Journey of the Three Failures

by Kurouga of the Ink and Snow

Uzumaki Naruto's defeat at the hands of Hyuuga Neji changed the course of history. Now an outcast Naruto, Hinata, and Lee must flee Konoha to become stronger, and ultimately save the very village which scorned them. Strong Naruto, Hinata, and Lee. Dark!Neji, Nice!Hanabi. Epic length. NaruHina. COMPLETE!

16. Clash in Sand

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Sixteen

Yo–! (Jumps behind desk soon peppered with kunai, shuriken, and senbon) Ah! Déjà vu!

Hehe, so… Late again. Sorry about that! The chapter got long and had to be chopped in half again, though, so chapter seventeen shouldn't have nearly so long a wait.

Phew… Staying in basketball as manager might not have been the best thing for me. Even though I couldn't bear not being there, being there and watching them practice and play brought a lot of nostalgia and sadness. Maybe a dumb thing to get all depressed over… meh, I can't help it. Last week Varsity's playoffs kicked off in a grand showing where we brought 18 players (11 varsity, JV's starters, and the two most talented freshmen), four managers (I ran the camera), and the cheerleading squad and mascot to take on the other team's ten or so players … and we got our butts handed to us in what was practically a layup drill. Lost by more than 50. XD Coach was mad at them… I'm not glad the season's over, but it's a bit of relief that the stressful and depressing manager-ing, that had replaced the main stress release in my life, is finally at an end. Offseason starts soon, and fortunately I can't be barred from participating in it no matter how supposedly talentless I am ;)

Anyways, thanks for your reviews Omega the Darkness, ShadowFaux, Creshto, Rena-san, grahamgarret powerofanime, Heavenhawk, Kage James, soundless steps, Shizuka Taiyou, narutos vixen, loughlin, Electrified by Evil, Zamrok, Lady Azura, Bardad101, Haruka-Hime, narutoartlover, OnGuard, Crystal shadow7, Dominican Kitsune, asheranaiel, SaphireShade, Cedarx, Mahina, Kai Dragon, Uzumaki May, Cybergades, Malix2, Chaney2250, Shinobiscribe, Stygian Styx, ShadowSage99, and the anonymous reviewers who signed 53r4ph1m act-alike, zzz, puppy, and crackashi! I heart you all! Thanks for everyone's feedback and support! :D :P C: L: :) A smiley's worth a hundred words. Okay, maybe not. But you get the idea XD

In my summary, due to a lack of space, the last thing I could squeeze in the pairing 'NxH'. I recently realized something – I have two main characters whose names begin with N, and two for H. So, presented this information, one might interpret this as NaruHina, NaruHana (WEIRD), NejiHina(Eew…), NejiHana (BEYOND-EEW!). To clarify, this does stand for NaruHina. XD I fixed it now.

One last thing! For anyone wondering about the timeline up to this point, I'm putting part of a review reply I sent, with a few small changes:

Naruto's birthday is October 10, Lee's is Nov 12, and Hinata's is Dec 27.

(By working backwards with the time Neji states has passed since the protagonists left the village, we can find) The story starts in Oct; let's assume Naruto is 13, Lee is 13, and Hinata is 12. (By working backwards from Hinata's birthday, we can find that) The tracker team fight is set on Nov 29, at which point Lee is 14, Naruto and Hinata still 13 and 12. This is the first significant full moon in the story. On this day, Neji also states that in 14 months Orochimaru will take his body.

About 29.5 days later a moon cycle is completed, so the Akatsuki fight, Hinata's b-day, and the second important full moon take place on Dec 27.

The next full moon, then, which coincides with the day of the Nami massacre, is Jan 25. At this point twelve months remain to the supposed point when Orochimaru will take Neji's body.

The timeskip starts, full moons (roughly) Feb 23, Mar 23, Apr 21, May 20, Jun 18. (A day close to) June 26 is the reunion of the 3, and a month is skipped to July, at which point they are heading toward Suna, 6 months remain for Hinata to save Neji, three months until Naruto is 14, four months until Lee is 15, and five months until Hinata is 14. Neji turned 15 on July 3, and Hanabi turned 8 on March 27.

The timeline is mainly centered around the first definite date we get, Hinata's birthday, which though not stated is Dec 27, and from there the full moons. So the story has covered less than a year overall, with only 3 months of story and 6 months of timeskip.

Hope that cleared up some confusion!

Please enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO.

---

Journey of the Three Failures

Sixteen: Clash in Sand

Part One: Plight of the Hyuuga

Hanabi ハナビ

"Haaa!"

–"Tatakatte. Fight, Hanabi-sama."–

Smat-smat! Tmp-SMAT!

–"Fight, every single day."–

"Eek!" She shrieked as my palm barely missed her side.

–"Fight, and become stronger."–

She was backpedalling hastily, blocking, deflecting.

–"Fight, m'lady."–

A nonlethal palm to the heart, a quick shot to the right lung. Her back met the wall. She lunged to the side.

–"Fight."–

If one were struck thrice, or fell to their knees, the match would be called.

–"Fight."–

"Wait, s-slow down–!"

Swiftly my left feinted for her thigh, my right feinted for her face, left fist was tucked into right palm, and I lunged to jam my elbow into her stomach.

"Three strikes…" Hikujaku remarked happily as I heard my opponent's Byakugan waver.

Withdrawing the offending elbow, I raised my head and drew myself up to full height. The older girl winced with a tiny, wettish cough, and as the rigidity of shock left her body she hugged her middle and sank to her knees.

"And down for the count!"

Hiyuki let out a long whimper, her eyes shut. "Itai…!" she whined.

My face softened as I worked myself down from combat mode. "Daijoubu, Hiyuki-nee-san?"

She nodded. "H-hai…"

"Don't use your elbows," Hiryuu said. "Even if Hiyuki is … not the most gifted of Hyuuga her age, you should avoid making a habit of shortening your already inferior reach."

"Hai."

I stepped back shortly, and Harumi flashed by in front of me, a fierce palm outstretched. Hikujaku came from the other side, and I deflected his palm before planting my own on his shoulder. One foot lashed back, catching Hitaka's ankle as he lunged to strike from behind. Using his force with my own, I carried him momentarily on my back and flung him over myself; Harumi's advance was halted as she caught the boy, and I darted in to lash a palm lightly against her belly.

"Snap, she killed us!" Hikujaku exclaimed.

I turned to Hiryuu, prepared to face an attack that I probably wouldn't be able to fend off, but he simply nodded. His kekkei genkai faded.

"Good. That's enough sparring for today."

---

Neji ネジ

I gazed steadily at the withered old man seated across from me as the tea was served. A gentle smile was borne on a face that had probably been quite handsome in youth but now sagged with age, and folds of skin crinkled at the corners of kindly white eyes dull as once great, ancient candles that could at any given moment now, seemingly at the slightest, whimsical brush of the air, glimmer their last and flicker out for eternity.

"It is not common for the leader of the clan to consult me," he ground out in a gravelly voice, knobbly, wrinkled fingers lifting his teacup. "But I suppose it's not common for anyone else to consult me, either."

I cleared my throat quietly as he took a sip. I tilted my head toward the Hyuuga who had served us. "Please leave the room."

His eyes shifted nervously to the old man.

"Yes, please do as he says."

"Sir," he said, bowing respectfully. With a wary glance my way he left and slid the door shut behind him.

"So, tell me…"

"Come, now; there is tea. Let us enjoy the tea before we move on to more tedious things."

"Hai…"

I sipped my tea in silence.

"How goes the clan these days? Well, I should hope?"

"Quite," I answered, the word clipped.

"Ah, good, good… That is reassuring to hear."

I set down my cup of tea.

"Honored Grandfather Lord Hikaru-sama… there is something I would like to know."

"Indeed, we all have those things we'd like to know. Why, I wish I knew how…"

I suppressed a scowl. Mocking me!

"Grandfather," I snapped him out of his reverie.

"Ah, yes, what is it, child?" asked the oldest and the wisest.

"Just how is my leadership so flawed that it will bring about the downfall of the clan?"

He chuckled. "You question your leadership, child?"

"I know what you've been saying. As the result of my being leader, the Hyuuga will supposedly fall into ruin."

"Right you are, lad."

"Then what can I do to avert this devastation?" I said, my eyes narrowed. "What can another leader do that I cannot?"

"The clan is in the wrong hands, m'boy; the tender balance of the Main and the Branch is the foundation of our way of life."

"So that's it, then? Now that the Branch is in power, you come up with this?"

"You're mistaken; I know what, but you asked why, and that's the best I can explain it. When one upsets our way of life, one way or another, the consequences are bound to be dire…"

I stood. "You lie; that is not the Branch's destiny. You've simply grown fond of the Main House, haven't you?"

"I am impartial, my child; you know that," he said with a gentle smile.

"You don't like me, do you?"

"I do not; you will drive this clan to Hell."

"Heh," I remarked. "Honorable Hikaru-sama, I would advise you to keep in mind the Main House is no more – just as we are not the Branch, but equals of one clan united. With your days on this earth already limited, I would be simply appalled if some tragic misfortune were to befall you now."

He chuckled warmly, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his smile. "What a sick little child…"

Steel rested at my throat.

"Threatening a frail, defenseless old man."

A breath of laughter left my mouth. I turned my head to face him, mouth opened to bare my fangs. "You mean to kill me, Honorable Grandfather?" I asked, glaring into his bright white eyes.

"Unfortunately, no." The knife was slipped back into his sleeve. He ambled back to his seat. "It's not my place to end you; that is the destiny of another."

"The one of pure spirit and rightful blood?" I scoffed.

"Exactly. You will be leaving now, child."

"Thank you for your time, Hikaru-sama."

---

Hanabi ハナビ

"Ha … ha … ha…!"

"Come on, Hanabi-sama, in through the nose and out through the mouth, or you'll dry up your throat! Don't get lax just because we're almost done!"

"Hai!" I said, correcting my breathing.

"You know, I think you can run faster than this," Hikujaku remarked beside me, not even tired.

"I … can't…!" I gasped between breaths, eyes trained ahead. Keep moving – just keep moving – almost there…

"'Can't'? Well you certainly can't, not if you're thinking that way!"

When I ignored his pep-talk he put on a considerable burst of speed.

"Uh-oh, you're falling behind!"

"…Onii…san…!" I complained.

"Don't let me finish first! Not in the last stretch!"

I could see the other four waiting now, at the end of the path, Hiryuu holding the stopwatch in his hand. I yelled and exploded forward.

I raced past Hikujaku, and then past Hiryuu.

Then I happily collapsed.

Hikujaku snickered. "That's the mentality to have, m'lady. Believe in yourself; don't accept failure so easily."

"Y-yes…"

"Come on, walk it off," Harumi said, gently helping me to my feet. I looked to Hiryuu.

"Better than yesterday," he confirmed with the slightest air of approval. "You should start walking. If you're too sore, you'll do worse tomorrow."

"Right…"

The five fell into a loose formation around me as we set off slowly down the road. Or maybe 'road' was a misnomer – more like a path too worn out by many sets of feet for much grass to grow, and over time edged here and there with pebbles once the distinction had grown clear enough. We were in the heart of New Konoha – at least as far as the aboveground portion went. The pebble-trimmed streets had taken form around a haphazard arrangement of tents, stone huts, structures of stone brick, and the occasional log building, and in the grass between roads and buildings several interspersed saplings were growing in whatever areas they could be guaranteed enough sunlight. Clearly visible a couple of "blocks" away was a field which, the amusing spectacle of black-clad ninja attempting to farm aside, successfully produced a fair stock of cucumbers and carrots, but as of yet the attempts to cultivate rice had met with failure. Still, the vegetables that were grown, the chicken pen, the rainwater pots, the handful of buildings with varying purposes, and one of three watchtowers – all of this was heavily guarded, making this sector's security the tightest in the village. That is, the New Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"Hey … Hiryuu-oji-san?" I said a moment after waving back at Iruka-sensei, who was currently stationed on the rooftop of the council building.

"Hai, Lady Hanabi?"

"You said my only hope of defeating him will be in the first seconds of the duel – the very first trade of blows, during which he'll hopefully underestimate me enough that I'll be able to connect a lucky hit before he's wary of any threat. If that's so, why spend so much time each day building the stamina for a long, drawn-out battle rather than honing my taijutsu to increase that lucky hit's chance?"

"There are a few reasons, m'lady. This type of workout is particularly suited to strengthening the mind, thus sharpening focus, and in building upon both the spiritual and physical energies chakra supply and control will gradually improve. Not to mention, the more stamina, the longer you can efficiently train other areas before shutting down with fatigue. Aside from that, running is a good extra workout to keep one's body healthy and resilient, and though you are in perfect shape I would rather not take any risks or cut any corners in regards to your health."

"I'll say – wouldn't it stink if you caught a cold the day before your clash of destiny?" Hikujaku added devilishly.

"Don't even joke…" Harumi sighed.

"I guess I never really thought about it that far … but I think you're right…" I clenched my hand briefly, and opened it again. "Lately I've begun to notice I feel … stronger. It's hard to explain – like my body is stronger, and lighter … and I have confidence in it, like I'm ready to move at any moment."

Hiryuu nodded. "That doesn't come from sparring alone. The jogging, sprinting, agility work – all of these can only benefit you."

"Hm… That makes sense. Then why don't you ever run with me, Uncle?"

"I've been there and done that, and if all of us were to run with you our ability to protect you might be reduced by as much as eight percent. Besides, this moron always has too much energy," he said, thumping Hikujaku on the head. The teen sniggered in response.

I heard someone's Byakugan awaken, and looked to Hiryuu-oji-san in time to see it fade – a frequent precautionary surroundings check, but always done when we came across a certain someone who had almost too much enemy contact for the jounin's comfort. I followed his gaze to the one leaning against a brick building's wall fifteen yards down the path, chatting comfortably with the two escorts who commonly accompanied him.

"Look who's back from the snake pit," Hikujaku muttered good-naturedly.

"Konnichi ha!" I called, waving.

"Oi, little Hyuuga!" he said, uncrossing his arms and starting toward us, Sakura and Kiba in tow. He was about to tuck his hands habitually into his pockets when Hiryuu shot him with a look.

–"No hands in your pockets within ten meters of Lady Hanabi."

"But if you just checked me with those eyes–,"

"No exceptions."–

The boy rolled his eyes before he spoke to me. "Up for some Lightning work?"

"Hai, Sasuke-sensei!"

"Stop calling me that…"

---

Neji ネジ

"Hm…" I scanned over the report with a critical eye before handing it to one of the Hyuuga sitting across from me. I picked up a different paper.

'…At night the five rotate two hour watch shifts, giving her ten hours of sleep while they each get eight…. The rebels eat a rationed meal twice a day, in balanced shifts so that while half of them eat the other half are guarding the village. Breakfast 1 is at 8:00 AM, breakfast 2 is at 8:30; supper 1 is at 8:00 PM, supper 2 at 8:30. Of course those nocturnals covering village's night guard eat their breakfast in the evening and dinner in the morning, but she and her circle operate outside many of the village's general routines which most shinobi take part in…. Either way, she and her five bodyguards are in Group 2 and eat at 8:30 AM and PM, plus a tiny, quick snack of vegetables at 2:00 PM that can't exactly be called lunch…' My eyes skipped down again. 'I can't determine where the food comes from; they don't let me anywhere near the cafeteria…' This is useless… My eyes scrolled down.

'In the last month she's taken to sparring with random genin, chuunin, and tokubetsu jounin whenever they're not busy, and spars with six to ten others aside from her protectors in the regular day…' But how often is she winning? I wondered lightly.

'…Obviously Hyuuga Hiryuu is the greatest threat among the defectors, followed by Hyuuga Harumi…'

'Council meetings are held on Mondays, but for safety's sake in case of attack not all council members ever attend any one meeting…'

'…For protection their 'Hakage' is accompanied at most times by his second-in-command Mitarashi Anko, considered their most powerful shinobi. These two attend all meetings, but sometimes in Shadow Clone form, and no one knows until the end of the meeting whether they were real or not…'

'Hyuuga Hiryuu attends meetings every third Monday of the month, during which time the others hang around outside the council hall or go for a short walk…. Even without their strongest present, they're pretty relaxed at these times … confident they're safe in the heart of New Konoha…'

I didn't look up at the knock outside the door. "What is it, Tenten? Shino, Ino?"

Tenten opened the door and entered the room, flanked by Shino and Ino. "What's up, Neji? Sasuke sent us over…"

"What exactly did he tell you?" I asked, eyes narrowing.

She blinked quizzically, and Shino answered. "Before he left he suggested we drop by your office and see if you required any assistance. Well – do you?"

I smirked, straightening a few papers. "How thoughtful of Sasuke. Unfortunately, as you can see I've already all the help I need for the moment…" I gestured to the three Hyuuga diligently poring over the reports with me. "But you have my thanks regardless."

Tenten frowned, walking up to my shoulder. "What're you up to?"

I set the papers down, and with a straight face I met her eyes. "Not much."

"I can tell when you're hiding something, Neji."

"I'm hiding nothing. I'm simply rather busy with something at the moment, and I would appreciate it if you could step out–,"

"Hold on!" Unnoticed by us, Ino had begun reading the paper atop the stack I had just ordered. Eyes wide, she snatched it off the desk.

The nearest of the three Hyuuga rose suddenly to his feet, towering easily above them; Tenten flinched back slightly in surprise, raising her arms defensively as Ino ducked behind the older girl with a shriek.

"Are they bothering you, Neji-sama?" the man asked icily. Ino glared at him from behind Tenten, who held her ground and his gaze.

A low, angry buzzing filled the air as Shino glowered disapprovingly. "Excuse me, but I believe Neji is perfectly capable of speaking for himself."

"He can, and Neji-sama has told you to leave – so why are you still here?"

"Sit, Harumaru," I hissed, and he jerked to attention, hostility evaporating into thin air as he immediately complied. "All of you, settle down," I told the other two. "You're being rude to my close comrades. Harumaru, apologize."

"F-forgive me," he said, momentarily bowing his head to the three.

Tenten suppressed an uneasy scowl. Ino put the paper back on the desk.

"Neji – what is all this?" she asked seriously.

I sighed. The Hyuuga were telegraphing 'just give me the word' on their faces.

"There's an awful lot of information here … about Hinata's little sister."

A furrow jumped in Shino's brow.

I rubbed my forehead, exasperated. "How to put this… our double agent Uchiha is quite friendly with her; surprisingly, this is proving convenient to us now. I asked for some information about her, and now we have her schedule, her daily routine … where she is and who she's with at what times…"

THUD! THAM!

I could feel a bruise swelling on my cheek as the back of my chair hit the floor under me. Tenten crashed to the ground not far away a second after, gasping in pain.

"How dare you swing at Lord Neji?!" Hireiki screeched, storming toward the fallen girl. Shino prepared to attack the jounin.

"STOP!" I boomed, my voice leaden with power. The Hyuuga kunoichi squeaked and shuddered away, attention snapping to me as she whimpered an apology.

"Tenten, what's wrong?!" Ino cried, kneeling by her in concern. The older girl, lying on her side and clutching fitfully at her stomach, grimaced and hacked out a few droplets of blood.

"Tenten…!" I said, crawling up to her. "Daijoubu–?!"

"You bastard!" she yelled, lunging furiously to grab the neck of my shirt and slam another fist across my face.

Byakugan! I swept an arm back – catching harshly across the face the third of the Hyuuga as he lunged over the desk to retaliate.

"Stop hitting me!" I cried.

"God, put a leash on those things!" Shino spat.

"Your subordinates could use a lesson in respect!"

"Shut up!"

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Bastard," Tenten repeated, sobbing. "The Lightning Hyuuga? Who cares?! She's a child, Neji – a child!"

"Tenten, you're a chuunin now. Ninja aren't meant to let their emotions control them."

"That's why they're here?!" she demanded, pointing to the three now silent Hyuuga. "Y-you're … assassinating Hanabi-chan…?"

I looked into the girl's tearful, horror-stricken eyes.

"Yes."

She flinched. Shino gasped. Ino whimpered.

"What's wrong with you?" Tenten whispered to me not for the first time, unblinking.

"It'll be too much trouble to let her live. Her very existence continues to stir dissent in my clan, but she won't be much of a symbol of hope when she's not around."

"…I don't know you anymore…"

I felt a minor pang of discomfort in my chest. I shook my head. She never did understand. In truth, none of them did.

"Get out of my office."

Without a word she rose to her feet, eyes blank and without any light. Numbly she wiped her mouth, turned to go. Shino and Ino were close in following.

…Doesn't understand. It's time to let Destiny run its course.

I took a deep breath. Wiping a drizzle of blood from the corner of my mouth, I stood, righted my chair, and was seated again. "You can't go around attacking everyone who raises a finger against me – especially not our fellow comrades, at that."

"Please forgive us. It will not happen again."

"Try not to be so formal and subservient. You're making me feel like I'm of the Main House and that is not a good feeling."

"Of course."

"Returning to more important matters…" I spread the stack of papers in a line on the desk before me. "Based on the information we've been provided, what would you consider the best time to carry out your assignment?"

"Obviously the opportune moment would be during the meeting." Harumaru looked at a paper. "Three o' clock, the third Monday of the month…"

"Tomorrow," Hireiki realized.

The third and youngest, Haritsu, nodded. A dark natured boy with eerie, cutting eyes, skilled in Juuken, a year younger than I … and an ace archer. "I'd definitely prefer to avoid risk of trading palms with the Blazing Dragon of the Hyuuga Clan," he said, tossing a dull glance Hireiki's way. "That seems to be our best shot."

"Is it?" I said. "Take a look at this – 'Hiryuu is the biggest threat.' 'If we cross his charge, Hiryuu will not hesitate to kill.' 'In the skirmish at the watchtower, it was Hiryuu who turned the tide the moment Hanabi was in potential danger'…"

"Everyone knows about that – our surprise strike on their watchtower. Sound was simply unlucky that Hanabi was there at the time. A bunch of enemy ninja were too close to his leader, and decisively he struck them all down…"

"That's the problem," I said, "What is this detail doing in a report about Hanabi? In these latest reports Hiryuu's name is used multiple times, though the rest are hardly mentioned by comparison. If not for the inclusion of that well-known incident, his emphasis of this would almost pass as reasonable. But Sasuke isn't eager to be helpful; he's coaxing us to the conclusion that we must move during the council meeting."

"Okay, but … what's the harm in that? What are you saying the Uchiha's up to?" Hireiki asked.

"He's taken a liking to my little cousin; even if he hadn't, he's too soft to turn a blind eye while a child is killed. Assuming by tomorrow he'll have some manner of counter-plot in place to ensure her survival, we have only one opportunity to strike."

"Today."

"Precisely."

---

Hinata ヒナタ

"I don't think we're very far from Sunagakure no Sato…"

"I think you are right," Lee agreed. "So, do you believe Tsunade-sama stopped in Suna recently?"

"That doesn't seem likely," Naruto contemplated. "After all, doesn't Sand currently lack a Kazekage? They took a real blow when Orochimaru betrayed them. We don't know what their visitors' policy is, but it seems like they wouldn't want to run the risk of letting a powerful foreign ninja into their village at a time like this."

"That may be so," Lee said, "but keep in mind that this is a legendary sannin, who has lived a long time and been wandering the earth for years. We cannot be sure what kind of connections she may have in the other lands."

I plopped down on my rear, digging my water bottle from my pack. This is not my kind of climate… I thought, noting the sunburn forming on my arms. "Whatever the case, there's hardly a chance she's still in the village now. The scent isn't very fresh – a few days old, actually – and she tends not to stay in one place for long. But at the very least, it couldn't hurt us to see if we might be allowed to rest a night, maybe learn a bit about Suna's condition, and possibly … see if Sand would be willing to help the Leaf overthrow Sound."

Naruto gasped.

"But before we get moving…" I looked sheepishly back to the others. "Who's up for a short break?"

"Again?"

"Come on, Hinata-chan – with your kind of stamina?"

I took a sip of water, wetting a parched throat. "It's this weather. We really should have traveled by night to begin with; it'll be dark soon, and once it is I'll feel better."

"Okay," Naruto sighed, "if you just have to take a break now – Hey, kidding!" he said, jumping as my claws sprang out.

"Get down, and be quiet," I hissed. "Did you hear that?"

"…Hear what?" Lee asked in a moment, as we crouched at the base of a sand dune.

There…!

"Gaara!"

"Where are you?!"

"Hinata?"

"Two people are shouting half a kilometer west-southwest… It sounds like those two older Suna genin, from the chuunin exam … and they're looking for Gaara."

Lee flinched. "I had almost forgotten about him."

"Then there's a psychopath on the loose?" Naruto said.

"Naruto!" Lee scolded lightly.

"What? It's true."

"Naruto, suppress your…! Too late. We've been detected," I announced, Byakugan activating. The boys quieted down, and Naruto suppressed his chakra, but they had slready sensed us.

What were their names? Kankurou and … Temari. They stopped on the other side of the large dune.

"It's not him," the kunoichi, Temari whispered quietly – at this distance too quietly, for the average ear. "It's somewhat like him, but different. And there's definitely more than one person…"

I held a finger to my lips, signaling for the others to keep silent.

"We could just let Gaara find them, then," the one called Kankurou whispered back under his breath. "I'd rather not approach him now, anyways. But a few kills should help him wind down a bit."

"Kankurou!"

"What? If he gets any worse, you know he's bound to turn on us next."

"What if they're enemies?"

"Again: Gaara. Will. Literally. Crush them. Gaara will calm down. Gaara won't crush us."

Oh, the things people whispered…

"So you don't want to warn them?"

"Sumimasen – you already have."

Naruto, Lee, Temari, and Kankurou looked quizzically either at me or in my general direction at the statement. I nimbly hopped a fair distance to the peak of the sand dune and landed in a crouch, smiling politely.

"Konban ha. It's great to see our friends in Sand are so concerned for our wellbeing."

"That Hyuuga kid…?!"

"Why are you here?!" Temari demanded, a hand snapping to the battle fan on her back.

"Now, now, there's no need for all that," Naruto said, waving a hand as he and Lee walked up beside me.

"You all…?" Kankurou muttered.

"We all, indeed. It has been quite a while."

---

Neji ネジ

"You can't do this!"

"Just get in the room…"

"What's the meaning of this, Neji?" Shino hissed.

I shook my head as the four New Oto jounin guided he, Tenten, and Ino into the room, their hands securely bound behind their backs. "You'll be waiting in here for a bit. This is simply a precautionary confinement. When the mission is completed, I'll have you released."

"Are you out of your mind?!"

"No," I said to the blond, "I'm preventing you three from doing something treacherous. You're letting your emotions run wild, and your thoughts are becoming skewed and irrational. But Orochimaru-sama has given me his approval for this task. With her around, we run the risk of losing the power of as much as twenty percent of the Hyuuga Clan…"

"Power – is that all you care about? This is an eight-year-old's life!"

"My point exactly. Your petty emotions–,"

"Don't you have a heart?"

I sighed. "You'll thank me for this later. If you were to do something traitorous, it would fall on me to deal with you. I'd prefer that didn't happen."

"Then what about Sasuke? What if he tries to stop you?"

At this I smirked. "If Sasuke does something traitorous… I will be more than happy to deal with him."

Ino lunged at me, hands tied and all. One of the jounin caught her and firmly pushed her back again.

"Don't try to escape," I said, and shut the door.

---

Hanabi ハナビ

There – my chakra looked just like his did. "Got it. I changed the nature…"

Sasuke nodded in front of me, his Sharingan trained intently on me as my Byakugan was on him.

"It took four point seventy-four seconds," Hiryuu supplied, Byakugan active as well. "Now, how long can you keep it up?"

I pulled in a deep breath and directed the crackling chakra to my hands. Releasing the Saru seal – that of the Monkey – I exhaled and sank into a Juuken stance.

Sasuke smirked and beckoned, but not in a rude, superior way – simply a silent 'I'm ready.' I advanced on light feet and threw a palm; he deflected the forearm while slipping outside, and an ankle hacked against my own. I hit the ground rolling on my side, and got my feet under me to hop away in evasion as the Uchiha lunged in with a palm strike. Ducking, I deflected a second palm with a sharp upward thrust of my forearm against his wrist. My other hand darted for his ribs, and he snagged the wrist and jabbed two fingers toward the forearm. My foot flashed up, knocking the attacking hand aside, and we broke apart and clashed once more.

Of course he wasn't going all-out – this was more Lightning Release practice than sparring – but there were a couple of reasons he could be moderately serious when he came at me. For one thing, when I activated and stirred up my chakra, readied it for Lightning Gentle Fist, my chakra flow more than quadrupled in speed – and the vivid energy, bolting through me wild and refined, made me feel lighter than air, sharper, quicker, and though it wasn't of much importance a fair bit stronger. My eyes, as always, could see the moves; and thanks to berserk-fast reflexes guided by the experience of who knows how many accumulated hours of sparring, my body could react to them.

The second reason was that he was utilizing almost nothing but what moves he had gleaned from Neji's taijutsu style in the time he had been sparring regularly with Orochimaru's other apprentice, and wasn't yet particularly fluent in the movements of Juuken.

Even so, he was a tough opponent. And as always, it took him no more than an instant to detect it when my chakra snapped back to regular state. Heck, he noticed it before I did, and I was in the middle of lunging to strike when my hand was slapped aside and two fingers hit my forehead.

Once again, just like that, I was dead.

"That's not good enough," Sasuke said honestly, shaking his head. "You're getting stronger, but he could still easily beat you with an arm tied behind his back. Maybe two."

Hiryuu nodded. "Your greatest defensive advantage is that your opponent must be so wary of touching you, and particularly cautious to completely avoid any contact with your hands. Even if depletion of your chakra supply lowers your control to the point that you're prone to accidentally release the Lightning Activation technique, at the very least you must come to know your limits well enough to predict when this is going to happen."

"Yes…" I said, looking downward. How far away am I? I have plenty of raw talent, but not enough skill to even use it effectively…

"Hey," Sasuke said, "We can give her a little credit. Most eight-year-olds wouldn't yet be able to utilize Raiton at all, affinity or not. It says a lot that you're able to sustain it for so long…" He looked to Hiryuu. "I want to try something."

"Such as…?"

He held up his hand, and promptly it was blanketed in a dusty mist of sparking lightning – and Hiryuu was standing between the Uchiha and me.

"Easy," the boy said. "It's a sort of test that Kakashi ran by me once before. If she's correctly converting her chakra to Lightning, she won't be shocked. If she's doing it incorrectly – well, at the most she'll receive a light shock. You already know that Raiton types have the unique characteristic of practical invulnerability to their own element; it's why Hanabi can practice against me without worrying she might accidentally kill me. In fact, against me regular Juuken would be more effective than Lightning Juuken; if hit with the latter, my keirakukei would simply conduct the similar energy and merge it with my own."

Hiryuu slowly stepped aside. I looked up at Sasuke.

"So… this'll test the strength of my Raiton?" I said, forming the Saru seal.

He nodded and reached toward me.

"Not the heart," Hiryuu growled. "You can touch her on the arm."

"Don't you trust me yet–?"

"One cannot be too careful."

He sighed, his hand moving from where it hovered over the center of my chest. His sparking hand, shrouded in energy, met my forearm.

Ack–!

My lips parted very slightly at the enormous rush of energy that was jolted into my body. Entered at my arm, caught in the flow of my chakra, within a moment speeding through my coils.

"Well?" Sasuke said, "Did it shock you?"

I blinked at his calm face. What was he getting at? "No," I answered truthfully. My body was just tingling a little and I sort of couldn't feel the ground under me, was all. Did he even realize he had just flooded me with his chakra? Maybe he just had so much more chakra than me, he didn't figure how much he'd zapped me with…?

"I see; that's a good sign," the Uchiha said, calling me back to attention. "Looks like your Lightning Release is even stronger than I thought. Use it well."

"U-um – yeah," I said, too quickly.

He put a hand on my shoulder, and I looked curiously to his eyes. Intense charcoals were trained heavily on me, almost causing me to shiver. His brow seemed to furrow very slightly, but if it had soon relaxed again. With a brief, light squeeze on my shoulder, his meaningful stare broke away from me.

"Catch ya' later," he said simply.

"Uh, see you. And thanks for the lesson!" I said, only to a retreating back that promptly blurred and vanished in a swirling of leaves.

What was that? I wondered, looking up at a swollen, setting sun.

What is it … that you're trying to tell me?

---

Neji ネジ

Hands in pockets, he slinked up the dusk-bleak path with his head down, eyes closed. Only just after he had passed me did he come to a halt and look up.

"What are you doing here?" he said none too warmly, not turning his eyes my way.

Arms crossed, leaning against a wall under a roof edge that cast over me a pocket of shadow, I snickered quietly, gently baring my teeth. "Bravo. You certainly found me quickly. Dutifully protecting your home turf, hmm?"

"I'd know the reek of your sick energy anywhere, swine."

"Now, is that any way to address your superiors, chuunin? Then again, I guess while we're here you're another New Leaf-nin and I'm an enemy shinobi."

"While we're here, darn straight you are. Do you have any idea what happens to me – what happens to our entire operation – if I'm caught chatting here with you?"

"That would be quite a pity, losing a source of intelligence. What would they do to you, I wonder…?"

"I'll ask again: Why are you here?"

I smirked, looking up into the gathering darkness that was blanketing the world for slumber.

"I just thought you ought to know that Hyuuga Hanabi is dying tonight."

The first hum of cricketsong poured into the still, lukewarm air.

"…And?"

"I thought you might like to know. That's it."

"Then I assume one of Orochimaru's trusted is tailing me."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"None at all."

"Splendid," I said, smiling as I pushed from the wall and stepped out onto the path behind him. "Because I can guarantee that whatever New Konoha might do to a traitor would be a stroll in the park beside what Orochimaru-sama would devise…"

"Hn. Whatever," he said, and began walking away.

Tonight… the Hyuuga will be united at last…

I turned my gaze skyward, sipping in a soft breeze as I marveled at the pale waning gibbous that shone down on us from above.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir. It is."

What a beautiful night, indeed…

---

Hinata ヒナタ

A shiver rattled down my spine. With a gasp, I looked up at the chipped fragment of moon illuminating the stony expanse of cold sky.

…Darkness is approaching…

At this notion I shivered again. I had better get back to camp.

---

Lee リー

I prodded a twig at the base of the fire. The wood that fueled it had not been easy to find, but it burned well with its dryness; the fire was strong, so that even the cold desert winds that reached us in the shallow dip between dunes in which we currently resided failed to extinguish it.

"So… you are certain you do not want food?"

"We've got plenty," Naruto said next to me, "We packed before we got to the desert."

"No, thanks," Temari-san said flatly. "This is our homeland; when we are hungry, we'll find food ourselves."

Arms crossed, the glaring Kankurou nodded in agreement.

I sighed. Whether they were starving or content, the response would have been the same.

"We should save our breath, Lee," Naruto said. "A ninja's got to have his pride, after all."

"You calling us arrogant?" Kankurou snarled roughly.

"Not at all," Naruto stated. "I meant just what I said."

"Even so," I added, "I thought I ought offer. I certainly do not consider us enemies at this point; there is little reason in clinging to old differences."

"Hm… We're not enemies, huh…" the Suna kunoichi mused, her weary gaze lost in the flames. "It's funny… That Orochimaru actually had the nerve to send Sand your files to be added to the new edition of the bingo book."

"Temari…" Kankurou warned, looking toward her.

"Orochimaru…" Naruto muttered. "He is our enemy."

The flames snapped and crackled through a thick stretch of silence.

"I suppose you would not care to tell what you two are doing out here…?"

"The better question'd be What are you supposed fugitives doing in our country?"

"…We're looking for someone," Naruto answered him.

"Well, that makes all of us…" Kankurou remarked.

The fire crackled, crackled noisily between us. I poked it with the stick. Naruto scratched his chin. Kankurou's fingers played at his hood. Temari rubbed her neck. The fire crackled.

"…Where'd that girl get off to, anyways?" Temari asked.

"Hunting," Naruto said simply.

"She left her bow."

"She doesn't need it."

"Outsiders never have an easy time of securing food out here."

"She can manage."

"Aren't you scared she'll get lost?"

"Not really."

"What if Gaara's found her?"

"She's not easy to sneak up on."

"What's wrong with the food you packed, anyways?"

"Not to her preference."

"What's her preference?"

"Fresher."

The Suna-nin eyed us dubiously.

And almost jumped as Hinata came sliding on her feet down a nearby dune.

"Sorry I was gone so long," she said, walking up to seat herself between Naruto and I.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said, patting her shoulder.

"Huh," Temari laughed with a sidelong smirk. "I knew she wouldn't find anything."

"I did," Hinata said, blinking, as she reached into her pack for a water bottle.

"Hey, try to conserve that…"

"Hai, hai…"

The Suna-nin stared. Hinata took a swig of water, finally caught on to her mistake, coughed, shut the water bottle, cleared her throat. She was blushing like mad.

"So," Naruto snatched the siblings' attention, "you won't tell us what you're up to or what's going on, but you seem pretty keen on hanging around us. Why's that? Want a few sacrifices nearby for when you run into Gaara?"

"You ask that pretty calmly," Kankurou noted.

"Excellent attempted subject change," the younger boy remarked.

"Last time," I said, "I faced him alone and quite nearly won. I have grown stronger since."

"If that's what you're basing your confidence on, you oughta' forget it," Kankurou said. "You haven't witnessed the half of Gaara's power."

"Perhaps not," Naruto said, "but I doubt we were half as tough back then as we are now. Anyways – why are you two hanging around?"

"Pfft…" Kankurou scowled at the fire. "Truth is, Gaara's finally been banished from the Hidden Sand."

"It's rare for shinobi to be exiled," Hinata said, a furrow in her brow. "Usually … I mean…"

"Execution? Assassination? Believe me, they've been trying for years; it's a wasted effort, and a wasted assassin's life to boot."

"That's terrible…"

"What is?" the Suna man asked. "How many assassins they've been sending after Gaara, or how many lives Gaara's taken? Don't answer that," he chuckled humorlessly.

"But at this point they couldn't let it go on," Temari said. "That is – let Gaara go on preying on the people of the village."

Hinata gasped quietly.

"Lately it's been getting more and more out of hand. His urges to kill are becoming stronger than before, and he's not easily satisfied…"

"And now that he has been exiled from his home, his siblings are out here searching for him…?"

"…He's our brother," Kankurou said quietly, his head low. His eyes narrowed, torn. "No matter how little he thinks of us, no matter how messed up he is, I can't ignore the fact that he's my little brother and he's alone out here…!"

"What would become of him, left entirely alone?" Temari said tonelessly. "The monster he is now wouldn't compare, and we would be the ones shouldering guilt and regret. So we ran away. We had no choice."

"That is admirable," Hinata said softly.

"All the same," the young man said, "we're looking for him but don't want to find him. I'll admit it; I'm scared of Gaara. Anyone with half a brain would be scared of Gaara. And what with the way he is now, if he's desperate enough for blood, I doubt he'd think twice about killing even us."

"Hm…"

With that we were left for several minutes listening only to the flames. They would begin to burn out soon.

"I want to meet him."

The Suna-nin's eyes flew to Naruto at the abrupt statement.

"…You got a deathwish or what?"

"Not at all," the blond said. "It's just … I can almost sympathize with him. Hated and feared, driven from his home… Without Lee and Hinata with me back then, I don't know what would've happened. But he's been alone, hasn't he? Even before that, for a lot longer than I ever was, he's been alone…"

"But you wanna meet him? That's not smart…"

"What do you think you can do for him?" Temari asked. "Talk to him? Become his friend? Sorry, but he might be beyond saving."

"'Beyond saving'…?" Hinata asked, her eyes narrowed. She met the older kunoichi's eyes. "Then what are you two even doing out here?!" She looked down again, lowering her voice. "I like to believe that few people are beyond saving…"

Hinata-san…

Naruto nodded. "So – Hinata, Lee, you with me?"

"Do you really need to ask?"

"Definitely."

"There you have it!" Naruto said. "With our combined power, I seriously doubt Gaara can top us. We'll see if we can't get through to your brother, ne?"

With a sharp inhalation, Hinata's back snapped straight, her face alert as she gazed off into the distant sky.

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

She looked suddenly to him, eyes refocusing. "Demonic energy – different from yours. The murderous intent is incredible…"

"How convenient," I noted, "He is coming to us?"

"Look alive, guys," Naruto said. Naginata in hand, the boy rose to his feet.

"This way," Hinata said, taking off to the south. Naruto and I followed close behind.

"Wait!"

We looked back to the puppet user, who had stood up behind us.

"You're … either incredibly stupid or incredibly powerful, and I have a feeling I know which it is. Just…" He looked away a moment. "Are… Are you going to kill him? If he…"

Though Temari's face said she had her doubts we could, Kankurou's held barely masked emotion.

"We will not," I assured him, nodding. He nodded back.

"I'm going with you. Not to help, just to watch."

"Kankurou, you idiot–!"

"That's fine. Lead the way, Hinata-chan!"

The four of us dashed over the desert sands, Hinata in the lead, Naruto and I flanking, Kankurou not far behind. Nothing was said when, soon enough, Temari-san flickered in to fall into step beside Kankurou.

"The Black Wolf Fang," Kankurou said. "The Purple Fox, the Green Beast. Rumors have found us all the way out here, you know. And Orochimaru wants you listed as S-rank criminals."

"S-rank may be a bit of a stretch," I admitted.

"All the same," he continued, "it's clear enough Orochimaru's starting to fear you. Just how strong could you have gotten … since the last time we met?"

"If we're not lucky, you might find out," Hinata said, halting. "And it looks like we're not lucky."

Winds howled forebodingly through the night, carrying clouds of sand that blurred, obscured the figure slowly approaching some thirty meters to the south. The breeze kicked up, clipping a great deal of sand from the dunes, spraying it across the land. We held our ground as the wind hissed and lashed eerily, pulled at our hair, our clothes.

My mouth fell slightly open as the murmurings reached my ears.

"Blood… s-so much strong blood… I'll kill them for you, mother. I'm a good boy. But which one do you want first? Hmm…?"

"He's already cracked," Kankurou breathed.

I could see him now – head low so as to show only a shock of crimson hair, arms swinging limply with each trudging step. Sand was flowing from the gourd on his back, crawling slowly through the air about him.

He raised his head, and I stifled a gasp. A vicious smile was carved on the boy's face, his tongue hanging from an open mouth that salivated heavily. He laughed suddenly, low and grating, as he halted fifteen meters away. His eyes were huge, bloodshot, and insane.

"Gaara … of the desert," I said.

I tensed as his hand drifted upward. Once above shoulder height it fell again to point roughly toward Hinata.

"Five-tails!" he growled violently. "You have the blood of the F-Five tails…!"

"I do," Hinata said simply, showing no fear.

A bestial laugh of excitement shook the desert world. "That darkness … that power…! Never before have I spilt such glorious blood… Killing you – that will verify my existence! All of your blood – I'll take it ALL!"

Naruto stepped forward angrily, but I swiftly passed him and held out my arm.

"I will go."

"Lee…"

"Lee-kun…?"

I grinned back at them. "After all, I still have a score to settle here." I looked forward, raising my voice. "Have you forgotten me already, Sabaku no Gaara?!"

He snickered lowly, recognition glinting brightly in his eyes. "You… Okay, then…" He glared past me a moment, and his tongue slithered across his lips. "We'll save the best for last…."

"I would concentrate, if I were you," I said. Arm weights in hand, I knelt to remove my leg weights as well. "I am your opponent for now."

"Then come on already… Get over here and die, appetizer…"

"Heh." Smiling, I held out my arms, two weight sets in each hand. "Normally I would not do this right off the bat … but if you do not mind, I will go ahead and pick up about the place we left off the last time."

My hands opened. Naruto put an arm in front of his face.

BOOM!

"E-even in … sand…?!" Temari gasped.

"Here we go…"

The desert floor stirred, and a blast of sand shot toward me. The others behind me bolted aside.

My fist crashed into Gaara's stomach. "Not even close…"

"Wh-what…?!" he choked out, breathless.

My hand clutched the leather sash draped over his shoulder, which secured the gourd to his back. "Let me teach you … the definition of the word 'speed'."

My fist now met his face. I raced after him – and still further behind his absolute defense raced in pursuit.

---

Hanabi ハナビ

Man, did I feel weird! It hadn't worn off yet! It wasn't a bad feeling – just weird. I felt like I could sprint ten miles. Granted, I knew I couldn't – just felt like I could. If that made any sense. Did it? I wondered if this was what being high felt like. Nah – a drunk would probably feel invincible and believe it, too. Besides – I felt really alert. Jumpy – but just because I was so super-alert. Okay, then, this was probably what a sugar rush felt like. Not that I would know. I don't like sweets. Most Hyuuga don't. Nee-chan does. But I don't. And I had a stomachache. Well – not exactly like that – I just had an ache in my stomach area. Probably because my chakra network was a little overloaded. Yep.

I could just activate my Raiton and run out the excess, yes – but I didn't. Something was telling me not to. Something was wrong, by the way – I'd been feeling that for the last twenty freaking minutes or something. Sasuke had done this for a reason. He'd tried to tell me something. But what?

"Hyuuga-san!"

Everyone from Hiyuki up looked at Raido-sensei when he called out. "Which one?" Hikujaku deadpanned.

"Ah – Hiryuu-san. You're needed at the watchtower, immediately!"

"What is it?" Hiryuu asked.

"Iruka is unconscious – he was in critical condition, but the medics were able to stabilize him. He was ambushed on the watch, and his wounds seem to have been inflicted by a user of Juuken…"

I flinched. I knew it. Something was up, something was going on…

"What are you saying?" Hiryuu asked.

"Not like that – we're not accusing anyone!" Raido clarified. "If it's a Hyuuga you know, your Byakugan should be able to identify trace remnants of the attacker's chakra in Iruka's system, right?"

"I understand," Oji-san said, nodding. "Harumi, Hikujaku, Hiyuki, Hitaka – escort Lady Hanabi to her room."

"No, Hiryuu," Harumi said. "I can go. You should stay with Hanabi-sama."

"We're not outsiders here, Harumi; this is our village now. They need our strongest Byakugan, and you know it."

"But, sir–,"

"I doubt this is related to Lady Hanabi, but in case it is you're to escort her to our room."

"Hai!" four voices chorused. Hiryuu and Raido flickered away, and Hitaka took my hand. Together the five of us jogged down the path in the opposite direction, to the nearest trapdoor some hundred meters away.

Something was wrong. I was sure now. I looked to the others; all Byakugan were active, so I went ahead and activated my own. There didn't seem to be anyone around, at least, and any enemy within a fairly large radius from Harumi would be detected.

But if you really think about it … if the invaders were Hyuuga, wouldn't they know that? Maybe I was thinking too much into it. Oji-san was probably right – this was probably another random Sound strike. After all, a nice chunk of New Oto was comprised of Hyuuga. But then, if Sasuke had been trying to warn me…

Stop and think. If a Hyuuga was trying to get at me at this moment, how would he do it?

I turned my head and swore. "Get down, now!"

Never before had I found myself so grateful that following orders was reflex to them. We all hit the ground, and an arrow zipped over me and over Hikujaku, who was directly in front of me.

"Kuso!" he cried. "The blind spot…!"

All running in the same direction, without looking back. At a certain distance behind us our blind spots overlapped.

The four surrounded me in a protective formation. "We're under attack," Harumi grunted. "Show yourselves!"

Wait… S-someone… just tried to kill me…?

"Hanabi-sama," Hitaka said in his gentle voice, his back to me as he readied an arrow of his own.

"H-huh?" I said, flinching.

"Stay close to me, m'lady. We won't let anyone hurt you."

"Hitaka-kun…" I gulped hard and nodded. "…Yes."

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the notorious defectors who went and crawled all the way out here to find someone to serve."

"Harumaru," Hikujaku growled as the other Hyuuga strode up, sneering viciously. The man pointedly put himself between us and the trapdoor.

"Heh… Big words, Kotaka-chan," a younger male taunted as he skulked into view from behind a stone building. "Especially considering your lady would have died by my arrow if she herself hadn't noticed it. Some protector you are."

"Haritsu-nii-san…!" Hitaka gasped.

"Not anymore, he's not," Harumi whispered. "He's your enemy, Hitaka-kun–,"

The kunoichi whipped out a kunai, deflecting a knife thrown toward her from the shadows.

"Come on out here, Hireiki."

"Shame… Honestly, Harumi, what are you doing clinging to that thing over there?"

"This 'thing' is the rightful successor to our clan, you old crone."

"Call me what you will… I still need to repay your 'successor' for the last time…"

I flinched under Hireiki's glare.

"Don't be afraid, Hanabi-sama," Hikujaku said, "This is what we're here for."

"Exactly – your little pets are ready and willing to throw away their lives for you," Harumaru cut back snidely.

"Don't listen to that," Hikujaku muttered.

"It's true. Are you fools really so pathetic as to seek out a master to serve even after you've been freed?"

"What do you think of our honored grandfather's words, then?"

"That old antique knows nothing. He's paraded as divine to help keep the blind like you in line." Harumaru raised his nose smugly. "You're nothing but a few broken birds that would rather cower in the opened cage than try to learn to fly."

"So that's what they call flying these days, huh? You know, thanks for the offer, but I think I'd rather be right here where I am than join the depraved dogs leaping to Neji's beck and call. You went out one cage and into a prettier one without even noticing it, same as he did. You do know your powerful leader's wrapped snug around Orochimaru's little finger, right?"

"Lady Hanabi," Harumi whispered as they spoke. "Do you have enough control over the curse mark jutsu that you might activate theirs and not ours…?"

"N-no," I admitted. "I've never really used it before; I would probably hit all of you. And … I don't know if I could control whether I incapacitate or k-k…"

"…Do it anyways."

"No!" I gasped.

"It's okay," she consoled, "Worst case scenario, and you'll still have Hiryuu around to protect you…"

"That's not the point!" I whispered back. "I won't risk–!"

"Enough of this stalling!" Hireiki snapped. "Though your numbers are greater, you know you're no match for us. This is your last chance to surrender the girl. If you do, Neji-sama will graciously accept you back."

"And if we don't?" Harumi asked.

"These are the words of Lord Neji: Those who defend the Main House shall not be forgiven. So – What's your answer?"

I held my breath as I stared into Harumi's motionless back.

"Protect the heiress!" she barked, flinging three smoke grenades to the ground.

"I've got you," Hikujaku's voice assured me as a hand caught my forearm, and instantly he, Hitaka, Hiyuki, and I were some thirty yards from the smoke cloud.

"Harumi's fighting Hireiki. This way!" Hikujaku said, running down another road. The three fell into formation around me.

"You guys – do you have any flares?! Paper bombs, even?"

"I don't…"

"Sorry, Onii-san…"

He swore under his breath as we came to an intersection.

"What is it?" Hiyuki asked. "Wh-why are we stopping?"

"Do we look for help underground, or try to make it to the watchtower?!"

I opened my mouth. "I think–!"

Hitaka lunged at me, threw his arms around me, spun one-eighty degrees with me.

Then a jolt shook his body, and his mouth burst open with a sound of pain, and his eyes grew, and I realized that suddenly an arrow was sticking out of his back.

"L-Lady… Ha-n-na…" Crimson spilled from his mouth, and his hands slipped limply from my arms as he dropped to the ground.

"Hitaka!" I screeched.

"Tch. Too bad … baby hawk." The mockery was spoken from a rooftop twenty meters off, where the sharpshooter was knelt in position, eyes cruel, his bow just fired.

His own brother…! "Haritsu! You–!"

"BASTARD!" Hikujaku screamed, and in a single deft motion had snatched up Hitaka's own dropped bow and an arrow, whirled to face the sniper, and drawn back and fired.

Haritsu withheld a yell as his shoulder was pierced.

"Kill you – I'll kill ya'!" Hikujaku roared, launching himself toward the rooftop with a palm drawn back.

"Not quite, cousin!" Seemingly from nowhere came Harumaru, soaring in an equally grand leap to intercept Hikujaku, before the light of the moon, with a graceful and terrible spinning heel strike across the face.

He shot like a bullet into some crates stacked against a building across the street.

"We have to run, m'lady!" Hiyuki urged, tugging my hand.

"B-but…" My eyes dared edge toward Hitaka's still, still form.

"There's nothing we can do! Hurry!"

We ran, and Harumaru landed and darted toward us from behind. Hiyuki, quivering violently, released my arm, pushed me away, and turned to face him.

"Where do you think you're going–?"

"Korraaaa!"

Hikujaku burst from the rubble already striking, Byakugan blazing fiercely. Harumaru barely blocked in time.

"Get a move on!" Hikujaku growled, deflecting a deadly palm and striking again.

"Right!" Hiyuki squeaked, taking my hand and leading me at a sprint. She scanned furiously with her Byakugan as we ran down a road lined with stone buildings with walls, almost like fences between them. "There! The trapdoor on the other side of that wall!"

We ran between two buildings and were twelve meters from the wall, nine, five…

Hiyuki tried to slow down.

A figure blurred into existence in front of us.

Hiyuki started to draw back a hand.

The heel of Hireiki's palm drove into Hiyuki's jaw.

The teen bounced and rolled more than once, coming to a halt sprawled out on her back. A groan met my ears as she turned weakly onto her side and curled up a little, trembling very badly.

Hireiki chuckled as she looked down at me. "It's been a while, you little snot…"

I whimpered, eyebrows pulling together. For a second I started to take my stance – then broke and made a mad dash for the wall.

Four steps up I was caught by the back of my shirt. I tried to pull away; the woman scoffed and threw me cruelly to the ground. I lost my breath in a sharp wheeze as my back hit solid earth, and my arms crept across my middle as I squeezed an eye shut.

"You got lucky last time," she hissed. Her foot sort of roughly nudged my face. "But now that I know what to look out for … what do you think you can do to a jounin?"

She drew back her foot, and I was prepared for pain or worse when I spotted Hiyuki lunging at her.

She got up…

The woman shifted a bit, captured her wrist and wrapped the girl's arm behind her – and struck her hand sharply between her shoulder blades. Hiyuki grunted, and Hireiki wasted no time in grabbing at the back of her neck and shoving the sixteen-year-old's face forcefully against the wall.

"H-Hiyuki-nee-san…" Hiyuki, who was even weaker than me…

"You want to fight me, child? An embarrassment like you … dares stand against her own mother?"

"I'll p-protect m'lady…!" she whimpered.

"So unlike your brother … you never were a quick learner. Didn't I tell you … we wouldn't forgive those who protect the Main House?"

She pulled her from the wall by the back of her shirt and flung her away. Hiyuki stumbled but kept on her feet; then she charged at Hireiki again. I was still on my back and sort of dazed, but I could see them. Even in my groggy, upside-down view, it was painful to watch.

Hireiki dodged her daughter's palm, and her fisted hand snapped into Hiyuki's face. The girl reeled and struck out again, only to have her palms blocked and deflected with humiliating ease before she was caught by a forceful backfist. She ended up catching herself on her hands and knees instead of hitting the ground, and rose with a yell to strike again. Her mother dodged under a palm and sprang a violent uppercut squarely into her daughter's stomach; the girl gagged, her white eyes huge, and was starting to double up when a knee whacked her in the jaw, drawing from her a pained cry. She slumped to her knees, but grasped at her mother's shirt to keep from falling down. She was crying by now. I think she tried but failed to stand, and her mother took a firm hold of her shoulders, raised her up a little higher, and hit her knee once, twice, very hard against her gut. Before the girl could fall the woman laid her palm against her cheek, fingers digging in her hair – and shoved her knee horribly against her daughter's mouth.

I winced. At this point I had gotten on my hands and knees, but at the sight of the red gushing from my cousin's mouth as she cried out in pain…

I grimaced. Hiyuki…!

"Now, where were we…?" Hireiki said tonelessly, looking my way.

Hiyuki rose up behind her.

Oh kami, don't–!

Hireiki, without facing her, shifted and secured her striking right wrist in her own right hand, folded across her body. Hireiki's left arm rested above her right, the fisted hand almost touching the opposite shoulder.

"You idiot."

With the force of her whole body behind it, she turned, lashed an explosive elbow straight back into her daughter's nose. A horrid CRACK broke into the air, and Hiyuki was thrown off her feet to crash heavily to the ground, awkwardly splayed on her back.

I vomited.

S-so much … blood…

"What a weak stomach," Hireiki remarked of me.

"Y-you're cruel," I sniffled.

"She should have stayed down. I told her she would not be forgiven for her treachery … and anyone who stands in the way of Lord Neji's goals shall suffer. Unfortunately for you, Hanabi, Lord Neji wants you dead and therefore you shall die… huh?"

My jaw fell. Why…?

Hyuuga Hiyuki, who was even weaker than me. Hiyuki, who was awkwardly tall. Hiyuki, who was soft spoken and shy. Hiyuki, who couldn't really handle pain. Hiyuki, who wasn't breathing right. Hiyuki, whose nose was badly broken, whose lip was busted and purple, whose cheeks were bruised, whose teeth were messed up. Hiyuki, whose face was a mess of blood and tears but mostly blood.

Hiyuki, who had crawled to her enemy, firmly gripped her ankle, preventing her from approaching me.

Hiyuki, who was sobbing, bawling, even as she glowered.

"What are you doing…?" Hireiki's scornful voice was dangerously cold.

"Yamette, Hiyuki! Stop already! You've done enough!" I cried, unblinking, my heart hammering in rising terror.

"You heard her. Let go of me, daughter."

"M-mom…" Hiyuki's knuckles were white. "You w-will not harm… Lady H-Hanabi…!"

A malevolently false smile snaked across Hireiki's face. "Hiyuki-chan… you never learn a thing."

The woman's free foot moved forward.

I was frozen, as if in a trance.

Her heel lurched back.

I couldn't look away, couldn't even close my eyes.

The instant before contact, Hiyuki's mouth fell open, her eyes blanking up as they stared into those of the woman who'd borne her.

To this day, I can only wonder what was going through her mind then.

WHAM!

"UNGH…!"

I was on my feet.

"Iie!" I shrieked madly, charging.

Under different circumstances, I might have at least dodged; so ravaged was I by the influence of so much stress and confusion and despair, I failed to avoid or even anticipate a tremendous blow to my stomach.

My back hit the stone wall, and I sank feebly to one knee, sort of hunched over, sickened as the metallic taste of nightmare bubbled up into my mouth. I wanted to yell at her, but my voice was powerless as I was, gasping and weak.

"You're a soulless b-brute … you're cruel, and crude, and twisted, a-and vile, you – you bイ$&#...!"

She laughed. "Who taught you that word, girl?"

"You're h-horrible!" I cried. "Y-y-you miserable, dirty, stinking old $&!#-faced–!"

"Call names like a four-year-old if you'd like," she scoffed, sneering as she drew a kunai knife. The blade glinted in the moonlight. "Owari da."

I saw her move toward me. Shoving to my feet, I shut my eyes, ground my teeth, and smacked my hands together.

"Hibana!" I screeched, and a flickering sparkle of energy cracked across the air before me.

Hireiki jumped back just as crackling electricity sizzled and buzzed to life all around me, sparking wildly, whipping up my hair.

"'Hibana,' huh? How cute – rearrange the characters of your name and you get 'Sparking.' Not a bad trick, but all the same futile!"

Excitement was in bright in her eyes as she hurled the knife for my heart.

I grunted, and a sharp bolt of energy lanced out ten yards along the projectile's path – into the tip, along the blade, straight out from the handle – in the instant before the knife was deflected and fell from the air. The woman barely jerked from the fleeting bolt's path in time; her eyes widened as the underside of her forearm was lightly singed, the sleeve's cloth torn.

"Keep it up!" I wasn't trying to shout, but I did anyways. "Toss a lightningrod, and it'll be simple for me to trace its path and target you!"

She scowled.

"So – I thought you said it was over?! Get over here, and I'll gladly zap you right over to Hell!"

"Fool – your jutsu's strong, but all I have to do is wait for it to run out!"

"You think so?! You're in enemy territory; someone's bound to come across here soon! Every minute you sit here, the chance goes up!"

"Oh yeah? As Neji-sama predicted, in response to the watchtower strike your noncombatants are underground and shinobi are all checking the fields and such, a mile and a half from where we are now! If you screamed they wouldn't hear you!"

"Our numbers may be stretched thin, but someone'll have to check around here eventually, and when they do–!"

"But how long can you keep that up? You're forcing a heavy flow of Lightning energy from a large number of chakra points across your body. You're trembling, and your breath shakes. You're hardly blinking for concentration, and you can't even move. I don't need to be a Raiton user to tell that there's no way a child has the stamina to maintain that level of chakra output for long."

I glared determinedly, teeth clenched. "I've got plenty of juice left!"

"You bluff; you're stuck, young lady, and you know it."

"Ch…!"

---

Hinata ヒナタ

Kuso! Kuso-kuso-kuso! What's happening to you, Imouto-chan?!

I wanted to sprint there. I could make it, if I didn't stop, in … one and a half days, at the least…

"Kuso…!"

"Hinata?"

"It's nothing…"

"Stay alert, Hinata-chan – you never know when Bushy Brow might need us to jump in."

"Yes…"

---

Hanabi ハナビ

"Ha… ha… haa…!"

Hibana Houden – Spark Discharge.

Two full minutes … is definitely longer than I ever could have sustained it … on my own strength…

–"Looks like your Lightning Release is even stronger than I thought. Use it well."–

An energy boost and a subtle hint … probably the most he could give without risking his own neck… but it looks like it wasn't enough…!

I'm getting dizzy… My whole body's tingling–

"Ow–!" I yelped as a stray spark of energy bit painfully at my shin.

"Come on, now, you're hurting yourself," Hireiki taunted, smirking wickedly in anticipation. "Poor Hanabi. You're starting to lose control over your chakra now, aren't you?"

Panting slowly and heavily, taking effort just to breathe, I ignored her as she began to laugh. My eyelids fluttered, blinking away sweat.

"What are you, trying to kill yourself?"

"Oh–!" I shut my eye as a spark snapped against my cheek, and with the lapse in focus the spark discharge dropped dangerously, leaving me nearly defenseless. I ducked my head and clamped my eyes shut, screaming as I tore at the last of my reserves to send the spark field flaring out once more.

"You struggled up to the bitter end … but…"

My eyes burst open, twitching wildly as a shudder hit my body. My vision was whiting out. At this rate, I'll…!

"It looks like your time is up."

"Uhn!" A white-hot jolt hit my stomach area. A few drops of blood sprayed forcefully from my mouth as the jutsu snapped to an end.

My eyes drooped shut, and I collapsed, flopping into a limp heap on the ground, gasping shakily for breath.

"And so ends the resistance of the mighty Lightning Hyuuga," Hireiki sang.

A whimper found its way up my thick throat as I opened my eyes. I tried to push myself from the ground; at a bad moment my arm muscles spasmed weirdly, dropping me flat on my face.

"Look at you – groveling like any of the vermin in the dirt. To think that even a fraction of our brethren thought you some form of savior, a child of prophecy sent to restore balance to the clan!"

I grunted as her foot roughly struck at my head. My body didn't move much; my head just turned sharply to the side, so that I was looking at the wall of one of the stone buildings on either side of us. Not like there was anyone on the other side of that black window, or in any of the buildings around here – everyone was either underground or a mile away…

I heard her pull out a kunai. "But you know what's really funny, Hanabi-sama? You're not much of anything anymore. Not an heiress, not a prodigy, nothing. Because if Hikaru-sama's prediction was true and you were the chosen one destined to overthrow Lord Neji, I guess some sort of miracle, some divine intervention, would have to stop me from killing you–!"

My eyes widened silently. Holy kismets–

"HYAAAAAAHH!"

Hiryuu's powerful form vaulted from the open window, flowing elegantly onto the scene, briefly touching ground on one foot, and whirling low as he surged toward Hireiki to plow a palm into the center of her chest.

I wasn't facing that way, but my ears easily told me she'd broken at least one of the opposite building's (stone) walls.

I blinked. Divine intervention? Close enough. You wouldn't catch me complaining.

"Lady Hanabi – Lady Hanabi, are you hurt?! What?" he said as he carefully turned me onto my back. His Byakugan scanned me over for wounds.

"H'yuki!" I sputtered out. "'M fine, p-please check Hiyuki…"

He nodded. "Harumi! Over here!"

"I see you!" the medic-nin called back, promptly flickering into view. I cringed at sight of the trails of crimson leaking from her mouth, but it was one of those rare cases when blood could be overlooked; in this case I was too happy to see her to care. An arm folded across herself, she walked with an effort-laden awkwardness I realized was a slight limp.

"Help Hiyuki first, hurry!" I called weakly. "Hireiki beat her!"

"Oh kami – Hiyuki!" she cried, limping to the girl's weakly stirring form.

"What of Hikujaku?" I asked Hiryuu, my heart throbbing. Albeit slowly, with enough effort I managed to sit up.

"I'm sorry, I don't know. Backup from the village is on the way; I'll see if Hireiki needs to be finished off."

"Y–you mean you'll…?"

"Hai."

I looked away, and slowly I nodded.

"Ruthless as ever – though I guess that's to be expected, of the Blazing Dragon of the Hyuuga Clan!"

A chill brushed over the back of my neck. Hiryuu swore quietly, his Byakugan locking onto the figure crouched on a rooftop across the street. The lithe form rose to his feet in a silky motion, long hair splayed in the breeze, a ghost silhouetted by the moon at his back. Only black-and-white eyes were distinguishable with the distance, malevolent and penetrating in the night, splitting the space between us to knife through the depths of my soul.

"Don't be afraid."

At Hiryuu's voice I managed to break my eyes away. The man rose smoothly to his feet before me, a protective arm outstretched.

"A warrior fights with twice the ferocity when his charge is endangered," he remarked boldly, his voice strong. "Do you think you can take me on, Hyuuga Neji?"

"Heeh?" his laugh was rough like a growl. "I could ask the same. Do what you will with her; in the end, Hireiki wasn't very useful after all. Lauded prodigies like you and your dear elder sister are yesterday's news… If you haven't noticed, Uncle, the next generation is swiftly doing away with the ways of the old."

Both Neji and Hiryuu vanished. I saw random blurs of motion briefly color the air, heard sounds of fighting, bursts of chakra, felt the air stir and kick around me as the two Hyuuga jounin brawled. I caught a fleeting sight of Hiryuu staggering, some fifteen yards away from me; then he vanished, and there was an enormous CRASH! of force, a wind briefly whisking back my hair, as for a split-second he was crouched at my side, his arms crossed strongly right in front of me, holding off an aerial axe kick from a snarling Neji, whose heel was sitting an inch above my head. Then both were gone again.

My heart was beating very loudly. Inferiority constricted around my chest. My eyes didn't shut as I lowered slowly to my knees, mouth hanging agape in wonder. I let out a tiny, nervous laugh.

This is insane. This is insanity.

I was embracing myself, breathing hard, too hard, but I didn't feel like I was getting any air.

I'll never be that strong…

"Ah–!"

I turned my head a little to see Hiryuu slammed against a wall by a ferocious palm. The man hacked blood and crumpled to the dirt.

I looked up at the smaller man who was the victor, and he turned his head, and this time…

In my cousin's eyes, I saw my own death.

"Freeze!"

New… Konoha's here…

In a flash he was behind me, and my toes were barely touching the ground. His hand was clamped firmly under my jaw, pinning my head disagreeably far back on the shoulder pad of his vest. I gagged and croaked in pain, and the stars blurred in and out of focus above me.

I squeaked as five cold, hard points pricked the front of my neck.

"In case you were wondering, Hanabi…" he whispered darkly in my ear, "I can kill you at any moment I please."

He released me, and by the time I hit the ground I knew he was gone.

"Hiyuki!" I heard Harumi shriek. "He took Hiyuki!"

"Team 18 – after him!"

"Hai!"

"Medics, where are you?!"

"Secure the perimeter!"

"L-Lady Hanabi…!" Hiryuu sputtered.

"You need medical attention!"

"I'm f-fine! M'lady…!"

"Hanabi, are you alright?!"

"Little Hyuuga!"

"Hanabi-chan!"

"What's wrong with her?"

He beat … Hiryuu-oji-san…

I was curled up on my side, clutching at my chest, my pounding heart. I couldn't breathe fast enough. My hands, my feet were going numb. There wasn't enough air.

I-I'm … gonna die…

I couldn't breathe fast enough. I couldn't breathe.

I'm gonna die… He's gonna kill me…

"She's hyperventilating!"

"Hanabi, calm down!"

"You're safe now!"

S-safe… Am I ever … 'safe'…? I thought, as the voices stretched and swirled into the distance. My ears were ringing. I could barely hear a thing over a roaring heartbeat.

"Hanabi!"

"Hanabi!"

It all blackened to oblivion.

---

Sixteen, Part Two: Sand

Lee リー

"What … happened…?"

Half of his body had fused with the gourd and been overtaken by some form of transformation, sandy in color and patterned with blue; half of his face was that of a beast, and one of his arms a monstrous claw.

"Not good," I heard Kankurou mutter. "He's heading toward the first phase of possession…"

The look in the Jinchuuriki's eye was beyond words as he raised his head and loosed an agonized scream. "I gotta kill you! Sit still so I can kill you!"

I was suddenly up to my shins in the desert floor. Gaara yelled madly, sending a bolt of sand my way.

I planted both katana in the earth, wrenched one foot free, and put it down to drive the other into the missile, bursting it with brute force. The sand scattered, and several tendrils sprang toward me from the ground. I crouched, running chakra through crossed swords.

"Infinity's Shield!"

The katana flashed weightless about me, disintegrating the attacking sand in an instant. With a gasp I lunged to the side, and many spikes of sand exploded upward in the place I had been. More sand snapped up around my ankle, and I was dragged upward at an astonishing rate; I was pinned to the side of the rising column, but pushed my upper body away in the nick of time to avoid a spear of sand that stabbed out from it around the place my heart would have been, my katana crossed over the spear to hold me away from it. I raised a hand and hacked strongly at the pillar, bursting it at the point of contact; my foot was freed, and the pillar, a dragon of sand, charged toward me as I plummeted. I blocked a blow with the blades, and it reared back to spit a blast of sand; for two seconds the Shield of Infinity dissipated the spray as I fell backwards, and then I barrel rolled to my right. A spear of sand shot past me and lanced through the dragon's head.

I can anticipate the attacks, but even so…!

A sand … hand burst from the collapsing spear, locking onto my arm and tightening only a moment before it was cleanly severed by the Blade of Acceleration. I kicked savagely as a mass of sand surged on the attack, spraying it in all directions.

Every inch of this landscape … hundreds of thousands of liters in every direction, for miles away – has the potential to become his weapon!

"Lee-kun, behind you!"

My feet touched ground, and I turned and slammed my right-hand sword through a shooting sphere of sand. I sharply continued to turn, striking down a second sand bullet with a backhand slash from the other blade; then I whirled again and lowered my stance, blades held parallel and striking together to dispel a third projectile.

Then through the dust cloud created came the sand master himself – swinging his demonic arm forward, gouging the desert floor, and slamming me with the abruptly extending arm and a mass of sand.

Such strength… I noted as the wind was crushed out of me. I was sent shooting backwards.

I was halted and caught by something gently sturdy; Hinata grunted, hooking her arms underneath my own to help me stay on my feet.

"Are you alright?"

"Hai. Thank you."

Behind us, Kankurou yelled.

"Heads up–!"

"Headzup!" Naruto chirped, his staff crashing over Gaara's head as Naruto appeared before us to intercept him. Spinning with the opposite force of the staff strike, he now lashed his foot across Gaara's face.

As he was doing this, Hinata darted from behind me, facing sideways while hopping toward our foe, her left shoulder forward. As she drew back, Naruto backflipped over her and out of the way; then she turned and lunged, bringing her right shoulder around with a grunt to drive into the redhead's chest.

He flew quite nearly so far as I had.

"Thought you could use a hand or two," Naruto said next to me, brandishing his naginata with a grin.

"You thought right," I admitted sheepishly, rubbing my head.

"So – time to show him what the team can do?" Hinata said calmly, her Byakugan trained ahead.

I clenched my fist. "YOSH! Then first we must pose!"

"What?" Hinata complained.

"Oh, you're right, Bushy Brow! We almost forgot!"

"G-guys, this is so not the time–!"

"Yyyatta!" Naruto spun the naginata rapidly in his hands. "Brace yourself for the onslaught of the cunning and mysterious–," He spread his arms and fingers, bending his knees and resting the naginata over one hand and his back. "Purple Fox!"

I kicked one foot three quick times at the air, spun to kick once with the other, and drew my twin katana as the circle was completed, holding one horizontally before me and the other vertically behind. "The fierce and dashing – Green Beast!"

"A-a-and!" Hinata jabbed her fist and then her palm at the air, and backflipped almost in place before thrusting out a powerful fist. "The gentle and f-ferocious B-B-Black Wolf Fang!" she cried, her face beet red.

Temari and Kankurou were silent in awe behind us.

"Heh heh…!" Naruto snickered. "Good work, team! Now we're ready! Hinata-chan, your part was just a bit lacking in the pizzazz department."

"I am not lacking p-pizzazz!"

"Actually, I am afraid I must concur!" I admitted.

"This whole thing is moronic–!"

"Come on, it's a crucial intimidation factor–!"

"They usually laugh at us–!"

"They wouldn't if someone would get on and bring her share of pizzazz–!"

"ARE YOU MOCKING ME?!"

---

Hinata ヒナタ

Honestly, while these two goofballs were criticizing 'pizzazz'–!

CRASH!

Naruto had Shadow Swapped to safety; Lee leaped away with blurring speed, and Temari, Kankurou, and I body flickered.

"Naruto-kun! Hinata-san!" Lee yelled, "It is too dangerous to stay on the ground!"

"I can handle myself," Naruto called, "but you two…?"

Well, in that case… "Leave it to me, Lee-kun!"

"What's this…?" Gaara growled, breathing heavily. "You all wanna die, huh?!"

Mi! Hitsuji! Saru! I! Uma! Tora! Ookami!

"Demonic Ninja Art: Spirit Summoning Jutsu!"

I spat an enormous ball of flame, and until my breath ran out continued breathing into it a powerful stream of fire. The fireball rolled in place and soon darkened to black. Then, with a roaring shockwave, Kurogiba snapped into form before me – one front paw raised, his tail extended, and his head held high, some nine feet at the ear.

"He grew?!" Naruto gasped.

"Spirits don't age, fox-boy," the wolf snorted. "The pup here's merely grown strong enough to summon me closer to my true size." He looked to the staring Gaara, who was hunched over and growling slightly. "The heck've you gotten yourself into now…?"

I jumped on his back. "Give me a lift, will you?" 'This guy's the Jinchuuriki of the One-tail; don't underestimate him. He controls sand and we want to be on the ground as little as possible.'

'Just a one-tailed mongrel? This should be cinch.'

'Underestimating already… Don't get lax, Ani-ue. We're in his ideal element here.'

"What a magnificent jutsu…" Gaara chuckled darkly. "Befitting of one who possesses such demonic blood…"

I flinched. Does he know…?

"It'll be no fun killing that thing, that's already dead, but you… You will make me feel ALIVE!"

'He doesn't like you very much,' Kurogiba noted as sand sprang from the ground to twine rapidly about his body.

'I think he's crazy about me – in a serial killer's sadistic sort of way…' I leaped off his back just before the sand reached me. We broke our connection as the sand constricted, slicing the wolf to pieces.

I flipped once in the air – and landed on Kurogiba's back as he reformed under me. The wolf swept down toward Lee.

"Lee-kun! Hop on!"

"Oh yeah, just invite anyone onto my back…"

"Thank you for this, Kurogiba-san!" Lee said as he was seated behind me.

"Yeah, yeah."

"GRAAAAAA! SOMEONE, DIE! SOMEONE NEEDS TO DIE ALREADY!"

'Look out.'

'I see it!'

The wolf lunged to the side as dozens of spikes of sand were launched toward us. He conjured a fireball in his mouth and hurled it toward our foe; the boy's demonic arm swatted it away. Not for one moment did he stop glaring at me.

'I don't like the look in his eye…' Hungry. Intent. Malicious.

'Don't tell me you're getting nervous…?'

'Hm…'

An invisible blow crashed apparently into the back of Gaara's head. He turned furiously, dashing his transformed arm over the sand to send spikes shooting toward Naruto.

"Woah!" he yelped, Shadow Stepping a few quick times as the barrage followed him. Suddenly his foothold gave, and he began to sink – and appeared six feet above the ground.

He looked at us, pointing a finger at the sky. "I'm going up!" he called, appearing twenty yards higher as the ground attempted to spear him. "Shadow Ladder: Climb!"

"No, you don't!" Gaara roared, scooping sand as water into the Shukaku arm and preparing to hurl it skyward.

I drew the arrow in a flash. No, you don't!

TNNG!

Splikt!

It clipped his cheek and thumped into the sand before him. Naruto forgotten, he brought his human hand to his face, wetting it with crimson. He turned his head, and I flinched.

"SUPERB! Blood – you spilled my blood!" he laughed madly, ramming his monstrous arm into the ground.

'Below!'

Kurogiba leapt aside, and the beast hand exploded from the earth. It swatted sharply at us, nailing Kurogiba's side. The wolf and I grunted, and Lee's hold around my waist tightened almost painfully as Kurogiba flipped in the air to land on his feet.

"Lee!"

"Sorry! I can ride a horse, but this–!"

"Seriously? A twenty foot drop is nothing for you! And can't you outrun a horse?!"

"Attention, morons!" Kurogiba barked.

A wave of sand blasted toward us.

'I'm gonna jump.'

'Say it out loud for Lee-kun!'

'Oops.'

A tremendous leap hurled us well above the Jinchuuriki; Kurogiba backflipped elegantly as we soared through the air.

'Shoot him!'

'I'm on it!' I thought, firing for his shoulder while we were upside down.

Without a movement on his own part, sand arced over him and snapped the arrow in two. For half a second our eyes locked.

I gasped. That look…

The same look that had been in Neji's eyes that day. The same look I knew I had more than once held in mine.

Kurogiba completed his flip, and in another second reached the ground, his paws skidding through the sand.

My teeth clenched, I focused my energy with the sign of the Wolf.

Gaara's eyes widened as he smiled hugely, melting in euphoria. "That's it! That p-power…!"

Mi, Inu, Saru, Tora, Tatsu, Tora!

"Onibi! Demon Fire – Art of the Will-o'-Wisp!"

I drew back my left arm, wrist turned so that the hand pointed back. A droplet of flame spun to life between but not touching my thumb, fore, and middle fingers.

'Let's go, Brother!'

'Right!'

Kurogiba blazed forward, and I swung my arm around, flicking my wrist and casting the fire spark toward our foe. The flickering droplet of ghostly light curved in the night air, swinging to the right but arcing back toward the boy as it cleared the distance between us, appearing and vanishing irregularly in its flight. Very near Gaara, the elusive projectile faded.

I swept my arm back again, snapping my fingers sharply.

A compact but powerful fiery explosion went off in Gaara's face, sending him reeling.

"AAAH!"

'Now!'

I stood and lunged forward, crouching briefly on Kurogiba's lowered head. He raised it sharply as I sprang, throwing me forward.

Gaara launched a few spears of sand. I sent chakra to my tenketsu and spun my body twice in the air, parallel to the ground, without fully unleashing the Kaiten; shifting a bit, I dodged and diverted all the projectiles.

I slammed into Gaara, left palm hitting his chest, bare feet balanced at the front of his shoulders releasing Juuken from the bottom of the heels, and right arm whipping around to smash a fist across his face.

From the brief crouch I sprang over him, nimbly landing on all fours and facing his back.

"You're DEAD!" he yelled, whirling and sending out a blast of sand. I cut blindingly to the side and launched myself at him again, a fist drawn back.

His demonic arm was drawn back. And bitten savagely by Kurogiba.

THAM!

My fist slammed cleanly into the boy's face. My left darted in, sealing a number of tenketsu on his torso; he punched with his normal hand, and my right slapped it aside as I spun and delivered a heavy kick to his gut. Kurogiba released him, and Gaara was sent sailing.

I darted back and drew my bow. "Lean back, Lee-kun!" I called as Kurogiba reared back on his hind legs. The boy did so, and I slung an arrow above him and through Kurogiba's head.

A blazing arrow shot toward Gaara, as if from Kurogiba's mouth. Sand spiked up, snipped it from the air.

'Ani-ue! Tell Lee-kun to…'

The enormous wolf barreled toward Gaara, and I raced on all fours behind, avoiding sand bullets that were thrown our way. When they were five yards from him, Kurogiba halted and Lee blurred from his back, slashing for Gaara's transformed arm.

"ACCELERATION!"

SLSH!

"Gwaaah!"

And now…!

I leapt toward Gaara. He raised his other hand, as if in defense.

---

Lee リー

Hinata … How much chakra did she have? To think summoning Kurogiba in his smaller form had once nearly knocked her out … and now…

Despite conjuring him in so monstrous a form, casting the Onibi and utilizing Juuken, no decline in her vigor had yet become evident.

I glanced up. We need to move soon.

Her affinity to Fire was amazing; she was capable of using some Katon with a single handseal. Once, two weeks ago, I had caught her inexplicably unleashing the Grand Fireball with Uma and Tora alone. A six-seal ninjutsu, and unless my eyes had deceived me (they rarely did) she had skipped the first four. Was that not supposed to be on the brink of impossibility?

Either way, I suppose now is not the time to ponder.

"ACCELERATION!" I cried, cleaving off the arm of the Shukaku. Gaara's own arm was untouched; he simply would not be able to use the demon hand when Hinata–

SHLURGKK!

My jaw dropped.

His other hand had burst to transformed state. It had transformed, and a huge demonic finger extended … and blasted well through Hinata's heart, throwing into the air a shower of blood.

"YEEEESSS!"

"Katon Kage Bunshin…"

The dead 'Hinata' burst into flames. My eyebrow twitching, I turned my head to the mutterer behind me. "You will give me a heart attack someday."

She chuckled. "You're too healthy to have a heart attack." Then: "We need to move now," she said, flicking a will-o'-the-wisp Gaara's way.

…How many signs had she used, I wondered, since I had not been looking? Or rather, how many had been skipped because I was not looking?

I nodded, stowing away my unease. "Hai."

I dashed twenty yards, Hinata body flickered, and Kurogiba spun into a fireball and promptly exploded, rematerializing in a blaze at Hinata's side.

"Kage Ninpou: Shadow Megaton Kick!"

Teeth clenched, the blond was high in the air, falling at an angle toward Gaara with one leg extended for a flying kick.

"The battle's over," Hinata said.

"What the heck's he plan to do?" Kankurou asked, walking up until he was not far behind us. "He announced his presence; Gaara's got plenty of time to dodge or counterattack. Even if he didn't, he's still gonna kill himself when he lands…!"

"This technique … is not easily avoided," I stated carefully, watching.

"And why's that–?"

A few dozen Narutos flowed into existence. The real one 'reset,' warping to where he had been two seconds prior. The remainder plowed into the earth and into a very surprised Gaara.

"Second wave! Third wave! Fourth wave! Fifth wave!"

BOOM-BOOM-BO-BO-BOOM-B-BOOM–!

"What the hell…?" Temari whispered.

"Naruto-kun's style is a most unorthodox one," I said with a smirk, shaking my head. He feels the copies' pain, but what is pain, in truth? A signal from the body that tells you you are injured? Since the pain is not of his own body but rather a trick of the mind, so to speak – he has managed, to a degree, to train his mind to trick itself again and make the fake pain endurable by dismissing it, tuning it out… And when he is done, a cushion of Shadow Clones will break his real body's fall… "Naruto! You were gone more than a minute – how high did you go?!"

"Bet I set a record!" he shouted quickly before he Shadow Swapped back again.

"How reckless," Temari muttered.

"Hm…" A column of dust was pouring into the air where Gaara had been, obscuring him from view. However, it was now fading…

To reveal a protective dome of sand.

"It appears the first few waves actually hit … but…"

"I doubt your daredevil friend can keep that up much longer."

"You're right," Hinata said to Temari. "Chakra powerhouse or not, that move is too physically and mentally demanding to be sustained."

It does take much time to prepare, and an enormous degree of focus for him to mostly bypass the Kageken's pain weakness … but even that cannot be sustained long. "Still…" I noted, "Its value is unquestionable. There are not many things capable of withstanding projectiles of such velocity for long."

That is probably why … an enemy has yet to successfully combat this technique…

Naruto reset back once more. "To finish it! Multiple Shadow Clones–!" He popped backwards again. "Combo Transform: Megaton Meteor Toss!"

Suddenly a dozen Shadow Clones were replaced by one massive boulder.

When it hit, it burst into smoke and the sand shield shattered and crumbled.

"Continuous!" Naruto yelled, spinning his body and now generating Shadow Clones at a set point in front of him, between he and Gaara, firing off five waves of bunshin in one interval of his own repeating descent.

He reset his position.

"The final barrage–!"

"GWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

A mass of sand bullets went rocketing into the air. Twelve Shadow Clones were dispelled, and a shocked Naruto was draped bodily over a hard ball of sand at his stomach. Crimson was thrown from his mouth.

"Naruto!" Hinata screamed.

Impossible…!

"THERE!" a demonic voice boomed, and from the dust cloud a spinning ball of sand was hurled skyward. I blanched as it barreled into Naruto's halted form, knocking him back.

"He is too stunned to break his fall…!"

Several armlike projections of sand sprang from the ground around the point he was bound to land.

Hinata was already rushing toward him.

"Will you hold these?" I asked, handing my katana to Kankurou. I think he fell down. Hold, watch – it mattered not.

I blazed past Hinata, sprang between the arms of sand, and kicked off of one to catapult myself toward Naruto's descending form. I grabbed his hand as I met him, and our opposing forces caused us to begin to spin.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, th-thanks…"

I released his hand, and we were thrown in opposite directions – both away from the sand prison that had reached to claim him. I landed on my feet and looked back to see Naruto hit ground on his own feet – and crash to the sand.

The sand.

He needs to move! I realized. We are well within Gaara's sand manipulating range!

Surprisingly, the terrain neglected to attack his weakened form; even the arms of sand did not take pursuit, but tumbled lifeless to the earth.

I soon learned why.

"Aiieee!"

---

Hinata ヒナタ

"Koinu!"

Th-this sand … was much faster than the rest!

"Hehehehehee… My special sand … I saved it just for you…"

I grunted as the sand around my arm tightened very slightly, menacingly, and crept upward to partially encase my shoulder.

He changed again, I thought as the dust cleared, revealing the demonic cloak had spread to his entire body save for his ankles and feet. The lost arm had reformed, and from its palm stretched the band of sand that had firmly ensnared my left arm. The face of a monster gave me a vicious, fanged grin, chuckling darkly with excitement.

I growled and kicked full force at the sand. It was like kicking stone. Kurogiba blasted it with a jet of flame, incredibly doing nothing. It won't budge…!

"There's a murderer inside you…"

"Wh-what?" I asked.

"Wrapped up deep, deep inside… You're hiding it, but I know it's there…"

I scowled. You're wrong…

"Hinata!" Naruto cried, racing toward me, eyes wide.

"You think I'm wrong, don't you? But I can see it in your eyes…"

"Shut your mouth!" Naruto yelled, leaping with his naginata held high. He appeared a few yards before me, swinging for the band of sand; a tentacle shot to snag the weapon, wrenching it from the boy's grip to toss it away.

"The piece of you that craves the rush of battle … the thrill of the kill…"

"Kage Ninpou!" Naruto held up a hand, and a shadow clone appeared with its ankle in his grasp. "Shadow Matter!"

"…Lusts for blood … just as I do…"

The clone transformed into a massive broadsword as Naruto swung at the sand. The desert floor sprang to intercept and dispel it.

Gaara stomped, and a block of sand brutally knocked Naruto aside. "In that, you're just like me…"

I stifled a gasp, wincing as the sand slowly constricted further.

"KUSO!" Lee bellowed, leaping for Gaara himself. Drawing his wakizashi, he landed a few yards from the Jinchuuriki – and vanished with a yelp, sunken wholly and instantly into the sand.

My eyes widened to their limits. I planted my right palm on the imprisoning sand.

"Teetering on a razor's edge…"

Fourth barrier… I ground my teeth, tilting my head away with a barely withheld cry. Hurry – gotta hurry!

"What would it take, I wonder…"

Chakra Concussion Blast!

BOOM!

"How far would you need to be pushed…"

What?! I-it… had no affect…?!

"…to unleash yourself, and show me the TRUE power you hide?!"

The pressure was unbearable. My teeth were getting sharper, my nails clawlike. "Yeah?" I snarled out. "L-level is the path of long ago… Now the razor's edge is all I know…" My voice tightened with the sand encasing my arm. "You think you can provoke me, you're in for some disappointment…!"

He held my steely gaze a very long moment.

The corner of his mouth ticked up in a sneer. "Heh."

SKK-K–KRASH!

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!" I howled, my head thrown back, my eyes huge and unblinking as the world flashed and bubbled and flashed again, as with the crushing force I heard the familiar sound of tearing flesh and snapping bone, which never sounded quite so terrible as when it was your own. The scent of my blood hugged the air thickly. The pain was incredible.

I staggered numbly away as I was released, as the sand withdrew and was retracted into the demonic claw.

"DIVINE!" Gaara screamed. "No human has ever been so satisfying! Your blood is divine! I need more! I need it ALL–!"

"First Gate: Kaimon! Second: Kyuumon!"

I saw the ground explode near Gaara's feet, and a green blur launched a furious assault. My knees plopped to the sand, and I clutched at my shoulder and struggled to breathe.

---

Naruto ナルト

My face paled as her arm was crushed, as crimson spurted violently from the sand. She looked away, and when she screamed, more or less, she was looking straight at me. I don't think she saw me, though.

The cry of purest agony ended only when her breath ran out. Gaara yelled something, and Lee attacked; Hinata, eyes moist and unblinking, staggered feebly, dropped to her knees, hacked out a few drops of blood.

"Hinata!" I rose to my feet, stumbled, caught myself and ran to her side. Her white face was stuck in an open-mouthed scowl, her brow slightly furrowed to almost put a troubled look in her cloudy eyes. "Hinata, are you–?" The words lodged in my throat as I knelt at her left side.

It was there. I mean – it was attached. But … from her shoulder down…

"N… Naruto…?"

"Don't look," I said, placing a palm over her eyes as she started to turn her head.

"Whah…?"

"Just take my word for it, Hinata-chan… 'kay?"

"…Mm-kay…"

You're … very, very badly hurt…

I could see bone in some places. Bone … stripped, raw flesh … and a dripping mess of blood.

I gulped. Calm down. Think. Crushing type wound. Severe. I lightly prodded an intact-looking spot on her hand.

"Hinata, do you feel anything?"

"Wh-where…?"

"On your hand?"

"…Should I…?"

I didn't answer. Nerve damage.

Forming two seals, I held out shivering hands to her arm for inspection.

A gasp escaped me. No…

There's… My hands moved down from the shoulder, hovering away from the arm, down and slowly up again. But I had known it in the first moment. There's … nothing I can do…

This arm … is gone…

"I-I'm fine…!" Hinata grunted, having regained full consciousness. "I'm lucky it wasn't the right arm … that one refuses to be healed quickly…"

"Hinata…?" I was amazed she could speak almost normally.

Her breaths were choked gasps; her body shook. She lowered her head. "Go help Lee-kun… I need a few minutes… Please, cover for me for a bit…"

I nodded, getting up. Could she really…? "You got it."

Kurogiba lay down, curled protectively around her.

"Th-thank you…" she breathed. "When I do this, he'll probably get a lot more interested in me…"

"When you–?"

Cold energy hit the air, and Hinata's hair blackened and lost its neatness. The nails of her right hand became claws; the left did not respond.

"Trust me…!"

"A few minutes?"

"Y-yes…"

"I'm holding you to that," I said, and turned and Shadow Stepped toward Gaara and Lee.

---

Hinata ヒナタ

My breath caught on a minor obstruction in my throat. I ducked my head, spitting a thick glob of red into the sand. Shoot…!

'Think you can fix it?'

'Should… Kuso, it hurts!' I thought. A drop of sweat fell from my nose. I was getting a little feeling back in my hand – but the only thing I could feel was slicing pain.

The mark stirred, offered itself, and was summarily ignored.

'A-Ani-ue… How bad is it?'

'It's not pretty, but I don't think it'd kill you to look.'

I slowly opened my eyes and turned them on the mangled limb. I grimaced a little, and for a moment I might have felt queasy, but I didn't need to throw up or anything. 'He really went all out…'

'You're lucky he didn't tear it off.'

'What, now you're the optimist?' I thought, grunting as I worked my energy carefully. Kurogiba's presence steadied me as I faltered.

'Hm? And are you playing the pessimist?'

'Oh–!' My nails bit harshly into my palm, teeth digging at my lip as pain flared in the arm. A growl was rising in my throat as a darkened ring began to form on my pale right wrist. 'No,' I told myself sternly, and the ring fled existence. 'And just what, might I ask, is there to be cheery about?'

'Hey, if you really think about it – there are three people fighting him. Six arms he could have chosen to mutilate, and which did he pick? The only person with your unique capabilities, and the only arm you can apply them to.'

The pain was immense, but not so immense as it might have been were I shouldering it alone. We were one as I urged a contained but radiant intensity of energy all the way to my fingertips. Periodically it fluctuated outward, in tune with my heartbeat, a gentle touch stroking life into every last cell, every remaining scrap of flesh.

With the focus of energy connecting it to the rest of my body I was able to move the strengthless, grisly limb, extending it at my side. 'Come on, Ani-ue; you know as well as I do that it's no chance he happened to target me. That means our good fortune wasn't a one in six chance, but a considerably less miraculous one in two.'

'Guess you're right,' he answered as I touched two clawed fingers lightly to my left shoulder. 'It's only natural that the greater demon within him would be drawn to you…'

'My blood … and my youki.'

'Precisely.'

I slashed cleanly down my arm.

Kurogiba shuddered, and I screamed, and the beam of energy surged outward as it was released. In less than a second my claws had sliced from shoulder to palm, and the brutalized arm was bloody yet whole but for a single streak of red.

I pressed my lips to my shoulder, licking furiously, sucking away excess blood, and slathering the length of the gouge with a film of saliva as I twined my chakra through much less severe a wound.

'Regeneration, successful.'

'A fine job,' Kurogiba agreed approvingly.

I held out the newly repaired arm, smirking as I flexed and tightly clenched a fist. 'Here we go!' It was pretty weak for now, but it was my arm and it was healthy again.

Sensing eyes on my back, I turned my head to look toward the two silently staring Suna siblings.

'I think you've frightened some big, bad Sand ninja,' the wolf noted.

I blushed and offered an inevitably sharp-toothed grin.

---

Naruto ナルト

No matter how hard we may pound him, this guy… Will he ever run out of strength? How do you defeat this type of opponent…?

The fighting had come to a momentary pause; all three of us were catching a breather.

Gaara flinched suddenly, his demonic eyes huge. "What…?!"

Lee followed his gaze. "Hinata-san did it…"

I glanced back as well. "Hinata-chan… sugoi!" I said quietly. "That's incredible!"

"Why… why won't you unleash your power?!" Gaara cried, outraged.

Still on her knees, the girl popped her knuckles while lightly massaging her shoulder. "I already told you, didn't I?" she said coolly. "Even walking the sharpest razor's edge, I won't be knocked off balance easily. I'm an expert at this."

An expert … at walking a razor's edge? Well, I guess that made sense. She'd been working to control that curse seal for a while now.

"You…" Gaara growled angrily. "It would mean so much more to destroy another monster…"

"Take my word for it," Hinata said. She pressed two fingers to her shoulder, cleanly wiping away the streak of red that ran down her arm to reveal the now unmarred and unbroken skin beneath it. "My full power is something you do not want the misfortune to see."

Because at full strength, there's still the chance you might get carried away and kill him … right, Hinata?

"You think you can afford to take it easy – hunh?! My existence is greater than yours! I'll tear your true power out of you! Defeating the inner beast you've locked away – through that and only that can I experience the full meaning of my life!"

He crossed his arms and swept them out again, flinging a hail of sand shuriken toward Hinata.

"Shield!" Lee shouted, blades churning with furious precision as he planted himself in the projectiles' path. With two strides forward I spun my naginata once at my left side, once again at my right – and Shadow Swapped to bash the staff across the tanuki-boy's face. He grunted and swung a massive arm, and I blocked with the staff before swapping easily away.

"Oi," Lee advised our foe, "You would not do well to keep getting distracted."

"Naruto-kun! Lee-kun!" Hinata called, reaching into her tool pouch. "Could you cover me for a minute longer?"

So you've got some kind of plan? "No problem!" I said vigorously, holding my naginata at the ready. "Try not to take too long, or the battle might end before you can jump in!"

She smirked. "I'll have to see if I can hurry, then."

Her hand swept from the kunai pouch, casting to the ground before her five blank slips of paper.

"Either way, this battle ends soon…"

---

Hinata ヒナタ

"Phew," I whistled, my paintbrush-wielding right hand slashing and darting rapidly over the third slip of paper. "Feel that energy? It just keeps getting stronger…"

"Don't tell me you're impressed by that," Kurogiba snorted. "No… excited by the challenge?"

"This demon is certainly a great one. Granted, not so great as Okaa-sama, but way up there all the same." A burst of inspiration, and I scrawled in a few deft strokes of brilliant deviation to the design first mentally conjured, tweaking the formula slightly for the better.

"Huh. Aren't you having a good time. Seals," he spat the word abruptly, "This is why they still laugh at us."

"And it's how I defeated you."

"Once!"

"Are you really going to start hounding me on this again? This is a rich and complex language, complete with its nouns–," The flying brush etched in, among other kanji, 'demon,' 'energy,' 'chakra,' "–verbs–," 'connect,' 'seal,' 'soothe,' a pair of 'suppress,' "–adjectives–," My mind raced as a few crucial, balanced numbers were put down, "–and its very own prepositions." An assortment of lines and runes of various purposes, gibberish to many, were written in furiously, pasting everything together. "This is a veritable ninja art, brimming, overflowing with possibility! I don't see what your complaint is."

"It's embarrassing," he drew out the word, but I could tell he wasn't really that serious. "Using spell tags against our own kind…"

"Han," I corrected. "Remember, I'm only half – and the less dominant half, at that." I injected a burst of my chakra into a certain marking on each of the completed tags, infusing them once more to respond to my chakra.

–"What? You mean…?"

"What'd you think she was?"

"She said she preferred 'tailed beast'!"

"AKA, one of the nine greater demons. She's eccentric! Hey… Pup, what's the matter?"

"My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I signed my name to a pact with the world's fifth-most powerful demon. I specialize in the summoning of dead demonspawn spirits who fight alongside me in battle…"

"You got a problem with 'demonspawn'?"

"N-no!"–

"I'm telling you, it's embarrassing…"

"Hey, they worked well enough on the fiends in the Domain of Demons. And as with any native to Youkai no Kokudo, these should prove pretty effective." I drew five arrows; a talisman was folded around each shaft. Two arrows were notched, and two were clasped in the firing hand. "Could I ask for a ride, Honored Brother?" I asked, smiling sweetly as I secured the fifth arrow in sharp teeth.

He sighed, half-heartedly fighting off a smile. "Sure, sis – Why not."

---

Lee リー

Gaara's sinister power… Even I can feel it. And it is only growing stronger. Hinata-san, what are you up to?

As it turned out, she was standing on Kurogiba's back. Knees bent, as a surfer might stand, but standing all the same, two arrows drawn back as her lupine companion charged.

"You two, get back!" she shouted. All at once Naruto and I jumped away, Hinata fired, and a demonic arm exploded not toward the wolf but his rider as Gaara shouted in murderous excitement.

Hinata jumped. The wolf ducked. Two arrows slipped into the sand some ten meters apart, aligned some five from the Jinchuuriki boy.

"Fool, you MISSED–!"

The wolf rammed a brutal headbutt into Gaara's jaw as the boy was preoccupied with preparing to counter the young Hyuuga. Snarling, he raised blazing paws to knock and pin him to the ground.

Spinning gracefully in the air above them, Hinata shot an arrow ten meters from one of the first, so that they dotted an 'L' shape into the sand.

I see – the seals!

She Fire Flickered to the ground a couple dozen meters away rather than wait to descend, facing away as she landed and whirling as a fourth arrow was notched.

Gaara's monstrous fist rammed up into the giant wolf's belly, throwing him off.

"Oof!" Hinata broke abruptly to one knee as she turned, her back hunched slightly, but she fired even so. "Keep him centered!" she cried as Gaara lunged for Kurogiba, who was lying on his back.

"Yeah, I know!" the wolf snapped, springing into a sudden roll as Gaara's claw crashed crushingly into the ground. In almost the same move as his evasion Kurogiba gathered his feet under him and surged forward, seizing the other arm in powerful jaws and swinging the boy cleanly off the ground before slamming his back into the sand – directly in the center of a ten meter square of rigged arrows.

The enormous wolf crouched and shot straight upward with startling speed, passing and arcing in the air above an aiming Hinata.

With a yell, Gaara raised his hand – and the fifth arrow was buried in it, several inches deep.

Kurogiba snagged the back of Hinata's shirt and Fire Flickered. Girl and wolf were instantly on their feet ten meters from our foe, and the girl flicked out two fingers in a half-Tora.

"Hah!"

A square of seals formed in the sand, spreading lines of silver in the night illuminating the paths between each arrow.

Then energy sparkled and solidified between the arrows, lighting a pyramid of transparent light around Gaara. He screamed.

"Barrier: Pyramid Seal," Hinata said.

"What did you do?" I asked, watching apprehensively as Gaara thrashed and kicked in the prison, the hand that held the 'pyramid' apex extended upward as if frozen there.

"Some of his chakra's being lightly sapped, and I'm balancing my chakra against it in a mechanism that sustains the barrier," she said, still holding the handseal. "But more majorly, the Shukaku's spirit and power is being forcibly suppressed."

"Woah," Naruto gasped, walking up to us with his eyes on Gaara as the tanuki cloak began to melt from his body, disintegrate and crumble.

"It shouldn't be hurting him so badly, though… Not just the beast, but Gaara himself must be fighting it, hard–,"

Hinata flinched, and I read a single word bolded and all capitalized in her white eyes:

DANGER.

"HOW DARE YOU ATTACK MOTHEEEEEEEERRRRR?!"

The barrier's steady, pale glow intensified violently. Hinata held out her handseal, yelling in effort – but it was in vain. His chakra vastly overpowered her own, and an explosion of sand, light, and murderous intent was blinding in the night and shaking to the soul.

"I-impossible!" Hinata gasped, a hand clutching at her hair as she toppled to her knees. "Such power…!"

"Hinata-san!" I shouted as we were battered with deafening gusts of wind, blasts of sand. I attempted to root my feet with chakra, but the sand was merely swept away in the roaring wind; I dropped to my hands and knees for fear of being plucked off of the world. I threw my arms around her shoulders as the desert rumbled and quailed. "Hinata-san!" I yelled again, unsure of whether or not I was heard, "Pull yourself together!"

"Guys!" Naruto called two feet away, crouched low with his naginata planted firmly in the dissolving ground, his voice diced and chopped in the wind. "Look!"

I look up, or left, or somewhere, all sense of balance or direction shot with the howling, thrashing wind. It beat in my streaming eyes, but I cracked them open wide enough to wonder just what direction I was looking in, to see before us only a ridiculous stretch of churning desert floor. I blinked hard and found 'up,' and realized with a painful gasp that most of it had not been the ground at all.

Above was a vast but shrinking disc of starry sky, flecked with constant sprays of sand. And all around was a rising, rotating wall of sand, climbing as an enormous column into the sky.

Kami… my dulling mind gasped.

"Breathe, stupid koinu – breathe!" Kurogiba yowled from where he was trying to flatten himself to the ground.

I … cannot breathe, either, I realized. The vortex of churning, gnashing wind had sucked away all my breath.

"N-Naa…ru-u…!"

The boy vanished before my eyes.

Naruto! I thought, for screaming aloud would be worthless if not impossible.

He reappeared, holding both Temari and Kankurou by the arm, and for an instant it was calm. I devoured a deep breath.

Then Temari's fan was wrenched shut, and another gust kicked it across Kankurou's head before whisking it away, and we were plunged once more into Hell's swimming pool.

"Dammit!" Naruto spent whatever breath he had recovered, pulling the two with him to the ground.

"What is happening?!" I cried.

"We're all gonna die!" Temari wailed.

Chest heaving and struggling but drawing no yield of air, eyes burning and streaming, limbs already aching under the desert's punishment, I gazed upward as the column of sand began to crumble inward and had to agree.

"H-Hi-nata-s-san… Hinata…!"

It was useless, I realized in despair. My own words were stolen from me, yet again trapped to be heard only within the confines of my head.

I looked up; the six of us were huddled in a rough circle. The wind was at this point a steady, maddening roar, tearing you in every direction at once, that could just as easily be overlooked so that one somehow heard nothing at all. I looked to Temari, who clung desperately to her brother, and even to Naruto, and could tell not if she were crying freely or the tears gouged free by the slicing claws of wind. I looked to Kankurou, who sported a thick purple bruise and gash on his cheek, but with confusion in his eyes clung groggily to his older sister all the same. I looked to Hinata, whose forehead rested in the sand, and could not tell if she was conscious or collapsed with weakness, already fading. I looked to Kurogiba, whose blazing coat was flaring and flapping and shedding wildly as he pulled himself over and tried to shelter his unmoving partner. I looked to Naruto, whose hands shifted with much effort from Saru to Hitsuji, and I read his lips.

'Kuchiyose no Jutsu!'

BOOM!

I could breathe.

"Breathe, dammit!"

The wolf had rolled her onto her back.

"Hinata," I murmured.

The wolf grunted; Hinata inhaled deeply, her feet kicked in an odd spasm, and her eyes snapped open as she hacked and coughed before gratefully resuming respiration on her own.

Thank goodness, I thought, lowering my head and shaking away a last few sizzling stars, as well as sand in my hair. My hand clenched and unclenched against the ground – not the ground. What was this? Something red, and bumpy, and damp, and rough. A summoning jutsu… Ah, so this was–!

"Why are there so many people on my back, gaki?!" a rough voice boomed.

"Aw, come on, Bunta! How much could we weigh to you?"

"Don't get chummy with me, underling! And WHY do you always summon me into these situations?!" At this the toad king's head shook angrily beneath us; Naruto somehow stayed on his feet with hardly a stumble as the rest of us held on for dear life.

"Easy, Chief! Whoa, there–!"

A giant tongue snapped up, whacking Naruto away.

The boy stumbled in the direction he had been thrown as he reappeared where he had been. "Not funny!"

"You think I'm going for FUNNY–?!"

"Wind Style: AIR BULLET!"

Needless to say, that was certainly not Naruto's voice.

"Incoming, Bunta!"

"I see it, fool!"

The toad sprang to the side. Amid hanging on for my life, I finally glimpsed it.

"He transformed again!" I gasped. The tremendous Air Bullet flashed past, exploding behind us to fling an eruption of desert sand billowing into the sky.

"That's it," Kankurou whispered hopelessly. "The perfect p-possession…"

"He's unleashed the spirit of the Shukaku…" Temari said, "by employing Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu, the Art of Playing Possum. While you were arguing with your summon."

"Who's arguing? He started it, and I was just trying to save everyone!" Naruto defended, arms crossed.

"Honestly," Kurogiba sighed prudently, "These stubborn old toads are always so unreasonable and unruly…"

"Mm-hm," Hinata agreed pointedly.

"Hinata-san and Kurogiba-san do make quite the more impressive combination!" I remarked innocently.

"Come on, Chief, see? You're making us look bad!

"I'm making us look bad–?!"

A cry of wild excitement was hurled into the sky by the monstrous raccoon dog; its massive tail lashed thunderously at the air. Barely could I make out Gaara's slouched form, his upper half protruding from the crown of the demon's head and arms swinging limply with the biju's motion. The One-tail's glaring yellow eyes were trained on us as it pointed with an arm the size of forty tree trunks. "I see a stupid amphibian over there, and boy would I just love to see him die!" the Shukaku shouted almost merrily.

"'Stupid amphibian'?! 'Stupid amphibian'?!" Naruto slapped his hand on Gamabunta's head a few times. "Yo, Boss, you just gonna take that mess? This fool just straight up dissed your culture!"

And that was a language that the Toad King could understand.

"We-ell, I guess I could make a little effort," the toad rumbled, head low and stance spread for battle. He tapped ash from his pipe and tucked it away, blowing a smooth, rolling curtain of smoke. I swear, if he had knuckles he would be cracking them.

"Yatta!" Naruto said, "Now let's show this dumb raccoon what a toad can do!"

"Hold on tight! Chaaarge!"

---

Sixteen, Part Three: Ichi, Go, Kyuu

Naruto ナルト

"Wind Release: Air Bullet!"

"Water Release: Liquid Bullet!"

That's quite an air bullet, I thought, my hair fluttering in a shockwave as the wind and water bombs exploded between Gamabunta and the Ichibi. The Toad Blade was drawn as we crashed down through the steaming mist.

"Toad Slash!" Gamabunta bellowed, slamming his blade through a blocking arm.

"Nailed it, Chief!" I chirped.

"Try this!" the toad roared, tearing with a shudder of force as he leapt away.

Gamabunta landed and slid, his coat flapping, and the majority of the Ichibi's left arm crashed to the ground.

"How's that?" the toad boasted heartily.

"Huh?" The biju smirked. The hewn arm was linked to the beast by a mass of flowing desert sand, and I frowned as it rose and was securely connected again. "Sorry, didja' do something? I must've missed it!" He hooted and hollered like it was the funniest joke in the world.

"Sand spirit. Go figure," I muttered. "Say, Chief – as physical attacks will be rather unproductive – what do you suppose we should try?"

"Heh," he grunted, rocking his weight and preparing his legs to spring as the tanuki's belly swelled round and taut with inhalation. "It's quite simple, really…"

"Air bullet!"

"All passengers, get ready!"

He hopped neatly over the missile.

"Hey, that was not so bad–!" Lee started to remark cheerily.

When a second air bullet was thrown, the toad launched himself over it and the tailed beast, surging into the sky. I had to crouch a little, my hand down. The others' screams behind me were muffled in the wind.

"Come on, guys – can't take a little rush?" I called.

"Focus, small fry!" the toad growled, turning in the air to land and leap forward, blasting a pair of Water Bullets from his mouth. The raccoon beast turned, its tail smashing heavily through one, its arm through another.

"Right, focusing! So what's the plan?!" I asked as the toad barreled forward.

"All you have to do–!" In a close range close call, he whisked out his blade to bat at an Air Bullet without breaking hopping stride. It was dispelled, and the blade went tumbling through the air. "–is smack that Jinchuuriki awake!"

Gamabunta's forelegs crashed onto the Shukaku's shoulders, and the titans butted heads. "Do it!"

"Right!" I said, drawing back a fist. Ten or fifteen yards – the redhead was in comfortable Kageken range.

Then, abruptly and extremely, with an awkward and illogical suddenness – Gamabunta slipped.

Even I yelled in surprise as the giant toad's head, from at least fifty yards up, smacked sharply into the ground.

"Ow…"

The sand under Chief's feet … it shifted! I realized.

"Hey, look out!" Kankurou yelled.

A shadow fell over us, and I looked up with a start.

"All of you are dying at once! Sayonara, baby!" the monster screeched, driving down toward us an open, crushing claw.

Mazui! I thought, teeth clenched. Not good!

"Strike: Purity Seal!"

An arrow whizzed past me, carrying a seal that almost radiated light. It pierced the center of the beast's hand, and what blackness of ink was visible on the rolled-up tag vanished as the kanji 'pure,' surrounded by symbols and notably two smaller 'light' characters, etched themselves into the surface the arrow had struck.

"Blade of Infinity!" Lee's voice boomed, and the older boy flashed past me and sprang, blades slicing at all the claw's fingers. In a blur he then danced rapidly about the arm, the Blade of Acceleration Technique hacking and gouging a good number of times with sharp ferocity.

"That's enough!" Hinata shouted, and as Lee leapt back to Gamabunta she held a half-Tora. "Ha!"

The seal glowed white on the beast's hand, which had hesitated at Lee's attacks. With a spark of light, the seal burst – crumbling a good deal of the weakened right arm with it. A mass of plain sand tumbled down on our heads.

I happened to notice Hinata slinging two more arrows into the lower and frontal parts of the upper region of the left arm, but no seals were activated.

"YEEEAAAAGH! WHAT WAS THAT?!" the crazed tanuki was hollering, waving its shortened stump of right arm.

"Bunta!"

"I'm fine," the toad grunted, recovering himself and springing back.

The Shukaku waved its good arm. Gamabunta slipped on landing.

"Come on, Chief!"

"I'd like to see you do better, shrimp!"

"Air Bullet!"

"Uh-oh!" the toad groaned, trying to collect himself.

My eyes widened at the approaching ball of wind. A toad … because of the body structure, he's too big and squat to recover quickly from a clumsy fall…! I formed a seal.

"Ani-ue!"

"Right!"

The two leaped forward onto the toad's head beside me, Hinata's head turned low to the right, and the wolf crouched with his rearing low to the left.

They swung forward together, both roaring savagely as they unleashed a single grand missile of flame. It met the wind bullet a short twenty yards away, not overpowering but the collision simply dispelling it in a blazing explosion.

Kurogiba's coat of fire flared, and Hinata's hair whipped back in the wind. "Even with the advantage … it barely stacked up," Hinata murmured, panting lightly. Her chakra's running low…

"On that note," Gamabunta said, getting to his feet, "Why don't I bring some oil?"

I glanced back briefly. "That might work," I said, "if we didn't mind killing Gaara. A blast like that could fry him."

I was a little surprised when the Toad King didn't argue. "Then you need to hit him, and we need to hurry. If the boy sleeps too long … the Sand Spirit could fully consume his psyche. If that is allowed to happen, there will be no return: the boy ceases to exist, and only the Shukaku remains…"

Shoot… I gritted my teeth.

"No…" Temari whispered, "That can't happen…!"

"Grr… Bunta, what can we do? Last time–,"

The Shukaku swung its arms (arm and stump) up and jumped some relatively small thirty feet off the ground. When the massive creature landed the earth shook, and a towering shockwave of sand rolled out in all directions.

The toad hopped the wave as it passed. "As much as I hate to say it, a mammalian form might be advantageous here…!" He leaped aside as the Ichibi swung its good arm across itself, sending a shower of sand shuriken spiraling out.

It might have been my imagination here, but I thought I glimpsed an arrow speeding off toward the fairly distant beast.

"A mammal? What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean you're going to use the Transformation jutsu! I'll give the chakra; just change us into something agile, with four legs, and fangs and claws so I can get a better grip!"

I formed the seals Inu, I, and Tora, nodding. "U-uh, fangs and claws, let's see…"

"Here we go!"

"Whoa, hold on a second! I'm not ready!" I cried, my sharpened mind flailing idiotically as the toad charged forward. Talk about putting a guy on the spot…!

The toad leaped forward, soaring high in the air.

I got it–!

"AIR BULLET!"

Aw, sh–

BOOM!

Hands and feet securing me to the toad's head, my mind raced as we went flying backwards.

Bunta – Is Gamabunta okay?

Did everyone hang on–?

"Hinata-san!" Lee cried, despairingly.

My heart shuddered.

We're … really high off the ground, aren't we…?

My eyes searched the air before us as Gamabunta landed on his hind feet, shuddered to the ground.

Where is she… Where is she–?!

That's when something amazing happened.

---

Hinata ヒナタ

"AIR BULLET!"

BOOM!

On the leaping toad's back, I didn't see but could guess well enough what had hit us. I was wrenched off my feet at the enormous shift of momentum, my side colliding painfully with Gamabunta's back. The wind was driven from my lungs as I was knocked away, and caught harshly again by the same wall of force, thrown, hit, thrown, hit – I was bouncing, rolling in some direction, and the giant toad was flying backwards.

Gasping, I reached out, directing chakra to my hand to adhere.

My mouth fell open.

Wrong…

…hand…

I fell off the shoulder, was glanced by a flailing front leg, and tumbled alone into open air.

Calm down. Focus. Open your eyes. My eyes opened, and promptly were bulging out of my head. That's … a long way down…

I'm gonna die. If I land on my feet, I'm still gonna die.

But… I can't die yet…!

I didn't want to, but…

If I go to that state, I should be able to survive…!

"HINATA!" he cried out, aloud as well as in my mind.

"A-Ani-ue!" I screeched breathlessly, managing to stop turning so that I faced upward. Kurogiba had jumped after me. Now he was above, pelt wildly ablaze, four legs swimming gracefully at the air as he plummeted.

"No WAY are you dying now!" he roared, his crimson eyes drilling into me, intensifying the link between our souls.

Suddenly I knew what to do. We both did.

"Lend me your body!" he cried, "Your solid form!"

"Lend me your youki!" I shouted, "The strength of life past!"

Together, "Give me your soul! The heart of existence!"

My hands struggled, my eyes streaming. Inu … I … Tora…! "Art of Transf–!"

Kurogiba's coat of flame was stripped away as if by the wind, going orange and fading away as it was left behind.

On the brink of invisible, a wispy, ethereal dark form bolted down into my heart, slamming into me with soul-jarring force.

Sharply I lost my breath, curled, pulled my head down, knees up, arms in, hands grasping in confusion at the incredible and familiar energy in my stricken chest. Then our power exploded out, our body unfolded, limbs flung wide, head thrown back, claws spread, eyes snapping wide to a whitening world as I screamed.

---

Lee リー

A girl's scream became a beast's roar, and white erupted in the night.

A massive, silken band of black cut a swath through the smoke, flicking once across the air. Four sturdy white paws tipped with deadly black claws sprang from the cloud, crashed strongly to the desert floor, shaking the world beneath them. A long, throaty growl rumbled through the air. And as the smoke of transformation faded, left standing before us was a wolf of colossal proportion. Not much shorter than the Shukaku itself, it was clad in wild, silken snow that brilliantly captured and reflected the light of the moon, patterned with jagged stripes of black. Pure darkness clung solidly to the tail and pointed, downy ears, shone blackly from a few glinting teeth at present exposed by a slightly curled lip. The black nose heading a stout muzzle was inclined skyward, but lowered slowly before the demonic ookami gave a shake of its head and slowly opened piercing, crimson eyes rimmed by black and studded with inky round pupils, foreboding even in their groggy sleepiness.

The lupine beast blinked, its downcast gaze focusing on a paw which it then flexed briefly. "I'm… solid…"

I gasped. The voice was Kurogiba's layered strangely over Hinata's and cranked up to a hellish intensity, but the body, I realized … if I imagined it enshrouded in black flames, the proportion, the shape, was identical to…

"This…" the wolf said with a snigger, flashing a cocky, razor-lined sneer, "is the true appearance of Fifth Grand Ookami Kurogiba…"

"Huuuh?" the Ichibi grumbled in annoyance, "Who the hell're you?!"

"Shape is that of Hi no Ookami Kurogiba… Solidity is attribute to Hyuuga Hinata… but at the core of being, spirit and energy, I am Kurogiba and I am Hinata. Why don't you just call me Kurohi for now…?"

Unreal… 'Black Sun,' huh?

"Most impressive…" the Toad King mused.

Naruto smirked, hands clapping together as he emanated a gentle glow. "Hey – let's not be outdone, Bunta. Lee, I leave the Gaara-punching to you."

"Wh–?"

The boy – and the entire surface on which I stood – went up in smoke. The cold, moist toad skin beneath my hands sprouted an epidemic of soft, thick tufts in profusion; as the haze cleared, I gathered a handful of long fur and eyed it, blinking.

"Why is it PURPLE?!" I cried in bewilderment as I found myself to be sitting on the back of a titanic purple fox.

Its demonic face grinned suddenly at me, a violet eye flashing a familiar twinkle.

This boy is insane, I thought, sweatdropping. Then: Fangs and claws, that is what counts.

The newly dubbed Kurohi growled menacingly, tail lashing at the air as it lowered its head and spread its four paws, squaring up for battle and shifting its weight back and forth before snapping violently at the air. "You're not nervous, are you, Shukaku…?" they taunted.

"What's that, runt?! I'm still gonna wring every drop o' blood from that puny body of yours!"

"Oh, you will? Naruto! Lee! Gamabunta! You ready?"

"I am!" I declared, and clenched a tight hold on fur as the transformed Naruto and Gamabunta sprang in a swift bound to Kurohi's side, assuming a hostile, animalistic stance as well and sharply growling in the affirmative.

The Shukaku lowered his head, glowering icily. Kurohi shot a chuckle.

"Say, tanuki – we've got a little something in common, don't we? Wolf dog and raccoon dog are we. Setting aside the common ground, who do you think the top dog is? The raccoon … or the WOLF?!" A paw stamped the ground threateningly, and the Shukaku, barely but still visibly, actually flinched. "This is your last chance… Crawl back behind that seal and leave the boy be…"

"Kill you," the Ichibi hissed, "I'll kill you all…!"

"I guess that settles it, then…"

"Gaara…" Temari whispered.

My eyes narrowed in on the boy's slouched form atop the head of the beast.

They focused then on the Ichibi no Shukaku, a monstrous, obese tanuki of the desert whose eyes glowed insanely with foul intent.

They darted then to the wolf-dog, barely smaller than the others and set with a stocky yet lithe build of muscle, dignified with confident power and grace in equal parts, a being half descended from Gobi no Houkou and half cursed into its family.

They next fell on the fox to whose head I clung, a growling, fiendish form constructed of slender, wiry strength, created for deadly speed and precision – the form curiously selected by the host of the Kyuubi no Youko.

I gulped. Even if the beasts present each had only one tail…

Tanuki, ookami, kitsune.

One, five, nine.

Behind me, Kankurou voiced my thoughts precisely.

"What kind of battle is this?"

---

ナルト / リー / ヒナタ \ ハナビ \ ネジ

End Chapter Sixteen

Hanabi: Neji, Neji!

Neji: What is it?

Naruto: You've got fanmail, that's what!

Neji: Fanmail…?

Hanabi: Look at all this! You're getting popular!

Neji: '…When they liberate Konoha he should be placed under Ibiki's care for a good long while…' '…Neji want's to rip out Hinata's throat out and I can't wait for his cold slap in the face…' '…Can't wait to have Neji come off his high horse and see what the "three failures" can do…' '…i'm also going to love seeing Neji put in his place by Hinata…' '…and Neji, cant wait to see him get his tail handed to him…'

Naruto: Oh, but this one's the best!

Neji: '…Also, Neji is a total ** prick and deserves an epic beatdown he'll come away from only as a quadriplegic and unable to use jutsu. Bonus points if you blind him in addition to crippling him, and more bonus points if someone throws his words back in his face…' (whimper) Th-this isn't f-fanmail! Isn't anyone rooting for me?

Hinata: (smug) Nope!

(–static–)

Hanabi: It's my fault that all of this happened, and so many people got hurt… It's all my fault…

Lee: Next time, the battle at last comes to a conclusion. In the aftermath, friendships are both forged and tested…

Hanabi: You all … there's something I have to tell you.

Hinata: You two … there's something I've been keeping from you…

Lee: Naruto-kun, we need to talk.

Sasuke: Hanabi, there's something you should look out for...

Gaara: You three…

Naruto/Hinata/Lee: Huh?

Gaara: There's something … I wanted to ask you…

Neji: Next is Chapter Seventeen. Read it.

O.O Wow. This chapter turned out REALLY long. It took a long time to type. I'm not even going to say how many pages on Word. It's too ridiculous.

Onibi: Will-o-the-wisp, but I guess it would literally mean 'demon fire'

Well, there were sort of two fights going on… This chapter was more action than plot again, but that's sort of my pattern – plot, then action to show the characters' growth. At least a lot of it was plot-driven action … sort of… Anyways, I can guarantee you that the next chapter is full of a little action, and then family bonding, some angstiness, team bonding, tragedy, heart-to-heart character moments, drama, mushy fluffiness, and some solid plot progress!

So, the big question… I guess I'm really hoping they don't seem too over-powerful. Was it realistic enough? How was the chapter? I don't think it was one of my best, anyway... A lot of mysteries were opened up in this chapter, but a good deal will be explained next chapter. Of course I hinted at Hinata's secret – whatever could it be ;) And the odd behavior of the Hyuuga assassins – I'd love to see guesses on what's going on there. If you don't know what youki is, you don't need to look it up or anything; for now it's another hint, but it'll be explained next time. What did you think of the action this chapter? Hinata's new skills? Naruto's? The funny tidbits? Gaara's character? The Hyuuga drama? Did I make anyone feel bad for an OC? Please tell me what you thought, about anything!

Next chapter is almost done, actually! I might put it up soon.

Please review! All feedback is appreciated! How many fifteen-year-olds do you know who spend their entire Saturday and Sunday typing and proofreading fanfiction? Huh? I just love y'all that much!

XD See ya sooner or later, but hopefully sooner!

:o)Hinata0321:o)