Do you have Someone..?
Cold, cold pale, pale eyes narrowed marginally belying the true wrath in the Lord Hyuga's scrutiny as he stared down his Village Leader; in return, the Sanin glared shamelessly back with little patients and too little sake.
"You are not advised to see her yet." She repeated mono-tonally
All work ceased for just a moment when a very pronounced, "WHAT!" roared through the Hokage tower, birds quickly flapped away and most tower guards evaporated to investigate the sudden burst of killing intent at this early hour.
"Look, Hiashi! I don't like it any more than you do," She started calmly, folding her fingers together habitually, "But this is more serious than any of us could have ever imagined, the poison your daughter and Inuzaka Kiba have been exposed to is some sort of biological weapon. We managed to stabilize her, however even unconscious, her behaviour is dangerous and downright lethal.
"We fear that the bile they vomit regularly is a means of infecting others so we put them on full quarantine, only the most specialized Medic-nin and Surgical-nin are authorized access, even than we have to take extreme precautions. We both know what this means, Hiashi."
Moments passed with ill-tolerant seconds letting the words to properly sink in and make sense letting it connect with his daughter; nevertheless her words were spoken so severely that he had no other choice but to accept the grim, harsh reality.
"It means we have to prepare for yet another Shinobi War." Hiashi stated with no hesitance both Leaders felt their joints ache and memories burn as the graves of their comrades fell on their shoulders, but the Hyuuga leader was grateful that he could shoulder it and share the disease that caught hold of his eldest.
Something akin to hope sparked in his chest, or maybe faith, blind faith in his sole Heir.
"I will not stand aside and allow Hinata to be subjected to such atrocities," He felt the corners of his eyes prick with small amounts of moisture as he stood, "But I know Hinata well, and unfortunately, I have made it unnecessarily hard on her but I have never seen such fire in my life! I know she will never stop fighting and she would never let herself become a weapon to harm the ones she loves!"
Hiashi felt a hard lump in his throat as he thought of his youngest at home safe in bed, slamming his fist down rattling the wooden desk separating the Shinobi, Hiashi felt true fear grip his eld heart. It was a familiar retched feeling that brought back memories of Hinata's almost kidnapping and losing his brother, all direct results of his existence.
"And God dammit Lady Hokage, I'm not about to let her down now!" His raged words turned into something else, something more animalistic the further he couldn't control it; the stick up his ass completely left the building Tsunande thought with dry amusement.
"Than what do you propose we do?" She inquired with a crude calm, startling him out of his avenging haze.
Her golden eyes sharp and understanding, Hiashi felt himself relax for the first time since Hinata's arrival and smiled the only way a Shinobi could smile when she asked in absolute confidence, "Are we Leaf Shinobi or are we Leaf Shinobi?"
Early in the morning when the air was still cool Sakura stepped out of the Harunou household and briskly made her way to Ibiki's underground cells at the base of the prison. She knew for a fact that her reserves were perfectly fueled and equipped for anything but she couldn't break the prodigious apprehension in the pit of her stomach and the deep timeworn exhaustion that came with it.
'Hinata.'
None of the rookie nine was handling it very well; even the civilians of Konoha were abnormally quiet, ever since their dramatic arrival and the discovery of the dangerous disease that has taken their friends. Sakura never felt such grim circumstances spread across the village before, was this what it felt like to be at war?
Hopeless and useless to the heartbreak that was sure to come.
Upon arrival, she did her usual checkups on the other medic-nin and dressed in the protective gear that had been specially made just yesterday.
'I never thought I'd have to do this. I didn't think it would be like this.'
Being able to help and heal your comrades always sounded almost glamourous to Sakura, instead of the front line position she was placed in long ago, killing people she could do, healing people though, made her feel like she had a cause.
A reason to Live.
She studied the lone figure on the bed and all the wires attached that made the machines hum steadily, a cold, cold blanket settled around her. The infected area in Hinata's chest grew more black in color and had a tar like texture, Sakura thought for sure that her body would have deteriorated by now; she thought for sure within the first hour of violent bloody bile that she would have been burying a friend.
But after the first symptoms passed and they managed to stabilize her enough to move her without life threatening injuries, Sakura's resolve faded the more Hinata's body altered with the disease. Her organs morphed into ones that more resembled an animal, her skin became crystalized and broke every scalpel and needle they threw her way.
Sakura grimaced painfully when Hinata pulled and thrashed at the restraints so viciously that her limbs bent in ways that made her once lithe body seem mangled.
Kiba wasn't in much better shape but the disease seemed to be hitting him slower in small waves rather than the rapid mutation of his teammate. At least he was coherent and somewhat could control his violent spasms, Shizune took it upon herself to study and obtain as much information they could get about this deadly virus.
Once the other medics were finished sedating Hinata, Sakura opened the air sealed door and made her way to her bedside with a clipboard marking down her vitals and unbearably uneven heart rate.
Realistically Hinata should have been dead the moment she arrived.
Sakura didn't know which was worse, Hinata's impending death or the fact that the only thing heating her alive was the horrid disease. Sakura couldn't stand to see the suffering clear in her agonized expression, unexpectedly she stopped moving all together and Hinata lay still giving Sakura an unblemished image of the old Hinata and it brought tears to her eyes.
Has it really only been two days since their arrival?
Sakura was brutally taken out of her thoughts when Hinata opened her dull eyes to glare with such animosity it was like a swift slap in the face. Bringing her hand up to the mask in attempt to stifle a sob Sakura could only stare in utter shock at the creature scowling back at her.
"He's coming for you Leaf Shinobi." 'Hinata' hissed as a sickening grin spread across her face and rotten laughter erupted from her bloodied lips.
Sakura tore out of there with a scream at the back of her throat, her preservation forever mutilated by the horrifying cackle that followed her long after she fled the building.
Later on:
A raven landed on the ledge of the one window Tsunande left opened, on his leg a small piece of scroll neatly tied and tucked. Just from looking at the seal she could tell it was from Suna, carefully unraveling it and shooing the bird away she read it with expectant eyes.
It wasn't good; there have been many accounts of this Disease all over the country side, the infections always staring when strange children permitted the area. Just than hard three knocks interrupted her line of thinking but she was better prepared for this visit.
"Come in." She said tersely wanting to get right down to business watching intently as the Team Captain meander through the door.
"Shikamaru, please sit down." Gesturing to the cushioned chair placed in front of her desk the notorious lazy ninja plopped himself down discourteously and sighed for good measure. His dark eyes lined with deep purple marks and he still had deep cuts that bled thru the bandages from his last battle.
"With all due respect, Lady Tsunande, you already know what I want." He stated bluntly not breaking eye contact with her, which made her narrow her eyes just slightly.
"Yes well I summoned you here to negotiate those terms."
"There is nothing to negotiate. I'm going!" Shikamaru retorted with little patients, who in truth staggered the Hokage off her tracks for a moment; He was normally very respectful and level headed.
"Well you cannot go in it alone!" She responded with equal the ferocity which in turn had its desired effect, the future Nara patriarch went quiet.
"I have spoken with your father and clan elders, and they have agreed to permit you a leave of absence from your training, however, I cannot authorize this Ludacris need to do it alone." Tsunande hid her scowl behind folded fingers when Shikamaru obviously wasn't going to budge.
"I'm going alone." He stated almost as if to solidify her thoughts.
"You cannot investigate and protect yourself at the same time in your condition, Shikamaru!" Tsunande predictably lost her cool and slammed her palm down on the desk as she stood, shuffling the papers about, "You are too much of an asset to the village for you to go on a suicide mission!"
"I have to find out who did this! I have to find out how to stop it! I got to do this or I'll never be able to live with myself!" Before she could answer, Shikamaru stood to bow joltingly and made for a quick leave, leaving the Hokage speechless. She glared unseeingly at the door and slammed her fist down splintering the woman's poor desk, pinching the bridge of her nose she breathed deep and slow gathering her barring's and simply switched her tactics around.
Tsunande flared her chakra out to the roof, in addition, Neji and Naruto materialized on each side of her with somber expressions.
"Be ready to leave immediately; don't let him out of your sight." Both giving one hard nod they too were gone in a swirl of smoke.
Tsunande stood grabbing her stone cup she poured herself warm sake and savoured the burn when it hit her tongue, standing to gaze at her precious village a moon eyed girl wheedled her way into her thoughts.
'Hinata.'
With news of Sakura's quick departure, Tsunande could only guess as to what the girl was going through, she decided that she would name a temporary replacement to hold the tower in place of Tsunande, for she would personally attend to the young heiress.
She closed her honey gaze and prayed hard for her pupil and imagined the sunny girl smiling somewhere harmless and free.
"Please, Kami, let her be safe." She made singular hand signs long ago that her beloved taught her as good luck, she put all of her positive chakra into the seal as it released into the air to find the girl with the eyes the color of the moon.
Hinata woke with a start when a Sear of electricity ripped through her chest leaving her gasping, her insides churning excruciatingly making her cry out for anyone to help her.
'What's h-happening?' was her last thought before everything went black.
Hours passed before she could open her eyes again but when she did, Hinata would regret it for the rest of her existence. She lay on a bed looking up at her comrade, her friend Sakura stood covered in head to toe in protective gear as she gaped down at her in shock. Hinata could feel her blood boil unnaturally as it yearned to spill the other kunoichi's blood; she wanted to make her suffer.
Images no, memories flashed across her mind like a reminder, a man in black stood over an ancient nation as he wielded his great Scythe. He spoke ancient words and his sacred weapon glowed watching with satisfaction as the ones who praised him fell to ash. Hundreds of millions lost their lives in his reign. The disgusting demon faced her expectantly and she knew she had to warn Sakura.
'Run!'
But the words came out wrong, her voice was vile and ghost like as it resembled the man in black and Hinata felt for the first time, hopelessness, facing her comrade as an enemy. She cried as Sakura screamed and turned the other way, 'please', she reached out unseeingly the desperation turned instinctual and all she wanted to do was just to come home.
Her voice like poison as it laughed shoving her real voice deep, deep down where nobody could reach her.
Hinata closed her eyes again hoping and praying for death to come painlessly only to bear witness her soul being ripped and burned by a giant hooked blade, her skin collapsing from the lack of life but Hinata realized with repulsion that she could still feel.
Her shrieks echoed around her in the dark void she now lay in, somehow Hinata moved her hollow body upright and moved weakly into the gentle fist stance. The dark Demon chuckled pleasantly, rapidly taking her fingers and snapping it backwards joyously watching as her eyes widened and screamed in torment as he pushed further, harder.
Watching in satisfaction as she writhed and trying in vain to yank back her hand, unexpectedly he pulled her against him and Hinata felt as if spiders were crawling on her skin.
'You are one of us now little one.' The Demon whispered ominously,caressing her cheek gently and her skin transformed into crystal, signifying something to the Demon Lord. He stared down at her wantonly.
'You are mine now.' He purred turning swiftly allowing a long black braid to fallout of his dark cloak. Something not her own instinctually wanted to follow him. But Hinata refused.
"No! You can't have me!" She screamed.
The Demon paced back towards her to wrap his caws around her delicate neck lifting her high off the ground and all she could do was hold on. Hinata watched in morbid fascination as her fingertips holding his clawed hand physically fading knowing full well and even welcoming the loss of will for life, in turn, was diminishing by the seconds.
The Demon claw dropped abruptly, sending her painfully to the ground his being disappearing all together as the dark void around him shifted into an all too familiar dojo.
Hyuga eyes scorned her harshly and Hinata felt a physical lash to the one sensitive spot on the back of her neck, the one spot that only one other person could have known about in her lifetime.
"F-father.." The Lord Patriarch stood before her with every ancestor and tradition at his backside, dressed in White; the Legendary Man stood as judgment himself and bowed low for His Princess.
"Lady, Hinata, you mustn't fight any longer," closing his glowing eyes, he breathed in human life and exhaled human judgment.
"You go on like this and you will end her life." As the words left his thin lips, Hinata watched in horror as her doppelganger viciously stabbed into her sisters' skin with a wicked smile and distubing joyous laughter.
Her friends' limbs left in a pile at her feet as she watched with horror-stricken captivation of them being torn apart by her own jaws.
Hiashi gave her another hard lash, "You must accept this side of yourself now, or else you will go insane rejecting your demonic chakra and you will kill everyone you hold dear.'
Hinata has heard enough!
'NO!' Hinata roared biting into her wrist viciously and dispelling the ancient genjutsu that has haunted this land for centuries.
Peelings of her nightmare fell at her feet with an inaudible echo as the training grounds permitted her psyche,
But as Hinata glided passed it saying goodbye to the peace she found there in team 8, old lines where her mind still made a home, her cognizance wondering so far, and so stagnant that she didn't know the difference between awake and asleep anymore.
Before she could lose her mind a smooth imminent voice beckoned her, and for the first time in her existence Hinata let her guard down and followed blindly after the song of a demon, an ancient part of her kneeled down to pray as she came upon the base of a grand tree.
'You must drink it, Lady Hinata." She trailed the voice and found it originated from the tree itself, an unearthly silver haired Demon moulded from the imposing trunk holding a clear flask of crystal clear water. Handing it to her and bowing his head in reverence.
'Please you must.' His golden eyes warm as he promised her, 'It will protect the ones you love. But with a price…'
His expression softened as it lost the dreamy haze and Hinata felt liberation when his aristocratic features broke through her delusion holding her fingers so gently she forgot his claws were lethal weapons. Her lavender moon eyes gazed at him in marvel and felt an ancient seal pass through them, leaving a silver crescent moon on both of their wrists.
'Just be mine to protect.'