Yo!!! Here's the next chapter, fresh off the comp, slaved after not being able to do anything on it due to technical issues involving old women and hospitals. That's right, Mom left the laptop at the job for a few days, making m ability to type short. But enough of that, sit back, and enjoy.
Chapter 16: Sasuke's Last Stand, and His Reunion!!
"Hey Sasuke, got a minute?" Raven asked, as the boys were preparing for bed. It was the night before the final battle. "Hn?" Sasuke replied. "I wouldn't be so Sasuke-ish when it comes to Hinata. She's not like Sakura or Ino." Raven said, and Sasuke shrugged. "Really. I've heard around about her. She's had it rough. Separated from her clan because of a lack of ability. Openly looked down upon by her father. Nearly killed by Neji. Her confidence must be in the shits by now." Raven said. "Don't get me wrong. Neji's told me that the clan's been nicer to her, but that kind of thing doesn't exactly leave the mind so easily." Raven said solemnly. "We should know about long-term scars. More so than most…" (You may be right, but she had people who would acknowledge her. Now about the confidence thing…) Sasuke thought to himself, walking with two wooden katana, smirking. (I am more than sure I can instill some of it into her, or at least lose my headband trying.)
(A distance away)
Raven was standing atop a tree, watching as Sasuke was heading to a clearing that was near a river. (So it comes down to this. Emotions will hit their boiling points, and then we will see how this plays out.) Raven thought to himself, smirking. "You better be good to her, Sasuke…" Raven muttered.
(Border River: 2 Miles outside the village)
Hinata was sitting in a tree, watching the river and basically enjoying nature. "It's so peaceful here. Makes me want to just nap here…" Hinata muttered to herself. "The nap will wait. The time is now." Hinata turned, as Sasuke was walking towards the clearing.
"Sasuke-san!" Hinata said, surprised to see him. "Don't be so surprised. The score is tied 1-1. We end this now." Sasuke said. Before Hinata could say anything on the matter, a black wooden katana landed next to her. "You ready? I won't be holding back…much." Sasuke said, smirking. Hinata frowned.
"Are you mocking me?" Hinata asked. "I don't know. You tell me." Sasuke said, smirking even bigger. Hinata actually scowled (wow) and picked up the katana and charged. Sasuke prepared himself.
Sasuke smirked as Hinata charged at him, Byakugan activated. But what she did surprised him. Instead of using the katana, she tossed it at him, and vouched for her Gentle Fist instead.
"What's this? Wish to attack me head on? I didn't think you had the courage to." Sasuke taunted, and Hinata began to get annoyed. "My guess is that she was always picked on, or overlooked as a ninja." Raven voiced his opinion. (You better be right. If that's the case, instilling some confidence will be all the more easy.) Sasuke thought to himself, as he was dodging attacks.
"I see that you aren't any stronger than the last time. I thought you were stronger than this." Sasuke taunted, which caused Hinata to nearly cleave his head off with the katana she tossed earlier. (Weird, I don't remember her grabbing the katana.) Sasuke thought to himself. He quickly brought his wooden katana around, and parried her attack, sending her off balance. He then tried to strike, but Hinata pivoted, and swung for the fences.
The only thing that saved Sasuke from getting creamed was his Shadow Cloning the katana. He blocked it with his non-strong hand, and it surprised Hinata that he could still hang on to the blade considering it was his weak hand. He then hopped back, as the sword in his left hand disappeared. (So she is picking the pace up a little. That's good.) Sasuke thought to himself.
"At least you are putting up a fight." Sasuke said, and Hinata glared at him. Sasuke held her glare with indifference, and Hinata growled. "You sound like a kitten. Not scary at all." Sasuke continued the taunting, and Hinata charged again, this time, Sasuke smirked even more. (I don't see a girl who isn't confident. She is quite the fighter.) Sasuke thought to himself, as he hopped away to avoid the Gentle Fist attacks.
"I see you are getting a little faster. Maybe you would make for a good warm up." Sasuke said, and Hinata put even more pressure on Sasuke. After dodging a thrust, Sasuke turned, and tried to backhand her. Hinata caught his fist, and turned so he was in front of her with his hands behind his back, and a kunai to his neck. Hinata was panting, while Sasuke looked as indifferent as always.
"You give up?" Hinata asked. "Is that a rhetorical question?" Sasuke asked, which caused the kunai to dig a little deeper. Sasuke merely shook his head, slowly to prevent getting slit, and nodded towards the trees. Hinata looked in the direction, and her eyes widened. Sasuke was standing there, arms crossed and leaning on a tree.
The Sasuke she had turned into a bunch of snakes, causing Hinata to shriek and hop back. "Hn. Does the big mean snakes scare wittle Hinata?" Sasuke asked in a mocking tone, and Hinata scowled at him. "You scowl? That's quite amazing." Sasuke continued mocking, and Hinata's hair covered her face.
(I think I pushed a little too roughly.) Sasuke thought to himself, seeing Hinata in her state. Then, he felt something he didn't think would come from Hinata.
The intent to inflict harm.
(I pushed her too far…) Sasuke thought, as Hinata yelled, and charged.
Sasuke got into a defensive stance, and prepared for the upcoming attack. But before he knew it, Hinata was in his face, which caught him slightly off guard. Hinata was striking faster and more accurately, and she was giving him a run for his money. (Might need the Sharingan for this one.) Sasuke thought to himself, as he dodged the attacks. He then hopped back, as Hinata tossed three kunai.
He knocked the first two out of the way, and caught the last one, which had an explosive tag on it. Sasuke's eyes widened, and he tossed it away. But the explosion caught him a little, and he flew back some. He back flipped, and landed on his feet. He dusted himself, and looked around.
"Hmm. Seems the little flower is really going to fight for real." Sasuke mused. He then closed his eyes, and smirked. When they opened, they were the blood crimson of the Sharingan. He could sense some chakra signatures out there, but he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. He then turned, and could feel something coming from behind. He turned, ready to intercept the oncoming attack, but was surprised to see three Hinata charging him.
(Shadow Clones? Since when could Hinata use Shadow Clones?) Sasuke thought to himself, as he pulled his katana (of the wooden kind) to block the attacks and parry them. Sasuke then hopped back, as his Chidori came to life in his blade. He then swung it, and an electric shockwave shot out, taking the three Hinatas with it.
He then slammed his sword into the ground, and looked around, Sharingan analyzing everything. He then felt her chakra somewhere close. Where exactly: somewhere in the trees. He glanced at the trees, and then turned to block Hinata's Gentle Fist attack. (Hn. If Hinata is here, then where did that other chakra come from?) Sasuke thought to himself. He didn't get much time to think on it as Hinata charged him again.
After a few more pointless attacks, Hinata was on the ground, face first as Sasuke was leaning on a tree. "You want to call it quits? I don't like fighting when the outcome is dead obvious." Sasuke said, and Hinata stood to her feet.
"…One more attack." Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "One more attack. One final attack to decide it all." Hinata said, and Sasuke shook his head. "You want to determine the outcome with one more attack?" Sasuke asked. Hinata merely nodded, and Sasuke held her with his cold look.
"I will be using my Chidori. There is a good chance that you will die. Are you sure you wish to try, knowing that?" Sasuke asked. "I never go back on my word. That too is my Ninja Way!!" Hinata said with the most confidence Sasuke had heard ever. He smirked, and shook his head.
"Okay then. If you are so sure of it, then one final attack." Sasuke said, as he walked some distance away from her. He turned around, as Hinata got into her Gentle Fist Stance. Sasuke thrust his left hand out, as the Chidori came to life. Hinata was still in her stance. Sasuke then charged, and gained speed. He noticed that Hinata was in a stance that was different.
(Hm. What stance is that? Doesn't look like the one Neji does for his 64 Palms attack…) Sasuke continued his charge, a little more cautious. When he was outside of her range, her eyes shot open.
"Protection of the 8-Trigrams 64 Palms!!!" Hinata then began to shoot her hands out, creating a dome of chakra that would repel Sasuke's Chidori. Sasuke's fist hit the dome, but didn't push through. (What the!? I didn't pierce this weird dome?) Sasuke thought to himself.
Then he saw some tendrils shoot out, and slash through his left arm and hand. He didn't feel anything, but he noticed that his Chidori died right in front of his eyes. (Hn?!) Sasuke's Sharingan showed him that his chakra in his arm was almost non-existent.
"My chakra." Sasuke muttered, and before he knew it, Hinata was in front of him, Gentle Fist attack smashing into his chest, sending him into the trees, as he hit the ground and rolled across the ground. He landed on his back, as his headband flew off his head, and his hair covered his eyes. Sasuke groaned, and glared at nothing in general.
"Ng…I underestimated her again. This time though she hit me good…" Sasuke thought to himself, as he found it a pain to move. "Sasuke-san!!! Are you okay?" Hinata asked, as she checked to see how much Sasuke was hurt. He merely groaned in irritation, as he continued to glare at the sky.
"I underestimated you again." Sasuke said, and Hinata smiled. "You got too overconfident?" Hinata asked. "Nope, just didn't count in that last attack. Lucky shot is all." Sasuke said, and Hinata smiled. "I'm sure." Hinata said. "Yeah yeah. Just help me up." Sasuke said, extending a hand.
Hinata nodded, and grabbed his hand. Instead of getting up, Sasuke dragged her down so that she was laying right next to him. Instead of letting her argue against it, Sasuke merely told her to be quiet and enjoy the peace. Hinata, though blushing a bright red, merely nodded and rested next to him.
Both quiet nin laid in the grass, enjoying the quiet scenery. But all things must come to an end at some point. "GAHHH!!!! SASUKE-KUN!!!" Hinata shot up, surprised. Sasuke groaned in irritation. He recognized that voice anywhere.
"Wow. Sasuke was actually here. I guess you are good for something, Karin." Sasuke then sighed even more irritably. "You want to repeat that!? I dare you!!!" "Heh. What you gonna do, four eyes?" "WHY YOU-" Sasuke decided to intervene.
"I'm over here. Stop screaming and making unnecessary noise." Sasuke said. From the clearing appeared three people Hinata had ever met. The shorter boy of the two had silver hair, piercing eyes, and shark like teeth. The taller boy had snow white hair, and looked a little less menacing, despite his gigantic stature. The girl had red hair. One side was long and combed, while the other was short and unruly. (Or vice-versa. I get the sides mixed up.) She also had on glasses, making her look like she could be the brains. (This is solely based on first looks, since we all know that that is sorely wrong.)
The silver haired boy smirked. "I see that you have been slacking off without us, Sasuke." Suigetsu said, smirking. "Bet I could kick your ass if you've been-" The boy as cut off by a punch to the face, which caused his face to become distorted. Hinata's eyes widened, seeing such blatant displays of violence, while the silver haired boy began to laugh.
"How dare you, Suigetsu!!! Sasuke-kun would kick your ass in no time!!!" The girl, Karin (a duh) screamed. Both then began to bicker with each other, while Sasuke pulled Hinata up, and approached the giant with them.
"What are you guys doing here, Juugo?" Sasuke asked, addressing the white haired lad. "We heard you were here, and decided to pay a visit. You aware that Orochimaru is looking for you?" Juugo asked. "I had a guess. He isn't one to let an important 'pawn' roam freely for long. I just hope I can take him when the time comes." Sasuke said.
"I see. Who is your girlfriend?" Juugo asked, which caused Hinata to blush crimson, and Karin to shriek. "G-g-g-girlfriend!?!? But why such a plain looking girl, Sasuke-kun!? Why not someone like me!?" Karin screamed, as Sasuke groaned, running his hand through his hair.
"She isn't my girlfriend. She is a girl who is a friend. And for the last time Karin, I don't like you like that. In fact, I don't care much for you at all. I just needed your skills." Sasuke said rather bluntly, which caused Hinata to tap him in the back.
"What? It's the truth." Sasuke said. "That is really mean, Sasuke-san." Hinata said, and Sasuke sighed. "Yes. It is mean for me to be hostile to the one girl here who wouldn't waste a single second to try and rape me in my sleep." Sasuke said sarcastically. "Yes. Girls can rape guys. It just raises questions that hurt the rapee worse than the raper." Sasuke said, seeing as Hinata was about to say something. She closed her mouth, and Suigetsu smirked even bigger.
"Damn. You sure have a fine taste in women, Sasuke. She looks so innocent. I would bet she was a virgin." Suigetsu said, which made Hinata feel quite faint. "Please stop picking on her before she faints." Sasuke said.
"What? The idea of you having your way with someone like her never crossed your mind? Frankly, I would ride her ass like a Roller Coaster." And that was the knockout punch to Hinata, for she passed out, bright red. Sasuke and Juugo seat dropped, while Suigetsu and Karin began laughing.
"Wow. What a weak looking girl!!" Karin said, laughing along with Suigetsu, before she socked the shit out of him for the comments that caused said girl to faint. Sasuke sighed, told Juugo to pick Hinata up, and they headed back to the Border Village. "Ugh. Tsunade is going to give a earful for this one." Sasuke said, sighing.
Across on the opposite side of the forest, Neji was watching Sasuke's battle with Hinata. He wasn't going to tell the Uchiha, but he believed he was helping to pull Hinata out of her shell. (Hn. Don't say I never do anything nice for you Uchiha. Had you been another guy, I would have killed you by now.) Neji thought to himself, and then his vision turned to Raven, who looked like he was waiting for someone.
(Probably waiting to find Sakura.) Neji thought, as he stood up, and began walking. He sensed Tented nearby, and he had every intention to end this little thing once and for all.
ShadowRonin: Yeah. Hinata pulled ahead, and Sasuke reunites with Hebi, and learns of Orochimaru. Seems like things are beginning to come to a boiling point as outside forces are closing in on our heroes. Can they all pull ahead and win?
Next Chapter: Neji and Tenten take to the trees as their final battle begins. Can the Byakugan Prodigy defeat the Weapon Mistress, or will Tenten pull a come from behind victory? Find out on:
Chapter 17: Team 9 Duel: Neji vs. Tenten! Weapon Mistress vs. The Unbreakable Wall!!