~Scroll 23~
An hour and half earlier from the video time stamp, members of Team 8 sped through the trees in exhilaration.
"Woohoo!" Kiba howled, "Surviving in these woods is as easy as I thought! We rule... don't we, Akamaru?!"
The young pup woofed in agreement at his master's good cheer.
"We really luck out..." The wild teen continued, "The first people to fall into the traps we set were carrying the Earth Scroll we need! We'll be celebrating at the tower in no time!"
"Chill out!" Shino quietly reprimanded his hyper teammate, "It's way too earlier to celebrate! These woods are crawling with enemies..."
Kiba let out an annoyed growl as he came to a sudden stop and turned toward his taller friend and teammate. With his arms crossed, the Inu heir leveled an annoyed glower on Shino, who took no offense to his companion's sudden annoyance. Instead the Aburame heir pressed on.
"When it feels threatened by external danger, even the smallest insects will always -"
"All right, already!" Kiba shouted while throwing his hands into the air. "I get it... but how you always manage to twist everything around until it relates back to insects annoys me!" The wild teen grumbled in a pout before pointing at the taller teen, "And, just for the record, I am still the leader of this team!"
Shino just nodded his head, which made Kiba narrow his eyes. While he could not see it, the Inu suspected that his quiet friend was smirking at him.
"... maybe Shino has a point..." Hinata's timid washed over the two boys, which threw Kiba into another aspirated fit.
"Fine!" The teen grumbled, "We'll take it slow on the way to the tower. Happy?!"
"WOOF!" Akamaru yipped, ruining his master's pout and causing him to glare at his small companion.
"Didn't ask you, you silly mutt."
The pup just cocked his head to the side in confusion.
Kiba sighed as he ran his ran through his hair, knocking back his hood.
"Since we're going slow and be on the look-out for enemies and potential dangers, how are we on provisions?"
"We have sufficient amount of food, if we start rationing now." Shino commented after a quick review of their supplies.
"But we're almost out of water." Hinata stated.
"What?! Really?! Already?!" Kiba gasped in surprise.
"Y-yes..." The shy girl stuttered.
"Okay, I guess our next move is to find a river or creak for water."
"I-I think I saw a small stream about a kilometer back," She stated, "I can take Akamaru with me and refill the canteens... it won't take me long."
"Okay, yeah, you do that..." Kiba nodded, "Shino and me are gonna figure out our next step."
Hinata smiled.
"Come, Akamaru!" The kunoichi cheered as she and the Inu-pup disappeared into the trees.
"Are you sure, it's wise to let her go by herself?" Shino frowned.
"What are you talking about?" Kiba retorted, "She has Akamaru with her, and besides we just came from back there. There was no one there. She'll be fine."
~o.O.o~
It did not take long for Hinata and Akamaru to find the stream that the Hyuga heiress had mentioned earlier. Not wasting any time, she quickly filled her teams' canteens and all the while quietly hummed to herself. As she kept a wary eye on her surroundings, the petite kunoichi could not help but admire the beauty of the deadly forest around her. She had always loved plants and flowers. It was a something that she had shared with her mother before Lady Hyuga passed away.
Her mother had taught the young kunoichi the importance of flowers and plants in everyday life, from a simple garden to healing ointments. And even though her village had one of the best known shinobi hospitals in all of the Hidden Villages, Hinata's mother's herbal medicines were renown to the point that some had even called them 'magic potions'. And after her mother's death, Hinata had taken it upon herself to continue her mother's legacy, much to her father's disappointment.
The petite teen gave the area another look around before she caught sight of a reed-like plant not too far away, causing her eyes to grow wide in delight.
"Burdock root!" She chirped happily as she scrambled toward the plant.
Akamaru dutifully followed the young girl and gave a confused whine, which caused her to giggle.
"Burdock root helps with pain and fever." She explained to the pup as she carefully dug at the plant's roots, "I've been looking for this plant for a long while... who knew that I would find it here... maybe if I can get some seedlings, I'll be able to plant some back home... what do you think?"
Despite the silliness of talking to Akamaru, Hinata continued on her task until she heard the small pup let out a low warning growl. Instantly she snapped around, a piece of burdock root in one hand and a kunai in the other as she stared down three unfamiliar ninja. Rain Nin... Hinata mentally realized when she saw the Rain insignia on one of the male shinobi's sugegasa, straw hat. The three men each wore black and brown body suits, and each had a number of wagasa, umbrellas made of bamboo and washi, strapped to their backs.
"Well, well, lookie at what we have here..." The tallest of the Rain Nin leered at her, "a lost little babe..."
Akamaru stood protectively before his packmate and growled even louder and deeper.
"All alone... are we...?" He continued as he ran his tongue over his lips, even caressing the two metal rings on the left of his lips.
The smallest of the three sighed.
"Do her, but do it quickly, we don't have time to waste."
Hinata tensed in shock and horror in realization of what these shinobi intended to do to her. While young and shy, the Hyuga heiress was no stranger to the horror and violence committed against her sex in the shinobi world. Her sensei made sure of that. When Team 8 had first assembled, Kurenai-sensei had set Hinata aside and told her everything. The Illusionist Expert had told the young kunoichi of every cold and cruel act that the older Nin had committed as well as every cold and cruel act committed against her... even the first time that Kurenai had been raped by an enemy. While the other sensei thought it was too much information to give to a fresh Genin, Hinata disagreed. Yes, she was terrified when she was told, but she was also thankful that her sensei had been brutally honest with her.
"Make no mistake, Hinata," Kurenai-sensei's voice echoed in the Hyuga heiress' mind, "I can give you all the training in the world, but it will not be enough if you are not mentally prepared. And the most important thing that you must remember is this... it is never your fault."
The tall Rain shinobi stepped forward while his single eye leered at the petite Konoha Nin.
"I'm going to enjoy this."
Hinata stood her ground. She could feel her heart thundering against her ribs. She was not delusional in thinking that she could take on all three Rain Nin by herself, but she could hold her own long enough for Akamaru to get help. With that thought in mind, Hinata let out a pained whine. The whine was one of the few verbal commands that Kiba had insisted that she and Shino learned. It was a command for Akamaru to seek out Kiba should either she or Shino were in danger and needed help.
The pup's ear twitched back when he heard the whine. He was torn between protecting his packmate and obeying the command.
Hinata whined again. This time it was louder, causing the stalking shinobi to smirk. The Hyuga heiress knew that the small pup was torn, but she also knew that Akamaru was the only one capable of getting to Kiba and Shino. After all, they were not interested in the pup, just her.
"Hear that boys? ... She's scared... This is going to be fun..." The shinobi grinned as he suddenly lunged at the young girl.
"GO!" Hinata shouted as she defended herself from the man's attack, causing Akamaru to yip and run.
In the background, she could hear the other two shinobi laughing and jeering about 'man's best friend'. She ignored them as she focused on her attacker.
The Rain Nin made to tackle her to the ground, using his bigger and stronger frame to subdue her.
Hinata slipped under his guard, her kunai biting into his unprotected side.
She tucked and rolled, coming up to a low crouch.
"BITCH!" He shouted when he felt the sting of his wound.
He snapped around, his face an ugly mask of anger and hate.
"I was just going to have some fun and let you go... but now, I'm going to kill you afterwards!" He snarled and attacked again.
Hurry Akamaru! Was Hinata's last thoughts as she immediately went on the defense.