Here we go! This is the third installment of the paintball bonanza, and the last! I know, sad right?
But all good things must come to an end, however quick and unexpected that end may be.
Ah, just to make it more understandable, when (I don't want to give it away) people are asked what happened, it is a flashback.
Not that you can't figure that out anyway…
YOSH! Naruto does not belong to moi, and I do not, in any way, make profit from writing this.
"So, we move as a group?" Chouji asked Sasuke slowly, turning to face their new leader. After Shikamaru and then Naruto got knocked out, he had to assume the position.
Sasuke, who was leaning against a tree with his eyes out of focus, snapped out of his reverie to look at his old keeper. Chouji had played keeper on his varsity soccer team, and hadn't let more than three goals in the whole season.
Now refreshed with more shots, Ino had a score to settle. Not with Hinata, but with Tenten. You see the pair of them had never been the best of friends. In fact, there was rather open animosity from Ino to Tenten. Something about Tenten being good at everything and Ino being… not as good at everything.
So the chance was now open for Ino to finally beat Tenten at something, in this case paintball. Hinata was her friend, but she wanted to win, even if it meant shooting her. There were no more protectors for the Hyuga now, and Ino could fulfill her pledge to be the one who gets her.
"We won't be able to find her as fast!" Ino complained, pouting at Sasuke. "If we go individually, we can split up and then one-shot her down."
Yeah, which is of course code for 'I want to be the one who gets her and you'll get in my way'. Sasuke thought bitterly, deliberately not looking at the blond.
"Ino, that's dangerous." Chouji muttered, shaking his head at his friend's recklessness. "And what if she gets the upper hand?"
"Come on, this is Hinata we're talking about!"
"The same Hinata who has a mount and can now run faster than any of us…"
Ino was getting aggravated. "Sasuke-kun, what should we do?"
Still leaning against the tree, Sasuke didn't respond immediately. He seemed to be pondering something. "I agree… with Ino."
She cheered, sidling her way over to him and grabbing his arm. "Thank you Sasuke-kun! I think this is a sign that we should be together, don't you?"
"Hn," He shot his warning glance at her, stiffly taking his arm back.
"I just don't want to get hit and let the team down…" Chouji muttered, fondling with the barrel of his gun.
"She only has a one in three chance of finding you. Just stay out of sight." Sasuke said, getting off of the tree and walking to the middle of the clearing. He looked up at the sky, seeing a few wispy clouds but nothing else.
"Sasuke-kun… I'll win this for us, just you watch. Too bad you're not the leader so I don't get to kiss you, ne?" Ino gushed, licking her lips seductively.
She is so ridiculous.
After he brushed off her comment, Ino went southeast, Chouji carefully headed west and Sasuke proceeded to go north, each beginning their search for the heiress.
Almost completely covered in red, blood-like paint, Ino sat against a rock with her legs pulled up to her chest. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, filled with fear. "That was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me…"
The residents of the 'circle of shame', who had all been waiting for her to tell them what happened, were finally about to get some answers. Ino had come into the circle in complete silence, which was creepy enough as it was. She just looked at her feet as she walked aimlessly, ending up by the rock she was at now.
Naruto, who was closest to her, eagerly scooted nearer. "What happened?"
"It… It's like she's possessed. I'm really afraid. That was not the Hinata I know…"
Neji and Sakura exchanged nervous glances. What did she mean by that?
"There was a moment where I feared for my life. I don't think that's Hinata… some devil possessed her. It was over so quickly, but…" Ino paused, biting her lip. "She took off her armor, put up her hair and somehow managed to have four guns on her… It scared me. Some evil force haunts her. I'm afraid for Chouji and Sasuke-kun."
"Ino-san, what happened?" Lee asked quickly.
Ino:
I need to get Hinata out… I gave Sasuke-kun my word that I would! She was walking along, sticking to the trees and remaining out of the open. It seemed Ino was heading over to where Shikamaru got picked off by Tenten, because that hill would be a good sightseeing post.
The forest was relatively quiet, except for a few birds here and there. I'll hear her if she passes. Good thing she's with Akamaru, that's just one more thing to make noise and give away her position.
Ino didn't really believe Hinata's declaration of attack over the radios. She thought that she was saying that to try to intimidate them, to carry this game on just a little longer. It was because of this cocky thought that Ino walked with her head held high and her ego even higher.
It was when she was imagining her knocking out Hinata and proving to Sasuke that she was awesome when she heard it. A howl echoed around the area she was in, from far away.
Are there wolves here? Why would they be howling anyway, it's more than two hours until sunset? Ino wondered, obviously not making the connection. Shrugging it off, she jumped into a small brook, landing on a protruding rock in the middle.
Then the howl came again, this time closer and louder. Ino looked over her shoulder warily, trying to conceal her mounting fear. She began to run now, but the faster she ran the more afraid she became. Deciding that her best bet was to be slightly in the open so she could see the wolf if it came after, she stayed away from the trees.
Fear obviously clouds judgment, as that was stupid as hell.
I'm armed… if it comes after me, I can shoot it to get it to go away. Or that will make it even madder! Shit!
The third howl came from, not behind her, but ahead. She could now hear the padding of heavy footfalls that seemed to be circling her, though remaining out of sight.
In her fear, she didn't realize what happened when Akamaru burst out of the bushes with Hinata on his back. She was holding on with her knees as she held two guns in front of her.
It was like slow motion for Ino, who could not move out of fear. 'Akanata' looked incredible with his red and black riding armor and her wielding four guns as well as Kiba's sunglasses. Incredbily intimidating.
With no discernable expression on her face, Hinata unloaded a grand total of 20 shots on her adversary as she circled around, riding Akamaru speedily like an expert jockey.
Once the deed was done and Ino was completely 'bloody', Hinata slowed Akamaru's pace to a trot. Her white eyes met Ino's blue as she looked over her shoulder. Ino was standing right where she had been when Hinata first caught her, her mouth stupidly open. The blond did not have the ability to move a muscle, unlike the dynamic duo of woman and beast.
Even when Hinata tossed a small, crumpled piece of paper at her, Ino just let it bounce off her face. It fell loftily to the ground while Hinata just observed her kill with a frown. She stayed mounted on armored-Akamaru for a few moments before squeezing her knees to put him into a walk.
Finishing with a motion of pure badass, Hinata took her shades off from the top of her head and placed them neatly on her nose before placing her guns on her hips and grabbing the reins, speeding off with her war-dog. The last Ino heard of them was the unmistakable sound of 'Akanata' crashing through the undergrowth.
What… the… fuck?
When Ino finally got over her shock, she fell to her knees, hands dragging in the dirt. Her heart rate slowed back to normal as she tried to comprehend what had just happened.
The note was by her right knee and she slowly handled it, unfolding it carefully. The message was in red paint, the same that was in the Boom Squad's paintballs.
Gomennasai, Ino-chan.
Ino finished the dramatic retelling of her tale, having regained her old sense of self back by the end.
"I still can't believe I didn't shoot her! I was just so… gah! I don't know!" She lamented, throwing her head back as she leaned on her hands.
"I honestly don't even know what to make of that." Naruto muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Hyuga Hinata, a murdering paint monster? No way…"
"But she's not though! She left me a note: 'Gomennasasi, Ino-chan.' that's still Hinata!"
Sakura, who was laughing all throughout Ino's encounter, smirked at her male blond friend. "When she puts her mind to something… like, really throws her all into something… there's nothing you can do to stop her."
"What do you mean, has this happened before?" Kiba asked quickly. It was still weird to him that his friend had this dark side.
"Well, it was a dark and stormy night…" Sakura started, dropping her voice to a low mutter. "Kidding, it was in sophomore year. Hinata and I were partners for a health project where we needed to research a doctor and we chose Tsunade-sama, seeing as how she's the most accomplished surgeon in this country. When it came time for the interview, we went to her hospital and asked to see her on what we knew was the day she didn't work, and they said that she was there but we couldn't speak with her. For absolutely no reason, mind you."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Tenten asked lightly, cocking her head.
"I'm getting to that. When we were denied, Hinata just stood there frozen before getting sort of angry. Saying something about 'We spent so much time researching her!' she just walked back up to the man and demanded to see her. After ten minutes of Hinata verbally beating him down, he let us through. He was nearly in tears by the end of it. Then, she just snapped out of it and went back to her normal docile self! It was weird." She finished lightly, her gaze flicking around but ending on Kiba.
"I think weird is a good way to describe this…" Kiba growled, suddenly getting aggravated and throwing himself down on his back. Maybe it was the lack of Akamaru, but he seemed lost.
With the exception of Kiba, they all whipped around to see Chouji brushing aside a wayward branch to get to them. He had four 'wounds' on his armor and one directly on his forehead, marking a rather pretty-looking shot.
"Chouji! She got you too?" Ino asked, standing up quickly and running over to her friend who was walking in a daze. "That means—"
"Wait, Sasuke is your prince?" Neji asked quickly, narrowing his eyes. Little known fact, Neji didn't like Sasuke all too much and the feeling was mutual. They had been bitter rivals on the track team, with Sasuke beating him in the sprinting races by a hair and Neji narrowly beating him at the very long-distance races.
Shikamaru nodded. "We kept it a secret by using him for combat."
"That means that it's prince versus princess!" Ino called, finishing her point that was previously interrupted by Neji.
"Okay, this calls for a new rule!" Kiba called, picking up Sakura's abandoned headset and clicking it on, despite the rule of not being able to communicate. "Princess Hina and Prince Sasuke, do you come in?"
There was static over the line for a few moments before Sasuke spoke up. "Hai."
"Hina?"
They waited for a couple more seconds before making contact. It sounded as if there was a lot of air rushing past her walkie-talkie. "Uh… I'm here."
Ino and Chouji exchanged a knowing glance. It was interesting for them to hear the voice of their assassin, let alone being such a soft and small voice as hers. It was like a little twelve-year-old had been speaking into a walkie-talkie for the first time. But still, that girl had knocked them out of the game without saying a word… they shouldn't be poking fun.
Kiba smirked as she said that. "You two are the only people left. Just thought you'd like to know…"
"You mean Chouji and Ino…" Sasuke spat out, not needing to finish the thought.
"Princess Boom Squad knocked them out." Kiba laughed into the headpiece, glancing at the defeated pair. "I'd suggest running for your life, your highness…"
"Um… Chouji-kun and Ino, are you there?" Hinata asked, the rushing wind still present.
Ino leaped at Kiba to speak into the mouthpiece. "Yes we are."
"Oh… I'd just like to… further apologize for shooting you. I'm terribly sorry if you got hurt. T-trust me, I wouldn't have shot at you at all if I didn't have a whole team believing in me and willing me to win."
As she finished her little speech, the headset beeped loudly five times before shutting off completely.
Kiba, who had jumped away at the loud sound, examined it roughly. "It's out of batteries!"
The other members of Team Awesome checked theirs as well and came to the same conclusion. Naruto threw his across the enclosure on an impulse before shaking his head. "Now we won't be able to know what happens! It could already be over for all we know!"
A few of them nodded, but others just remained still and quiet.
It was Shikamaru who broke the silence. "Chouji, how'd she get you?"
Chouji:
This is a bad idea… I knew this was a bad idea… Chouji chanted in his head, creeping warily through the trees. He looked directly above and found that he couldn't see the sun; it was hidden behind the trees by now. For being as big as him, he was incredibly good at keeping silent.
His plan was to slowly and cautiously make his way in one direction, keeping an eye out for Hinata and Akamaru. Every so often he would take a stick and throw it in front of him, just in case that would give away her position if she shot. It would give away his as well, but he was playing defensively anyway.
He vaguely took notice of the lack of animals like squirrels, assuring himself that they all were heading off to sleep, as night was… two hours away. Such logic didn't make sense, animals didn't retreat that early!
Being in his state of mild fear, he tried to fool himself into thinking all the little birdies and chippies had gone to sleep two hours early.
In fact there was something, a living and breathing creature that scared everything away. The little animals had never before witnessed the great, white, black, red, gun-wielding monster that now prowled stealthily through the mess of trees. In their fear of the unknown, all the creatures of the forest retired to their lodgings, hoping that 'Akanata' would soon leave them in peace again.
But this gun-toting 'Akanata' was not hunting them. No, its prey was far larger and ultimately far more dangerous.
Back on a human level, Chouji knew that he couldn't communicate with his team now that Hinata was on their frequency, but he still wondered how they were faring. For all he knew Ino got taken out and Sasuke was now being hunted!
"HawooOOOOooooo!"
His breath caught as he heard the howl. It sounded some distance away, though not too far. No, she's come after me! He thought suddenly, peering past the large tree that significantly hid his bulk from view. Well, from anyone looking at him from the north.
Chouji, unlike Ino, could easily piece together who and what the howl was. It was Akamaru, for there were no wolves in this place. She's trying to intimidate me!
Crouching low, he strained his eyes to see as far as he could into the shadowy forest. The sun was slowly setting though it still hung visibly in the sky. Small silhouettes of trees started appearing, telltale signs of night approaching.
Why am I getting nervous? This is Hinata we're talking about… she isn't a hunter. I should have nothing to fear.
Ah, but dearest Chouji forgot about the trait that Hyugas carried. They, when it is beneficial to them, can instill an unexplainable fear in ones heart. Probably from those eyes that seemed to penetrate deeper than they should, reading everything. It was because of these eyes that Hyugas intimidated so well, and how they were so good at making people fear them. Unreadable, fathomless, infinite eyes…
Even their innocent heiress had this power, this ability.
I have the night on my side. If I just stay still, I'll blend into the shadows and be able to see her coming. No need to fear. Chouji tried to convince himself, though not quite succeeding as well as he hoped.
Again a howl broke the silence, louder this time around. It came from a different area, from the north instead of from the east as before. She's trying to circle around me while coming near. But why give away her position with the howling?
Resting his back against the tree trunk, he closed his eyes and tried to listen to the forest around him. A shift of leaves here and there, the whistle of the wind… then he heard it: the unmistakable sound of four feet padding along to the north of him. They're north, they can't see me. But Akamaru can smell me can't he? Shit!
Just like that, despite the enemy being far away and in a place that was impossible to get him from, the Hyuga had managed to make Chouji start to fear her. His fear of getting shot, coupled with the fact that 'Akanata' did not need to use their eyes anymore and the dawning realization that Hinata would hold nothing back combined to plant a seed of fear that would only grow larger and mercilessly corrupt him.
There's no reason to be afraid, none at all… she is just trying to make me scared…
And succeeding…A cruel voice in this head told him.
Breakings of twigs snapped close to him make him turn his neck sharply, mad eyes darting around. What was that? She couldn't have gotten here without me realizing!
The howl came again, but this time instead of behind him, it came from directly ahead. It was the loudest call yet… and the closet.
She's in front, she can see me if she comes nearer… I need to move! Forgoing being quiet in exchange for speed, Chouji quickly relocated to the direct opposite of the tree, leaning back on it like he had done before.
His heart was beating painfully fast, each throb feeling like a punch to his throat. That's where he felt it, his neck. He had just cricked it after all, so there the strongest pulse resonated from. I need to be silent… if I make a move, I'm dead. No! Why am I afraid of her?
Poor Chouji. Unexplained fear is often the most horrific of all.
He couldn't believe she was destroying him mentally like this. Reduced to cowering behind a tree, waiting for the inevitable fourth howl that would surely signal his doom. Terrifyingly, he was unable to move, paralyzed by the panic coursing through his veins. Every shadow was the barrel of Hinata's gun, slowly creeping closer; every rustle of greenery was her brushing past, circling around.
There was a moment where he was sure that she was directly behind his tree, preparing to jump around and take him out. In his overwhelming fear, reason and logic had given way to speculation and dread. Why doesn't she just come out already? Manic eyes dashed around, flashing between the trees and their limbs in the utmost fear.
If she won't come out, I'll get HER!
In the stupidest move of the entire game, including Ino missing Hinata from three feet away, Chouji jumped to his feet with a war cry. He circled around the tree twice, and cruel realization dawned when he found no one. In his fear he had imagined her and was pressured into making a move. Not that that had exactly been her plan, but it now put him into the open.
The forth howl never came. Chouji was not prepared for what happened in its place. A single shot was fired loudly from directly in front of him, coming out of the darkness. He did not see it until it was a mere two feet away, in which case it was too late.
It hit his forehead straight on, placing itself nicely in the middle of his headband. A perfect shot… incredible. Hinata Hyuga was a natural sniper. After the initial knock-back into the tree, he slid down to the roots, his gun slipping from his hands.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, seconds that felt like days to the stupefied Akimichi. The knock to his head, probably having the potential to knock out someone less sturdy, only incapacitated him.
He noticed but did not react when none other than armor-clad Akamaru came padding around the tree he was seated at the bottom of. The dog was sniffing the ground loudly, slowly making his way over to the human, though staying just short of blocking him from aim. It was odd, for he just sat down next to the 'dying' Chouji, observing him with those dark canine eyes.
Hinata must have noticed that Chouji was not the prince, because quickly 4 more shots came from exactly the same spot, each hitting him on a different spot on his chest. Silence ascended upon the forest as the echoes faded into nothingness. He couldn't even feel or hear anything except for the loud and heavy beating of his heart.
Akamaru, having been holding something in his mouth, neatly placed it next to the victim before padding away in the direction the shots came from. It took Chouji a few moments to get over his terror, in which time he noticed the note. The paper was rough-edged and folded over twice.
With shaking fingers he picked it up, shaking it open with the help of gravity. What was written was hard to see in the shadow of the trees, so he moved it closer to his face. What he saw looked like a map, so he turned it over to reveal a red painted message.
Gomennasai, Chouji-kun.
"I never saw her, just Akamaru." Chouji muttered, staring down at his hands where he clutched the paper. "She somehow made him herd me to be in the line of her vision, putting her far away and invisible. Her and Akamaru had separated, which was why…"
"A sniper rifle, Tenten?" Naruto called, glaring at the brunette stubbornly. Hey, he had reason to be mad, for now there was a killer loose in the woods whose target was his best friend and he could do nothing. Nada.
Sakura snorted rather unfeminine-like. "Not only is that dangerous, but that's just unfair!"
"Right, and equipping Sasuke with a fully automatic was? Not my fault Naruto and Kiba didn't go over gun regulations…" Tenten said, shrugging as Team Awesome all glared at her.
The Boom Squad was, however, in a good mood. Apparently Hinata had been their unknown trump card, and when it was played they went from an almost-sure loss to what was nearing a win.
But of course, there was still Sasuke, the person on Team Awesome who was the fastest, had the best aim and was the quietest. Nobody wanted to bet on either because of the other competitor.
"She gave me this." Shikamaru took the note Chouji was holding out. "Actually, Akamaru did."
"'Gomennasai, Chouji-kun.' Ino got the same note. I guess this really is Hinata… not some killer in disguise." Shikamaru muttered quietly, tossing the note to Naruto when he beckoned.
The ten 'dead' people in the circle all lapsed into a thick silence, thinking about their royalty and what the outcome of this game might be. The bad part was that they wouldn't know until the winner got to a cell phone and called Sakura, who was smart enough to take hers with her.
"I guess we'll just have to wait." Neji muttered, still lying on his back with his hands under his head.
Sasuke-kun is the prince… Hinata thought whilst riding Akamaru through the forest. She was leading them towards the center because she doubted that he was in the southern part. After receiving the transmission from Kiba saying that it was she and Sasuke left, Hinata just started searching for him the way she had done to Ino and Chouji, which was with the aid of Akamaru's nose.
But he could only smell the Uchiha, or any human for that matter, if the target was in the area, in which case Sasuke might have already seen them. And as a minus, the sun was about an hour away from setting, meaning that the shadows would get far bigger and more numerous. He certainly had more stealth on his side…
She took out Chouji and Ino eh? She must be really riled up now. But still, Hinata is Hinata… Sasuke was leaning against a tree lazily, almost as though he really wasn't in a dangerous game of paintball where there were kisses at stake and the girl who he had last engaged in a game of tonsil hockey with was out for his blood… Good situation, if he would say so himself.
Ah, but if I think of it that way, I'm hunting her as well… This is getting rather intense.
It was incredible, but Sasuke had not hooked up with a college girl since Hana two weeks ago! He was going cold turkey, obviously giving his all into the heiress charming he was attempting. But alas, just because she was cute did not mean he wouldn't shoot her in the face.
You see our Sasuke is first and foremost an aggressive male. If Hinata beat him, his competitive spirit would take a serious blow, as well as his pride. He couldn't let a girl beat him! Not at a game he should be better at than her…
With that thought in mind, he began to move, sneakily heading to the center.
Neither of them was on defense anymore. No more hiding, no more chickening out of battle, just plain old running into the fray with their heads held high. An honorable fight. Or as honorable as a fight could be when both hunters would use the trees as obstacles and one had a fully automatic and the other had a mount…
A brisk wind blew south through the forest, catching both Hinata and Sasuke's hair in the up draft. Hinata didn't know they felt the same breeze. It wasn't until Akamaru sniffed out Sasuke's scent on the wind did he stop in his tracks.
Hinata, who had almost fallen off by his abrupt halt, put her hand daintily on his head, patting the armor plate.
"What is it boy?" She cooed gently.
Before she knew it, a stream of blue shots came out of nowhere. The only reason they were evaded was because Akamaru turned hastily around and was booking it the other way. Wincing, Hinata felt a few bullets connect with her long rope of hair, a rather odd sensation.
What kind of gun does he have? Sounds fully automatic! What idiot would manufacture a paintball machine gun?! Gritting her teeth, she grabbed Akamaru's reins and wheeled him around.
The dog seemed hell bent on fleeing, but she would not. It came down to this, him versus her. A battle of sexes… of teams… of honor.
Sasuke apparently had not been expecting her to turn around, for the shots stopped. He may have a machine gun, but I have two pistols! Guiding her noble steed with her knees, she ran in a large arc towards where the shots were coming from, alternately shooting each gun into the darkness that seemed to swallow everything that was more than twenty feet away.
She turned around? What the fuck? Sasuke cursed, attempting to aim at her, but found it nearly impossible with her swerving. He started to panic a little as she neared, unloading a few shots, two of which were a mere foot away from connecting with his head. She shot into the dark and almost got me… the fuck!?
Realizing that the only thing he could do was to get out of the area, Sasuke started to run directly left, narrowly avoiding a pair of shots from the huntress.
She looks like a complete babe when she's in war mode… Shit, I can't be thinking about that!
In a quick move, he abruptly changed direction and smirked when he heard his pursuer stumble. His grin melted away when a shot actually caught a bit of his hair. Wait, she turned this around on me, I can do the same to her!
He dropped low and stuck out his right leg as he initiated his move, almost like a baseball player sliding into a base. As soon as his foot connected with the sturdy roots of a tree, he shifted his position so it was literally on a starting block at Track before a race. Using that leverage he shot off towards the oncoming Akanata, cruising at speeds that seemed unconceivable for someone wearing football armor.
But, to his anger, she copied his move from before and turned a sharp left as he unloaded a few shots, his strikes hitting the ground with a loud 'tap tap tap'. She now started streaking off with Akamaru, heading straight to the middle.
He used my moves, I can use his! Hinata thought quickly as she took a sharp left, narrowly avoiding hits. As she quickly and perceptively navigated through the thicket of trees, she heard and smelled the blue shots hitting trees she had been in front of a second earlier. The lead stench was really starting to annoy her now.
A few seemingly long seconds later, her and Akamaru leaped out of the mess of trees and into a rather clear area with a few familiar faces she didn't expect to see.
Sakura had been in the middle of a suggestion to maybe head back to the cars and wait for the winner to show when Akanata burst out of the trees in an explosion of leaves and blue paint balls, all of which mercifully missed them.
"What the—" Naruto shouted, his jaw dropping at the sight of Hinata and Akamaru, now looking so badass he couldn't even finish his sentence.
"Hinata, Akamaru?" Kiba shouted, ungracefully getting to his feet. She's turned him into a war-dog! And wow she looks hot!
Hinata saw her friends, but couldn't react as she turned a quick left, wincing as she heard Sasuke jump through the place she just came out of. "Gemini formation, Akamaru!"
None of the spectators knew what that meant, and were flabbergasted when from some unsaid cue, Hinata jumped off her mount and he ran for the bushes. To reduce impact, she crouched low, sliding with one leg out like Sasuke had done before.
That move worked for him… She thought, connecting her foot with the bottom of a tree and pushing off with all her might, changing direction to charge straight at him.
The clearing they were in now was completely devoid of trees and the only landmarks were rocks that were in the dead center, where the dead competitors were standing. They had all jumped to their feet now to see the fight at its most ferocious point.
It was because of the lack of trees that Hinata saw Sasuke for the first time in light. He seemed to have straps crossed on his chest like an 'X', and attached to that were packs of ammunition. All he needed to do was to take off one of the rectangular boxes and insert it inside the gun, and then he had a shit-load of shots again! Not fair!
His gun was pretty big, and looked moderately heavy. It may be bulky, but it shot like a demon so he wasn't complaining…
Hinata grit her teeth as she glared down the surprised Sasuke, starting to shoot in that alternating-gun way she had been the whole time. To he horror, he raised the gun and blocked the perfectly aimed shots that would have hit his chest.
She glared as he raised his now red weapon and shot about five shots at her in rapid succession. She's running at me, she can't get out of the way! Sasuke was thinking when he let loose his stream of shots.
To his great surprise, she, instead of trying to run in a direction, just turned her body 90 degrees. The shots whizzed past her chest as she raised her left arm (her left arm was facing him now) and fired two shots. He barely managed to block them with his gun as they were going straight for his head.
Hinata had stopped running and was now firing at him as he was completely in the open. The shots missed his body, though some hitting his gun as he held it out. He made to fire at her as he started to run forward but his pulling on the trigger amounted to nothing. A clicking sound just happened in its place. Fuck! Bad time to run out of ammo!
Sasuke frowned at his gun, the chance at which Hinata jumped at to fire. But to her horror she was out of shots as well, and the only once she had left were in the little handgun Kiba had given to her at the very beginning. No! I need to get this!
The Uchiha knew he had to retreat to give himself time to reload, so he darted into the patch of forest on his left, not sparing her a second glance.
"Oh no you don't!" Hinata muttered shortly, bringing her pointer and thumb fingers to her mouth to whistle loudly. Akamaru came barreling out of the trees, running straight for her. He didn't slow his pace as he neared her so she ran as he did, grabbing the reins and jumping gracefully on, reaching for her last gun as she did. Without looking back at the stunned spectators, she just charged north after Prince Awesome, willing Akamaru to up his speed. Sasuke has a lot of ground on me now… this isn't good!
Back at base camp, nobody spoke until Neji let out an uncharacteristic noise, something between a squeak and a moan. "What the fuck was that?"
Sakura was staring blankly at Hinata's two pistols lying abandoned on the ground. That was… interesting.
The enclosure looked a mess. Leaves were scattered from the entrances and exits, both blue and red giant splotches of paint adorned the trees and ground and there was still a dust cloud from when it all happened.
"Raise your hand if you were expecting that." Naruto called, turning to face all of them with a really lost face.
Nobody raised his or her hands. That was just bizarre.
This is bad… bad bad bad bad. He could be waiting to ambush me! Despite that thought, Hinata sped up, looking only like a white and red blur streaking past. She had an odd feeling in her gut, one that was telling her that this would end soon.
I need to win this! She grit her teeth angrily, even though another part of her decided to speak up. Why though? What do I get from this?
I get… to kiss Kiba. That's the reason we're in this stupid fight? I saw teammates die in front of me, shot my friends and went commando all for a kiss? This is not worth it! I don't even like him like that!
She started to get angry with herself for getting so into this when all there was to gain was saliva, and maybe a cold. As she rode her steed, her hands clutched the reins tightly, feeling her nails through the fabric.
Now she doubted everything that had to do with the stupid game and that was even worse than possibly running headlong into an ambush.
It was because her mind was off in space that she charged into a small 10ft by 10ft clearing without even looking around.
She wasn't sure what had happened next, and in what order the events occurred at. It seemed that first she saw the blue and white-clad Sasuke by the edge perpendicular to her. He had smirked, and moved to pull the trigger aiming at her head.
Then Akamaru jumped up, taking the full brunt of the shots directly in his chest and then side. Somehow, being driven by instincts only, Hinata slipped off the side of her mount, placing herself five feet away from Sasuke with her dog jumping in-between them.
Being completely controlled by impulse now, Hinata raised her gun at the exact time Akamaru passed her and shot the mighty prince straight in the middle of his forehead.
Of course, all of this happened almost instantaneously.
A smattering of crows that were sitting in a nearby tree took flight in alarm at the sound of the single shot, somehow louder than that of Sasuke's rapid-fire. The fluttering of their wings and the aggravated cawing were the only sounds in the area. When they flew away a blanket of silence smothered the princess and the war-dog.
Akamaru landed roughly, though he kept his footing. His chest and right front leg were marked up by Sasuke's blue shots. Mercifully, only a few had hit his skin, the majority having collided with his armor.
In the impending darkness, Hinata barely noticed the shadows creeping their way like vines, making their enclosure seem even smaller. She still held her gun in front of her chest, it's tip still smoking, pointing at where Sasuke had been.
Her pensive hunting face was slowly being replaced by worry and shock. What did I just do? As she fought to regain her breath, she was quickly consumed by the panic and alarm that came full-force as she realized what had happened.
In leveling her arm completely straight to aim steady, her barrel was a diminutive three feet away from his face. She had shot her friend in the head from three feet away. Sasuke's neck whip lashed back, taking with it all balance he had as he fell backward onto the hard ground. His unconscious form was now sprawled like he had just died, with the red paint covering his face making it all to realistic for the characteristically gentle heiress.
All of that spirit and proficiency of the huntress she had turned into was reversed instantly, as if struck by lightning. Her heart seemed to stop beating but she didn't feel it. She didn't feel anything.
The gun slipped through her hand slowly, the grip on her fingers failing to keep a hold on the handle. It fell to the ground with an unnecessarily loud clatter and the sound seemed to reverberate endlessly in her skull.
I just... Ino and Chouji… what kind of horrible person am I?
She fell to her knees forcefully, her milky eyes widened in fear. Akamaru trotted over to her and nuzzled her face comfortingly, but she didn't react. He started whining softly, but to no avail.
The sky had darkened into a blend of dark orange, grapefruit pink and periwinkle purple, with the trees completely silhouetted against the rainbow sky. Shadows now completely consumed their enclosure, adding a dark chill to the whole scene.
I… I shot…
Akamaru plopped himself down next to her, having given up making her react, making her do something.
Sasuke-kun… I… I need to help Sasuke-kun.
She forced herself to look up, for her gaze had been focused on her knees and the dirt. In her state, she couldn't calm down enough to notice if he was breathing or not. He's knocked out… maybe he got a concussion… maybe I gave him permanent brain damage!
That thought sparked some energy into her depleted supply, shooting through her legs and causing her to run to his body. His corpse… She couldn't help but think. Miserably she knew that a direct hit to the temple had the potential to instantly kill.
Once again, she fell to her knees by his side, running her hand over his forehead lightly. She felt a small but terrifying concave indent that was oddly warm despite the paint being--Oh no. He's bleeding!
She felt around on her body for something she could use to wipe it all up, patting down on every part with rising desperation. Finally she realized that she could use Akamaru's reins and called him over.
Thinking about it more, she took the little tail band off and hastily wiped off the sickly mixture of paint and blood, though not being able to see exactly what she was doing when she was drowning in shadows. She then took the reins and quickly wrapped it around his head three times before tying it in the back.
Struck by inspiration, Hinata started rapidly untying the knots that held his white and blue armor on, throwing it somewhere in the shadows once she was finished. He was wearing a light, black, sleeveless turtleneck that clung tightly to his chest. The pants he wore were baggy black sweats that were stained with a bit of blue paint from his gun.
Hinata put her head on his chest, placing her ear on his solar plexus, and was immensely relieved when she felt him breathing, though slowly. His heart is beating too! I didn't kill him!
She realized then that her little headband would not be enough, and she needed to get to a first aid kit and further diagnose what had happened. It was a good thing she had to learn first aid to be a lifeguard…
Neji! Neji has a first aid kit in his car… the keys are… in the back left wheel well like he always does. We're in the far north of the forest, so if I can just get him to where we started this'll be okay!
She silently thanked Kiba for choosing to park on the north side of the woods…
The first sense that came to Sasuke was that of feeling. He was being tossed around as if riding a horse and to make matters worse, his head felt like someone had impaled it with a sword. Second sense was hearing, as the sound of rushing wind was deafening and each ruffle of leaves was like someone crinkling a candy wrapped right next to his ear.
What… happened?
Next was smell, his nose was engulfed by the metallic, lead-y scent of paint. The combination of the rough travel, the loud noises, and the strong stench led to a delightfully nauseous outcome.
I feel like I got shot…
Something he failed to notice before was now brought to his attention. He was leaning all his weight into the person directly in front of him, with his chin resting gently on one of their bare shoulders.
I did get shot…
He let out a little half-moan half-grunt, inhaling sharply.
Hinata shot me in the head.
Very slowly he opened his eyes a sliver but closed them again when sight was one sense too many for his injured brain to handle.
Hinata was riding Akamaru… so maybe I'm on him… that means that the person in front of me is…
The second that the team of Hinata, Sasuke and Akamaru leapt out of the forest, he noticed yet another thing. His arms were wrapped around a feminine waist with his hands clasped lightly together. The naked skin of his arms was lightly rubbing against her semi-exposed hips almost sensually.
This is Hinata!
Many things happened in quick succession. In his shock his eyes shot open. He saw that he was looking directly down and at her slightly revealed cleavage, and because of that yelped rather loudly. Finally he let go of her hips for fear of going past her personal boundaries (that he had already crossed anyway). As he did that, he lost all methods of keeping himself held safely onto her mount and slipped comically off the hind of Akamaru.
Terribly, he landed squarely on his back on the flat ground of what was now the parking lot, becoming winded in the process. At his muffled cry, Hinata gasped and swung herself off of her steed before racing over to him yet again.
"Sasuke-kun!"
He had his eyes shut tight as he struggled for breath. No matter how he tried to breathe in, nothing happened and the eagerly awaited oxygen was replaced with a terrible pain from his head and now lungs. Instead of calming him when she reached, Hinata found that he got even tenser.
His breathing eventually stabilized, in which time he noticed that Hinata had grabbed his hand and was squeezing it tightly.
"Are you okay? Oh, I'm so sorry! I shot you from so close and I don't think you can ever forgive me for that! I don't even know what I was thinking but you were just there and I had the gun and you shot at me so I just… I'm really really sorry."
Glancing up, he frowned when her face was contorted with fear and worry. "What are you apologizing for?" He spoke quietly, attempting to raise one eyebrow like he did but found it hurt too much.
"I… I shot you in the forehead!"
"Ouch."
Hinata bit her lip, seeming close to tears. He had said that sarcastically, but he couldn't help but feel terrible.
"Hinata… I can't feel my hand." He muttered, smirking at her from his pitiful position. It was true; for she was now clutching so tightly that he feared it would fall off. A part of him, the one not pissed off that he had lost, leaped for joy as she just loosened her grip on his hand, not dropping it completely.
When she did let go, it was to grab both of his shoulders and slowly lift him into a sitting position. He didn't mind, but was now starting to fear he was paralyzed because she was treating him so daintily. In response to that thought he shot up into a standing position quickly, soon realizing that was a very bad move.
"Sasuke-kun!" She yelped as she rose with him, catching him as he grabbed his head in pain and started to fall over. "P-please don't move so suddenly. I think you have a concussion."
Draping his arm over her shoulders, Hinata began to walk with him over to Neji's car that was mercifully only a few feet away. She deposited him by the hood, on which he gratefully sat down on, moving to lie back on it.
"You can't lie down!" She muttered quickly, running around the front of the car to catch him in middle of lowering himself down. "If you d-do that then the blood will rush too quickly and pressure will increase, making it worse!"
Obediently he allowed himself to be pushed back up into a sitting position. "Fine."
After frowning at his stubborn response, she bit her lip and shook her head before running to get the keys out of the wheel well. He crossed his legs and his arms stubbornly, wincing every time his head pounded.
In all honestly, he was fine, the only thing that hurt was his head and his pride. He had gotten over getting the wind knocked out of him and the pain in his neck already. "Congratulations."
Returning with the keys, Hinata let herself into the car, wincing at his salutation. She failed to speak; feeling that if she tried the tears would come freely and fast. This was what she had feared, that he would hate her for shooting him. Finally she found the first aid kit in the trunk after much hasty searching and brought over to him on the hood.
"May I?" She asked tentatively. He just nodded as she began to untie her makeshift bandages. Without asking further permission she lightly touched his wound, now barely bleeding.
"Hey, Hinata?" Sasuke asked slowly, his amused eyes catching her scared ones. "Next time we play paintball, I'm on your team."
She just bit her lip harder, drawing a little bit of blood. "H-here I have you bleeding and beat up and you think about playing this again?"
Hinata was forced to move onto the hood herself, feeling it temporarily dent under her front the weight. She was on her knees next to him, placing two Band-Aids in an 'X' over his wound lightly.
Sasuke said nothing to that, looking at her face while she worked. He noticed things he hadn't before, that she stuck out her tongue a little (which was cute) and she scrunched up her nose slightly (which was doubly cute) when she concentrated on something. As she began to wrap a white, real wrap around his head again, saw that her fingers were small and skillful, almost like piano-fingers.
To his dismay she left the hood and ran over to Kiba's car, which was unlocked. In a few moments she returned with her bag, drawing from it a bottle of water. She softly ordered him to drink some as she dug into the kit and brought out some aspirin, which she silently gave him.
"H-how does your head feel? Is it too tight because I can loosen it up if you—"
"It's fine."
She climbed back onto the hood and sat next to him, glancing quickly at his bandages. "I… I'm really really sorry I shot you."
Sasuke looked at her with his eyebrows raised. "Don't be. It was the point of the game."
"Are you sure you're okay?" She mumbled, still looking anxiously at him. Sitting on the ground by the car, Akamaru let out a loud sniff as some dirt got in his nose.
She's so cute when she worries. Sasuke thought, retracting his gaze. "My pride hurts."
Despite the situation, Hinata giggled before raising her hand to her mouth in horror as she realized what she had done.
"Way to go, you managed to successfully emasculate me."
"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to shoot you at all! I didn't even want to." She cried, her hand still over her mouth.
Driven by impulse only, Sasuke grabbed her wrist softly and brought her hand away from her mouth. "No girl has ever done that before."
He's acting strangely. Maybe it's the concussion? "I…"
"Good job." He muttered, smirking at her. But it wasn't the mocking sneer, it was the 'I'm laughing this off' one.
Then came the most unexpected thing short of Hinata going war-mode. She didn't even know what she was saying, it just came out!
"You look cute when you're all beat up."
Something about him just made her forget herself, like with the little Shakespeare recital at the beach a week ago. He turned to face her, tilting his head despite the mild pain. "You look cute when you've got a gun."
"I'm glad… y-you know that you can't go to sleep for about six hours, right? You've got a pretty bad concussion there your grace…" She muttered, smiling at the compliment. Once again, instead of retreating to her embarrassed shell, she came out. Sasuke was like a drug to make her less shy.
He smirked at his new title, looking up at the first few stars that came out. "With all due respect your highness, I do not believe I can stay awake that long in my present state."
She'd become a Sasuke addict soon if this kept up...
Hinata pouted at his statement. If he doesn't, that will cause more damage! "Then I will press my companionship upon thee until thou can sleep milord. If I'm there, I can make sure you doth not retireth. Is that acceptable?"
"What, you mean stay with me until 2:30 in the morning?" Sasuke asked, dropping the kingly act in his surprise. His heart leaped at the prospect of spending six hours in her company. But still… "Is that necessary?"
"Well... it is if you want to get better any time soon…"
An awkward silence gathered, and to escape it Hinata took out her iPhone. It had next-to-no reception and was about three minutes away from running out of juice. The clock read 9:24pm. "This game lasted seven and a half hours…" She muttered disbelievingly, looking up at the barely lit sky.
"You should call Sakura."
"Oh right! But, my power is almost up and the reception is nothing… the call wouldn't work…"
"Text her then." Sasuke said, glancing at her phone and smirking at the background of her and Neji.
Back at the losing circle, Sakura's phone vibrated in her pocket, making her scream a little bit. She took it out, gaining the eyes of everyone there. "Hinata texted me…"
They all stampeded over to her, wanting to get a glimpse of the message. Most of them ended up looking on over her shoulders.
From: Hinata
Message:
Shot Sasuke in the head. Has concussion. Sending Akamaru back. Stealing Neji's car. Phone out of juice.
Another message came directly after everyone had finished reading, again from Hinata. She hastily opened it, her anticipation mounting.
From: Hinata
Message:
P.S. Boom Squad won.
Take that! 22 pages on a word document!
That's got to break some record! Well, probably not, but I'd like to think so…
I want to thank all the reviewers saying that this was really realistic and nicely written, because I do love writing some sort of action, and I'm glad to know I can actually do it!
Thanks to all you amazing people who put this on favorites and watched lists.
Thanks to Kishimoto for imagining all these characters, whether he imaged them gun toting is up for debate…lol.
Scenes from the next episode:
"Nothing is impossible, just mathematically improbable."
"Time would pass anyway if you think about it logically."