face. "What's that supposed to mean?
"Don't worry, she's not going to fuck him if that's what you're thinking." Hinata narrowed her eyes. That was not what she was thinking. She trusted Naruto-kun. Yoru watched Hinata's face with interest. He smiled. "She's just wasting his time. Back then, after the mission, she wanted to learn some ninja skills too. Luckily, she was able to. Only transformation jutsu though. That's all she concentrated on. She practically mastered it. She can get transformations down perfectly. I can hardly see through them…but she can't hold them for too long."
Hinata stayed silent.
Yoru seemed as though he were contemplating something. "Well she should be coming back soon. Your boyfriend might be on a wild rampage as of now. What a shame. I'll have to deal with you later, Hinata. Since my father is away I'll have to deal with some official things in his place," he said with a sigh. He neared Hinata once more. "Well you've figured out many things," he said. "Any ideas on why I waited so long to…claim my…women?"
Ino suppressed a snarl. Women. Pretentious asshole. She hated this position. She wanted to yell and scream and tell him off but she felt she was an outsider in all this. She'd stay in the background right now but she would help them get out.
"You…you're married?" Hinata asked.
Yoru raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow. How'd you figure that?"
Hinata swallowed. "That night with Okami…there was a man in his group of friends…he left early…"
Yoru grinned, his scar wrinkling slightly. He placed his hands on her hips once more and pressed himself against her. "You're smart. Well I'm sure you know I pick woman with similar looks to my sister. Similar. Just the hair and age though."
"Yes," Hinata said in a strained voice, trying to shift away from him futilely.
"Well, fine," Yoru said, running his eyes down Hinata's body. "I'll tell you what my friends didn't know. I was married to this beautiful blonde woman, sort of like your friend over there. Remember that mission you were sent on? Escorting? Well I ended up getting fucking married," he snarled, gripping her waist painfully tight. Hinata bit her lip but kept quiet. "I tried. I tried loving her. It was some political marriage to join the two villages together," Yoru continued. Everything was just pouring out now. "I couldn't give her what she wanted. I wanted to love her, really I did. But I ended up being too distant…she thought I was cheating on her. When she left me, we kept it on the down low. Son of the Leader Sora…a disgrace to the village. No one had to know the alliance was broken. No. Instead they decided to marry off Mizuki to my ex-wife's brother. What kind of twisted-" He let out a strangled laugh. "When…my ex-wife left…I fell to pieces. That's when I stared perfecting my beautiful white kunai. That's when I made my first kill."
By now Yoru was breathing heavily. His forehead was pressed against Hinata's chest and he gripped her hips tightly.
"Damn it," he whispered under his breath. "My kills seemed to help Mizuki with her marriage situation. She didn't want to get married and each time I made a kill…her wedding ceremony got delayed," he looked up into Hinata's eyes. "She found out what I was doing eventually and…after…after her…rape…she flinched each time she saw my face. It reminded her of that day. But soon…I guess she got used to it. I don't fucking know, but she liked what I was doing."
Hinata was surprised but made no movement.
"But she has nothing to do with what I did to those women," Yoru went on. "She's a good girl. I do what I can to please her since I can't please her in the ways I want to."
Hinata grimaced, as did Ino.
"Speaking of Mizuki," Yoru said, pulling away from Hinata and heading towards the wooden cell door. "She should be back from distracting your boyfriend, Naruto. She didn't want me to do anything to you, Hinata, before she saw you. I think she always had a little crush on you. Don't go anywhere," he said with a haunting smile, his scar wrinkling threateningly, before disappearing into the hallway.
Hinata and Ino waited in the quiet for a few minutes. Tsuma's body got colder and colder and finally Yoru's footsteps faded into the distance.
"Hinata," Ino said abruptly. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," she said quietly.
"Yoru…the son," Ino said with a shake of her head. "I'm…disgusted." Hinata shivered and stared off into the ceiling. "Well, no time to waste, Hinata. I got an idea." She didn't wait for Hinata to answer. "How's the state of the wall by you?"
Hinata looked confused briefly but did as she was told. "Bricks are missing from places. It's falling apart. Why?"
"You're flexible, right." Ino said more than asked. "You have any strength left in you?"
Hinata nodded firmly.
"I'm going to need you to break my wrists."
"What?"
"Climb up using the notches in the wall and the chains around your wrist," she said, ignoring her question.
"Ino-"
"I can't slip my hands out of the cuffs," Ino said, struggling with the chains. "But with broken wrists I can."
"Ino-san!" Hinata said. "I can't do that to you-"
"You have to," Ino insisted.
Hinata shook her head. "You do it to me. We'll need your ability to heal-"
"Damn it, Hinata!" Ino said, kicking the wall. "This isn't up for discussion! I'm sorry…I know you don't want to but I'll be able to heal just fine. You don't worry about that. If it comes down to it, we'll need you to fight. You're much better at hand to hand combat-"
"But-"
"Hinata we don't have much time. Once I get out of this I'll try and get you out-"
"No," Hinata said resolutely. "If I'm going to have to hurt you I want you to get out of here-"
Ino groaned. "Hinata-"
"No, Ino-san, listen to me," Hinata said quickly. "The chakra dampers didn't seem to affect us until we got to this ground floor. Get as high as you can and try to contact Naruto-kun. Tell him where we are."
Ino nodded in understanding. "Backup."
"It would be hard for you to unbind me with broken wrists anyway…" Hinata said softly.
Ino gave her a halfhearted smile. "You'll do it then?"
Hinata nodded. Using the wall her back was against and the adjacent one at her left, she used the cracks and holes in the wall as footholds to hoist herself up. She wrapped her hands around the chain and gripped it tightly. With her feet stable and the chains wrapped securely around her wrists she pulled herself up, practically curling up on herself. She stuck her feet into the gap between the chain and the wall and hung a few feet off the ground, breathing heavily. With her left ankle securely secured in place she took a deep breath and swung her right foot down hard onto Ino's hand.
Ino gave a sharp cry out in pain but quickly shut her mouth.
"Again!" she said with a hiss.
Hinata frowned but did as she was told. This would be much easier and cleaner if I could use my chakra, she thought desperately as her friend grunted in pain with each blow of her foot. "I'm so, so sorry, Ino-san," Hinata said softly as she swung her foot down once more.
Ino yelped in pain and told Hinata to stop in a trembling whisper.
Hinata let herself drop to the floor as Ino carefully pulled her hands free from her restraints. She cradled her injured wrists to her chest as she crouched on the floor trying to steady her breathing.
"Ino-san?" Hinata asked gently.
"I'm okay," Ino said, straightening up. "No time to waste. I'll be right back, Hinata!"
Ino ran towards the door, holding her hands gingerly towards her chest. She briefly glanced at Tsuma's dead body hanging lifelessly from its chains. I could have healed her, she thought bitterly, though she knew it would have been useless. The kunoichi found herself in a large empty hallway and darted towards the stairs. Taking three steps at a time, the distance from the chakra dampers grew and she felt some strength returning.
Not enough chakra to do much, Ino thought to herself as she bound up the crumbling steps. I just need one good burst…A faint blue energy surrounded Ino's hands as she healed her wrists a little. Just enough to contact Naruto… She was able to move her hands better now. The movements still pained her but she ignored it.
Ino stopped running. She didn't want to get too close to the top in case guards or someone heard her, and she was far enough away from the underground cellar that she was slowly regaining some energy. Let's see if I can do this…
She formed an O with her fingers and placed her hands near her forehead, concentrating on Naruto. Please work. Please work. Please work, she thought, quick memories of her father flashing through her mind. Please work!
With all the chakra and energy she could muster, she put all her hope into her teammate and yelled in her mind with all her might.
NARUTO!
-Magma E.
Up Next: Wrong
"Rain splattered around him, wetting the previously elegant and pristine carpeted hallway. Broken pieces of wood splintered the ground and Naruto grinned at the confused and appalled looks on the guard's faces."