Copyright notice: I do not own Naruto or its characters.
My Crimson Butterfly, Do Not Die
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She came down, down, down from Heaven
Black as night,
She will hypnotize... Hypnotize
Dark as love, dark as love
Luscious Redhead
The bundle of kunai was quick, but Temari's trained reflexes were smoother and much faster. Before she could unstrap her large steel fan, her hand swept back to grab her smaller fan to spread open before her face. The kunai embedded inside her thick fan, the paper ripping as the tips nearly nicked her face. She threw the burning fan to the ground in anger, the sparks of lightning singing her fingers.
She snapped her head up to face the tall male, her sharp green eyes taking in the devilish delight in the male ninja's light blue ones. She unstrapped her steel fan, crouching low and snapping it behind her in a loud gnashing of steel.
"You picked the wrong kunoichi to attack, especially one with my technique. Lightning is useless."
Temari pulled back her fan and swung the fan in a semi-circle as one would a farming scythe. The wind screamed around her and pushed out in a large wave of raging wind toward her opponent. The ninja raised his arm to dodge while charging up his lightning. The evasion proved futile as the wind pushed him back several feet, mowing down some of the acacia trees and cutting his white tunic.
Temari let out a gasp and reined in her fan, setting her body low and setting her fan behind her. The eyes on her fan were lighting up, the purple eyes beginning to open.
Streaks of lighting struck quick, with only seconds for Temari to crouch on one knee to place her fan in front of her body in defense. The jolts hit the fan hard and nearly racked her brain, her teeth grinding in pain. Her eyes opened to catch a glance at Kankuro. He was gathering Crow and the other puppets out to prepare for attack.
"Kankuro, run ahead. Your puppets will burn up. We need a medical team!"
Kankuro growled and shook his head.
"I can do this, Tem! You need me!"
Temari forced a smile all while pushing against the flurry of lightning against her fan.
"I know you can, brother. They are weak against Wind Technique; you know this as well as I do. You have to send for aid from the daimyo."
Kankuro paused hesitantly, his brown eyes taking in the serious expression carved upon Temari's face. He nodded before turning his head quickly.
"Temari!"
Temari listened to the sound of steel coming close, the warm breeze of it heading close. She snapped her head to the side and looked at the sharp katana heading her way from the south. She gasped and took a risk, a risk that could challenge her safety and compromise her defense.
She stood and pulled up her fan and swung hard. She watched as the scythe of wind changed the direction of the katana from her body into the acacia tree behind her attacker. The attacker had bent down then twisted his body in an aerial dive forward, the katana sinking into the bark of the tree like an arrow behind him.
The attacker sprinted forward, his hand charging up lightning. The sound of birds lit up the changing sky and cracked the atmosphere like an egg. Temari barely dodged it, using her fan to swipe it away like an annoying but deadly fly from Hell.
"Go now!"
Kankuro sprinted away with a huff, giving Temari a last look and a glance at Ko whom had his own set of small problems with another assassin.
Temari faced the assassin head on, not recalling the large sparkling shuriken the assassin now held beside him with deadly intent in his eyes. Before she could swing her fan, the shuriken was tossed and rolling with growing speed toward her. She jabbed her fan in the sand to her side and pushed chakra deep into her heels, using the small momentum to perform a front handspring. She landed effortlessly, panting slightly.
She twisted back to see the shuriken spin into the distance before she felt a slight throbbing sensation along her thigh. She grabbed at her kimono hem, looking with a stricken face at the deep cut along her thigh. The cotton was torn and seared around the edges of where the oozing burn now stood along her tan flesh.
She snapped her head up, pushing the pieces of blonde hair from her face. She sneered and narrowed her eyes in anger at the assassin who simply cackled at her.
"Hand over the Hyuga!"
"You ripped my dress."
It was then that the strategy formed in Temari's brain, her memory recollecting the katana embedded into the tree behind the blue-eyed bastard.
Only a few feet from me.
Good.
Temari crouched low once more then pushed the chakra to her feet, pushing into a dead spring at her attacker. Her arms pumped beside her, the tattered kimono whipping past her thighs. As the man pulled back to strike her, she bent down and placed her hands into the sand. Pushing with all her strength, her body flew over his head and she landed heavily atop the katana with her sandaled feet.
"Over here."
Temari let out a strong front kick to the man's face, breaking his nose. The assassin cried out in pain, the blood rushing from his nose and down his chin. He swiped at her blindly, not realizing she had twisted from atop the blade and stood behind him.
"Over here."
Temari let out a shout, kicking him squarely in the groin then extending her leg to land a swinging roundhouse to his face once more.
"Ughhhh!"
Temari sprinted to her sunken fan, pulled it out and snapped it out beside her. The sweat dripped down her nose and along her neck to her hands. The fan had down exactly what she needed and so did the assassin.
The eyes are open.
Form your lightning for me.
"Where is your lightning?"
The next second, it was over. The bewildered and wounded assassin, so strong before and now weakened, formed lightning in his palms wildly. Temari took the opportunity to swing her fan with all the strength in her body, the wind cutting into the man and knocking him against the tree. The assassin was instantly impaled by his own teammate's weapon, the lightning frying him to death.
Do not ever try to fight a Wind Technique user. You will lose every time. Ironic, you were killed by your own lightning too.
Temari rested her fan on the ground and used a thumb to push away the grime from her brow.
She paused stiffly.
The energy in the air…it feels dark.
Gaara…
"Hinata-sama!"
Temari recognized that fearful voice.
Ko, Hinata's bodyguard.
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Once the kunoichi was disarmed, Hinata pushed her palm up into the woman's chest hard. The kunoichi stumbled a few steps, grabbing her chest and breathing in short gasps.
Hinata quickly regained her ground and closed her eyes, the chakra streaming into her body and gushing in streams into her palms. The sensation caressed her skin, calming her senses and putting them into deep focus. The building of chakra soon formed into sharp vertical slices inside her palms, the beams bright against her pale skin.
"Wow, Hinata! What is that?"Kiba gasped in surprise.
They had been on a mission to retrieve and important scroll, only to be ambushed by rogue ninja.
Hinata slipped the chakra beams between her fingers and held them tightly.
"Chakra Needle Technique..as Neji-nii-san c-calls it. Its j-just something I-ve worked on."
"Well, I need to go to the falls more often then. Maybe I will develop something that deadly. Reminds me of senbon."
Hinata opened her eyes, her hands grasping the chakra needles in her hands. The kunoichi was watching her closely, her eyes bloodshot and thirsty for blood. Her face lit up with the bolts of lightning forming in her own small hands.
"Dead or alive, Hyuga. The Byakugan will go with us."
Hinata reacted without much thought, recalling training with her Father and Neji. Plan your strategy, do not overthink, use enemy's emotions against them, strike and do not miss their points, let them make the mistakes and be clear in your mind. She twisted her body, throwing the razor sharp needles toward the kunoichi. The howls of pain from the kunoichi ripped into the air. Hinata watched the kunoichi hold her left arm, her left leg also limp and trembling.
Her tenketsu…she cannot use those parts.
The sound of birds…
Wait…what is…no!
"Burn with the white light of the Chidori!"
Sand lifted to form a wall beside her while she tried to push her body into an aerial cartwheel or at least spring away.
Hinata felt her Byakugan deactivate as soon as she felt the burning fire scatter along her upper arm. There wasn't time, seconds, minutes, to dodge the last minute Chidori attack by the weakened kunoichi. Hinata cried out in pain as she dropped onto the ground. The flames leapt along her sleeve and onto the pants of her left leg. She feebly tried to slap it away, her Byakugan activating weakly but leaving without her own will.
The blood on her cheek splattered onto her arm, the liquid falling into her burned flesh. She tried to weakly use a shaking hand to grab at the herbal ointment in her side pack along her other leg but it proved fruitless.
Suddenly, the woman attacked only to be blocked by a clone of sand. Hinata lifted her head up, her glazed over eyes catching the sea foam green eyes of Gaara as he bent to grab Hinata under her legs.
Soon, darkness and the smell of bloody sand came over her.
"Gaara?"
Her eyes soon blackened as she fainted.
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Hinata's eyes blinked open slowly before wildly looking around. She was still too weak and low on chakra to activate her Byakugan…but the environment felt familiar. Her ears picked up on echoes of slams that sounded far away. It was as if she were in a cave, hearing lightning hit far away and simply echoing the sound waves into the cave.
Hinata felt a warm body next to her, under her and so close she could smell the earthy scent of him or her. She tried to weakly raise a hand to touch the wound on her leg, only to hear a gravelly voice echo in the cave.
"Leave it."
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Gaara's eyes looked down intently upon the petite face of the sleeping Hinata. Her pallor had deepened drastically, the tightness in his chest increasing. His heartbeat pounded in his ears and throat. It wasn't just because she was wounded gravely, the burn along her leg and arm rather nasty. It was also because Hinata, the figure who had haunted him for years awake and meditating, the one who had given him the pressed flower he kept inside his belt wherever he journeyed, was cradled in his arms.
He could not feel her skin, but the closeness of having his hands wrapped around her shoulder and waist was having an effect upon him that made him…wary and excited. Shukaku tried to push through as soon as his hands had grabbed her to pull her to him. He had quickly formed a protective dome of sand around them. He knew not to worry about his siblings for they were capable jonin and Ko was also a capable Hyuga. Why else would he be a bodyguard?
Gaara's heart tugged. His eyes grew heavy, his face dipping, his body possessed and senses hypnotized.
What is this feeling overcoming me?
This emotion…
Gaara removed a hand to tentatively linger above her halo of dark hair, creating a shadow along her delicate column of a neck. His fingers twined the singed piece of hair. It was soft, the softest thing he could recall touching.
His nose dipped close to her hair. Her skin and hair reeked with the scent of lavender: calming and full of innocence. How could one so soft and pure be so deadly on the battleground as she had displayed? Hinata was full of surprises and different than he had last seen her show her abilities at the exams and waterfall.
His thoughts were clear, his heart almost breaking…a reason he could not understand. That was until he smelled the blood from the cut on her cheek.
Taste it, enjoy it.
She is ours.
You have desired such innocence and now she is all alone with us.
She is in your arms. You now have finally received the gift of her touch when no other would have the bravery to do so.
Who would touch a demon?
Gaara shook off the thoughts, but felt the resistance weaken now that he felt her soft form in his arms. He lowered his head more, his mouth open and tongue extending.
Taste it.
Innocence you will never have.
"Gaara?"
Gaara lifted his head to meet the fearful eyes of Hinata.
She fears me still…
Hinata moved to touch her wound.
"Leave it." He rumbled out darkly.
Gaara swallowed and began to turn his head away before her soft voice spoke up.
"Where am I?"
Gaara faced her once more, his torn eyes meeting hers before hardening over.
"I created a dome of sand to protect you."
Hinata moved to touch his arm, her movements shaky and wobbly.
"Thank you, Gaara."
Gaara held his breath as her hand moved closer to his arm. Inches now, mere inches before her hand fell on her chest.
"Hinata-chan?"
"I…need….ointment. Gaara…"
"Hinata, stay awake. You will go into shock."
Hinata's lavender eyes flickered before she fainted.
Gaara listened deeply outside the dome.
Silence.
He carefully let the sand slither back into his gourd before rising up, his hands tight around Hinata's limp body.
"Gaara, what happened? We took out the rest. Ko is outstanding in battle. No wonder you're her body guard."
Temari slapped Ko on the back before registering Hinata's limp body. She grabbed at her medical pouch before Ko grabbed her wrist.
"She needs Hyuga ointment, it will restore her fully."
Temari nodded gravely, watching Gaara's face with a strange expression.
"The cavalry has arrived!"
Kankuro.
Temari swept back her hair and began to clear her throat before Ko bowed to Gaara before swiftly taking Hinata into his arms.
Gaara stood stiffly, ignoring Kankuro's dropped jaw.
"We need to move quick. Hinata-sama needs medical attention. We must move to the palace!"
"She will not die. Understood, Kankuro?"
Temari and Kankuro nodded at Gaara's sharp voice.
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Hinata felt like she was dreaming, a dream of warmth. She knew arms held her, strong ones. Lilies were around them in a field. A white dress clung to her body and she somehow knew the figure holding her wore a white tunic, some sort of robe as well.
"Gaara…."
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"What was that, Hinata-sama? We are going to the daimyo! You will be fine."
Gaara heard the soft whisper of Hinata's mumbled words as she slept in Ko's arms. He turned his head away and pressed on, his body churning with something he hadn't felt before.
Fear.
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Author Note: Here is part two. Once again, as stated on last chapter, I hope all is correct. Msg if not. I hope you enjoy. Review and let me know your thoughts and feelings.