Journey of the Three Failures Chapter 15: Six Months' Time, a naruto fanfic

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Fifteen

Hello!

Thanks so much ShadowFaux, Rena-san, Cybergades, Heavenhawk, zentary, Omega the Darkness, foxsadist712, Shizuka Taiyou, Monte-chan, Yarram, soundless steps, Uzumaki Mai, Monkey Ninja Naf S'netog, ComicXArena, Dominican Kitsune, Blizzard of Love, SaphireShade, amethystfirechik, fancyspinner, Grothka, naruhinaramen, and the anon who signed monica for reviewing! Luff ya!

Sorry I didn't get back to a few reviews… I try to answer at least all reviews that have questions, but sometimes there's one I read and I'm like "I'll reply tomorrow" then I sort of forget and would have been embarrassed to reply so late… Well, a lot of people asked why I split up Naruto, Hinata, and Lee. To clear up confusion, I'm putting an answer I gave: "They split up because they thought they were becoming dangerously dependent on one another; by being apart, they're "forced" to get stronger as individuals, which is for the better because it ultimately will make them that much stronger a team when they come together again. Whereas earlier in the story they needed to stay together and hone their teamwork for any hope of survival as nukenin, they've grown strong enough since then that they're confident they can survive in the time they're divided. Since they don't know where Tsunade is, all three are going to search."

While I'm at it with the FAQ corner (XD), why Hinata body flickered after Naruto confessed his love in ch. 8: "I just thought it made sense there. I mean, the boy of her dreams who never really noticed her feelings before suddenly blurting out his love for her... I thought it would be in-character for Hinata to sort of panic and run away. Unfortunately, this creates a sort of rift between them for a while, what with Naruto embarrassed about being rejected and Hinata embarrassed over (though somewhat accidentally) basically rejecting him." Kind of late, but if anyone's still been wondering, that's my explanation.

I put up some pictures of Lee's post-timeskip outfit on my dA account. Links are on my profile. I'll draw Naruto's and Hinata's outfits eventually.

Whoops… At some point I changed the number of claw scars on Hinata's arm from four to five. Let's stick with five, k?

Gah, it's been a bad few weeks for me… So after I was cut from the basketball team about two weeks into the school year, my dad complained and I was given another chance. Got to keep practicing with them for about a month, then I was cut again. I was on Freshmen B last year, and apparently I just wasn't good enough for JV. Neither were the rest of my teammates – out of last year's eight-girl team, one of us made the cut. I mean, what the heck?! Why even have a B team if you won't give them a chance to adjust to the next level? And I guess I wouldn't be so mad if they would just come out and say it's about talent, but the coach has said repeatedly to all of us that we're all 'a big family' and "In this program it's more about work ethic and character than talent." Low as my self esteem is, I know I was one of the hardest working out there, and I worked for the last three years that I played to make myself among the fastest and easily the strongest player in my year. I was the optimist, all the spirit our sad little B team had, I never missed a practice or a game, even went to all the A team games when the B didn't have one, just to support and cheer them on. I love that game, and I love my team, and I love my school. I busted my tail hustling on that court, I poured my heart out for that team, and this is how I'm repaid. I'd thought I was doing so well, too. Maybe the coach didn't want to admit she was wrong in cutting me the first time. Maybe she didn't like my dad (he did blast her out in an email T-T). Maybe it's because I'm of color. I don't know. And one of many justifications (there just aren't enough jerseys to go around; we thought (-cough-assumed) you might need credits in a different class (which I don't)) is that I'd be sad I wouldn't get much playing time anyway – like she thinks she's being merciful in cutting me now. So in other words, I'm apparently so utterly horrible that she feels free to dismiss that regardless of how hard I might work for the next three years, I'll still never be good enough for JV. That's a smack in the face. If that's the excuse, the supposition that I would be sad over no playing time, why not let me decide if I feel sorry for myself or not? I wouldn't mind being the freethrow shooter for technical fouls! It hurts not being out there when my team needs me! If I'd known I'd be treated like this, I would have stayed in football last year (yes, for three weeks I was 'that girl on the football team'). Yes, American football. I would have been punter. I quit when I found out football would have cut into basketball.

I halfway want to tell her, "Thanks, coach. If I learned nothing else from this program, I've learned that no matter how hard I work and how hard I try, I'm a failure and I always will be." But instead I intend to get so good that there's no way I'll be denied next year.

XD Pardon the teenage venting; I got a little carried away, but I could literally talk about this for pages. I guess I'm a bit of a genius in the classroom and a failure on the court…

And now to your regularly scheduled program…

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO.

Journey of the Three Failures

Fifteen: Six Months' Time

Part One: Five Months' Time

Hinata ヒナタ

There were two voices in the next room over. Even more, three, maybe four rooms down – my ears sorted out a man, a woman, a younger girl, a preteen male. Here were footsteps; there sounded a knock on someone's door; somewhere else a simply ridiculous yawn was poured, pealing, into the air. At this moment nine faucets were running. Scratch that – six sinks, two showers, one bath. A sickeningly sweet conversation continued to flit over from the two in the next room, and I groaned groggily and buried my face in the pillow – which by the way, and contrary to claim, smelled like it hadn't been washed in a few visitors' uses.

Eew…

Sizzling noise – soon enough cooking bacon, sausage, egg, bread were caught up in my nose, and more subtly were found cold ham, cheese, rice, fish, pickles, freshly cut fruit (orange, pear, and apple apparently the most popular), along with jam, honey, butter, and the like. I turned my head stubbornly away, and my eyes squeezed all the more tightly shut when the brightness of the room escalated sharply, announcing the sun had at last surmounted the horizon. With a sigh of defeat I rolled onto my back.

Thud!

"Eep!"

The Byakugan blazed to life as I was abruptly on my feet, and an inexplicable kunai had instantly found its way to my hand. I turned sharply, wide eyes racing left, right, above, behind–!

Bed! Elevated! Right!

Blushing and now largely awake, I set down the knife and knelt to rummage through my bag. Then I remembered and went to open the door; I scooped up a neatly folded bundle of clothes and closed it again to change. They'd offered to take up laundry the evening before, and I had requested mine be left outside the door rather than delivered more safely to the room.

If the door had opened, I would have woken up.

Unlike the pillowcase, my clothes at least – which had been rank with sweat from training the day before – had definitely been cleaned. Pausing a moment, I smiled at the pleasant, flowery scent in the soft blue fabric of a sleeveless shirt before I slipped it on over my underclothes. Over it I zipped up a black, blue-hooded top, like a vest in that it was sleeveless and also cropped a few inches below the breast. Long black pants were cut off mid-shin by blue cloth tape that went on to dress the ankle and instep of each foot. Similar tape wrapped my right arm from below elbow to mid-finger, to hide and protect five jagged, only slightly raised lines on the forearm. For some symmetry's sake as much as that of concealment, the left was wrapped in the same manner but for stopping at the wrist, leaving hand uncovered. Once kunai pouch and shuriken holster were in place, black ninja sandals were put on, and finally I secured the Leaf headband at my neck.

My hands flashed through three seals.

"Henge."

In common sandals, a T-shirt, and shorts, weapon pouches and headband nowhere to be seen, I slung my bag over my shoulder and opened the door looking like any other blue-eyed thirteen-year-old girl.

As I was leaving a calendar by the door caught my eye.

"Nineteenth of June…" I smiled.

For almost five months now I'd been traveling alone but for Kurogiba's occasional company. I had been through four full moons; I had been near home and very far; I had trained rigorously, had gathered intelligence both trivial and vital. I could hardly remember a time I wasn't sore from exertion. I had gotten into a few fights, and I had thrice in the time been forced to dodge trackers for sleepless days on end. And since that winter day in Wave, I had tied four additional humans' deaths to my name.

For almost five months I had made my way and survived the trials of the harsh world, and I had done it on my own strength. And now, in one too-long week that stretched before me, I would be with my friends again.

I couldn't keep from giggling to myself, my heart fluttering gaily in anticipation. A hand unconsciously brushed the trinket of the necklace I wore as I set off down the hall of the inn waking up, coming to life around me.

It was quiet as death when I went for breakfast. My eyes briefly swept the large room as I made a plate, noting the nervousness in the air.

What did I miss…?

No one was even looking at me funny. I mean, at most places at least one nosy lady in the room tended to notice and proceed to gawk and whisper when a petite girl sat down alone with a plate like mine (today a few pieces of bacon, some sausage, slice of ham, and a triangle of toast that was mostly there so it wouldn't look too odd). Though at those times I heard the whispers clearly, I of course had to pretend I did not–

The hairs on the back of my neck crept up.

"Mrraaaaooow!! Meooooww!"

The entire room seemed to turn toward the sound next to my table. I ground my teeth, ignored the ugly old thing, and took a snapping sharp bite of toast.

I forcibly suppressed a rumble that tried to start up in my throat as the puffed up feline hissed and spat, throwing a fit. Leave me alone! Always these stupid cats – I'm not bothering you, am I? I could eat you for lunch. Literally. Not like I really would eat someone's cat, but it would probably taste terrible anyways–

Claws rasped at my toes.

I snarled viciously at it with a threatening, hissy growl, eyes narrowed in a blaze of malice as I let off an involuntary surge of murderous intent.

It screeched and ran for it, and I swiftly righted myself just as those who weren't already looking looked, those who were watching closely gawked or those who had perhaps happened to glance at the right moment did a double take, and those few who were just a bit more intuitive than the rest blanched, shuddered, or–

Thud.

"Mama!"

Time to get out of here, I thought, beet red as I hurriedly finished my meal and pretended not to notice the lady who'd fainted at the table behind me.

"Thank you, sir, I enjoyed my stay…"

"Wait!" the innkeeper called as I passed the counter near the main door.

A-am I in trouble? "Remember, I paid the in advance yesterday–," In case I needed to leave in a hurry, "–so what's the matter?"

"Haven't you heard? It's not safe outside…"

I blinked curiously. That might explain the anxiety of the other guests. "Not safe how?"

"A roving nukenin's passing through," the man clarified. "It's best to just wait them out and hope they don't come to you, you see? Trust me, dear, a young girl especially shouldn't be wandering the streets at a time like…" He trailed off as a smirk spread across my face, and his eyes were drawn, probably, to my rather unusually pointed canines. My hands came together. "What are you … doing–?"

"Reikuchiyose!"

The innkeeper shrieked squeakingly as I spat a fireball in the reception hall and Kurogiba took form in all his black flamed glory.

"Yo."

"We've got a nukenin to catch!" I said, Byakugan already active. "Not far away, I can sense him. One ninja, and he's got a few thugs tagging along. They don't seem like much, but could you back me up in case it gets tough?"

He chuckled, the sound of a low rumble of flame. "Easy there; you've just been waiting for a fight, haven't you?"

I snorted. "There are people to help!"

The innkeeper peeked from behind his desk. "Are you … a ninja?"

I nodded, deactivating my kekkei genkai. "Yes, sir. My partner and I'll handle the matter."

With that I left the inn.

Terrorizing civilians? I thought, observing the scene before me with a calculating eye as I walked up the otherwise empty street. My chakra was carefully suppressed.

"Let her go!!" a man with a bloody nose and black eye howled furiously, thrashing in the hold of his captors as they held him against a wall.

Concerned father, captive and injured…

He whimpered as an arrow thunked into the building an inch from his head. A girl in her late teens screeched, eyes wide in terror as the shooter slung his arm around her waist. "Don't worry, I'm just gonna borrow her!"

Arrogant moron, ex-Grass ninja, who gets a kick out of showing off his strength over the helpless, but a sharp shot with a bow…

"You release her right now–!"

"Put a sock in it!" One of the thugs slugged the man in the face, and another in the ribs. The rest chuckled.

Five brainless goons who're just along for the ride behind their 'powerful' leader…

A tad on the cliché side, but more importantly…

How do I defuse this situation without getting anyone hurt?

"Come on, boss!" one of the gang yelled, pushing the man's head up against the wall. "Put a bolt right there, right between 'is eyes!"

"Huh, you really think I should?" he asked with a grin, and the girl yelled out.

"I'll do whatever you want – just don't hurt him!!"

Time to intervene.

"That's a nice bow you've got there."

The Kusa nukenin started in surprise, releasing the girl as he turned to see me directly behind him.

"Who the… well, well, what a pretty little lady we have here!" he said, blushing lightly with a weird little grin.

What a sad little excuse for a man we have here… I thought poisonously as his eyes blatantly roamed my body. Though outraged, I didn't show it; now was the time to look the innocent, cute little girl.

"Where's your mommy, little girl?" A hand drifted toward my shoulder, and I shut my eyes.

"Excuse me," I said sternly, slamming him with a deathglare.

The hand snapped to his side as if of its own accord. He looked a bit disoriented a moment, but held up his cool 'I'm so bad' swagger.

"A-as I was saying," I said, putting on an easy mask of my own and prodding my fingers together. "Would y-you mind if I t-took a look at y-your bow, kudasai?" That's right, I'm a sweet little lamb, perfectly helpless… I touched a finger to my lip, and managed a little blush in my cheeks.

He grinned and handed it over.

Sucker.

"Hehe, don't hurt yourself–,"

"I'll bet you I can hit that cracked stone over there, blindfolded," I said, pointing to one such stone at the corner of a brick building twenty meters away. He started and looked, and had to search for a moment before his eyes found it. He looked back to me, then to it, then to me again.

"U-uh…"

"Y-you see, m-my papa used to use a b-bow, but I h-haven't handled one in ever so long…" I said daintily, affectionately stroking the bow in my hands. "But I b-bet I could hit that stone over there, I c-could…"

"Hahahaha! You're cute–!"

A bag of coins plopped to the ground between us.

"If I miss, you get all my money. If it hits, I get your bow."

He was sweating now.

They're all the same. Money first, I thought, smiling sweetly as he handed me an arrow. I fumbled innocently with the weapon, struggling dumbly to take aim and then with a great show of effort pulling the bowstring back an inch or two. "O-oh, silly me! I f-forgot, I said blindfolded, didn't I?"

"Aw, that really won't be necessary…"

I lifted the plain bandana at my neck – a bandana that in fact had a metal plate on it, but was currently veiled by henge – so that it covered my eyes. "O-okay, here I go! But I haven't used a bow in e-ever so long…" Like two weeks ago when mine broke.

Byakugan!

I notched the arrow, drew back fluidly, and fired.

An arrow not only hit the agreed upon stone, but lodged in the crack dead center.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

"…Wh-what the – you – you tricked me!!" he yelled in a panic.

"I guess I did." The transformation was dispelled as I pulled the bandana from my eyes. "And you should be ashamed of yourself."

"Kuso!" Fuming, he launched himself toward me with a fist drawn back. "You little–!!"

THUD.

"Gh…!"

He hadn't even begun to see it coming. I was low at his right from a swift lunge; his fist had hit some air beside my ear, and my fist had made solid contact with his stomach.

"Wh…Who…?"

My eyes opened. "Kurouga desu."

He flinched. "K-ku-so…" he swore, eyes slipping shut as he crumpled limply to the ground.

Hearing nervous whispers, I slightly bared my teeth and turned to shoot a dangerous, sidelong glare sharply at his little gang of bandits, eyes wide and furious as I let them go black-and-white.

"Leave this place."

The thugs–

Thud.

Four of the thugs ran screaming from my sight.

"Haha, good one! Gotta love it – that look that says 'you have three seconds before I tear out your entrails, rip your head off, and devour your soul!'" Kurogiba said, giving a horrid impression of my voice as he bounded laughing into the open and reared up to give me a playful push with front paws. I stumbled and shoulder-bumped him back with a smile.

"Come on, Ani-ue, people are staring."

"Arf!"

"There's a big old wolf made of fire over there, but at least it's not talking," I retorted softly, earning a faux-ferocious growl and nip on the arm. I giggled a second but then calmed down; catching on, the wolf sobered as he followed my gaze.

I walked slowly to where the girl sat on her knees, her father knelt at her side as she cried quietly.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

She looked up at me for a few moments, as if in shock. Then she threw herself to my feet, hugging with arms flung round my ankles.

"Th-th-thank you!!" she sobbed, "Thank you so much!"

I could feel my cheeks burning. "A-ano, that really isn't necessary, u-um… It was nothing; I mean I'm glad I could help…"

"I too thank you, from the bottom of my heart," her father said, bowing his head.

"O-oh…" Blushing, I managed an awkward smile as a few dozen people on the recently empty streets cheered happily.

"You showed him!"

"That was amazing!"

"Like, like, a real ninja!"

"And she was all fwoosh, and bam! Loser didn't know what hit 'im!"

I lowered myself, gently coaxing the shivering older girl's arms from my ankles. She's terrified, I thought sadly as she wrapped her arms around me the moment I offered a hug. "Hey, you're safe now…" I soothed, patting her back softly, and she managed a small nod in response.

"Indeed, child, that was most impressive," a man more up in age said as he approached. He nodded, and a few men carrying lengths of rope went to the nukenin's unconscious form. "You have my deepest gratitude as mayor for coming to my niece's aid. We will send for Grass to escort him to the proper prison in his homeland; in the meantime I believe the gathering of a reward is in order in appreciation!"

This sum isn't half of what's typically given for capture of a high-chuunin level nukenin…

"I can't accept this – you have taxes to worry about, and I have plenty of money to support myself. Besides, this is far too much for someone hardly chuunin level."

Soon enough I had convinced them to cut the reward.

"Look at this, courageous and noble!" The mayor gave me a hearty slap over the back. "Young one, you set a fine model for kunoichi and shinobi everywhere!"

"You are too kind," I said, blushing lightly. I crossed a fist over my heart and inclined my back. "I thank you for your generosity, sir."

–"Kurouga-san, is it true? Are you really going to stop Orochimaru?"

"Not just me; the Murasaki Kitsune, the Aoi Moujuu, all the New Konoha-nin still fighting hard in the village, and all the ones who are still imprisoned right now – we'll all have to come together, and put Konoha back in good hands. My friends and I are only a small part of it."

"You know the Purple Fox and the Green Beast?"

"You could say we're kind of like a family…"

"Wow! I've never met them, but they're supposed to be super strong, too, right?"

"Haha! That's right! Together we'll be a force to be reckoned with, and we'll do whatever it takes to help our village!"–

It was easy enough to tell that to a little kid smitten with admiration, but in truth … could it be anywhere near that simple? Already my home was in a wretched state; Fire ran rampant with nukenin, and, with the village embroiled in slow, bitter war, the forces couldn't be expended to deal with them. The land was abused by relentless taxation, towns were occasionally sacked and plundered, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, people were murdered every day, and if not left jobless, homeless, starving–

Murdered.

And so it came back to this as it always did. So many had I killed. How many more would be killed for the purpose of my goal? How many who meant absolutely nothing to me would I kill to protect the people I loved? I shuddered at the thought.

How many more would I kill, just to survive?

Midori. I had killed Midori. She would have died before she failed her lord, and die she did. Was he that way yet? Was he a drone, willing to make the ultimate sacrifice in service of one so vile and twisted? If I could defeat him, would it mean a thing – or would he refuse to be swayed, and fight me until he died?

–"He's a revolutionary man, a genius!!"–

Water tried to escape my eyes.

"Neji-nii-san…"

Would I kill him to survive?

No.

No, because he would not be beyond seeing; he was in darkness now, but he would be brought back.

And no, because if he would not then I would die before I killed him.

So when he fought to kill me, driven by festering rage, and I fought to save him, carried by yearning and fond memories…

If he would sooner die than fail his master, and I would sooner die than kill him…

Then if nothing else love was stronger than hatred, and the intimately complex bond of love and hatred that I knew existed between us would prevail over the chains of darkness and manipulation by which he was tethered to his lord.

My eyes cracked open as I just barely sensed a presence.

"May I join you?"

"Sister Inoriko… I never do hear you enter the room…" I looked up at the altar in front of me as the nun approached and, mimicking my position, lowered herself to her knees beside me. She bowed her head to the altar, spending a minute in silent prayer.

"You seemed deep in thought," she remarked thoughtfully when she had finished. "Please, don't let me disturb you."

"It's fine; I wasn't in prayer. I finished earlier, and since then my mind's just been wandering … to thoughts I'd rather not dwell on…"

"Do you still grieve at this time, Hinata?"

I nodded solemnly, not meeting her eyes. "I have dreams at night even now. I see their faces, hear the screams, smell the blood around me … and I continue to wake up thrashing in the night, aching with the lives these two hands have ended. All of them, fellow victims of this cruel world…"

"You speak in the way of one several times your age," she observed. "In one so young especially it is essential to maintain hope even through these desolate times… One must persevere, through internal and external hardships alike. You mustn't think nothing of it; moderate grief is healthy, for it ensures your heart has not grown apathetic and cold. But you mustn't either carry your despair as a weight the rest of your life, and let it to taint, soil, and crush you. You must move on when you are able, and bear faith in the future…"

"You are wise, Sister…" My face was blank as I looked down at hands folded in my lap, and words continued to pour from my lips. "But I remain nigh ashamed to meet your eyes. In the future I'll probably kill again; it's unavoidable. And I fear that one who walks such a path as mine might taint the sacred purity of this place…"

"I scorned you initially, and for that I apologize. You're not like most ninja, Hinata; that it did not take but a few minutes of knowing you to realize, and it has grown only clearer since."

I looked up as a hand lied on my shoulder, and though we were seated a hand's-width apart our eyes met for the first time since the conversation had begun.

"Sister…"

Inoriko rose smoothly to her feet, briefly brushing wrinkles off her habit. "You strive to repent; you are of gentle and benevolent spirit. Kunoichi or not, you will always be welcomed here with open arms, Hinata, and I will always be happy to hear you."

I rose to my feet beside her. "Sister… May I?"

"Of course, dear."

We embraced, and a soft hand, with an almost motherly knowing, tenderly stroked my back when, as I did only at these times and after attaining polite permission, I fell apart and became the child I was as I sobbed quietly against her chest.

"I wanted to thank you again for your continued donations to the abbey…"

Myself again, I was following her down a familiar hall. I shook my head. "I have more than enough money to support myself. Besides, I brought half of them here; it's the least I can do."

"You treat it so nonchalantly, though you truly have touched so many lives," she said, smiling as she stopped at the end of the hall. Her hand rested on a doorknob. "They really do adore you."

I took a moderately deep breath, pretending to brace myself. "I know."

She opened the door. "We have a visitor, children!"

"How's everyone doing?" I asked, smiling cheerfully as I entered the room behind her.

Toys and books were dropped, small games were halted, and two dozen pairs of big eyes brightened – and in seconds I was engulfed in a swarming mass of hugs as squeals of "Hinata-nee-san!" rang into the air. Soon enough, concluding a hopeless war of tickling and giggling, I'd been dramatically wrestled to the ground by their superior numbers and subsequently thoroughly surrounded, a small girl seated on my shoulders and two more children claiming spots on my lap. I laughed.

"So it looks like everyone's doing just fine," I remarked, and they laughed.

In total thirteen of these orphans I'd brought here over time, in groups numbering five, three, two, two, and one, some from near, others from far – children aged from a miraculous one-year-old girl to a boy somewhere around ten with no place left to turn. And even the ones I wasn't so closely acquainted with had taken to calling me–

"Nee-san, tell us about your a'ventures!"

"Yeah!"

"Tell a story, please?"

"Haha…" I ruffled a boy's short, dark hair. "Okay, here's a good one from about three weeks ago, when I found a squad of trackers on my tail. Now we're talking about some seriously tough ninja here–,"

"Tougher than you? No way!" a boy said.

I laughed. "Actually, I still do have a long way to go – Mimi-chan, Kato-kun, you remember our little tracker run-in that delayed your trip here, don't you?"

"O-oh! Yes, it was r-really scary…"

"But of course Nee-san pulled through for us in the end!"

"That's right – trackers are especially tough to dodge. These guys were top-notch, best of the best … and this time, there were eight of them."

"Oooh…!"

"Wow!"

"And you took all of 'em on?"

"Ie; I would never have lasted in a head-on fight against so many shinobi of their caliber… So here's how I gave them the slip!"

I grinned, my heart swelling as I swept my eyes over the children, hunkered down for the tale and already hanging on every word.

"So I was sitting at my campfire one calm, chilly night when I caught a scent on the wind. I got to my feet, flung a pail of water over my fire, snagged my bag, and darted into the trees – Byakugan!" I earned an assortment of surprised and delighted squeals, and small hands clapped excitedly. "There they were – eight hunters, skulking silently as wraiths through the still night, walking the path I myself had earlier that day traveled…"

"You're sure you'd rather not spend the night?"

"I wish I could, but I've stayed in Prairie Country long enough. I shouldn't be in one place for long, and that holds especially true here."

"I understand, dear; I suppose you are right."

"Unfortunately, I may not be back for a while…"

The children hit me with heartbroken stares as they gave a collective groan.

"I'll visit as soon as I can," I assured them. "I might be facing a little more danger in the near future, but I'll get through it!"

Inoriko and the other nuns present smiled kindly. "Be well, Hinata."

I bowed at the waist. "The same to you, Sister."

"Children, what do we say to Hinata for coming?"

"Thank you, Hinata-nee-san!" they chorused loosely, and my heart was warm as I turned to go.

"Goodbye! You may have to wait awhile, but I'll be sure I have some great stories to tell when I see you again!"

No, not if – when I saw them again.

After Naruto, Lee, and I fulfilled our mission.

Naruto ナルト

You're not getting away…

Smirking to myself, I spun on heel as my foot met the branch, lowered into a sitting position while crossing my arms, and waited. Seconds after six men came into view, unsteady and panting.

"Huff…! Gah… I think we lost him…"

"Lost who?"

"HUH?!"

Shock.

Their eyes flew upward to lock with mine. Seated comfortably on a branch, my weapon resting against my shoulder, I looked down at them with a casually inquisitive expression. The one in the lead wheeled to look back the way they'd come, and then back to me.

"Well, what is it? Someone chasing you?" Of course I knew a shadow clone had taken my place to run them this way while I passed them up, but that was for me to know and for them to quail over. What could I say? It was fun to make them tremble, and it helped the lesson stick.

"Kuso gaki!" he shouted, and a knife was flung my way.

Anger…

Promptly I was seated similarly in a different tree, and the shadow clone left behind vanished smoothly as the knife hit, fading from existence with hardly a noise, not a single wisp of smoke. The blade sailed into the trees like it hadn't touched a thing.

"What're you throwing knives around for?"

Fear…

Thoughts at this point? Probably along the lines of What just happened? How'd he get there? Or was he there the entire time? I snickered inwardly as the six whirled in surprise, the beginnings of terror creeping up on their faces.

Another knife was hurled, and I switched this time to another branch within their view – appearing, I knew, to have evaporated and reappeared somewhere else upon being hit.

"Seriously, what're you aiming at? There someone around here I don't know about?"

And finally, panic.

"L–Leave us alone!!" he screamed, eyes huge, filling his hands with knives.

Fwsh.

"Sir, I think you're seeing things."

Fwn.

"Now I'm going to ask you to calm down…"

Fwo.

"You know, there are innocent birds and squirrels that–,"

Fwsh.

"Would you stop that?!"

Fwn.

"You know what, screw it."

I spun in a tight circle as I flowed swiftly to my feet, two hands dexterously whirling a naginata rapidly above my head and then once more at the side – and then I was standing on the ground as the spear's shaft slammed down between the leader's neck and shoulder.

So stunned were the others by the sudden action that they couldn't start reacting until I had already lashed the pole sharply aside and against another man's neck, and then raised that end before reversing it, spinning it around at my side so that it clipped the jaw of a third man behind me. As he was sprawled out I followed through with the motion of the swing, my eyes landing on those of one backing away; I maneuvered the naginata in two quick, high circles, shortly hopping forward twice as I did so, and swept it down and around as I swapped to whack him solidly across the back. I ducked back and swept it the other way, lowering sharply to trip a charging foe so cleanly as to flip him onto his back. With a nimble backwards roll I was back on my feet, and turned a tight circle to shift my momentum forward again; I spun the spear twice whilst lunging toward the downed man, and at the end of the second whirl slammed the blunt end down upon his chest. Finally, as the last man turned and ran, I raised the end and shoved forcefully at the air before me. From behind came the dull THUMP of the knob at the end of the shaft ramming a solar plexus, and with a confused sputter he went down.

"Phew…" Glancing over the unconscious bodies, I spotted something one had dropped. Walking over, I slipped the thickly wrapped blade of the naginata through the strap and slung the pilfered belonging into my free hand. "Oh, brother… Sure, I know times are looking a little tough, but still … purse snatching?"

"Ooh, thank you for finding my purse!" the old lady cried, pinching my cheek. She planted a lipsticky kiss smack on my forehead. "My hero!"

'Finding?' She didn't seem to be completely "there," if you get what I mean. I looked around. Is no one with this old bag?

"Hey, no problem! I told you I'd get it back to you in a jiffy, didn't I? And…" Aw, what else can I do? "Hey, do you need any help walking home?"

"Why sure!" she cackled. "I do tend to lose my way around town every now and then. I swear, these streets keep changing on me…"

"Must be it," I said, our arms hooked as we walked down the road.

"You know, you remind me of my grandson when he was your age; cute as a button, and always so polite! Why, one time back in…"

After escorting her up and down the majority of the village's streets and learning more about her grandson than I had and probably ever would know about anyone more insignificant to my life, the lady had finally identified her house and I'd been able to see her safely to the hands of her son and daughter-in-law. With that ordeal – aherm, my good deed of the day taken care of, I was able to get back to my original destination. That is, the institution I'd been at most fifteen yards from when I spotted some crooks making off with a well-dressed, confused-looking old woman's purse.

"Matsuzuki-san!" I called, rapping a fist on the house's door. "Oi, it's me! Ma-tsu-zu-ki-san–!"

The door burst open, and a quick fist rapped over my head. "Will you be quiet, you little cretin?!" a slim, sort of nerdy black-haired man in an apron and with square glasses fumed, pointing at me. "This is a healer's place – what if I had a patient?!"

"Itai, that hurt! What're you, trying to hospitalize me–?!"

A watering pail rapped over my head.

"Ita!"

"Quiet, you, and what'd I tell you to call me?!"

I straightened and raised my hand in a rigidly formal salute. "Sem-pai," I said dully.

"That's right, you little snot, so show some respect."

"Pfft. Like I couldn't beat you in a fight…" I muttered.

"…Pardon?" he said, lowering his head to cloak his face in shadow as index finger pushed up his glasses so that light glinted off each lens. Abruptly the spring day decided to chuck twenty degrees out the window, a cloud leaped to blot out the sun, and I could have sworn I heard a storm grumble forbiddingly in the distance.

"Just saying how awesome you are, Matsuzuki-sempai!" I exclaimed enthusiastically, my face locked in a toothy smile as the core of my soul squeaked a tiny 'Kiiiii…!' of fear.

He looked up, shut his eyes, and beamed, and I sweatdropped as the day jumped back to normal like a crappy editing job. "Oh, Naruto-kun, you're too kind! Such a good little disciple!" he said, patting my hair.

Seifuu Matsuzuki? The occasional scariest chuunin physician on earth.

"Honey, is Naruto-chan here?" someone called. "You're not threatening to beat him, are you?"

SAVED!

"No, dear, of course not!"

Liar!

A woman joined him in the doorway to sling her arms loosely around her neck. "Ohayou! Hey, Naru-chan – you changed threads? It's nice on you!"

Seifuu Kiremori? Just the nicest chuunin herbalist on earth. Seriously, these two complemented each other.

"Oh, thanks…" I said, rubbing my neck at her compliment and looking down. Lee and Hinata would probably have thrown their hands up in joy to see what I had ditched my orange and blue garb for – a black sash over deep purple pants and matching sandals with black wrap at the ankles, and on top a black, waistcoat-type vest buttoned up over a light, elbow-length purple top that in turn covered a somewhat loose, long-sleeved black shirt. The loose sleeves were each bound by a strip of purple wrap that rather than coating simply spiraled the sleeves a few times down their length. Now black was the fabric of the Konoha hitai-ate displayed proudly at my forehead, and I knew it cut the small splash of purple that painted a bit of my hair near my ear. "Yeah, my old clothes, plus my hair and eye color, kind of screamed red-orange-yellow-blue-purple! Didn't exactly want to stay one color short of a walking rainbow!" I chuckled.

"Pretty spiffy!" Kiremori laughed, "I must say, it's quite befitting of the illustrious and ephemeral Purple Fox."

I beamed. "Oh! Almost forgot – in the mountains to the southeast I found plenty of those leaves you wanted, and some useful roots, too!"

"That's great!" she said, turning to head into the house. I brushed past Matsuzuki, who shut the door with a 'Hmph!'

Opening my backpack, I dug out a few marker-labeled baggies and spread them onto the table.

"Perfect…" the kunoichi said, examining the medicinal leaves she'd requested I collect. "This much will last a while…"

Matsuzuki snorted with false scorn as he looked critically into a baggy holding samples of some shrub leaves with properties that lowered fevers. "I see this time you managed not to trample them before you noticed. Or sit on them. Or–,"

"Enough, you," Kiremori said, whacking him lightly with the watering pail he'd set down.

"Kidding!" he muttered sheepishly, a faint blush coming to his cheeks.

I looked up at the two older medical ninja. "Say… Could I help you organize, or hang, or grind, or mix these one last time?"

"Hm – one last time? Where's this going?" the shinobi asked.

"I'm heading north in the morning," I said, smiling as I looked reflectively down at the bag of leaves in my hands. "It's time I said goodbye to Yama no Kuni, and Soragakure no Sato. I'll need to travel the whole week to get back in time. Matsuzuki-sempai, Kiremori-sempai… I won't see you again for a while, and I wanted to thank you for all you've done for me."

"I see…" Matsuzuki sighed, shutting his eyes. "It's time already, isn't it? Well, Naruto, believe it or not the experience has been a nice one. You were a good student, and you learned well. Anyways, I'm glad that I can safely assert I've left you a capable, maybe even bordering on decent medical ninja," he concluded, halfheartedly fighting a cool smile as he spoke.

I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. This was about as much flattery as I'd ever get from him. In his own way, he was giving me his friendly goodbye. "Thanks."

"Heh – so little Naru-chan's finally setting out to embark on his grand adventure. Gonna drive that bastard out of the Leaf?" Kiremori asked.

"That's the goal!" I said. "But before that… You could say I have some old friends to catch up with."

Lee リー

Almost there! I thought, throat and lungs and arms ablaze despite that I was drenched in a freezing slick of sweat. I charged on, racing higher up the slope of the large hill, or small mountain, until at last the ridge of its crest was overcome.

"HAA!!" I bellowed, heaving forward the boulder I had been carrying above my head, a great solid, rounded stone a bit wider than I was tall.

I sprang forward.

Facing ahead, I ran as if backwards on the boulder's surface, easily attaining a fair amount of speed while still maintaining the easy balance of practice even as the rolling boulder hit the more than occasional bump or depression in its rapid descent. Eventually the slope leveled out, and at the last moment I slipped forward, feet meeting the earth in front of the stone. I grunted as it rolled up to press the whole of its weight on my shoulders and I was forced to bend slightly at the waist. My teeth clenched as my zori-shod feet slid and inch or two, and I was presented a dizzying look over the edge of the ravine before me.

Then the halted boulder fell again, rolling off of my back to crash with a roar to the ground behind me.

My arms crossed my body, and a pair of twin katana flashed their greeting back at the morning sun as they were unsheathed. I hurried to the rope that crossed the valley, hesitating only a fraction of a moment. Arms spread and held level at my sides, blades pointed outward, my straw sandals danced lightly across the slender bridge. Forty yards of cautious haste, and I hopped off the rope at the other side.

And there in the forest ahead, moving at a leisurely pace sixty meters off…

There he was.

After running thrice around the mountain, climbing the western side from the starting point while hauling a stone at least large as I was tall, descending the eastern side without losing balance atop the boulder, preventing it from tumbling over the edge, crossing the ravine with tremendously heavy swords in hand and without tumbling to my death – all of these achieved in their entirety free of chakra – while he moved in a straight line up, down, across from the starting point sans troubling with a boulder…

–"If you're not there by the time I complete my morning stroll…"–

Could I make it?

I MUST! I thought, taking off at a furious sprint. Trees blurred past, and the middle-aged man's cloak stirred in a breeze as I blazed by him and exploded into the clearing.

"Tag!" I cried, slapping my hand down on a large stone situated in the center of the clearing. Panting lightly, I turned with a smile. "How was that … Master?" I asked as the Mist nukenin entered the clearing.

"Cutting it a little close today," Master Washi remarked, "but I guess that will do."

"So what are we doing today, Shishou? A mission? Sparring? A practice exercise? A new technique? Whatever it may be, throw it at me! I am ready–!"

The distinctness of a blade slicing the air.

My hand flashed to a hilt.

CLANG!!

My mouth opened.

"Wh… You would have… From behind…?"

This had been no reaction test. I could feel it – the force he had used. He had seriously just tried to take off my head.

"Hmph." His katana shifted slightly against mine, where it had been caught inches from my neck. "If you still can't detect an attack from behind, you don't deserve to live."

We sprang apart.

"Master, I do not understand!"

"Your training ends here, boy!" he yelled harshly, slashing his blade fiercely at the air. His free hand cast his dark cloak aside. "Now defend yourself, if you can!"

I frowned, eyes narrowing. "I see," I said, calmly sheathing the sword. My hands rose to my collarbone, unfastening the clasp that held my own black-edged, green cloak and poncho in place. My right hand seized between thumb and first two fingers the left corner of the small poncho, and my left the same at the right side of the cloak. "So that is your intention? Very well, then."

I flung the overclothes skyward.

In an instant I was before the sword master, and three katana were locked between us.

"Trying to get me to look at the billowing robes while you advance to strike; clever," he said, a smug smirk on his weathered face.

I grunted, glaring at the man. "I am only just getting started."

"Then let's see what you can do."

"HAI!"

CHING-Clang-kin-kin-kin-clang-KIN–!

The stone that had stood at the center of the clearing was in pieces. The land was crackled in some places, speckled with a small few impact craters, and strewn about were many shredded leaves, scarred trunks, fallen trees.

The bitter cold winds of Valley Country, home of the Village Hidden in the Ravine, were mercilessly icy and cutting upon my sweat-soaked back. My nose and mouth dripped with chilled blood from a brutal hilt-strike that had bludgeoned through my defense a few minutes prior. Scratches and cuts littered my body, at least one of which I felt already certain would scar. I was ready to pass out with fatigue.

But I did not. Panting raggedly, I moved my blade away from the jugular of the man I straddled, the man whose weapons lied several yards beyond his reach, and rose off him and to my feet. Sheathing the sword, I looked down at him as he stifled a groan and slowly sat up.

"When the sword master deems the pupil ready, they clash. If the master is able to kill his pupil, he searches for one more worthy of succeeding him; if the pupil is able to kill his master, he has surpassed him and shall inherit his name." He sighed wearily. "You should have killed me. In the Mist, that's how these things go."

I smiled, offering a hand up. "That may be so, but in the Leaf I learned that the bond between sensei and student is a precious one to be cherished dearly."

"Kami, you're hopeless," he said, shaking his head before he took my hand. On his feet, he patted dust out of his long robe – an action relatively pointless, seeing as it would need a full wash plus some patching up to remove a few bloodstains and tears. "Guess I can't argue with that. Or complain about it…"

I watched silently as he fetched his weapons. "So, Master… My training is over now?"

He nodded, and I caught the one katana I had been disarmed of as he pitched it toward me. "Yep. I never thought you could do it – not in the four months you said you would. But you've surpassed me, and I have nothing more to teach you."

"I see…" I said, hanging my head slightly. So this is goodbye…

"But," he said, walking toward me, "There is one more thing I can give you, Rock Lee."

I looked up, and my eyes fell on the sheathed, shorter blade he held out to me. A short length of red string circled a few times about the top of the dark sheath, tied off and with two small trinkets hanging at the ends. My eyes widened.

"Your … your master's wakizashi?" I whispered.

He nodded. "Take it, Lee. You've earned it."

"I cannot possibly…"

"It's yours. Wield it with the pride of the sword master."

"But–,"

He kicked me savagely in the shin. "Take it!"

"Yes, sir!!" I cried, snatching the blade that was shoved into my hands. Collecting myself, I bowed at the waist. "Thank you for everything, Washi-shishou."

Hinata ヒナタ

"Ooooh…" I groaned, wringing my hands.

"Why're you stopping?" Kurogiba asked, walking back to me. "Don't you have to be there in half an hour?"

I shook my head, in anxiety rather than in answer to his question as I folded my arms across my sickly churning stomach. "I c-can't do this, I'm s-s-scared…"

"Of what, exactly? They don't seem like the type to turn."

"No, of c-course not," I said, plopping down by a tree. My teeth were chattering.

He spoke quietly. "…You think one of them didn't make it?"

Whimpering, I shook my head left and right. "What if he found s-someone else?" I squeaked.

"Oh brother."

"He's a good guy – who wouldn't fall for him? What if he met some sweet, beautiful girl somewhere who started fawning over him – he helped her out, found her lost puppy or whatever – no, a cat, she would have an ugly old cat – so he saved her cat from a tree, and then she cooked him dinner, and they grew close – and eventually fell madly in love – and what if he's forgotten about me–?!"

"That … is the stupidest thing I have ever heard."

"Ani-ue, you really think so?" I sniffled hopefully, "That none of that could've happened?"

"Huh? Oh, no, the rest of it was perfectly plausible – but considering you traveled with him for months and planned a day, time, and place to meet up again, suggesting even that dolt could've managed to forget about you so quickly sounds just a little far-fetched."

I whimpered.

"Not helping?"

"I f-feel sick…"

"Lovestruck teenage human girl – not what I'm here for."

"But Ani-ue–!"

"Out."

I stared for a minute after he dispelled. Then I gave a long, whiny whimper and wrung my hands.

No… He couldn't have fallen for someone else. When we kissed then, it was a promise … we each assured the other that we were something just a little more than friends … and that we would remember during our time apart that we were – and still are – very special to each other…

Naruto ナルト

"Okay, so I hold out my hand, you switch with me, a gentle toss, and I switch back to catch it," I said, rehearsing this process once more. I looked to the shadow clone, handing it back. "I think we've got it down…"

The kage bunshin nodded quickly, just as nervous as I was.

"Ah, man!" I said, hands mussing at my hair. "Why do I feel like this? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, right – confidence is my middle name!"

"Yeah!" the doppelganger said with new sureness, hands clapping onto my shoulders. "You're ready, you've got this!"

"Yeah!"

"Dattebayo!"

"Now get out there!"

"Yatta!"

…

Halted mid-step, my smile slipped off my face. "Who am I kidding? Confidence is my middle name, sure… But Hinata-chan…" I lied a hand on my thumping heart. This … this effect she has on me…

How is it, Hinata-chan … that you can always make me feel this way…?

Lee リー

I sighed. Only a few more minutes left now, I thought, walking at a measured pace toward the meeting point so that I would arrive neither late nor early.

"'Murasaki Kitsune' and 'Kurouga,' ne…?"

I wonder how much you have changed…

"Naruto-kun … and Hinata-san."

I … can see them…

My lips parted slightly as I caught sight of them, approaching from different directions looking just as stupefied as I. A well-toned, blond-haired, purple-eyed young man whom I could already tell had grabbed a nice few vertical centimeters wore clothes more suitable of color, and despite the same youthful sparkle in his eyes held about him a more refined, suave air, and… Was that a naginata? Splendid! Where had he learned to wield that?

And the girl, smiling presently, revealed canine teeth noticeably more prominent than was common, though still not creating the slightest intimation of threat while held in her friendly, shyly blushing grin. Her face and lithe form had also trimmed away some baby fat in the time, and despite her size something about her toned but not overly muscled build seemed to make evident she was sturdy enough for battle. Her hairstyle remained largely unchanged but for a small, perfect splash of white tipping the ends of the two long, dark bangs that framed her face. Finally, I noticed that situated on her back were a bow and quiver of arrows – quite fitting a weapon for the heiress of the Hyuuga.

It was when we were twenty yards apart, walking and still having yet to speak a word between us, that I noticed neither was paying much attention to me.

Hinata ヒナタ

N-Naruto-kun… Oh my gosh, I th-thought I was past this! Oh, but it's been almost half a year! Don't faint! Don't!

Hey… He's not shorter than me anymore, is he…?

Wait a second, he's not looking at my … no, he wouldn't.

Naruto ナルト

H-Hinata-chan… Wow. I mean, just … Wow. Beautiful.

How long has – just five months, right? I mean, she's … grown– Oh snap don't stare don't stare!!

Lee リー

MY YOUTHFUL COMRADES!! THEY HAVE NOT CHANGED A BIT!!!

Hinata ヒナタ

Maybe it was because none of us really knew what to say that Naruto strode directly up to me as we met.

"Hinata-chan…"

Warmth dusted my cheeks. "Hi…"

Fluently he held out his hand to me – and in his grasp materialized a soft pink rose. He tossed it lightly, snatched it up again with a deft little flourish, and bowed his head slightly as he held out his hand to offer the flower.

"For you?" he said cutely, batting those deep, electrical pools of purple.

I blushed helplessly, giggling as I accepted the rose. "You were a shadow clone for a second there, weren't you?" It made sense – a clone was hiding with the flower further away, and he switches with it and switches back while the clone's not touching it–

He took my free hand in his and swept to one knee, where he shut his eyes and smoothly brought his lips to the back of my hand. My mind sputtered, fizzed, and finally blanked out for the full four seconds we remained this way.

I-is this … real…?

He lifted his head, eyes opening to lock gently with my own. Knelt gracefully before me, left hand on my right which he had just kissed, and right hand extended upward as if to cup my cheek, he presented a charming smile; and where before they had been no more than sweetly playful, the indigo orbs that had now captured my lavender were passionate as he slowly batted them once more.

"Perhaps."

Perhaps… My mind repeated dreamily, though I couldn't recall what I'd asked. So I just let out a high, trembly little sigh and focused on searing that face into memory before I inevitably

THUD.

"H-Hinata? Hinata, can you hear me–?!"

"SEISHUN!!!"

"And why's your nose bleeding?"

"Ooh, Naruto-kun……"

Naruto ナルト

"I am so sorry!"

"D-don't be, really. It was sweet of you…"

"No, that was wrong of me! I didn't think your touching fear – I mean, I thought you–,"

"I am over it, don't worry. I was just a bit surprised…"

"Then I shouldn't have invaded your comfort zone – gosh, I'm a moron! If that little stunt was too sudden for you–,"

A pair of soft lips gently silenced my own. Strange warmth gathered up and welled under my cheeks, and, qualm forgotten, I promptly shut my eyes and began to sink into the kiss; but she lapped faintly across my lower lip and pulled away, too soon, too soon.

"It wasn't."

"Huh?"

"'Too sudden,'" she quoted me, smiling mischievously albeit shakily over her flushed face – wearied with an uncharacteristic lunge of boldness, delighted and compelled, perhaps, by the ease with which she had claimed and conquered my lips and my heart.

I'm yours … and you're mine.

"Say, you haven't been practicing that in these months, have you?" I spoke jokingly, but my heart gave an unpleasant little jerk at the vocalization.

"Practicing? Well, sure, I've worked on my Katon jutsu, the Juugouken, an Ookami art here and there…"

"Hinata…!" I gasped out, desperate.

Again she silenced me. This one was toward the side of my mouth, light and sincere and all too fleeting.

"Of course I haven't, Naruto-kun."

"Huh?" I said lamely, heart drumming as I lay stupefied, enthralled by the allure of those soft, sweet lips.

"'Been practicing,'" she elaborated, "I guess with you it's pretty … instinctual." Warm hands slipped smoothly around mine. "I missed you … every single day."

"I love you," I blurted. And kami, how I'd missed her.

She glowed with happiness. "I love you, too."

This time I met her almost halfway, waiting to politely allow her to first approach. We came together, we sank into it, we relished in and lavished each other, and my solaced heart rose at the caress of her lips. She tasted overwhelmingly of crisp freshness and sweetness and soft light, and I yearned for her, and the kiss deepened, and I grew quite summarily content. Affection welled and undulated between us, magnified in the vibrance of being shared, and–

"A… a-hem."

We snapped apart. Lee was standing there, dumbstruck, as if we were of a different species. I blushed in embarrassment, and Hinata wilted guiltily in my arms. Though a vast six inches divided our faces, our arms remained draped in embrace.

"I-I … can come back later…" he said, unblinking in shock and averting his gaze as he blushed a little himself.

"No," I said abruptly, acting like it was no big deal and like I didn't seriously want to kiss Hinata again right now. "It's fine." I shook my head; it was fizzing and popping and fluttery and floaty. This kissing business was something else…

My gaze drifted to her again, to her perfect face, perfect even since being adorned with those three light scars, perfect in every aspect of the word.

Intriguing…

"Well, if you two kids can manage to get a handle on your raging hormones…"

"Kids!" a blushing Hinata protested as my gaze snapped to Lee's snidely grinning face.

"Hey, we're only a year under you!" I said, flustered by the jab.

"Ah, the beauty of spring, young love, and puberty!"

"L-L-Lee-kun–!"

"What the heck?!"

"It is just too cute!" he howled with laughter.

"Okay, Hinata, time to cream him!"

"Agreed."

"Oi, kidding! As I had been planning to say when I walked in on you, and as I was trying to say before you took the defensive, we ought to have a light spar today – in order to get a general feel of where we all are now. But it appears you lovebirds have already come to the consensus to team up on me…"

"Oh – shut up."

Hanabi ハナビ

"Oof–!" he grunted as he met the ground.

"Haaaaa…" Pushing a controlled breath from my lungs and steadily out of my mouth, I settled with two curt movements back into my original stance.

"Oh…" Hitaka looked up reverently. "M'lady, you're amazing…"

"Tag team!" Hikujaku declared, lifting the ten-year-old under the arms to set him on his feet before lightly slapping his hand. "Whenever you're ready, my fair lady," he said, dipping into a silky bow.

It took enough effort just to beat Hitaka-kun… I thought, blinking salty sweat from my eyes. And now Hikujaku-nii-san, who's a chuunin…

"What are you waiting for?!" Hiryuu-oji-san barked. "Are you already tired?"

Gritting my teeth, I swiftly advanced.

Minutes crawled by. He did nothing but dodge.

Fwoosh-smat … fwosh-fwoosh-fwoosh-smat-smat-fwoosh–

Wham!

"Ack!" I yelped, hitting the ground. He'd dodged me, spun, and planted a heel on the center of my back.

"Got too careless to foresee a counterattack," he noted simply. "Come on, Hanabi-sama. Hit me, even once–,"

He blinked as Hiryuu's fist closed on the neck of his shirt.

"Oji-san?" Hiyuki squeaked nervously.

The man was fuming. "What the heck do you think you're doing, messing around here?!"

"Wh-whaddaya' mean? She's eight years old!"

"And she'll die nine years old if she's not properly prepared for her destiny." He shoved the younger Hyuuga back. Then he turned to me and sank into the Juuken stance.

My eyes widened. He was a full grown man, a jounin, a proud, strong, wise warrior – it was great to have him on your side, but fighting him?! "You're twice my height!" I protested, exaggerating a bit.

"You're short, Hanabi-sama. Every enemy you may fight is taller than you."

"You're a jounin!"

"As is Neji."

"But–!"

"One strike, Lady Hanabi, a single touch – that's all you need defeat him! Likewise you must not be hit; you are young and a female, and therefore lack the stamina to endure many blows. I will attack as Neji would, and if you can touch me you can defeat him!"

"Ch-choto matte–!"

"Don't step back!!"

THAM!

"Agh!" I cried as my back struck into a wall. I toppled to the ground.

"Hanabi-sama!" Hiyuki whimpered.

"This is the only way," he said as he approached me. "Forgive me; We have to start now."

My eyes moistened.

"M'lady … do you truly believe you can defeat Neji without taking a stance?"

"Y-you … caught me off g-guard…"

"No, we've been going too slow. I'm sorry, but starting today you'll have to suffer until you can keep up, and I'm not waiting for you. Now please get up, and assume your stance."

"H… hai."

"Get up."

Nervous whispers buzzed in the room. Many eyes were watching me.

"Stand up, lady Hanabi – or will you forsake your clan?!"

"N-no…!" Grunting, I got to my knees. My ears were ringing; I was tired, panting weakly. My left eye was swollen almost shut. Too many pains throbbed across my body. My breath caught momentarily, and I pushed myself to my feet.

THOMP.

"Urk–!!"

My sight flashed away. Then he relinquished his hold on the neck of my shirt, and I fell off the huge knee sticking in my gut.

"Stand up," Hiryuu said simply as I lied at his feet, hugging my middle and gasping shallowly, helplessly, pathetically.

Still fighting for breath, I lied shaking palms on the ground. I started to push myself up, faltered and struggled – then I shuddered, retched, and cast splotches of red onto the ground.

Red.

"Hanabi-sama!"

I was paralyzed instantly. My mouth. It had come out of my mouth. So I was bleeding on the inside… I felt faint. I uttered something like a squeak. There was still some in my mouth. My throat. Blood. I collapsed on my side, coughing weakly, my mind skewered over the wind.

I was pushed onto my back, and Harumi's soothing hands hovered over and then pressed gently against my belly. I shut my eyes as a cool tingling sensation spread through my hurting body, and she murmured consoling words.

"Uncle … wasn't that a bit harsh?" Hikujaku's voice was nearby, and someone, maybe he, maybe another, wiped something across my mouth, removing the horrible sticky wetness I could feel there.

Hiryuu ignored him. "You were knocked down seventeen times, and the one time you failed to rise again was not because you were unable to go on, but because you're petrified at the sight of your own blood."

I sat up and shoved furiously onto my feet. "What do you expect me to do?!" I yelled, though I soon broke out in tears. "I obviously can't beat you, so why the heck did you do that?! Telling me to keep going when I can hardly move – knocking me down before I can even finish getting up…!"

His eyes were stony as he held my gaze. "You are gifted as a fighter, and you are the Lightning Hyuuga. While this may be so, it is also true that you've been sheltered and spoiled since birth. No one has ever bothered to appraise your worth as anything beyond simply being better than your older sister."

I flinched, causing several teardrops to be flicked from my chin.

"It's great to get up again after being knocked down, but it's absolutely useless if you've already decided you can't win. You weren't fighting to win; you were putting on a show, to convince yourself and everyone else that you gave it your best shot. Frankly, if you intend to fight Neji that way you'll simply be killed."

I shuddered again.

"Don't be saddened, milady; be angry. Be frustrated. Become stronger. Try harder. And by all means–," he was suddenly before me, "–if you don't intend to win, don't get up at all."

SMACK!!

An open hand met my cheek with a resounding crack, but maybe the ringing was only in my head. I met the ground on my side and rolled. Seven Leaf ninja – four tokubetsu jounin, Hitaka, Hikujaku, and a feral-looking Kiba – were immediately standing between he and I, but it didn't matter; Hiryuu already was walking away. My mind seemed to numb with each throb of my searing cheek, and I was hardly aware of the concerned faces around me, of Harumi rolling me over once more and setting her hands lightly aglow.

Even if no one would tell me so, if most would make him out the villain as a jounin beating up on a small, roughly genin-level girl, the fact remained that it was my loss – utterly, brutally, completely.

I lost consciousness with tears of humiliation hot on my face.

Chikusho… Hyuuga don't cry……

"Hitaka-kun…?"

"Ah, you're awake."

"H-how long…?" Slowly I sat up on the futon, grateful for the cup of water he offered and quickly downing it.

"It's been about twenty minutes. Everyone's gone to the mess hall."

"Oh… Thank you for waiting for me…" I looked at him and blinked groggily in the dimly lit room. I gasped, suddenly alert. "My eye – what's wrong with my eye?!" I cried, hands flying to the gauze that was wrapped around my head, securing a light pad over my left eye.

"Easy! Nothing is wrong. " He gently took my hands. "Harumi-oba-san says to leave that until tomorrow morning, to help the swelling down. Speaking of which, how do you feel? Can you stand?"

"Yeah," I said, and he watched me get with relative ease to my feet. He nodded.

"May I escort m'lady to the mess hall?" he said, humbly lowering his head and extending a hand.

I suppressed a scowl. 'Escorted' everywhere, like Sasuke – which was really the annoying way to think about it.

"Please," I accepted. It wasn't really the sort of 'question' you turned down – unless, of course, you didn't feel like going anywhere. And in that case he would be forced to stay with me and miss dinner himself–

"Need you my shoulder?" he asked, offering his support.

"No, I'm fine."

We left the room and headed, hand in hand, down the hallway.

"You know, this escorting business is pretty unnecessary – I mean, not that I don't appreciate you all, because I do, but now thanks to me your dinner's probably gone cold."

"Milady's rice will also be cold; it is of little consequence to me. Besides, as it is Hiryuu-oji-san's fault your rice will be cold, rightfully he ought suffer the same, but I gladly offered to take his place. And of course someone must always be with you…"

"To protect me from harm, yes, I know. But how much harm can there be down here? It's our own base."

"One may never know. Should the roof cave in I should throw myself over you and be crushed in your stead. Should a Sound ninja round that very corner right this moment…" His free hand darted to the bow hung on his back. "I would give my life without hesitation, Hanabi-sama, to shield you from harm; I'm afraid you'll just have to put up with me for now."

"Please don't say that…"

He gave a quizzical look, blinking. "This is nothing new, Lady Hanabi. It is merely the way of the Main and the Branch. And it has always been my destiny to serve you should you be named successor to the clan."

"The clan is jacked up…"

"Pardon?"

"Just kidding that I guess 'harm' doesn't include that which comes in the form of Hiryuu-oji-san."

He frowned. "Please don't allow Oji-san to upset you–,"

"No; don't try to make me feel better. He was right, you know, and he did it because he cares about me. As much as I dislike him nonchalantly beating the crap out of me, I went into the battle resigned to losing. Even if it is about impossible right now for me to even touch a jounin, I still should have tried harder. And next time … next time, I will. Because if that's the hardest I can fight for you, I'm not halfway worthy of all you do for me."

Smiling warmly, he gave my hand a squeeze as we entered the utterly huge, utterly underground cafeteria. "Do not be so quick to question your worth. You will be a fine Leader, Hanabi-sama."

"Uh, yeah," I said with a sheepish grin, rubbing my neck. Hopefully not.

"I will make your plate should you wish to join the others."

"And make you carry two plates? No."

"You are injured…"

"I don't feel that bad."

"Oba-san says you will be terribly sore in the morning."

"I kind of saw that much coming … and I don't think not carrying a plate to the table will change that."

"It is proper to–,"

"Too late, there's a plate in my hand."

We each served ourselves the rationed salted fish, half a pickle, one hardboiled egg, a glass of water, and a small cup of rice. Food that didn't expire quickly. The fish was smuggled in by the barrel – rolled over down an underground chute just big enough for a barrel to fit and just sloped enough that the barrel would roll. The lengthy tunnel connected a benevolent, unsuspicious shopkeeper's cellar to an earthen room near New Konoha's very own mess hall, and about a dozen barrels came each month, all packed with fish that could remain safely edible for several months more. The food was funded and snuck to the shopkeeper by the efforts of many, and undoubtedly if discovered all would be put to death.

In return, New Konoha survived. It survived, and its shinobi and kunoichi fought valiantly to prevent Sound from tightening its stranglehold, from claiming dominance in the slow, constant struggle for the village.

"…when I asked, and he said no. 'It must be the one of pure spirit and rightful blood,' he said. I can't fight in her stead; she must be the one to defeat him…" Hiryuu shut up as he caught sight of us approaching.

Hitaka and I sat down at the low, simple table: a flat, rectangular stone lay over two thicker rectangular blocks that held the surface about ten inches off the floor. Harumi, Hiyuki, Hikujaku, and Hiryuu briefly bowed their heads at my arrival, and I gave polite greeting before pulling out my chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu…"

I almost braced myself before taking a bite of dry, dry fish so pungently salty it made my nose burn a little and triggered immediate desire for the water. I would get down a few more bites before I drank; the drinking water ration, while not so strict thanks to the plentiful source in the river cutting through the village, was still encouraged due to the difficulty with which it was retrieved, and so though no one would bother me about getting an extra glass I preferred to make my water last. Besides, the fish really didn't taste that bad. You kind of learned to like it…

I glanced over at Hitaka, and at the other three who'd finished eating before we arrived. The young genin was taking the meat from his fish, dividing a half of it into four, and giving it to the older Hyuuga. This was done at every meal; Hikujaku and Hiyuki took half of their fish, divided those halves in two, and offered them to Harumi and Hiryuu, and Hitaka would similarly distribute half of his to his elders. This was kept to except for the occasions in which Harumi declined to take from Hikujaku, as although naturally slim he was a man and not so much younger than she as were Hitaka and Hiyuki. I was routinely excluded from this ritual by unspoken decree; it had been that way from the start, never breached or questioned.

At this I mentally blinked in confusion – as if a light had been flicked on and I'd just spotted something laughably obvious in front of my retarded nose. Oh… Something clicked into place as, with delayed slowness, I figured out where I fit in this particular hierarchy.

"What are you doing?" Hiryuu asked as I took the half of fish I hadn't eaten off of and began dividing it into four. I shook my head quickly, blushing in embarrassment.

"I'm the smallest of all of us," I said. "The ration that's plenty for me isn't satisfying for most of you, right? Of course I should cut my portion…"

"We cannot accept your food," Hiyuki said, her voice surprisingly firm.

"What?"

"The ration," Hikujaku explained, the normal radiance gone from his face, "is what's been designated each single person of New Konoha, regardless of age, weight, gender… While we can share ours accordingly, your portion belongs to you, Hanabi-sama. It is not our place to steal from you what is yours." He spoke slowly, trying to stress the words.

"'Steal!' And what if I order you to accept it?"

"I implore that you do not," Harumi said sincerely, a furrow in her brow.

I was at a loss for words. "I don't need this much!"

"Then throw it away," Hiryuu said simply.

I winced. My gaze searched about each stern face in turn, and I had the sudden awkward realization of having spoken taboo. Face hot, eyes hot, I looked down, looked away, hastily finished my meal in silence.

I don't understand!

Hinata ヒナタ

"Hyaaaaaah!"

"Haaaaaaa!"

"Geeeeeeee!"

THUD! WHAM! THOMP!

…

…Itai…!

I think I got Naruto-kun… Naruto-kun got Lee-kun, and Lee-kun got me…

I tried unsuccessfully to sit up, rising halfway and falling back again with a groan.

Oh well… The important thing is … that I kept up with them…

Lee リー

That became quite a bit more serious than we originally intended… A light three-way spar, indeed! How long were we at it? An hour?

We were all determined, I suppose… Each determined to show, with their own two fists, that they would not be holding the others back ever again.

And my, how they have grown… Though using the naginata merely as a staff, Naruto-kun is dangerous with that thing. And while the staff was obvious and expected from the start, the senbon were not… My gaze moved to the trio of needles that had effectively paralyzed my right arm. I cannot believe I let myself be caught by that…!

But even more amazing is Hinata-san's growth… She has transformed herself into a true kunoichi… Where before she had little more than her determination to carry her … she has now gathered and solidified real strength to depend on.

A smile came to my face. I did not think I could go on fighting, and the others seemed to be in a similar state. "Let us call this one a tie, then," I called, slowly sitting up. "There is no point in continuing any longer."

"Agreed," Naruto submitted drearily, waving a lethargic hand while still lying down.

"Hai," Hinata consented as well, falling onto her back with something about a "quick snooze."

I guess I am the only one who can move, then, I thought with a small swell of pride as I got slowly but surely to my feet. "Oi, medic-kun! Care to remove these senbon before you pass out?"

"Oh, right! Best to avoid yanking those out any which way…"

Naruto ナルト

–"It is dark. In the morning, after we all have rested, we can share the intelligence we have collected and determine our course of action…"–

The last one up, I cast the pail of water over our fire. I sat on my sleeping bag for a few still minutes, watching a thin ribbon of smoke trickle up and fade, listening to the hum of the crickets in the night.

Then my eyes were drawn to her.

She was already deeply asleep, as evidenced by the slow, barely discernable rise and fall of her chest. The thought tended to come unheralded that this would be the ideal time to admire her body; but my eyes never dwelled more than momentarily upon it, and probably never would, seeing as my gaze was seized unfailingly by her resting face. Now, when she was at rest … was the only time you could see such pure serenity on her face, a pristine pearly tone in the soft caress of the moon, a face at this time only untouched by the day to day concerns, by the trials of life, by the sadness of the world.

The calm line of her mouth wrinkled into a frown.

I started. Was she waking up? Could she feel my eyes on her?

A furrow troubled her brow. She stirred unconsciously, a tiny sound of pain squirting from her mouth. Her face was tight. She whimpered and thrashed.

I was crippled with despair. Anguished, I was quickly at her side, watching helplessly on my hands and knees. I shook my head slowly left and right, on the verge of tears.

"Hinata…!"

Her eyes spilled over at the same time as mine.

Utterly affected, I was gripped in emotion, I was horrified, I was transfixed, I couldn't look away. Her breathing was quick and jagged with pain, her eyes darting frantically beneath closed lids. Why was this happening? What sick cruelty was this?! What ailed her in her dreams, to rob her of the peace she knew only now?!

"Hinata," I repeated at a whisper. To someone watching I knew I would look still and calm but for the quiet, horrified tears streaming freely from my eyes, but inside I was overcome with despair. I didn't understand. It was tearing me apart. My hand crept out, paused, drifted to stroke her shaking one. Unexpectedly, her hand closed gently and clung to mine, and the trembling died down.

My mouth opened silently, a surprised, hopeful prick of relief blooming inside me. Her other hand was drawn from where it lied, finding and clasping my own.

Maybe I could've worked my hand free without rousing her, or maybe I could not. But I wasn't about to find out.

Blushing awkwardly for a moment, I turned my head and reached with my other hand for my sleeping bag, moving as little as possible. Quietly I dragged it toward me over the grass; briefly I shifted somewhat onto her sleeping bag, pulled mine closer, and lied back down on top of it.

I looked again to her solaced face. It was right again; it was tranquil. Slowly my free hand cleared the small space between us, and I felt the warmth of her slow, gentle breath as my thumb brushed a glistening tear-streak of silver from her cheek.

I smiled as her soft snoring was eventually resumed.

"Sweet dreams … Hinata-chan…"

Lee リー

"Haahh…" I yawned drowsily. The light is warm…

As I had for the last several days, I rose with a jolt, threw my blanket off, and realized that I had not slept late and Master Washi was not at this moment tallying the minutes I had overslept for (extra) laps around the mountain.

That is right… The three of us are together again… And it was no surprise I was tired, after that hearty throwdown the day before.

Smacking my lips with a slight grimace at the morning taste in my mouth, I turned my head to look to the others.

I blinked.

I sprang to my feet near them, leaning forward to observe.

My eyebrow twitched.

So … ridiculously … kawaii…

Their sleeping bags had been pulled up close, and the peacefully dozing younger ninja facing each other with her blanket between them; she was curled up against his chest, her head beneath his jaw, tucked snugly into the crook of his neck, and resting on his arm which enfolded her so that the hand lied on her blanket-draped shoulder, and she cradled his other hand dearly at her chest.

I smiled slightly in spite of myself.

They really are adorable together…

Naruto ナルト

I guess we sort of gravitated toward each other… I wonder if she'll beat me up for this?

I heard and felt the sudden intake of breath, the disruption of the soothing rhythm.

"…E-eeto… Are you awake, Hinata-chan?" I said hesitantly.

"Hai…"

"I can explain–,"

"The nightmares…"

"Huh?"

"I slept through the night. I didn't have any nightmares…"

"Oh. Glad to hear it," I said softly, as I wasn't sure if she was fully awake. I really wished I could see her. My fingers lightly stroked her shoulder. "Hey, Hinata-chan?"

"Hm…?"

"Do you want me to move?"

Her relaxed grasp on my hand seemed to tighten briefly.

"M-may I… May I just breathe you in for a little longer…?"

"Of course…"

'Beating me up' – this is Hinata, not Sakura…

…She's so warm, I thought, now giving her shoulder a light squeeze as she, like a puppy, nuzzled her nose against my shirt at my chest. "Hinata-chan … What do I smell like?"

"You smell of herbs and greenery," she murmured. "Earthy, upturned soil … freshness … energy, life. And ramen. When did you have ramen?"

I chuckled. "Shop in this town I passed through a couple of days ago. The smell does stick."

She nodded softly. "And your blood … is extremely enticing… Courage … vitality…" I felt her lips brush bare flesh at my collarbone, and her hands tensed as the faintest shiver ran down her body. "Strength… Like I can almost taste its very scent… But I love that I can be confident I won't hurt you now. We can be close like this, and I can fully enjoy the strong rhythm of your heart without fearing the sound might drive me feral…"

"I've never worried about that," I said. "You're too strong to let a curse influence you so easily." I shifted to momentarily press my lips to her forehead. "I trust you; I know I'm not in any danger from you. And if I was, I'd still be here anyway."

"Naruto-kun…" She smiled up at me. "We really should get up now."

"I guess so," I admitted, moving my arm from around her and watching as she pulled away. I sat up.

"About time, ye of raging hormones," Lee said, pitching a few apples our way.

"L-Lee-kun!" Hinata squeaked, face coloring even as she caught hers. "How long were you listening?"

"You would have needed only to sit up to see me," he said, blinking.

"Hey," I said, "Call us puberty-stricken if you want, but I know that what we have is more than simply a few new hormones telling me to latch onto the first beautiful girl I see." I offered her a grin, and she shyly smiled back and nodded in agreement.

"I know," Lee said simply. I looked at him, and he took a bite of an apple.

Hinata ヒナタ

"Where is it…?" I muttered, rummaging through my pack. I had a few more hidden underground in case it was lost, but the nearest was half a continent away…

"I do know that New Leaf is holding out," Lee said, "They say that they have a good third of the village as their 'territory,' and New Sound cannot keep the rebels down."

Come on… I turned the bag upside-down.

"I think there's a Sound prison here," Naruto said, his finger landing on the map. "Underground, like the others. I didn't enter, though."

"Did you two search for Tsunade-sama at all?"

"Huh? Hinata-chan, you found what you were looking for?"

I held the end of the scroll in my left hand, and the roll in my right. I stuck out two fingers of my right hand so that they passed over the dozen large summoning seals aligned in it as the scroll was unfurled. With several popping noises and bursts of smoke, an assortment of scrolls and rolled up papers were spat onto the ground.

"What is all this…?"

I sat and opened up a large, colorless map riddled with drawn in notes and numbers and lines. I unrolled a small scroll labeled '6-10' on the ground on top of it.

"Nine…" I pointed to the circled number on the map, and the corresponding notes on the scroll. "Sound prison discovered February 16th. At the time I found it, at least, it held Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, and Akimichi Chouza, among about a dozen others."

Naruto's eyes were wide. "No way… You actually…?"

I nodded. "I sniffed out and documented the locations of seventeen Oto prisons, and with the Byakugan identified some two hundred of our jounin. I checked up on Jiraiya-sama twice; now it looks like they've got six ANBU levels guarding him."

"Hinata-chan, that's amazing!"

Lee opened his mouth. "A-and – what about–?!"

"Guy-sensei is here," I said with a smile, pointing to the number fourteen.

He nodded, a fond sparkle briefly lighting his eyes. "Then what about Tsunade-sama…?"

"She doesn't want to be found."

"Nani?"

I looked up. "I know her scent, but she's not one of the Densetsu no Sannin for nothing. Somehow she figured out I was looking for her – that she was being followed – and then every time I get close the trail ended and it was like she just vanished into thin air…"

"But why…?" Naruto began.

"You are certain she is aware of you?" Lee inquired.

I nodded, picking up and handing to him a simple, thin blue scroll and pointing to a blue dotted line that stretched a great distance on the map and was dotted with dates from May 5th to May 12th. "The most recent time, she finally got fed up and decided to find me."

–"I'm a friend, and I just want to talk! I'm a kunoichi of Konohagakure no–!"–

"It was in a forest at night. I never actually saw or heard her, and I probably only sensed her because she was flaunting her chakra to intimidate me. She gave me a bit of a firm warning…" I touched a hand to my stomach, cringing at the thought. "…And I didn't wake up until noon the next day."

"Yikes…" Naruto said, examining the similar red, green, and yellow lines on the map.

"This is quite the problem," Lee said, rolling up the scroll.

"I'll say – so what do we do?"

"What else can we do? I mean – we'll just have to keep trying." I smiled. "After all, the three of us are together again, and we're stronger than we were before. For some reason … I get the feeling that we can succeed now."

"That, or we'll all be knocked out."

"Or that."

"You never know."

"Hey, let's try to think positive!"

Fifteen, Part Two: One Month's Time

Neji ネジ

I took in a long, shallow draught of hot green tea, my eyes not leaving the poster on display across the counter from me as I did so. Sloshing the tea around in the cup, I wrinkled my nose in distaste. Here was a particular work of our propaganda; creating a villainized face of the enemy. They were ideal candidates – revered among the opposition, already despised by many, and the only rebels roaming free. They represented an uncontrollable power, an immense, obscure entity that could not be gauged. The faces here were images designed to arouse en masse a healthy terror, and by extension hatred: they were in some indirect the way the source of every problem, were stocking the rebels with their mysterious supply of food, were at fault for the village's present state, were the reason your brother or sister or friend was dead, were the monster under your bed, and if the Sound could fall then they would supposedly be the ones to bring it about.

Long revoked was a certain request I had put out so long ago, as they were obviously no longer genin level and had proven to be of greater than minimal threat. Still, it wasn't like they were seriously dangerous.

I drew in another sip, glaring coolly at the wanted poster. The other two were fine; the other two didn't matter. Her image, as the others, was twisted only so much as to remain recognizable and distinct from the realm of fiction. She was pictured with vicious, pointed teeth and overly prominent fangs, her more probable soft smile curled into a bestial snarl. Included on her cheek were three pale markings I recognized as having myself inflicted. One white eye was held open a degree wider than the other, and both projected malice and the slightest hint of insanity.

The artist hadn't done her justice.

She was horrid in her own unique way, and this the artist had failed to grasp. There was so much more to hate about her than a few exaggerated animalistic traits. I should know – I knew and hated this girl on a deeper level than anyone else.

She was a delicate, inferior creature. Readily yielding, she was ever wavering and irresolute. She carried herself in such a way as to communicate her weakness to the world and ask that the world please be gentle to her because she was just so disgustingly pathetic. She spoke softly enough to ensure all who might listen knew she thought little of her words. She tried – half-heartedly, as she did anything – to reach out in kindness, infuriatingly, stupidly failing to realize the slight that was dealt to one empathized by such a pitiful thing that had no right pitying anyone at all. She was a miserable, stuttering waste of existence.

"So it's true? They've banded together now?"

My ear twitched subtly, and I glanced in the direction of the wary voice. These were my comrades – mostly chuunin, and in conversations of their own a few fellow jounin who were largely disregarding the chuunin – and at the moment half of them were a bit less than sober. It had been confirmed more than a week ago that they were together again. These fools would busy themselves trafficking rumors about nukenin of their own village, nukenin whose up-to-date files they surely realized but neglected to realize they had access to. But here was proof the propaganda was working: the overwhelming preference for the ignorant thrill of a rampant imagination, pierced astoundingly every so often by a tidbit of news, a stab of fact that simultaneously rooted the ethereal entities in realness once more and flung their formidable faces to even greater heights of awe and fear and roundabout hatred.

"What's so special about these three fellows, anyway?" I muttered just loud enough to be heard at an opportune break in the tavern's noisy din, my cheek resting lightly on the back of my hand as I watched the tea slosh in the mug. I had been heard. Now I'd done it – they were excited. Predictably, heedless of the asker, they tumbled on.

"They're monsters, that's what, monsters–!"

"Between the three of 'em, they've put down a coup in the Land of the Moon, an uprising in Greenery–!"

"Took down Kurosaki Raiga, of Kiri's Seven Swordsmen–!"

"Got the Star's deputy Hoshi-'kage' arrested, one of 'em did–!"

"And then that craziness in Bird Country–!"

"Don't forget, rumor has it they squared off against the Akatsuki – roughed 'em up and sent them packing!!"

"Monsters!"

"Kill ya' with a smile!"

"Wiped more'n two hun'erd of our valiant men and women off the map…"

"Apparently it took them about an hour…"

"They've got two, not one, two biju standing behind them–!"

"Damn monsters–!"

"Two of them – they really are demons, see! These kids aren't normal!"

"Yes, yes – the girl can be stabbed a dozen times and keep fighting!"

"Two of them are demons, and the third that isn't is still just as tough! That proves what a monster he is!"

"The worst is the Kitsune – they're starting to say he's the Yellow Flash reborn, powerful enough to topple a small army singlehanded!"

"Kami forbid, we may have a Purple Flash on our hands!"

"But the Black Wolf Fang is worse. A cute face hides the monster underneath–!"

"She's made a pact with demons–!"

"Has a body made of steel–!"

"And when the moon is full she transforms into a bloodthirsty, marauding savage!"

"–loyal companion – she summons a beast from Hell!"

"Don't forget the Aoi Moujuu – he's got the blinding speed and legendary strength."

"But with no jutsu–!"

"It doesn't matter, fool! With brute force–!"

"And skill – he trained under a rogue Kiri master, that disciple of the samurai–!"

"All three of them're a menace!"

"Yes, monsters!"

"And now they're together–,"

"They call themselves 'The Three Failures.' Is it supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"No."

At this intervention the foolishness halted. I could feel the gaggle behind me swivel to face my back. That was another thing – someone regarded as having firsthand knowledge tended to rapidly become the focus of these conversations upon joining them. They were excited anew; cousin, teammate, chuunin exam opponent – Hyuuga Neji, someone who knew all three, was actually bothering to speak to them.

"…Oh!"

"Hyuuga-sama!"

"Commander Neji!" The nearest, a talented chuunin boy just short of my age who I'd led on a recent mission, beamed admiringly and nodded in greeting as whispers began darting into the suddenly quiet air.

Perhaps the propaganda is backfiring… I thought as I glanced over my shoulder, at he and the rest of the herd, fools staring hopefully for some nature of guidance. The usual babble was different, with a sense of franticness. They're supposed to direct their hatred toward New Konoha… but instead they're actually starting to get nervous over…

I sipped my tea as the last of the whispers faded, as the chuunin's awed quiet caught and spread until eventually those less engaged and the totally uninvolved jounin chanced to elect to spend this moment in silence.

Eyes shut, I set the cup down on the counter. The short sound thudded into the still room.

"It's a sort of wry sarcasm – they go by it, but refuse to be addressed by it. My guess is they intend it to spite those who looked down on them before. Calling themselves 'three failures' isn't much of a joke, however; it's a reference to where they began and, though they'll never acknowledge it, what they still are."

Hinata ヒナタ

"I'll."

"Aisle?"

"You'll."

"Yule."

"We'll."

"Wheel?"

"You're!"

"Your?"

"It's… Ah, I give up!" Naruto groaned.

My ears twitched.

"Hinata-san, what is wrong?"

I looked up. "We've got company."

The two followed my gaze to the three figures standing a distance down the road, their stony faces set in glares of hostility.

"It does not appear that they intend to let us pass," Lee remarked.

Neji ネジ

"Wh… What do you mean, Commander Neji?"

"They're weak. I've fought with all three of them before, and while they've clearly grown stronger since then, the fact is they're nothing but failures at heart."

Hinata ヒナタ

"What seems to be the problem, gentlemen?" Naruto asked calmly, the naginata he held resting against his shoulder.

The apparent leader pointed at us and spoke up, glaring daggers. "We hear three hotshot brats've been screwin' with the code…"

"You mean sparing our enemies? Yeah, so what? That against the law now?"

"I'm warning you," he growled, "You can't just go around takin' XXXX on the nukenindo."

"Watch your mouth, would you?" Naruto's arm motioned gracefully toward me. "We're in the presence of a lady."

"Boy–!!"

Naruto began walking forward, his free hand raised to gesture for peace. "Easy there, brother, we're all outlaws here! And laws among outlaws just sound … well, stupid."

The man attacked.

Naruto smirked.

"Fear the Shadow Fist."

Neji ネジ

"That's it; they're not destined to succeed. No matter how powerful they may become, the end result will be the same."

Hinata ヒナタ

"Wh– what is this…?!"

I smiled warmly. One hand tucked into a pocket, the other still holding the naginata at rest against his shoulder, Naruto was circling around the man at a calm walk, and several shadow clones were constantly appearing and fading while doing the same. Though I knew his steps were constant and unbroken, he substituted repeatedly and smoothly with his copies; the effect created was that around ten boys were prowling along a number of concentric circles at any one moment, and no single one Naruto ever remained in existence for longer than a moment or two. It would have been a challenge for even Lee or me to pinpoint the real one.

"Stop messing with me – Uzumaki Naruto!!" the surrounded man yelled.

"Oh, so you've heard of me, huh?" Their routine uninterrupted, all of the coolly smiling blondes present – even those arriving mid-sentence – spoke as one, the same mischievous twinkle in every pair of eyes. "Then do you know what it is they call me? The Purple Fox, the Violet Phantom, the Shadow Fox…" they listed off nonchalantly, "or, my personal favorite… The Demon Illusionist."

The circle vanished.

The nukenin's eyes widened in the single alarming, off-balance instant of calm – before his body was tossed in place by a rapid string of invisible blows, and finally four of the clones came into brief existence striking forehead, the side of a knee, the other side of the ribs, the top of the shoulder with their staves to vanish the instant a late fifth flowed in low connecting a strong staff sweep to the back of his ankles. The man's back succinctly hit the ground.

"Oyasuminasai," Naruto said simply, raising his head.

The other two began weaving seals behind him.

And that's our cue.

Neji ネジ

"One of them is Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and can hardly do a thing without the demon's help. My former teammate challenged me regularly and never could touch me."

Lee リー

Fwoosh-fwo-fwoosh-fwoosh-fwo–

"OSOI!" I declared, spinning on heel to dodge my enemy's dagger, darting behind him in a flash of speed, and ramming my elbow sharply into his back by the time I had finished enunciating the word.

Neji ネジ

"My cousin, however, is the most wretched of them all." I took a sip of tea and glanced to the young chuunin. "Tell me – what would you do if you happened to cross paths with 'Kurouga'?"

The answer was immediate – violent, urgent, and uniform from the entire room.

"Kill!"

"No!!"

The room that had been seized by its inexplicable passion was silent again, and the boy's yelp was high and fearful as I was suddenly in front of him, looking down severely into his eyes. He squirmed in discomfort, but was too frightened to back away.

She … is … MINE……

"No," I said tonelessly, touching a slightly pointed nail to his throat. "She would kill you."

"B-but…" he squeaked, eyes bulging, "Y-you said they're w-weak…"

"Inevitably they've acquired a fair deal of strength through training and experience. If you face her…" He whimpered faintly as my nail just barely pricked his flesh, as a bead of crimson blossomed on his neck. "You will die. The same goes for most of the people in this room. But those three will never attain any real level of power… And for that reason they'll never compare to someone who does have true talent."

Hinata ヒナタ

I dodged and shifted easily outside strike after strike. Red in the face, he yelled and threw all his weight into a furious punch.

I slipped aside, grabbing his arm and hooking my foot in front of his ankle. Bent at the waist, I spun with him in two tight circles, and the speed of the rotations held him barely off the ground. With a grunt I twisted around and maneuvered the captured arm behind him; with a hand between his shoulder blades and with the feat of abdominal strength and skill in execution that had curtly redirected the force of his initial lunge and the acceleration of two spins, I slammed him solidly into the ground.

Neji ネジ

"That is why, when the destined meeting of 'Kurouga' and I arrives…"

My nail traveled an inch over his throbbing pulse, freed a beautiful morsel of hot blood to trace a smooth, delicate crimson streak down his pale neck.

"Against my superior power … against I, who possess real strength and harbor for her a truly deep and intimate hatred of the utmost intensity…"

My hand flashed into my kunai pouch.

THUNK!

The knife was buried in a poster on the wall, lodged deeply between the sneering figure's white eyes.

The boy fainted, and a heartened roar of fervent acclamation shook the room.

Lee リー

The man's gaze was guarded as he eyed us from across the fire. He had been the quickest to regain consciousness. I wondered what he was thinking as he observed the interaction of three teenagers, essentially children, an oddity among children, an anomaly among nukenin.

He watched as Hinata took Naruto's arm, which had suffered a nasty cut ironically not from the battle but rather an unlucky scratch when he and his clones had hidden in the brambles that lined the forest path. A soft 'May I?' and nodded consent, and she held his bared forearm to her lips. A pink sliver of tongue darted out and flashed across the line of crimson, and for the briefest second and with the slightest shiver of her body her eyes became unfocused as a gleaming, pointed tooth, perhaps by chance, came to rest at his arm. Then the moment had vanished, fleeting and past, and with ease she went on to lap gently along the length of the cut. The boy's healing capabilities, supplemented by the strange properties of her saliva, promptly knitted the wound shut. She met his blushing thanks with a fond smile, and he reached for his water bottle and took a swig.

"Water?" he offered our guest.

He eyed it warily and pointed to me. "Have him drink some."

"So you did your research," he said, tossing the bottle my way. I caught it and took a few gulps. "If it was a weaker poison, Hinata and I'd hardly be affected."

"Research and reality are two different things…" he muttered, accepting the bottle I offered and taking a drink.

"What if I was a shadow clone?" I asked as he handed it back.

"Huh?"

"What if I were a clone of one of these two simply disguised as me?"

"I guess I would be in trouble…" he muttered.

Naruto withdrew, with tweezers, the rag that had been boiling in a small pot of water over the fire. He blew on it for a moment, and then took it in his hands to wring out the excess. He waited and peered across the fire with a boyish, expectant face, and the man relented and held out his hand for the teen to clean a gash at the thumb pad from when he had fallen.

"…Why didn't you kill us?"

"What reason do we have to kill you?" Hinata asked.

"It's what we intended to do to you."

"But you didn't," Naruto said simply, lowering the red-smudged rag back into the water and opening his kit for a disinfectant salve.

"But we would have–,"

"So would plenty of other challengers, bounty hunters, and enemies before you," I said.

"Holding together so long … sparing your foes … When nukenin band together they do so only for as long as they benefit. When nukenin cross paths they kill or are killed–,"

"We do things our own way."

"Then going through so much trouble after the fact … giving the man you just clobbered stitches…"

"Doctor's instinct," Naruto said dismissively, rubbing in the ointment with no less care than he would have applied if tending to Hinata or me. "And I really didn't mean to break the skin there–,"

"Why are you so calm and relaxed?! Do you trust me? Any moment I could whip out a kunai and–,"

"Who said we're relaxed?" Smiling pleasantly, Naruto looked up and lied his hand over the man's. "If you attack now, we'll kill you. It's as simple as that. But I'd rather that didn't happen, y'know. I'm just fine with enjoying our peaceful conversation."

He stared back at the three teens who indeed were all smiling pleasantly at him.

"…You are strange," he said, dazed at the life he clearly felt he should no longer have.

Naruto shrugged. The man didn't flinch or startle away as he ran through the three seals that set his palm aglow. Naruto held the lit up palm over the laceration.

"…Will you answer me one thing?"

"Depends on the question."

"Shoot."

"We already have."

"What's your purpose?"

The wound closed, and Naruto's jutsu promptly subsided.

"Our purpose … is to take back our village."

The three of us shared a meaningful look.

Naruto packed up his medical kit; the pot was dumped, the fire extinguished. Soon enough, we were ready to continue on our way.

"My name's Ketsuki."

We looked toward him. Without looking up, he gestured to the leader who had needed sutures and the other one still unconscious. "Kazuya. Itsuke."

Naruto nodded. "Uzumaki Naruto. Hyuuga Hinata, Rock Lee. Nice to meet you."

"…Good luck."

"Thanks. Safe travels."

We may need all the luck we can get now. Hinata-san has Tsunade-sama's scent, and we intend to find her.

Find Tsunade-sama…

Free Jiraiya-sama…

Rescue the jounin…

Save the village.

We will succeed, because we must.

After all, we were no longer three dropout genin, nor were we three tenderfoot nukenin.

We were now Kurouga, Aoi Moujuu, and Murasaki Kitsune.

The Black Wolf Fang, the Green Beast, and the Purple Fox.

Hinata, Lee, and Naruto.

The Three Failures.

Hinata ヒナタ

We were sitting in the middle of the desert.

"We are lost, are we not?"

"Do you know how hard it is to follow a scent over sand?!" I screeched, at the end of my rope. I was tired, I was dirty with a mixture of sweat and sand, my eyes were watery, my nose was itchy, my throat was raw, and random gusts kept slapping sand in my face.

"So we are lost."

"Hey, we've got the map…" a tired Naruto drawled.

"And no landmarks," Lee pointed out.

"Kuso!" I swore, though it didn't sound like much of anything amid my hiccoughing and sneezing out a nose-ful of sand.

"Hinata-san…" Lee patted my back and dug my water bottle from my pack to offer to me. I gratefully accepted.

Naruto trudged up to us. "Man, I'm melting…"

Pause! Okay, though he'd gotten more toned it wasn't like Naruto was especially ripped or built (he was thirteen. Lee had more muscle than him), and it wasn't like I hadn't seen him cool off shirtless before, but he usually had his fishnet underneath. So it was unexpected when I looked to see right next to me, suddenly in plain bare glory

ZomgpecsabsNarutokun–

THUD.

"…Hinata-chan? Ah, her nose is bleeding! This must be a really severe heatstroke!"

"Baka – that will help her sense of smell! Look what you have done!"

"I gave Hinata a heatstroke?!"

"NO!"

"Ooh, Naruto-kun…"

???

I was lying in the sand. I was lying in the sand, thinking. About many things. It was the same as always and remained all too much to think about; it swirled inside me, throbbed, maddening. The need of relief was growing desperate again.

I was lying in the sand, in the shadow of a dune, glaring at the horizon, when the scent came on the wind…

Mother stirred, aroused, and my eyes grew.

Her… Chuunin exam … The one whose blood smelled so appealing…

She's with the Nine-tail's host … the one I didn't kill that day…

And the one who escaped us… twice…

But the girl's blood is … yes, it's different. Very different. Powerful.

It reeks of Five tails…

How…

Enticing…

ナルト / リー / ヒナタ \ ハナビ \ ネジ

End Chapter Fifteen

Naruto: I… I've become…?

Lee: A most DASHING young GENTLEMAN!!!

Naruto: Yeah! How'd that happen?

Kurogiba: Your nickname… is too close to my name…

Hinata: (scared) Hey, the people call me what they want to call me!

Kurogiba: Oh, come on! And if you underemphasize the 'o' they even mean the same thing!

Sasuke: Why am I not in this one?

Hanabi: You got moved to the next one.

???: And why am I there as ???? Wait, here too…?

Kurogiba: Trust me, I know how you feel.

Naruto: Pfft – like it matters? Gee, I wonder who you could be?

(–static–)

Naruto: Hey… I remember him!

Lee: And it appears he remembers us…

Hinata: Next time, we face off against – uh… a mysterious three question marks…

Naruto: Seriously! Everyone already knows–

Lee: Quiet!

Hinata: We're not getting out of this without a fight. Our most formidable challenge since we've come together again has arrived to put us to the test. With three–

Kurogiba: Me too!

Hinata: Four against one, we might have had a good chance – but he's in his ideal element here…

Lee: Near Sunagakure, he confronts us with only one goal in mind. The village that aided Orochimaru in starting all of this … and the person largely responsible for the tyrant's defeat of Sandaime-sama. Since then he has become a menace disowned by his own village, and is more lost than ever. A cycle of hatred has done this to him–!

Naruto: And it's up to us to knock some sense into him! Get ready for something amazing to happen!

Hinata: Next time: Clash in Sand!

DONE! 56 pages! For once I actually think this chapter turned out pretty good!

Zori: Straw sandals worn with tabi socks

Yama no Kuni: Land of Mountains

Soragakure no Sato: Village Hidden in the Sky

Oyasuminasai: Good night

Osoi: Slow

Kudasai: Please (I think XD)

Choto matte: Wait a second

Ani-ue: Older brother

Kuro: Black Rou: Wolf Ga: Fang - So while 'Kuroga' would be 'Black Fang,' assuming 'Kuro' and 'Rou' are blended together 'Kurouga' is Black Wolf Fang.

Turned out with a little more NaruHina than originally intended. Yeesh, I don't know where so much sappy fluffiness even came from. I guess the diehard NaruHina shippers got a treat, and those who don't care for it – sorry if you wanted to puke every ten minutes! XD

So I read that 'waistcoat' is a British word. Though I'm American, I used it since it's more specific than 'vest,' which is totally general. It seems like 'waistcoat' only refers to the dressy sort of vest worn under a tuxedo or whatever.

I'm thinking about making a bit of a sidefic called "Gaiden of the Three Failures." It would have a bunch of oneshots of OC backgrounds (Akane and Midori, Master Washi, Kozue Kuri, Kurogiba, etc.), scenes that got cut out or just wouldn't really fit in any convenient place in the story, timeskip events, NaruHina scenes from the other's POV, AU/ comedy scenes, and what if's, for example.

How was the chapter? I hope I was able to make you laugh at least once ;). What do you think of Hinata, Lee, and Naruto after their months of training? You might have noticed I skipped over a few battle scenes; I'm saving action for next chapter. Sorry for going outside the regulare 5 POV's - I won't do that too often. There was a scene with Sasuke and Neji, but it got taken out half because it just didn't seem to fit and also because I wanted Neji's first post timeskip appearance to be that scene in the tavern. I almost want to take out Hanabi's scenes, too, for the same reason – drama sort of throwing off the lighter mood, but then there would be nothing about New Konoha's condition … meh, oh well. How do you like the more mature Naruto, or do you not like it at all? Was the NaruHina good, bad, too sudden, OOC?

Please tell me what you think! About anything! Comment! Complain! Ask a question! Call out my mistakes! Just please review!

Since I won't be back within the month – Happy ChismaHanuKwanzakah! If you're not covered by that, happy holidays all!

:o)Hinata0321:o)