Do I Have A Purpose Anymore?
Chapter 15: "A Sinful Betrayal Revealed"
As Kurenai waited patiently in the Hokage's office for Tsunade to arrive, her irritation was growing with each passing minute. The subject of her irritation was the other occupant in the office seated next to her at that moment, one Kakashi Hatake.
It wasn't that Kakashi was a bad person or that his attitude was annoying to Kurenai. No, the main cause of her ire was the Copy nin's endless penchant for reading that perverted novel of his no matter who else may be around. Women, children, it didn't matter who was in Kakashi's presence.
He would just continue to read his pornography, oblivious to anyone around him who might be offended by that smut. And nothing got under Kurenai's skin more so than perverted behavior.
Just as she was about to angrily tell a giggling Kakashi to put that book away, Tsunade walked into the office and beat her to the punch by growling:
"Kakashi put away that damn book before I ban its possession in the village for good!"
Kakashi pulled the book back to his chest protectively and stammered in disbelief, as he held tightly to his most precious possession.
"I don't want Jiraiya's legacy to be tied to those damn books of his! His legacy should be him looking down from the heavens and seeing his last pupil become Hokage!"
Tsunade shouted at Kakashi while trying to hold back her tears at the remembrance of her lost teammate, friend, and love.
The mood in the room had instantly turned somber.
"I understand Hokage-sama." Kakashi solemnly replied while tucking his book inside his Jounin vest. Taking a moment to calm down, Tsunade sat in her chair.
"Now, I have called you both here to assign you a missing nin retrieval mission."
The two Jounin exchanged a glance before looking back to the blonde Hokage.
"You both are two of my finest Jounin and because of the personal relationships you have with these missing nin's, I feel you have the best chance for success in bringing all of them home."
Kakashi and Kurenai looked at each other with confusion before turning back to Tsunade and Kurenai inquired.
"Who are these missing nin's you speak of Hokage-sama?"
Lacing her fingers together before her, Tsunade let the bomb drop.
"The mission I'm sending the two of you out on is to retrieve some of your wayward students."
Kakashi scratched the back of his head before saying in confusion.
"Our students Hokage-sama, we ….."
Finishing his statement, Kurenai now spoke.
"We haven't had any students since Teams 7 and 8 disbanded a few years ago."
"They officially may no longer be your students, but can the two of you honestly say when you look upon them you still don't consider yourselves their teachers?"
Both Jounin silently nod their heads in acceptance, before Tsunade continued on.
"The reason you're both here is each of you have two former students who are currently AWOL from the village. And if they aren't found soon, I may be forced thanks to the Council's meddling to declare them missing nin and issue a capture or kill order to our Anbu hunter nin's on all of them."
The two Jounin gasped at this, knowing full well the ramifications of that order.
Again looking to the photo of Naruto and Jiraiya, Tsunade laid it flat and out of view and heaved a heavy sigh.
She could not bear to look her old friend in the eye, and admit to her former teammate, long since deceased, that she had failed. Looking back to the two Jounin before her she announced.
"I've already done this to one of them because of the Council, even though it has broken my heart to do so. I don't want to do it for the others, for if I do it will be my last official act as Hokage of this village."
"Who is missing Hokage-sama?" Kurenai asked, her voice ringing with apprehension.
"You both know Naruto left the village three weeks ago. When that happened I sent Team Asuma the Ino-Shika-Cho trio after him. I figured Shikamaru would be able to quickly deduce where Naruto might go and I was correct. They found him and engaged Naruto in battle...
Her face darkened into a scowl.
"They were soundly beaten."
Kurenai stiffened slightly at the mention of Asuma's name.
They had only just begun dating when he lost his life while on a mission at the hands of the Akatsuki member Hidan. She missed her fellow Jounin and friend and would wonder sometimes what could have developed between the two of them had he lived...
She was broken from her train of thought by Kakashi voice.
"How badly were they hurt Hokage-sama?" Kakashi asked.
At this, her tone lightened somewhat.
"Surprisingly, or maybe not, they did not suffer any major injuries. Chouji was the worse off, but only because he attempted to kill Naruto when he thought Naruto had killed Shikamaru."
Looking out into the morning sun via her window, Tsunade sighed for what felt like the millionth time before she resumed speaking.
"Apparently Naruto held no desire to hurt or kill any of them, for if he had they would be dead according to Shikamaru."
"He's that strong?" Kurenai asked her fellow Jounin.
Kakashi merely nodded his head before Tsunade continued on.
"After that incident, I recalled Team Gai who I had also sent out in search of Naruto, lest they get injured in trying to apprehend him." It was after this that several members of both your teams began going AWOL."
"Who?" Both Jounin asked in unison.
Again she dreaded her own words; ill tidings of bad news were all that seemed to convey these days.
"Well first it was Hinata. Apparently life as an Inuzuka was not appealing to her, as indicted by the note she left to Kiba."
"What... did it say Hokage-sama?" Kurenai hesitantly asked.
"What you would expect from Hinata, that she tried to make the marriage work and that she did love Kiba but only as a close friend. She blames herself for not standing up to her family and going through with the arranged marriage."
"She knows her leaving will cause Kiba pain and she hopes he can forgive her. But she must find the one man who has always held her heart and if she can bring him home. However, if she can't, then she will not be returning either, etc, etc."
Kakashi shook his head sadly at the potential loss of another Shinobi, as he thought.
'What is this village coming to?'
Kurenai leaned forward and put her face in her hands in an attempt to hide the tears beginning to well in her eyes. Letting loose a heavy sigh and wiping her eyes, she leaned back up and said with resignation:
"So she continues to lie even in her farewell note."
"What do you mean Kurenai?" Tsunade questioned in curiosity.
Suddenly Kurenai's crimson eyes narrowed, and her face tightened in barely contained anger
"What I mean is that Hinata's marriage was a farce from the very beginning! I know how much Hinata loved Naruto three years ago and she would never betray him the way she did unless her father somehow forced her too. I remember questioning her about why she was suddenly marrying Kiba, but all she would say is she had no choice. And no matter what I said or how hard I pressed her, Hinata wouldn't elaborate further. The pressure Hiashi and her clan put on Hinata for that marriage was tremendous. But Kiba was under no such pressure from his clan, and he knew she loved Naruto and not him, yet he still went through with the marriage. I'm more disappointed in Kiba than I am in her for going through with the marriage and I'll never understand why did he do that to her? I'm surprised she made it three years, I know how miserable Hinata has been during her marriage despite the brave façade she put up for the public when she was with Kiba."
"The timing of her departure is curious considering her sister Hanabi and Konohamaru were married just two weeks ago." Tsunade commented in deliberation.
Alas, this brought Tsunade to the second part of the tale.
"Well speaking of Kiba, before you start this mission you might want to talk to your lone remaining student, Shino about him Kurenai. According to Shino, Kiba is not handling Hinata leaving very well. Apparently Shino exchanged some words with him before he left the village to retrieve his wife."
Kurenai nodded solemnly.
"I shall Hokage-sama."
Now it was Kakashi's turn to speak.
"I already know about Naruto, Hokage-sama. Which of my other students is missing or is it both of them?" the lazy Jounin asked with interest.
"Sakura we suspect left before Kiba did to go after Naruto. As for Sasuke, he begged me to let him go and find Naruto, so I sent him on a mission to retrieve him within two weeks."
"And...asked Kakashi, suspecting there was more than he was being told.
There was.
"That two-week time period ended over a week ago and I told Sasuke if he was unable to accomplish his task, then his orders changed from retrieval to a capture or kill order for him to execute." Tsunade replied with sadness while dropping her head in shame.
"You did what?" Kakashi exclaimed leaping from his chair.
Tsunade leapt up as well easily ten times as angry, as made evident by the tears sparkling in her hazel eyes.
"You think I wanted to? As long as Naruto has the Kyuubi sealed within him, he is a dangerous threat to our village but more importantly he is in danger himself! Madara Uchiha and the rest of the remaining Akatsuki are still out there trying to capture Naruto and we cannot allow them to get a hold of the Kyuubi!"
Panting heavily from the intense burst of anger, she took a deep breath-
"You know what will happen if they do, Naruto will be killed anyway and they will have the most powerful Bijuu at their disposal and we would be finished!" Tsunade shouted as tears streamed freely down her face.
Kakashi saw the pained look on the face of Tsunade and knew what she had ordered was killing her on the inside. As much as he wanted to refute her argument, he found that he couldn't.
Balling his hands into fists in frustration, he finally sat back down and said with stoicism.
"I understand... Hokage-sama."
"I hope so Kakashi because I'm issuing the same capture or kill order to you. Unless you think you can bring Naruto back alive, then there is no other way, he-he will have to be...eliminated." Tsunade stammered her voice tinged with despair.
Kakashi could only stare at Tsunade in absolute shock and anger that she would issue that order to him as well.
Gripping his fists even tighter, it took all of his strength and will just to keep his killing intent in check and say through clenched teeth behind his mask:
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade knew Kakashi hated her at that moment and she didn't blame him one bit.
But she had a duty to perform as Hokage to always protect this village no matter the threat. Tsunade just never imagined that the threat could ever possibly come from Naruto himself...
Dismissing Kakashi and Kurenai and watching them head towards her door; she suddenly remembered one more thing and ordered them to stop before saying.
"I was so focused on your students; I nearly forgot to tell you this. Ino Yamanaka also went AWOL a few hours after Kiba did, so she is also roaming around out there searching for Naruto, bring her back as well."
Kurenai arched a dark eyebrow.
"Ino, why is she searching for Naruto?"
"I don't know for sure Kurenai, but I suspect it's for the same reasons as Hinata and Sakura."
"I understand Hokage-sama." Kurenai replied with a mild blush to her face.
Turning around to exit the office with Kakashi, the two Jounin heard their Hokage shout out a desperate plea.
"Please, please bring all them back home!"
The two Jounin turned back to Tsunade and both nodded in affirmation before leaving on what may be the most important mission from a personal standpoint of their lives.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ino was amazed at how effortlessly Sasuke was still jumping from tree to tree through the forest.
'Kami, how can he keep going...?'
They had been traveling most of the morning and even though Ino had improved her physical skills greatly since their younger days, fatigue was beginning to slow her down.
Looking up towards the sun, she took note that it was around midday and called out to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, its midday, can we take a short break and have some lunch?"
Sasuke looked to the sky and then back to Ino and nodded his head before pointing to a small clearing by a creek.
A moment later, both Leaf Shinobi landed in said clearing and sat down each one leaning against a different tree.
Both Ino and Sasuke broke out their field rations and ate quietly, their thoughts primarily on Naruto.
After finishing their meals and refilling their canteens from the creek, they sat back down once more as Sasuke pulled the sword he carried off of his back and examined it closely, looking it over with a keen eye, as if searching for something
Ino's inquisitive nature came forth when she saw the obsidian-eyed man across from her looking at the blade.
"I don't remember you carrying a sword before Sasuke, is that new?"
"It's not a sword Ino, but a Zanpaktou and yes it is new."
The blonde persisted, her curiosity not satiated in the least.
"It looks very old, where did you get it?"
"It is old and very powerful as well. I just recently acquired it from a man by the name of Byakuya Kuchiki."
"The Kuchiki clan, I've heard stories about them. They belong to that Soul Society cult and supposedly hunt down these demon thingies."
A perplexed look then appeared on Ino's face as she asked.
"But why do you need a weapon that kills demons?"
Sasuke glanced at Ino's eyes briefly before quickly turning his head to the side and remained silent.
It was at that moment Ino's eyes grew wide with startled horror, and she realized why Sasuke had that sword.
She rose to her feet, her body shaking as tears began to well in her eyes and pointed accusingly at the Uchiha and screamed at him with hate.
"You lying bastard! You told me you were here looking for Naruto the same as me, but you're not!"
He opened his mouth to speak, but the blonde kunoichi spat in his face.
"You just want to find him so you can kill him!"
Sasuke wiped the saliva off his face in disgust, before vehemently saying in denial.
"It's not true, I swear it! I'm here under orders from Hokage Tsunade to find Naruto and bring him back to Konoha!" Sasuke pleaded while leaping to his feet.
"Then why the need for the sword?" She hissed out, not convinced in the least of his intentions.
Sasuke turned his head to the side once more and looking to the ground spoke in a choked voice, the words visibly painful for him to speak.
"I need the sword because if I am unable to convince Naruto to return to the village, Tsunade has ordered me to…eliminate him."
Ino shook her head in disbelief, refusing it to be true.
"I-I, can't believe that old hag would order that, I thought she loved Naruto?"
And then, she vented on him once more.
"And you of all people to do it! Haven't you already hurt Naruto enough in your life Sasuke?"
Her words were true, every single one.
"She has no choice Ino, and yes I know about the pain I've inflicted upon Naruto. From my desertion and our fight at the Valley of the End when I rammed a Chidori into his chest, to all the numerous battles we had up until the final one where he brought me home."
A melancholy sigh escaped his lips, and his shoulders sagged.
"I know I've caused him a great deal of pain."
The blonde snorted and was tempted to slap him on the head.
"Hmph, you're just talking about the physical pain, which I'm sure Naruto forgave you for a long time ago. You neglected to mention when you crushed his heart after you came back!"
Surprised, Sasuke did a double take, shock plastered all over his face.
"Wha-what are you talking about?"
Now she did slap him, rather hard across his face.
"Don't play dumb Sasuke! You and Sakura did a number on him when you returned. If it hadn't been for Hinata to pick up the pieces, Naruto probably would have left the village long before this."
"What Sakura and I did?"
He shook his head.
"I have no idea what you're talking about?"
Ino glared at Sasuke until she noticed the confused expression on his face and in his eyes before she realized.
"You really don't know what I'm talking about do you?"
Sheathing his blade he shook his head again and shot her a glare.
"No damn it I don't, tell me what did Sakura and I do to Naruto!"
"You took your best friend's girlfriend from him the day he was going to ask her to marry him, that's what you did Sasuke!" Came her violent reply, one that made the anger upon his face die, abruptly replaced with horrified realization.
"G-Girlfriend, you mean Sakura? No that can't be right, Sakura told me she and Naruto were just friends when I returned!"
"Friends, friends, friends! They dated for almost 3 fucking years before you came back Sasuke!" Ino shouted in his face.
"You're lying!" Sasuke accused the Yamanaka girl before she forcefully shoved the stunned Uchiha back first into a nearby tree and screamed.
"They started going out shortly after he returned from his training with Jiraiya-sama! Believe me I know, I had to listen to Sakura for three years talk about how wonderful Naruto is and how much she loved him and how much he loved her!"
Sasuke refused to believe it and shaking his head rapidly in denial stammered.
"That-that can't be true, Sakura told me she had loved only me and had waited for my return!"
"Hmph, if that's true Sasuke then I guess Naruto wasn't the only one Sakura played for a fool. I still remember the very day you and forehead girl destroyed him, I was working at the hospital that day."
Leaning against the tree with his arms crossed over his chest, Sasuke listened intently to the tale.
"I remember when Naruto came in and showed me the engagement ring he had gotten for Sakura. It was a week after he had brought you back and you were still recovering from your injuries."
Well, he mused, so far she has the timeline right...
"Naruto wanted my opinion if Sakura was going to like the ring or not, and it was a beautiful ring by the way, I don't know where he got it, but it actually had a pink hue to it, Sakura would have loved it."
A faraway, semi-sad look appeared in her eyes now.
"I then remember Naruto asking where Sakura was, as he wanted to ask her right away. I told him she was in your room down the hall and do you want to know what his response to me was? I remember it word by word to this day."
"Awesome, I can ask Sakura-chan to be my wife and the teme to be my best man all in one shot!"
"I then watched Naruto run down the hall and open the door to your room, but he didn't go in."
Horrified guilt began to clutch at Sasuke's stomach, tying it into a tight knot, as Ino described every explicit detail.
"He just stood there in the doorway, unmoving and staring into your room with the blankest expression I've ever seen on someone's face. Finally I saw him close the door and drop something into a nearby wastebasket before continuing on down the hallway to leave."
I remember running down the hall and looking into the basket only to discover it was the ring he threw away. I couldn't imagine what would make Naruto do such a thing? That is until I opened your door and saw Sakura with her skirt hiked up and bouncing up and down your mid-section moaning like the cheap whore she is on your bed. It was all I could do not to go in and kill the both of you for what you had done. I probably would have if Shizune hadn't entered the floor and called for me."
Clapping her hands of imaginary dirt, Ino proceeded to wrap up the story, folding her arms over her double C breasts as she did so.
"So there you have it Sasuke. I'm sure a Chidori to the chest is quite painful, but it's nothing compared to the pain you inflicted on Naruto that day of seeing his supposed best-friend and brother fucking the girl he had loved his entire life! The same girl he had decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with!"
Sasuke dropped to his knees as memories of the day Ino was speaking of came flooding back into his mind.
He had been in the hospital recovering from the wounds he had received from Naruto in their final battle. Sakura had taken care of him practically 24 hours a day during that week.
Sasuke had to admit that he took notice of her during that time. Sakura was no longer the gangly teenager he had once left unconscious on a bench, but had grown into a very beautiful young woman since then.
During that week, the possibility of being more than just friends with her had begun to plague Sasuke's mind. Eventually, he decided to ask Sakura to become his girlfriend, but he wondered...
'What was her relationship with Naruto since he had been gone?'
When she had told him they were nothing more than friends he was relieved.
Sasuke then remembered Sakura squealing with delight and kissing him when he suggested they become a couple and the rest had been described accurately enough by Ino.
Looking up into her blue eyes to desperately search for any hint that the Yamanaka girl was lying to him about all of this, but finding no such sign, Sasuke knew everything she had said was true.
Looking back to the ground he stated with despair.
"I-I didn't know Ino. I swear I never would have done that to Naruto had I known. It all makes sense now that I think about it. I wondered why Naruto avoided us after we became a couple. I wanted to ask him what was going on, but Sakura told me that Naruto was just being childish because of his silly crush on her and that she had chosen me to be with instead of him."
"She convinced me that we should just leave him alone and eventually he would get over it. I thought she was right when after a few months he did start to interact with us once again. Why would he do that after what we did to him? And why didn't anybody tell me about Naruto and Sakura?"
Ino's answer was simple.
"The answer to your first question is Hinata. She finally found the courage to let Naruto know that she truly did love him. And Hinata would never use Naruto the way Sakura did, like a replacement tool for her own selfish needs until you returned. Hinata helped to heal Naruto's shattered heart and soul and eventually, Naruto fell in love with her. It was only after that happened that we all started seeing Naruto around once again."
Another memory of Sasuke's flashed across his mind.
It was the first time he had seen Naruto since he had been released from the hospital and had starting dating Sakura. After hearing what Ino had just said, another piece fell into place which explained that strange encounter that had always nagged at him.
Shaking his head in disbelief of his own stupidity Sasuke commented:
"I remember... the first time Sakura and I had run into Naruto while walking through the park. It had been almost a year since one of us had seen him and I was surprised to find him holding hands with Hinata when I did.
I remember congratulating Naruto when I learned that he and Hinata were dating. I never understood why Sakura and Hinata glared at each other the whole time and then got so agitated when I suggested we all go on a double date...
The pieces were rapidly falling into place, and they were not forming a pretty picture...
"Naruto just laughed it off and flashed that goofy grin of his before he made up some excuse about him and Hinata needing to be somewhere and then they left."
"I should have known something was not right when Sakura started complaining about Hinata being with Naruto the rest of the day to me. I'm such a fool, but I still don't know why no one else ever told me about Naruto and Sakura?"
"Well Sasuke, I'm not surprised at all about Sakura's reaction when she saw Naruto and Hinata together for the first time. I'm sure forehead girl wanted to be with you, yet still have Naruto pine away for her the rest of his life."
Ino's tone of voice was dripping with acidic venom, as she spoke about Sakura.
"The thought that Naruto might actually love someone else besides her, I'm sure was appalling to Sakura and to her ego. As to why I or anyone else didn't tell you about Naruto and Sakura's past relationship, is because Naruto told us not to."
"What, why would he do that?"
"Naruto said that he didn't want you to know because he wanted to see you happy Sasuke. And if Sakura made you happy, he didn't want to ruin it for any reason. He also said that what happened in the past didn't matter anymore. He had found Hinata and the two of them were in love and happy and would be for the rest of their lives."
She bit back a sigh, as they had been doing too much of that. "Of course, you already know about the tragedy of what happened to them two years later."
Sasuke too resisted the urge to repeat a sigh.
"Yeah, I know, and what happened still haunts Naruto to this day. One of the things Naruto said to me before he knocked me out when he left was that the Naruto I knew was dead, he had died three years ago."
"Well I know it still haunts Hinata as well, damn her family and Kiba for doing that to them!" Ino angrily spat before adding.
"So tell me Sasuke, now that you know about all of this, and the pain you've caused Naruto. Are you still going to kill the man you call your best friend?"
He scratched his head and started to pace.
"I-I don't know what I'm going to do anymore Ino... When the time comes I'll make that decision. But I can make you no promises one way or the other."
"Damn you to Hell Sasuke Uchiha!"
Suddenly, all hell broke loose and Ino roughly tackled Sasuke to the ground, holding him there by both his arms, her expression murderous.
"I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun anymore!"
"Fuck you, you've been standing here casting judgment on me for the pain I've inflicted upon Naruto, what about the pain you've given him?" Sasuke retorted right back.
She was prepared for this, speaking her words slowly and surely, as if to clearly get her point across.
"Fuck you too; you think I don't know I also helped to create the Naruto we now have today! I was the one who tried to pick up what was left of him after Hinata's marriage. I was with him for a year as he slowly mended and we started to become closer. Then, I did the unforgivable, I was given a choice and I chose wrong, and I've hated myself for it ever since."
Suddenly getting off him, she rose, and turned round, her back to him, as her hands balled into fists at her sides.
"It's why I'm out here. I love Naruto-kun and want to bring him home and be with him if he'll have me. I don't know if he will, and I can't blame him if he doesn't, but even if I find that he won't love me the way I love him, I still want him to be a part of my life no matter what."
Her next words were a desperate whisper, one that pleaded to the heavens.
"I just pray Naruto-kun is still willing to let me be a part of his life when we do find him...?"
"I can't imagine Shikamaru is going to be too happy about what you're doing Ino." Sasuke derisively commented, as he picked himself up, dusting off the dirt and mud from the tackle.
Casting a glance over her shoulder Ino merely scoffed at the Uchiha's words before looking away once more and saying.
"For your information, Shikamaru has no problem with what I'm doing, seeing as we have broken up and he was the one to push me to go after Naruto. Shika wants me to be happy and to follow my heart, even if it's not with him and I will always love and be grateful to him for doing that."
His next words knocked the anger right out of her.
"I told Sakura the same thing."
"What are you talking about?" She stammered, now reluctantly turning to face him.
"Sakura broke off our engagement before Naruto left. She told me she wanted to be with Naruto and I told her to listen to her heart and to be happy."
"I'm sorry Sasuke, I didn't know, are you ok?"
"It hurt at first, but after learning from you that my entire five year relationship with Sakura has been based on a lie, not so much anymore. Now, I'm actually grateful that she did end it."
"Well, if Sakura thinks she's just going to stroll back into Naruto's life after what she did, she's got another thing coming! I'll kill her myself before I let that happen!"
"Only if I don't get to her first Ino!"
"Alright, let's get moving. The sooner we find Naruto the sooner we'll get things sorted out. But just so you know, if you try to kill Naruto-kun when we find him, you'll have to get through me first! You got that?"
A small smile touched his lips.
"I understand."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
As Ino and Sasuke prepared to resume their quest to find Naruto, another pair of missing Konoha Shinobi decided to take a short break before resuming their own hunt to find Naruto.
After traveling for several hours in silence, Sakura was still haunted by Kiba's words days ago to kill Naruto and Hinata, if Hinata didn't return to Konoha with him.
When Kiba had uttered that threat the look on his face had been so feral, animalistic almost, and combined with the malevolence ringing in his voice as he said it, truth be told, it frightened Sakura greatly.
At that moment, Kiba was no longer the friend and comrade she had grown up knowing most of her life, but a complete stranger.
However what confused Sakura as she watched Kiba play with Akamaru was at this moment, he spoke and acted exactly as she remembered him growing up.
Deciding to take a chance and summoning up the courage to speak to the Inuzuka heir, Sakura hesitantly asked.
"K-Kiba, you didn't really mean what you said when we first met did you?"
"About what?" Kiba replied with a confused tone before sitting down across from Sakura and lean against a tree.
"You, you know about wanting to k-kill Naruto and Hinata if she didn't return home with you?"
Kiba's appearance immediately took on a darker tone as he furrowed his face into a scowl at the first mention of Naruto's name.
His voice also took on a more menacingly cold tone as he answered Sakura's question.
"I don't want to kill anyone Sakura, not Naruto and certainly not my wife. But I will kill both of them if they force me to. If Hinata returns to me, everything will be cool and no one will get hurt I promise."
His clawed hands ground into the log, peeling shavings of it away.
"But if she refuses, then I'm not responsible for what will happen afterwards, that will be on Naruto's head not mine."
Sakura in a futile attempt protested.
"But-but Kiba how is Hinata refusing to return to Konoha with you Naruto's fault? He-he didn't kidnap or take Hinata when he left, from what you've said Hinata went after him on her own. I don't know what's going on between you and Hinata, but it sounds like your blaming Naruto for your troubles with Hinata for no reason."
"No reason, I have every reason to blame Naruto for all of this!"
This made no sense!
"Why Kiba?"
"Because if it wasn't for Naruto, Hinata would love me and not him damn it!"
"Wha, what?"
"Look Sakura, it's easy to understand when you think about it. Hinata is my wife, not Naruto's. She needs to learn to love me and not Naruto, but how can she do that with him still around?"
A faraway look appeared in his eyes, and he let out a happy sigh.
"I was so fucking happy when I heard Naruto had left the village. I knew with him gone, Hinata could finally start to love me like she is supposed to instead of him. I wouldn't have to watch her mope around anymore like I have for the last three years or see the fake smiles she would give me."
He nodded, as if to reassure himself.
"With Naruto gone, Hinata can finally learn that she belongs to me not him."
Then the look came back, along with the venom.
"But even with Naruto gone he still fucks up my life, because Hinata can't seem to let go of him! But that is going to change, one way or another Hinata will submit and learn to love me and be the proper wife I deserve!"
'Yeah Kiba, it's real easy to understand your thinking, if you're a freaking lunatic!' Sakura thought to herself before shaking her head sadly and saying:
"I'm sorry Kiba but love doesn't work that way. You can't force or teach someone to love you if they love someone else. Even if they're not together, Hinata loves Naruto. Whether he is in the village or not isn't going to change that fact. A person won't learn to love someone, if their heart belongs to another no matter how hard they try."
'Believe me Kiba; I've spent the last five years of my life learning that lesson the hard way.'
"You know what Sakura? I don't care what you or Shino or anyone else has to say about this. Hinata belongs to me not Naruto, and once she learns that, everything will be fine!"
"Kiba you talk about Hinata like she's some sort of possession, women aren't objects you can't own them!"
His rage nearing a boiling point, Kiba leapt up from the log, growling fiercely as he glared at her.
"Grrrrrrr, I'm tired of talking about this! This conversation and you Sakura are starting to piss me off! You're either with me or against me on this! Are you going to help me with Hinata or not?"
Sakura looked up at Kiba's face and saw it had taken on that feral appearance she had seen when they first mett.
And that malevolent and venomous tone had returned to his voice, which was even causing Akamaru to whimper.
Sakura realized she may have pushed things too far and needed to choose her next words very carefully.
Taking a moment to compose herself, she said in as calm and steady a voice as she could muster.
"I'm with you Kiba and I will help you with Hinata once we find her."
Then, as if someone had flipped an unseen switch on Kiba, he smiled brightly at Sakura and said in a sweet voice.
"Well come on, let's get moving again!"
As Sakura watched Kiba begin to repack his supplies, while she did the same, she mused to herself...
'I'm with you Kiba you psychotic lunatic, only because I need you right now. But once we find Naruto, all bets are off!'
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Author Notes: Well judging by the severe drop-off in reviews I'm guessing that several readers are upset with me for the almost seven-week interval between my chapter 13 to chapter 14 update. So I figured I would hammer out chapter 15 for your enjoyment as an attempt to seek forgiveness on your part and hope that you will return to the story. I do want to sincerely thank those of you who did review; it's very much appreciated by me. A lot of you I recognize as fellow authors and I know you understand the difficulties a writer faces when they have several on-going projects at the same time. As much as I would love update my stories on a weekly basis, it's just not possible for me to do so. To even attempt it, you would see a grave reduction in the quality of my work and that's something I never wish to compromise just for the sake of expediency.
As for this chapter, there's not a whole lot of difference except for one major story point from the original version. And that's because I wrote the original chapter in the first place and really couldn't see anything that needed extensive changing. So here is chapter 15 and I'm very curious to see what everyone thought about the chapter. My thanks again to everyone for your continued support, now onto the news and something I could really use your help on.
News:
For the past few chapters I've alerted my readers to a couple of polls set up on each of their accounts by the fine authors brown phantom and Zentary asking the question.
Who is the best Naruto fanfic writer on this site?
Recently, brown phantom let me know that he would be closing his poll at the end of the year. However, he contacted me again to inform me that he's changed his and will keep his poll open a bit longer. So I urge everyone to check-out these polls when you have a chance.
As for the poll themselves, they both have 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 really 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. A top 10 showing would be nice, but a top 5 would just be incredible!
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/
End of News:
I'm still very pleased that this revised story seems to be a hit with most people. I also want to thank those readers who take the time to leave a review for the tale. They're very helpful in letting me know how the story is progressing with all of you. And they really do assist an author out in knowing what people like about a story. Thanks again to everyone for all of your support.
Take it easy and be good!
Kingkakashi