Do I Have A Purpose Anymore?
Chapter 12: Trust Once Lost Is Very Hard To Regain
Naruto paused in mid-step, his eyes narrowing behind his mask.
Something felt off...
WHOOOOOOOOOOSH!
Naruto spat out a curse as he ducked under a rush of flame, the fire passing harmlessly over his head before dying out moments later. Suddenly the nozzle where the flames had erupted from swung around and was now aiming at Yugito.
The former Cloud kunoichi let out a hiss as she too dropped low to the ground, the fire singing her right cheek, as in her worn out state, she did not move as fast as she would have liked to.
"Son of a bitch!" Naruto openly cussed.
Annoyed, he looked for the source of the inferno, and saw what looked like a mounted mechanical device of sorts.
Hinata's lavender eyes widened in horror, as the turret now aimed at her and Nel, whom she promptly scooped up into her arms before going into a spin and shouting.
"Hakkeshou Kaiten!" (Eight Divination Palms of the Hand, Heavenly Spin)
The little girl let out a happy squeal, as they spun round and round.
"WHEEEEE! THIS IS FUN!"
The fire bounced harmlessly off the already formed chakra dome, ricocheting into a nearby tree, slightly singeing Daisuke's backside, as that had been the tree he was hiding behind. The large man yelped in pain before he dove for new cover, while holding his smoking ass.
Despite the dire situation, Naruto managed a grin at this sight.
Karma really was a bitch.
Deprived of its original target, the flame shooter focused on Naruto once more and he growled, as he rolled to the left, avoiding the scorching heat sent his way. The blonde Jinchuuriki threw a kunai with an explosive note at the flame turret with astonishing speed blowing up the devious mechanism. Unfortunately, five others rose up from the ground just as Hinata's spin slowed to a halt.
The Hyuga girl's eyes widened, as the dome faded away.
She was wide-open, and everyone knew it.
Cursing inwardly in anger and realizing the danger not only to Hinata but to Nel as well, Naruto flashed some hand signs and called out.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)
Each Naruto clone then raised a palm and began gathering chakra into it. Soon all of the gloved hands radiated a blue light which seemed to grow with intensity. As the blonde clones concentrated, each one began to mold the chakra into a fast rotating sphere. Once completed, each clone held a powerful Rasengan before all of them simultaneously shunshin'd to a different turret and slammed the powerful jutsu into them. Immediately, each turret exploded in a spray of fiery shrapnel in every direction.
Hinata looked on in awe as Naruto destroyed all of the flame guns in one swift motion before she then heard a small whirring sound heading towards her and Nel. Hinata didn't even have time to react to this new threat. However, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of her and caught the odd spherical mechanical device square in the middle, halting whatever its functions might be.
A second later, his giant Zanbaktou was in his hand and in one smooth motion he cleaved the device in two.
Naruto paused to survey the scene, smoke rising from the shattered guns.
Looking to Yugito, he arched an eyebrow as she sprang to her feet.
"You okay?"
The blonde kunoichi grunted in response, the stalked over to the nearby tree to drag Daisuke out of hiding.
Whilst she did this, Naruto suddenly turned on Hinata, his eyes sparking dangerously.
"Why didn't you tell me about the freaking fire?"
All the while, Nel was clapping happily and yelling.
"Again, again, I wanna spin round more!"
Hinata wilted under his cold gaze and the demonic voice his mask carried, looking away sadly, upset in having let him down, whilst Nel was still chattering eagerly.
"I-I-I didn't see it..."
Roughly yanking off his mask, she saw the confusion on his face.
"You didn't SEE it?"
She nodded.
"Not until they popped out on their own."
Irritated, he sheathed his blade, but was not willing to let the matter go just yet.
"Were you using your Byakugan before we were attacked?"
Reluctantly, she nodded again.
"Yes."
As if flipping a switch, his anger boiled to the fore, and she froze as his eyes turned to red slits, veins now popping out of his head.
"Then it's your fault Nel almost got hurt! I guess three years of living the pampered life as Inuzuka royalty has dimmed your skills!"
"Naru-kun" A soft voice called out from below.
Naruto looked down at Nel, just now realizing that his adoptive daughter heard everything he had just said.
Innocently, she stared up at her father and asked.
"Naru-kun, are you mad at Hina-chan?"
Anger still plastered on his face, along with a light red blush now, he did the only thing he could think off.
"URGH!" With a loud shout, he stalked off, heading in the direction of the hideout, with Yugito, now dragging a protesting Daisuke in tow.
This left Hinata standing in place, before she knelt down and gathered Nel into her arms.
The little green-haired Arrancar looked to Hinata and then to the fading silhouette of her surrogate father as he disappeared into the forest.
"Hina-chan, is Naru-kun okay?"
Hinata sighed sadly, both from realizing though Naruto now knew the reasons behind her marriage to Kiba he still bore some bitterness and resentment towards her over it. That coupled with the fact that she had likely lost Naruto's trust now by not detecting the dangers sooner. It was not going to be an easy road to get back to where she and Naruto once were, but Hinata would not give up. She would honor her promise to give him time to heal.
"He's just upset with me."
The little girl frowned and asked.
"But why, you didn't do anything bad to him?"
Our lavender eyed Hyuga smiled sadly at the confused girl in her arms and softly replied.
"I did do something bad to him a long time ago Nel-chan and Naru-kun just needs some time to forgive me for it...….I hope."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Naruto carried Nel in his arms, refusing to trust anyone else with her safety at that moment. After the debacle of the traps they had encountered earlier, to say Naruto was upset was a mild understatement, he was furious judging by the look in his eyes glinting out from his mask
The subject of his anger, was the beautiful lavender eyed girl walking beside him to his right-
One Hinata Hyuga.
He could not believe how careless she had been, in not seeing those traps quicker even with her Byakugan activated. Nel could have been seriously hurt back there because of Hinata's lack of attention. A lack of attention brought on by not keeping up her shinobi skills and instead playing the part of a pampered clan matriarch.
And Nel getting hurt because of someone else's carelessness was something Naruto would not tolerate from anyone.
Even if that someone was a girl he may still be in love with.
Hinata hadn't said a word since Naruto took Nel from her and they began walking down a long corridor. She knew Naruto was deeply upset with her and she didn't blame him one bit.
Hinata felt horrible that her lack of focus could have gotten anyone of them seriously hurt or possibly even killed.
She didn't understand.
Why?
Why hadn't she seen those traps until they popped out on their own? Her Byakugan was activated at that time; she should have seen the traps well before that.
The only conclusion she could think of was perhaps she had been paying more attention to Nel than to the possible dangers around them.
The thought of Nel getting hurt because of her negligence left the Hyuga heiress feeling very guilty and dejected as she silently thought.
'I should've been paying attention...'
Yugito too had remained silent as they all walked down the corridor. She knew Naruto was very upset with the Hyuga princess as Yugito had silently dubbed her.
Looking over towards the obviously dejected indigo haired girl, Yugito couldn't help but smirk at the forlorn face the girl now bore.
Yet she herself hadn't decided yet if she wanted something more.
More than just friendship with Naruto, who was the same as she?
The possibility of such a thing constantly nagged at her, and the voice of the Nibi, the two tailed cat, constantly purring to her inside her mind to take the blonde vessel of the Kyuubi and claim him as a mate was not helping matters.
'Shut UP you stupid cat!'
Yet still it nagged at her, her brow furrowed in thought, her lovely face tense in concentration.
'I wonder if he went through the same hell I did?'
Did he run from his own village, when they chased him down, howling for his blood?
Was he subjected to the constant jeers, discrimination, and abuse on a daily basis?
'Were you stabbed in the back, by those you held close to your heart?'
She felt her heartbeat quicken a bit, a light blush flushing her face pink as Nel piped up:
"I want Yugi-chan to hold me!"
Naruto shook his head as Nel reached out for the Nibi vessel, pining to be held by her because Naruto wouldn't let Hina-chan' hold her.
"No, not right now..." Naruto tersely barked.
One thing that Yugito did know was that if she did decide to pursue something more with Naruto, the Hyuga girl was definitely competition for her in that regards.
Unfortunately, Nel would not give in, and was whining loudly now, her small voice heard loud and long, reverberating off the corridors of the narrow hall..
"WAAAAH! I want Yugi-chan!"
Staring up at her father, she jutted her lip out in a pout, tears forming in her bright eager eyes, now pitifully sad.
"Pleaaaaaaaase?"
Looking from Yugito to Nel, Naruto was torn.
Could he trust her with his daughter, or would she endanger her like Hinata had?
Yugito looked over her shoulder now, and ever so briefly her dark, doe brown eyes locked with his. A light blush lit her face, his own visage hidden behind his mask, hiding the dark look in the shadows of its narrow confines.
Breaking the stare, Yugito halted in mid-step, moving back a pace, until she was side by side with her fellow blonde.
She looked down to Nel, the little Arrancar holding her arms up clearly wanting to be held and trying to squirm out of her father's grasp to get to her.
In response, Naruto loosened his hold on her, an unspoken message in his eyes, which now commanded the attention of his fellow Jinchuuriki, loud and clear was his point
If she gets hurt, you're gonna get it.
Yugito didn't say a word; she just reached down, and gently scooped up the wriggling girl and was rewarded with a happy squeal, as Nel clapped her hands with glee.
"YAAAAAY!"
Naruto did his best to ignore the small gasp from Hinata, as he knew that must hurt her, but he could not deny his daughter her happiness...
Daisuke, Naruto's acting liaison to the bandit gang Crimson Blades, was still rubbing his ass which had been scorched by one of the traps they all had first encountered. He was currently wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into by tagging along with this very dangerous blonde shinobi and his female companions.
'This guy is hardcore. If I piss him off, I'm gonna get my ass handed to me.'
Daisuke was snapped out of his train of thought when said Shinobi rounded a corner and ordered everyone to stop.
As Naruto gazed down the final corridor, he spied a simple looking wooden door at the end. Looking around at the walls and ceiling of the hall, he did not notice anything out of the ordinary.
They had not encountered anymore hidden traps for some time now and he wondered why?
The answer was simple.
Either they were at the end, or they were being lulled into a false sense of security.
Turning to Hinata he curtly ordered to her.
"Hinata, activate your Byakugan and scan this corridor and focus this time."
Hinata winced at Naruto's tone and implication but nodded her head and activated her famous Kekkei Genkai and scanned the hallway.
After a moment, she turned to Naruto and said:
"I don't see any dangers Naruto-kun, it appears to be safe."
"Famous last words." Yugito muttered before a cold glare from Naruto told her to keep quiet, whilst Nel said that wasn't very nice.
"Alright everyone, stay alert, it appears to be safe, but you never know." Naruto stated the last part warily, before casting a glance at Hinata and began walking down the hall, occasionally looking over his shoulder, eyeing Nel who was happily nestled in Yugito's arms.
As the group made their way down the corridor, Hinata kept her Byakugan activated. She swore to herself that she would not let Naruto down again no matter what.
When their party had reached the halfway point of hall, Hinata suddenly sensed two mechanisms emerge from the walls behind them; these devices looked more seamless than the others, which were bulky and clunky and that meant trouble.
She saw that they were aiming at Naruto and Yugito, and her eyes widened.
Without hesitation, Hinata leapt forward and pushed Naruto and Yugito to each side of the hall while yelling as the machines opened fire.
"Naruto-kun, Yugito-san lookout!"
Yugito cursed as she saw a beam of energy shoot by where she had just been, dropping flat to the ground, covering Nel with her body.
Glancing over to Naruto she was surprised to see him shielding the two of them with his body, before he whirled around and threw two kunai's with explosive notes attached in different directions behind them.
Naruto's aim was true to the mark as each kunai hit their targets and each machine exploded in a blaze of orange and yellow.
Turning back around to check on his daughter to make sure she was alright, he then ripped his mask off and yelled at Hinata, his face twisted in fury
"DAMN IT HINATA, I THOUGHT YOU SAID IT WAS…...Safe."
The last word of Naruto's angry question dying in mouth, as he now saw Hinata lying bleeding and unmoving on the floor where he had just been a moment ago.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Author Note: A bit of a short chapter I know, but in the original version a majority of the chapter dealt with Princess Kazahana Koyukihusband battling the Akatsuki. In this revised version, he doesn't exist. I do hope all of you enjoyed the chapter and I'm very curious to see what everyone thought about it. I've been working on this the last couple of hours to get it ready to post. If I've missed something and have a really egregious or glaring error, just PM me and I'll fix it right away. My thanks to everyone for all of your support and your reviews; it's much appreciated by me. Now onto the news and something I could also really use your support on.
A couple of my readers and fine authors themselves brown phantom and Zentary have set up polls on each of their accounts asking the question.
Who is the best Naruto fanfic writer on this site?
They have each listed 50 authors and you're allowed to vote for 10 choices on each poll. Both authors have graciously placed my name on both polls. And both Polls have been going on strong for a few months and I'm looking forward to seeing the final results.
So I humbly ask if you feel I'm worthy of being one of your 10 picks to please place a vote for me. If you haven't voted yet on these polls please do so, as I could really use your help to make a good showing.
I thank you in advance for your support and the links to the profile pages for both brown phantom and Zentary are listed below.
brown phantom http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/1634435/
Zentary http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/u/2022054/
Take it easy and be good!
Kingkakashi