Alright this was a request given to me and it is a SaixHinata one that will be canon. Yay~
Next up is a GaaraxHinata and then one that is just Hinata centric.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto™
(Line Break)
They were looking for her again…and the small child hid deeper in the hollowed out tree that her cousin had showed her to hide in about a year back. She held herself as the cool night air bit at her bare feet and loose fitting yukata. She kept her teeth from chattering since she knew that they would be able to find her if they heard. This happened almost every other week, she would try to run off from her home…or what was once her home. She could not take any more of her father's berating words, her cousin's sudden distance from her, or how she was not allowed to be alone with her own newborn sister. Everything suddenly changed after her mother and uncle passed, but it was a slow change of pace. She knew that her father should not be happy all the time…but now, he was never happy with anything. Her whole world was flipped around and she did not want to be alone in her own home. Someone had to love her…someone out there had to care about her well-being and feelings. It was no one on the estate though; they all treated her like she was something not human…or something they hated.
The moon casted it's light upon the forest ground and revealed the figure of the small girl hiding in the hollowed out tree. Her yukata was white, but had become dirty from her crawling through bushes and sitting in the dirt. Her skin was pale like that of a porcelain doll and she only had minor bruising upon it. Large lavender eyes scanned the forest for any sign of her family or anyone that was looking for her; she had boyishly cut midnight blue hair with bangs that covered her forehead and framed the sides of her chubby face. Small hands were planted on the ground as her fingers dug into the dirt. She pulled at the end of her yukata in hopes that it might cover her feet; it didn't. The forest suddenly came alive with noises and she covered her mouth while pressing her back against the dark of the tree. There were multiple voices and footsteps and she could make out a few of the figures.
"Keep looking," the voice was powerful, but she knew at times that this man was also so kind. Kō had been her caretaker since the death of her mother. He was always so nice to her, even when she would fail at her training and was too weak to move anymore; he took care of her as best he could. She would dearly miss him. Her body tensed as he placed his fist up and pointed up his pointer and middle finger. With a release of chakra he said lightly, "Byakugan." She was done for…he always found her once this part came. She closed her eyes tight and pretended to fade away…away into nothing but a little speck of light. The sounds of her family looking for her went deaf to her and all she heard was her soft heartbeat.
"I am nothing," she whispered so lightly that it almost didn't escape her throat, "I am nothing…I am nothing…nothing…nothing…nothing," she chanted over and over again as she pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head in her knees. She could almost believe that the wind went through her body since she could not feel the cold any more. Her breathing was even and her heartbeat was so calm; she never thought she could feel so calm at thought that she was not real.
"Damn it!" Kō yelled loudly and jumped into the tree, "Keep searching, she could be in danger!" He took off calling her name, "Hinata! Hinata! Hinata, please come out if you can hear me!" He almost sounded in terrible pain and she almost wanted to go out to him, but she knew better than that. Kō was instructed to take care of her; he did not choose to, he was told to. Hinata did not want that, she wanted someone to take care of her without someone's command and without hesitation. She was so young, yet she wanted to so much. Hinata listened as the voice became more distant and she slowly crawled out of her hiding thought; she thought over and over again: I am nothing
Hinata began to run, run as far as her little legs would take her away from the others. She did not stop for any reason, even when she tripped over a root; Hinata merely rolled for a moment and was back at her feet without hesitation or worry about her aching body. The more she ran, the more free she was, and the more free she was the happier she felt. Hinata had the troubling thought that at the last minute they would find her and carry her home to be yelled at by her father. The council of elders would look at her with scorns and disgrace; Neji would be up from all the noise and glare at her as she was escorted back into her room. But she would keep at it; strive to be away from her so called family of emotionless and hateful people.
Hinata finally came to a stop from her running, feeling out of breath and tired. She panted lightly as she leaned up against the side of the cliff; just a minute of rest and she would start again. Not wanting to get caught. Before she could start back up, four figures jumped down around her; scaring her witless that as she tried to back away she fell on her bottom. Hinata looked up at all of them, and noticed that all the members wore white masks like the ones that Itachi always wore while on mission. She could recall how he would let her hold it while he got on some last minute training in. They also wore long dark cloaks that hid their bodies from her site. She felt tears well up in her eyes as they talked to one another above her, but never once took her eyes off her small and trembling body; she gave a light hiccup and chocked back a scream of terror as one of them picked her up. But he lightly patted her back like he did not know how to soothe her. He just kept doing it until she stopped shaking and her breathing returned slightly normal.
He then walked off with the other three following close behind him, Hinata watched them a little longer and then let sleep take her away.
(Line Break)
Kō and his team kneeled before an angered Hiashi and council. It was eerily quiet in the room but yet the tension so thick that it became hard to breath. Hiashi paced about the room as they waited for the next team to arrive. A council man took this moment to speak his opinion about the whole thing.
"I told you it would have been wise to place the seal upon her the first time she took off."
"You keep silent," Hiashi glared at the male, "my daughter, heiress to the Hyuga clan will not be sealed like my brother and nephew was!" The room was again silent, "they will find Hinata, since she cannot get very far with her stamina and strength." He continued his pacing but he did not stop his talking, "How could she have escaped again! Hinata dislikes being out alone…she will not even walk around this compound without someone at her side."
"Forgive me Lord Hyuga," Kō spoke still bowed and still looking to the floor, "but Hinata has been…very distant since the loss of Hizashi-sama…I can only fear her distance is coming from your distance, Lord Hyuga," he quickly added at the end but Hiashi was standing before him and roughly lifted Kō up on his feet.
"How I raise my daughter is none your concern Kō," he seethed out but Kō glared back and interrupted.
"Excuse me Lord Hyuga, but last I recall I was the one raising Hinata. You only trained her and would then berate her with insults," Kō was quickly pushed to the ground and landed on the ground with the other Hyuga's he had gone searching with. He was quickly back on his feet though, "I believe if you had gone out looking for her she might have thought that you actually cared for her!"
"Silence!" Hiashi turned back to him and glared fiercely with his Byakugan blazing. He clenched his hands into fists until his knuckles turned an ash white; Kō took a step back away from the leader and just waited for what was to come. "My daughter is strong! She knows that I am too busy leading this clan to father her-"
"Hinata is only a child!" Kō yelled back, "What she needs is a father, not a trainer. How many times have you seen her in the past years? How can you not see that she fears you, and you are supposed to be her father? I am the one who takes care of her, I am the one to walk her to the academy, and I am the one that has to bandage up her wounds from your training!" He seethed out as Hiashi just stood there and took every hit. "I hope that Hinata can forgive you for what you have done to her."
Hiashi slowly went back to emotionless façade and after taking a very deep breath he spoke. "Get out of my site Kō, and do not show your face around this place for the next few weeks. You will regret it…"
Kō frowned, "As you command Lord Hyuga-"
"Lord Hyuga," a young Hyuga branch member opened the door and bowed down on his knees before him and the counsel. "we have returned and wish to report-"
"Do not bother," Hiashi said, "just tell Hinata to wait in her room and I will talk to her."
"Lord Hyuga…" the male gulped lightly, "we cannot find her…she's gone."
Hiashi stood there and soon the shock and realization set in. His voice became almost shaky, "You have not looked hard enough…go back and find Hinata."
"Sir we have searched every inch of Konoha. She is nowhere to be found-"
"Did you not understand me!" Hiashi yelled and almost everyone in the room jumped a bit, "I said go back out and find her! Do not come back until Hinata is safely in her room as she should be!" Every shinobi in that room was gone in a matter of seconds, but the council merely sat there. "I will see you in the morning," the voice was barley there, but Hiashi did not wait for a response and walked out of the meeting room and made his way to his quarters. He softly shot the door behind him and took in a sharp intake of air. He did not know what was worse, that he lost his daughter, or that the reason she was gone him. Hiashi looked over to the nightstand by his overly large bed and picked up the picture of his late wife. She had the lightest blush on her face as she sat before the camera; her kimono was a light pink with white petals decorating part of the kimono and white obi holding it together. Her long blue hair was flowing down her back and two long bangs framed her face nicely. Her dark lavender eyes looked to the camera softly with a kind spirit dancing in them; in her arms was the reason for her new found joy and happiness. The small child was also dressed in a kimono that had been a light lavender color with a black obi around the child's tiny waist. The baby only had mere tuffs of midnight blue hair and their eyes remained closed as the child looked to be sleeping.
He felt guilt and regret wrap around his heart and gave it a hard squeeze as to punish him for all he had done to his family. She was all he had left of his wife that had been so kind to him when Hiashi knew he deserved none. Even as they were young he was cold and harsh upon others, it was how he was raised as a child and it made him a leader. But she…Hinako was another story. Hinako was the second born, so she had no need to be trained heavily in fighting or politics, but she did it anyway. She wanted to be ready for anything that came her way, and that anything was Hiashi. He was told he was to marry her and could not help but feel greatly upset by that fact. She was a beauty but he did not think he had to marry before allowed his title. It was an order of the council though, so he had no choice but to go along with it. Hiashi did admit that it was the first time he'd ever done so many stupid things; any time they tried to communicate, he would mess it up. Hinako was much too soft and kind for her own good, for his own good too. She did so many things just to upset him; like purposely walk on slippery stones and he'd have to save her when she was about ready to fall in. She would touch his hair when she thought he was not looking, or make him sit with her as she played with the other children of her village.
Though, at times, she got him to smile. That is what really made him mad. All his training and studying for almost twenty years and she made him forget it all in a matter of seconds.
Hinako had happily married him without any regret, and Hiashi did smile in his wedding photo; he kept that photo hidden away for his eyes only though.
"Oh Hinako-chan…" his voice cracked a bit as he felt tears slid down his cheeks, "what have I done to our family…"
(Line Break)
Hinata was again on her feet, holding the hand of the man that had carried her to an unknown location. Her whole body was a bit numb from how cold she was, but the four men had been able to fetch a pair of sandals to cover her bare feet. She looked around in amazement at the rather large building with many rooms and corridors that led every which way. Her hurried footsteps echoed off the wall and she had trouble keeping up with the male at her side. Hinata did not know what was happening to her but she overheard that their leader wanted to meet the 'little thing' they had found. She didn't know why she was called a little thing, but she did not bother to question these men that could end her life at any second.
"Here we are," Hinata looked up at the male that walked ahead of the group. They stood before two rather large metal doors that almost looked to reach the ceiling. She pulled herself a little closer to the male since he was the only thing that had shown kindness –of sorts- to her by his own will. He glanced down at her but did nothing more to soothe her trembling body; he lightly pulled her along as the group walked into the room after pushing open the doors. She was slow to react but she had no choice but to follow behind him into the room. Hinata tried to peek past the male's legs and was about to get a quick glance at the man who sat behind a desk and looked to just be reading. Hinata felt her eyes look over the male and took in his image; his hair was a dark color that was short and spikey. His right eye was covered in bandages and he looked very elderly and dressed like one two. His right arm was hidden in almost a sling like object and there was a distinct x-shaped scar on his chin. His one visible eye looked to be closed, but she was sure that he was assessing the situation at hand.
"Lord Danzō Shimura," all four men bowed down on one before the man and Hinata was pulled down to her knees by the man. "We have found the young Hyuga heiress running through the forest; she was showing signs of terror and fatigue when we came upon her." Hinata took notice as she stared at the grey floors that the males spoke like that of her own clan members, but the only difference was that there was no emotion anywhere to be found in their voices. Hinata took her chance and glanced back up at the man –this Danzo person- and she made eye contact with him. Dark eyes stared into her light ones, but she did not dare to look away from him; it was a sign of weakness to break the stare first.
"Miro," Danzō spoke in a clear and strong voice, not breaking his stare. "Were any Hyuga members on her tail?"
"No Lord Danzo Shimura," this Miro man, the one stationed in front of her. "She was found alone."
"I see," he got to his feet and walked over to stand before the group, "Rise Hyuga heiress," he motioned with his free hand for her to get to her feet. Hinata looked to the male beside her for any sign that she should do so, but he never looked up. "I said rise." Hinata quickly got to her feet and the man released his hold on her hand. She clasped her hands before her and went back to looking up at the man; he just looked her over up and down and then motioned for her to come forward. She slowly walked up to him and he lifted up her chin with two of his fingers and studied her face. She stood there a little longer and then he let go of her chin and sighed lightly. "Take her to Sai's room; she can room with him for the night and then I will further consider her for training."
The four nodded, but the man named Miro walked up to Hinata and without warning he picked her up. She let out a surprised squeak but Danzō placed his fingers to his lips to signal her to stay quiet. Miro walked out in silence with her and walked the empty corridor with his long strides. She looked at him with her soft eyes and lightly touched his mask; he did not react to it and just continued to walk. Hinata spoke lightly, "W-where a-am I?"
"Root," he said lightly.
"B-But where?" she asked again with pleading eyes.
"That information can only be obtained with a signed document from Lord Danzō Shimura," he said again and turned down a more narrow hall that had doors one each wall. Hinata looked at all the doors until he stopped at the one that had a little wooden board that had the name 'Sai' painted on it in ink.
"W-will y-you send m-me back home?"
"This is your home," he said slowly opening the door and turning on the light. A little light bulb hanging from the ceiling flickered on and Hinata spotted two beds, two night stands by each bed, a desk, and a large closet. She looked to the bed on the right from where she was, and watched as a young boy with dark hair and sickly pale skin sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked to the two, but said nothing about it. Miro set her down and motioned to the bed, "Sleep." He gave the final order and then walked out of the room, turning off the light before closing the door. She stood there in the dark and the boy just lied back down on his bed. Hinata walked over to her little bed and sat down on the thin bed; she slipped off the new shoes she had obtained and then laid her head on the pillow. She suddenly let her body relax a bit; sleep was quick to take over, but a thought in the back of Hinata's head was still alive and well. It was the part that missed Kō, her cousin, and father. This part said goodnight to them before it too fell asleep.
~Morning~
Hinata heard a rustling about the room and she merely turned her body on her other side and curled up. She tried to ignore what she assumed were the maids that went about their chores. She lightly opened her eyes and then looked to the stone wall that was right across from her. Panic set in but then after a few seconds the thoughts of last night flooded back into her memory. She had run away from home and was brought to another place; a place only known as 'Root'. More rustling was heard and Hinata sat up to see what was going on. Her eyes landed upon the boy that had slept in the other bed; at the moment he had been putting on a plain dark grey shirt. He was dressed in basic training gear and wore black sandals on his feet. She watched him for a bit longer, feeling as if she was doing wrong by watching him change. The room was cold and she looked down at her thin yukata that was the only thing she had left from her old life.
"We must get to our training," she nearly jumped as the male spoke for the first time. She was surprised that he did in fact sound like a young boy, but he had no emotion either. He looked at her with his hard dark eyes, "If you are late you will be punished."
"O-Okay…" she said lightly and slid to her feet off of the bed. She slipped on her sandals and looked at him in hopes that he would lead her.
"You need to change into your training gear," he pointed to the dresser.
"I-Is there anything i-in there for me?" Hinata asked lightly holding her fist to her mouth and looked worried and concerned. "I-I do not want t-to take your c-clothing…"
"Why does your voice do that," he asked almost innocently, "and why do you make faces like that?" Hinata was slightly confused at what he meant and he only kept staring at her.
"I-I-I don't know…" her voice trailed off and she looked to the floor in hopes he would stop looking at her. The male only shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the room without a word. Hinata was left to do the only thing she could think of doing and that was to change into training gear. She looked to the dresser and opened one of the doors to reveal more of the training gear. She changed into the clothes that were slightly bigger than needed but she was able to tie her pants tighter so that they would not fall. Hinata fixed her hair so that it looked decent enough. Hinata quickly exited the room, almost forgetting to close the room's door. She ran down the narrow hall and avoided opening doors that would have stopped her dead in her tracks. She stopped when she came to a big open area that made her head spin a bit; she could not figure out which way to go. She only saw a few other men walking about and boys older than herself going about their business. She wished that boy would have waited for her, but he looked to be long gone.
Hinata just walked down the same direction other men were going in and hoped that she might run into the man who had originally brought her here, or Miro. Hinata looked around at the adult men that walked about in various clothing styles, but all wore the same black jacket with red on them that stopped above their midsection; they also wore black gloves. She was so entranced by her surrounding that she ran into the back of some man's legs. After falling back on her bottom she looked up to see that it had been Danzō. He turned around and looked down at her; all the other men seemed to notice the duo. Hinata felt a lead ball drop in her stomach and she quickly got to her knees and bowed low so her forehead touched the cold floor.
"You catch on quick," he said lightly while looking down on her, "since you are earlier than I expected I need you to follow me." Danzō waited for a moment, but she looked to be locked in that position. "Very obedient you are…a good quality. Rise," Hinata did so and dusted off her pants. "Follow," Danzō said and walked ahead to the destination; he could hear her hurried footsteps trying to keep up with him. All the other Root members went back to their business. Hinata just watched and noticed that even though Danzō looked to have his eye closed, he was able to navigate about the place. Hinata began to get nervous and fidgety as all she saw were men…no women could be found anywhere. Her first instinct was to grab onto the male's pants and hide behind him, but when she tried to he looked down at her. "Do not show your emotions." Hinata jumped back and looked up at him with confusion, "that is your first lesson." Hinata nodded and tried to clear her head; she was going to make this man proud of her. As they stopped before another door, Danzō opened it for her and Hinata found herself in a little training area, "I want to see you fight, if you are good I will allow you to stay. If not I must take you back home."
Hinata nodded and he motioned her to a training post; she shifted down into her Hyuga position and then opened her hands so that her palms faced the post. She concentrated on the post and tried to focus her chakra to her eyes; her Byakugan was very limited and she was only able to use it for a small amount of time. She began her strikes on the post that she was used to doing while her father would evaluate her stance and the power of her hits. She just kept hitting the post with as much force and waited for someone to tell her to stop. Danzō was silent as she hit at the post with almost a bit of anger. "Do not show emotion," he stated again and she had to come to a stop to let the information sink in. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself again and took very deep breaths. Hinata began to chant in her head: I am nothing...I am nothing
He was pleased to see that she was able to fight pretty well for someone her age, but there were two issues: she was too emotional, and she was female. Danzō looked about at the other boys that went about their training but would glance at the two. She was a very pretty little girl from her Hyuga genes, but that would later be an issue with his younger root members. He decided to hope that the boy's lack of emotions would also suppress any other certain feelings that would arise; she was too powerful to give up. She would be a great aid to him and his village; she was obedient enough to even be one of his personal guards when he became Hokage. Oh there was indeed another problem one that he didn't even bother to think of when he first saw her. She was the Hyuga heiress and indeed had a very alive family that was most likely looking for her. But Danzō was a bit smarter than that, he had a loophole for this situation. If no one of the Hyuga family reported a lost daughter to the Hokage, she would count as an orphan by the village law. Danzō had to wait a max of two weeks and if she was reported, then he would have to take her back in fear of being punished for kidnapping. She would need a lot of work through, since she would need a new style of fighting so she wouldn't be recognized as a Hyuga right off the bat. He watched as she only fought with her hands and that her feet were planted on the ground like she was nailed to that spot.
Yes…a new fighting style was in dire need.
"Stop," he said again and she placed her hands at her side and slide her feet back into a standing position. "You will attend classes every morning to get your studies done, you will train in the afternoon to develop your physical skills and only until you can begin to trains on your own like the others. Now come," he walked off again and he heard her hurried footsteps follow after him. "Under this branch of Anbu known as Root, I, Danzō Shimura, am your only captain. Anything I says will be done without question." He glanced down at her and noticed she was repeating back everything he said under her breath. "From now on, you will be Nata." She stopped walking and Danzō had to stop and turn back to look at her. "Do you not agree with me Nata?"
"But I-I…" she had to think for a while. This was her home; in her home, Danzō Shimura's word was law. So if her name was Nata…? "N-No Danzō-dono….I agree with you."
(Line Break)
After her encounter with Danzō Shimura that morning, she was left in a classroom with a few other boys her age, one of them being the boy she shared a room with. She placed right in the front of the class room and given a work book and pencil. She carefully wrote out the name 'Hinata Hyuga' on the cover, but once noticing her mistake she quickly erased it and wrote down 'Nata'. Nata was a very simple girl of simple taste, she lived in a place only known as Root Headquarters, her hair was a midnight blue and her skin was pale. She had odd colored eyes that allowed her to see chakra within people and gave her a 360 degree view. And that was it, Danzō told her that was everything she needed to know or care about. She worked in her book without question and listened as her sensei taught a lesson on basic genjutsu.
She would allow herself to glance around at all the other boys that were loudly scribbling down answers and working through basic problems. They were all practically faceless, from one face to the next she noted that there was no emotion playing on their face or even in their eyes. Nata quickly pulled herself from those thoughts and went back to her work, she had to pass through this schooling by the time she was thirteen so that she would be able to become a shinobi; that was Danzō's order to her.
And she was born to follow.
Nata and the rest of her class were then dismissed in the early afternoon; they were let out for a free time. Nata didn't know what to do, but the boy that roomed with her walked up to where she sat and looked at her. "You finally made it to classes." She nodded dumbly and he blinked, "Who are you anyway?"
"I'm H-" she stopped and paused for a moment. "I'm Nata."
"I'm Sai," he said and gave a light bow, "We have to leave though, no more classes until later on." Nata nodded and followed him out of the room and down the corridors. "We can go eat something and then get some training in with the other boys." Nata just nodded again and allowed this 'Sai' lead her to where ever he was going to go. Nata did look around to the other men in the building and wished that her sensei would have let them keep their work books so she could hold something in her arms. This is when Nata turned back into Hinata. Hinata would blush and stare at the ground and then try to avoid everyone and anyone. But Nata was supposed to be collected and walk with her head held high. This Nata had a blush staining her cheeks and she walked with her had a bit lower then it should have. Sai glanced back at her, "What's wrong with your face?" She refused to answer and he knew that something had to be up; she was trying to tell him something and as a shinobi he had to figure it out. "Your cheeks are all red and you look ready to throw up." Nata still refused to acknowledge that he had said anything.
Sai just thought her to be stupid. How could she not notice that her cheeks have changed color and that she might have an upset stomach? Maybe this is why girls were not allowed in the Root. Yes Sai had been able to tell that she was not a male like himself since the structure of her face. He was good at drawing and quickly learned that boys and girls looked very different since he drew plenty of them to know. He had only drawn one girl that he assumed he had met before; this woman was much older than him and looked to him with such soft eyes that it made him feel something in his chest. He later learned from Shin –the male he looked to as his older brother- that this woman might be his mother. But Sai doubted that, he had no mother, only brothers and his leader Danzō, which was his 'family'.
And, as of now, he assumed that Nata was to be his sister.
"Come on Nata," Sai grabbed her hand and pulled in another direction, "I better make sure that you are not really sick." Nata allowed him to drag her around with her legs trying to keep up with his fast steps. He already knew his way around the base, so Nata figured that he must have been here for a year at the least. She and Sai were dressed in the same clothing but he looked so much paler than her, like he was a ghost. "Go in there Nata," he roughly pushed her into a room that looked like a doctor's office. He closed the door behind her and she feared that he had left her there. Nata pushed her fear aside and just stood there. A man –no surprise- walked out from another door with a clipboard in hand; he looked at her with surprise. He blinked a few times and then looked down at his schedule again like he had missed something.
"I'm very sorry miss, but you have no reason for being here and I must report this to Lord Danzō."
"M-my name i-is Nata," she stuttered out not knowing how to hold back her old self. "Sai br-brought me here s-since he thought I was sick." She felt her cheeks burn bright, "S-see," she pointed to her cheeks. "I-I'm tr-trying very hard t-to stop it."
"I see," he said lightly and a small smile slipped through his once cold face, "I will tell you something Nata…being emotionless is not a weakness. But being able to hide your emotions is a gift." He knelt down before her and smiled, "Tell Sai I gave you some medicine and you'll be better in the next few days. I want you to train to hide your emotions Nata, but hold on to them forever." She nodded and he patted her head and turned her around, "Now," she could hear that his mask was back on, "go on and eat. And remember."
"Hold on to my emotions," she repeated back with the same mask on her face. Hinata walked out of the room and there Sai was, waiting for her. She wanted to smile at him and thank him, but she knew better. So Nata just bowed her head to him as a sign of thanks. He didn't respond to it but just grabbed her hand again and pulled her somewhere else. Sai glanced back at her every once in a while, but she acted like she did not notice it; but once they came upon the food area, he spoke to her.
"What did Shin say?"
Nata just assumed that he was the man she had just seen, "Just to eat healthy and make sure I keep myself warm." Nata lied through her teeth and Sai seemed to live with it. They both were given a very basic looking bento and Hinata made a face as she opened it up. Sai didn't bother to ask her what her issue was and started to eat. Nata sighed and ate without questioning it any further; the food was average…she could make better stuff than this. Nata would be sure to treat her new found peer mate to a decent bento one day. The rest of the day went on like Nata would have guessed it would, but this time she was with Sai the whole time. She was not sure if they were friends, but she did not want to question a good thing. He never talked when they were training, but he would correct everything that she did wrong; since he had no idea of her fighting style, he assumed everything she did was wrong. That day, Nata learned regular taijutsu and found out that all of her old self training in gentle fist made her taijutsu pretty good. That was how her afternoon was spent and after a lite lunch all the students were ordered back to their rooms. Nata followed behind Sai all the way to the almost familiar hallway.
"How was your first day," Sai asked as he walked over to the little desk in their room as Nata closed the door and turned on the light. She gave a shrug but she noticed that he lost interest in her as he began to pull out papers and a pencils; Nata walked over to him and peered over his shoulder. She admired his fine doodles that he did; he must be an art prodigy at how good he was. She awed a bit at him.
"Hey Sai-san," she spoke lightly as she sat at the foot of his bed and watched as he drew, "can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead Nata," he said not looking up at her.
"Are we friends?"
Sai stopped his drawing and looked up. He sat there in thought and then turned to face her, "What are friends?"
Nata was a bit taken back at the boy's lack of simple knowledge, "Well….it's someone that you enjoy being with, a-and you care for one another."
"I've never had a friend before," he thought aloud, "only brothers, but that's what we call everyone around here."
"W-Well I'm not like the others here," she said lightly while looking to her feet that dangled off the end of the bed. "S-So I will be your friend."
"You will enjoy my company and care for me?" Nata nodded and Sai gave a nod, "Sure that sounds okay."
"G-good," she let a smile slip through and Sai just tilted his head as he looked at her again. "Th-this is my smile…it means I-I'm happy." He nodded and then tried to copy her facial expression; Nata laughed lightly at his awkward face. "G-good try Sai-kun," she spoke lightly, "b-but we must keep this secret. D-Danzō-dono would not l-like it." Sai nodded and he then went back to his drawing. Nata yawned and lied down on his bed, "Y-you'll care f-for me too…right Sai-kun…?" Nata did not expect to get a reply, but she just wanted to ask.
Sai looked at her as she lied there curled up on one side. He didn't know how to react to his 'friend' but it seemed that she was only telling the truth to him. So Sai allowed this to happen, like how he let Shin be his older brother. He did not need another brother, he wanted a friend and Nata is just what he needed. He had clearly heard her speak but she looked to have fallen asleep too quickly to hear his response.
"I promise Nata."
(Line Break)
~Seven Years Later~
Nata sat at her bed in her newly bought uniforms that fitted her body structure better than the old training gear she used to where. She wore all black like the others of the base, but her shirt was tighter than the others and her sleeves were long and only fishnet, not to mention that the shirts length was longer and almost went under her bottom. Nata also wore more form fitting shorts and a pair of heeled shinobi sandals. She didn't wear gloves like the other members of Root since her hands were strong enough to not need protection. Since Nata was surrounded by so many males, she kept her hair looking like them to. Every time that it would grow put, she would take out her kunai that were strapped to her right leg and cut it; it was a bit edgier than she used to have it as a child but it was the best way to keep her hair. Even her bangs on her forehead lost their perfect square shape and the bangs that framed her face. She didn't mind it though; it was just the way things were. She was thirteen now and everyone around her was changing even though she changed most. Danzō kept his eye on her though, like she was the enemy. Nata noticed that there were a lot of people watching her; it was kind of odd how no matter where she went there were eyes on her. Nata would then see herself in the shower's mirror and saw the new form her body had taken…yes, that was the answer to why eyes were on her. She must have looked a bit funny.
Now, as she lied on her bed, all she heard was Sai's pencil scratching against paper. He was at his desk again and drawing whatever came into his head. Nata noticed that Sai had changed a lot as well; he was growing a whole lot more than she was. He was taller than her, but that was not saying much; everyone was taller than her. But he had grown quieter than before and he rarely talked to her when they were in private. Sai was dressed in his normal training clothes, but his build was beginning to gain small amounts of muscle; Nata had to keep from staring at him when he changed in the morning. They had grown pretty comfortable around one another, but these days they were getting a bit awkward around each other.
"Hey Sai-kun," she spoke lightly as she stared at the ceiling of their room. Her voice was changing a bit too, she was starting to gain a very soft and almost melodic like sound; or that's how Sai once described it. "What are you drawing?"
"A forest scene," he said blankly. Nata was almost sure that he was avoiding talking to her, and she could take a good test to why. They both once noticed how when Sai would speak, his voice would crack a bit and make him sound high pitched for a split second.
"What are you putting in the forest," she said with the littlest of smiles coming to her lips in hopes that she could hear his voice crack; it was a bit humorous to listen to.
"Trees," was his exciting answer.
"What else," she had all night.
"Bushes," Sai may not be in tune with his emotions, but he really wanted her to know that she should stop while she's ahead.
"What a bore of a picture," she put her hands above her head and took in a deep breath, "I bet it's because you can't draw anything else."
"I'm drawing the animals and creek too," Nata covered her mouth to stop the giggles once his voice had reached a very high pitch. Sai just sat there in silence and he listened as a loud and unflattering snort came from her. Nata held Shin's words very close to her heart and held her emotions so tight that she was crushing them. Even after his death, she kept him alive in her thoughts; Sai on the other hand became much more distant that before and for the few months after that he refused to speak to anyone. Danzō gave Sai harsh training for letting the male's death get to him. Shinobi die, life goes on. Do not forget that. Nata on the other hand healed his wounds and took care of him that night; she talked lightly of everything she does while Sai trains. How she trains for half the time he does and then goes off to learn medical ninjutsu since Danzō thought it best to have a new area of Root members that are in a medical field of shinobi. She talked about how lonely she was sitting in the dim room that was filled with old looking scrolls. Sai never responded until in the middle of the night while she was trying to sleep. He began to ask why she has such colorful hair; she mumbled out something about her mother. Sai just turned his head and watched as she curled up on her side so that she faced him too; that's when he asked if she would allow him to draw her. Nata only yawned and nodded; he has yet to draw her.
"Stop beings so mean-" he stopped and cleared his throat. Nata sat up with her hands still covering her mouth; "Stop being mean to me Nata; I do not appreciate it." he spoke in a lower pitch of a voice to avoid it from cracking again. In all honesty it was getting better, but Nata could not help but find it so funny. He looked back at her as she whipped the tears out of her eyes that had built up from her resisting to laugh; "How unflattering you look, I thought women were to act proper and elegant." She frowned as he turned back to his drawing; he continued on. "No wonder you are in Root."
"Very sorry Sai-kun, but I wish you would speak in your normal high pitched voice you try to avoid."
"I would recommend that you drop the subject."
"I highly suggest that you watch your tongue when speaking to a lady."
"What lady?"
"I would assume you, due to the fact you have such a feminine voice-" Nata was cut off as she was suddenly pinned back on her bed with Sai on top of her. Dark eyes starred back into light eyes with no emotion playing on either of their faces. "What do you propose Sai-kun? I speak higher than you, since that seems near impossible."
"I hope that you know it will take me a matter of seconds to break your vocal cords and render you speechless."
"I hope that you know with a single hit I can render you motionless and then stop your brain from working properly."
"I wonder who's faster."
"No need to wonder I already know-"
"Sai, Nata," they both looked over to see that Miro stood in the doorway, "Follow." The two were quick to their feet and were soon right behind Miro. Nata closed the door to their room and then quickly caught up with the two men. She noticed they were making their way to Danzō's office and that in the early night someone was called to Danzō, a mission was to be performed. She stood beside Sai and the whole walk was in utter silence. They reached the large doors that were forever imprinted into her memories since childhood, but this time she was the one to push them open. Miro left the two to enter and took his leave without word. Nata and Sai stood before Danzō's desk and got down on one knee.
"Rise," his voice was slower than usual, but he was aging. Nata and Sai stood up with their hands at their sides. "I have a mission for you both, to be done in the outmost secrecy. You will attend the Academy for the next week and report on who is chosen to go on to be a genin. For sure you will not be placed on a team, but that is not your objective. You will room in the apartment building closest to the academy and do only things that will keep you alive. This is not a vacation, it is a mission. Understood?"
"Yes Danzō-dono," they both responded. He then motioned them away.
As they walked back to their room to pack Nata looked to Sai, "Only for a week," she spoke lightly, "won't that arise suspicion in itself?"
"Danzō-dono has ordered it Nata," he responded, "no reason to question it." Nata nodded and once back in their room they began to fill separate packs with clothes. Nata sighed as she looked about at her lack of weapons she had at her disposal and glanced at Sai. His pack was filled with clothes and then all his art things that he refused to leave behind. Sai caught her staring, "Is something the matter?" she shook her head and closed the pack tightly. She placed it on her back and then went to her nightstand; she opened the top drawer and pulled out a few scrolls that she kept in there for writing. She stuffed them back into her beige pouch and then looked to him. He nodded to her and she returned it; they both were again out of their room. Sai took the lead as they walked to the exit they knew. Someone was waiting for them there, he was masked and cloaked so Nata had no idea who it was. He handed Sai a key and then motioned them closer; the two were still too young in Danzō's opinion to be able to leave the headquarters alone. The male teleported them out and they landed in the center of the village square. Nata looked around and took in a deep breath of the cold night air…it gave her goose bumps. "Let's go Nata," Sai said looking to her. Nata noticed that the other man was gone.
Sai took her hand without a second thought. They always held hands if they walked together, Nata said it was the thing that friends did in privacy. Danzō almost caught on to the twos secrete friendship, but they two were a bit smarter than he thought; Nata walked closer to the male and as they passed the academy, recognition played at the end of her memory. She stopped in her tracks and let go of Sai's hand; he stopped a bit ahead of her and just watched as she stared at the academy. Nata watched as a little girl in with a light smile on her face walk up to the school with a man holding her hand. The man's headband was like a bandana and his eyes were pale but a smile played on his lips. She watched as the girl's cheeks turned a dark red as a blonde haired boy walked right past her with the biggest smile on his face; it even reached his eyes.
It was her…
Nata knew it had to be, blue hair, lavender eyes, it was looking back in time. But that was all that came to her mind, the man was nameless and so was this happy-go-lucky boy. She lightly touched her cheeks and all she felt was her cold and soft skin; nothing like the girl's cheeks in her memory. Had she had another home before Root? It was all so unclear to her; but if it was true... She looked to Sai. "Was I always in Root?"
He nodded, "As I remember, you were always there." Nata just nodded and walked back to his side, "Did you see something?"
"It was nothing of importance," she said looking ahead, "we best get to this apartment before sun up." He nodded and again they were hand in hand and walking to the apartment building.
(Line Break)
Nata woke up slowly and turned to lie on her back so she could rub her eyes. She turned her head to see that Sai still slept. She sat up and looked about the little room that they had shared due to the fact it was the only room with a bed; the apartment was rather small, but Nata really didn't care for it. She nudged Sai, "Wake up, classes start at eight o'clock sharp." Sai's eyes slowly opened and he sat up, "You may use the showers first," he nodded and walked over to his pack and pulled out clothes and a bar of soap. Nata just waited until she was gone and then went into the kitchen. Luckily Nata had woken a few hours back and went out and bought food to last them another day or so. She looked to the brand new bento boxes she had bought without much thought, and then looked to a clock that hung crooked on the wall; she had time to cook. Nata did not know where she learned to cook, but she must have been a chef in a past life. Nata easily made simple bento lunches for the two just before Sai walked out into the kitchen dressed.
"Bentos?" He walked up to the counter as she packaged the last one.
Nata nodded, "I thought it would be nice to eat today," she glanced at him, "it's for lunch, so don't eat it now. I'm going to go get ready and then we will be off." He nodded and she walked back to the bedroom. Nata grabbed her usual training gear and then went off to the bathroom to shower. It only took her seven minutes, but she spent quite some time looking at herself in the mirror. She rubbed the towel against her hair and then shook out any water droplets that remained. She lightly pulled at the ends of her hair and wanted it to get back into that perfect little haircut she had as a child, but that seemed near impossible. She looked at her lavender colored eyes and then grabbed the contacts that someone had brought to her about a year back; she put them in and watched as her eyes turned a darker shade of lavender.
"Nata," Sai knocked on the bathroom door, "hurry, we don't have much time." She looked at herslf one last time and opened the door to see Sai holding the bento boxes. He motioned to the ground and she saw that he had brought her shoes with him. Nata gave a light thanks and then slipped them on and took her bento from him. They walked out of the apartment with Sai locking it behind them; their walk was silent, but the noise of the village made up for it. Sai reached for her hand, but stopped short when his fingertips brushed against her wrist; she looked to him. No emotion played on his face, but she knew that he disliked doing things publicly. Danzō threw them into the deep end with this mission and she was sure that other Root members were watching them and waiting for the two to crash and burn.
"Look at those two."
"We can't be getting new kids this late; they'll have to wait a whole year to be able to take the exams."
"What's with their matching outfits?"
"Look at that guy; he looks like he's sick."
"Check out the girl. Talk about being underdressed."
Nata glanced at the two girls that were talking about her, and the both quickly looked away. She was so confused at why these people felt the need to talk so much, and then talk about the things they thought? It was a mystery on how anyone could think talking was a good trait to have. She could easily tell any Root member what she needed to say with the look in her eyes and hand signals. No need to give away your position with useless words. These people were odd indeed. She glanced to Sai, but he seemed to be deaf to all the talking; she wished she could tone out all these kids words like he would. Once they entered the building they walked up to the second floor and Sai looked for their classroom, Nata just stared out the window and over the city. It was a breathtaking site to behold; she could stare at it for days. Sai pulled on her arm; they have reached their room.
Sai slid open the door and then ducked as Hinata dodged an eraser being thrown in their direction. "Oh man I am sorry!" Yelled a rather annoying voice, but Nata looked in and saw the blond haired boy…but more grown up. All his orange was distracting enough, but she was also caught staring at his bright smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. She knew this boy…he was in the bingo book: Naruto Uzamaki- Kyuubi Holder. Sai stood back on his feet and then looked back at Nata; she gave a light nod. They both entered and Naruto looked at them both with no smile, "Who are you guys anyway?"
"Who is asking?" Sai responded. Nata looked out into the classroom, the two girl's from before were in here. There was a male eating, another sleeping, one with a dog on his head, one making a buzzing sound, and then the Uchiha. She didn't stare at him, but she did take a mental note that the last Uchiha was in this class; Danzō would want to know that for sure.
"I'm Naruto Uzamaki, future Hokage of Konohagakure, believe it!" He gave them both a 'thumbs-up' and Nata just gave him a questioning look; this guy was a whole lot quitter in her memory. "So who are you two?"
"Nata,"
"Sai," were their blunt answers. "Believe it." Sai added at the end and Nata bit back the need to smile.
"Hey," Naruto glared at the two and pointed at them accusingly, "don't mock my catch-phrase!"
"I merely repeated it."
"Naruto-baka!" The pink haired girl yelled at him from her seat by the Uchiha, "Leave those two before you scare them away."
"I do not scare that easy," Nata replied and looked to her sharply, "I believe both your loudness with be torment enough, keep it down." She instantly shrunk back down into her seat and the blonde behind her smirked.
"Don't talk to Sakura-chan like that," Naruto said with a frown.
"She called you an idiot," Sai looked to him, "why defend her?"
"'Cause I can," Naruto said crossing his arms over his chest. Sai just shrugged and looked back at Nata, she motioned with her head to two empty seats in the back and they made their way up to them, but Nata stopped at the desk Uchiha sat in.
"Uchiha-san," the dark haired male just glanced at her while all the girls glared at her. "How long have you been in the academy?"
"Long enough," Nata nodded and then continued on, but the blond stopped her.
"What gives you the right to talk to Sasuke-kun?" All the other girls agreed and were at their feet.
"What gives you the right to ask why I talk to others?"
"Look here," the blonde glared, "keep away from my Sasuke-kun if you know what's good for you."
"I apologies," she said lightly and the girl looked a bit confused, "I forgot that you are my superior and that Uchiha-san is property to be owned by someone like yourself." Nata leaned in a bit closer to the girl, "I hope that you may forgive my ignorance since I seem to know nothing about anything unlike you do." She roughly walked past the blonde, "pathetic things you all are…he's just an Uchiha, nothing special."
"What did you say!" Sakura looked up to her.
Nata turned around and looked to her with hard eyes, "Learn to listen then talk. I said 'pathetic things you all are…he's just an Uchiha, nothing special.' Was that clear enough?" She turned back and walked to her seat by Sai and sat down, but all eyes were on her. "If you want to say something, say it."
"I am not pathetic," it was Sasuke who spoke, and looked back at her with a hard glare.
"I did not mean you Uchiha-san," Nata said tucking her bento away and moving her hair behind her ear, "I know nothing about you or your character. Do not be so quick to assume who I am speaking too."
"What are you even doing here anyway?" The blond said from her seat, "you won't be able to pass with only a week of training." Nata and Sai looked to one another and then just gave a shrug. "Well fine then," she huffed, "I only have to deal with you for the week, and then I get to spend all my time with Sasuke-kun."
"Keep dreaming pig," Sakura said with a smirk, "Sasuke and I will for sure be on a team." All the girls began to argue and Sai took it as his moment to speak with Nata in private.
"I don't understand why every woman in here is after the Uchiha's affection."
"You and I both," Nata replied back as she looked about the room, "it would be hard to believe that this is the future shinobi we must look to, to keep us alive. They look ready to kill one another…over a male of all things." She ran her hand through her hair, "I hope they fight as well as they complain and yell. Sai nodded in agreement. Just before the girls could break into a war, the instructor, Iruka a chunin leveled shinobi, entered the room and then got the classes attention. He looked over his the list of students in his hand, but stopped as he looked to his list and then back up at the number of students that he had. He eyed the two in back and then looked back to his list. Nata and Sai just sat in silence and Iruka started the class without questioning why he suddenly got two new students.
(Line Break)
Nata sighed as she took another lap around the track out of pure boredom; the students were given five laps and it didn't take Sai or Nata very long to do all five while most of them were on their third. Nata just kept running until the last person finished since she felt no need to stand around and do nothing. She came to a stop as the male behind her was finished with his last lap and she just walked over to Sai's side and stood by him. Iruka looked down at his list and then back to her, almost a bit amazed at her stamina, but did not verbally say anything. He smiled to the other students, "Now we have some sparring to do, please go to the sparing area." Sai and Nata followed behind the large crowd, but Iruka waited for the two. He stood before the two, "Are you two this Sai and Nata I am reading on my list?" They both nodded and he gave a funny look, "is there a reason why your family put you in so late?" Nata looked to Sai and with his eyes she could tell he was at a loss for words. Nata shrugged and he sighed, "While don't get your hopes up, but you probably might have to stay another year to see if you might be placed."
"Alright then," she said lightly, "nothing we can change about that now." Then she and Sai walked after the group of students with Iruka watching as they walked off. Nata and Sai stood off away from the groups in hopes that they could avoid talking to them and getting intr another fight with the girls of the class. She kept her eye on the blonde haired male though, since with the demon within him could make him a powerful shinobi, or a threat to the whole village. She watched as Sai scanned over everyone in the group; she watched as the wind blew leaves into his hair. "Hold still," she said lightly and brushed the leaves out of his dark locks. Sai didn't say anything but allowed her to do so. "There you go, no more leaves."
"Alright class," Iruka stood before the group, "who wants to go first?"
"I do Iruka-sensei!" Naruto raised his hand up and jumped with excitement.
"Anyone else?"
Nata looked around to see that everyone muttered under their breaths that he was a terrible fighter, or that there was no point to fight the dead last. Nata frowned and then raised her hand too. "I'll fight him." Everyone looked at her in a bit of shock; Iruka looked to be a bit more concerned. "Is this a hand-to-hand only combat, or are weapons allowed?" She asked as she walked out to stand before the group and spun a kunai around her finger. Naruto looked to her with a bit of confusion, but then smiled.
"Are you sure you want to take me on," Naruto stood in front of her, "I won't go easy on you since you are a girl."
"I hope you wouldn't," she gripped her kunai and smirked lightly, "I would love a good challenge Uzamaki-san."
"No weapons Nata-san," Iruka said pushing the two back a bit, away from one another. "Only taijutsu and I can call the match for any reason. No chakra in any way. Understood?" They both nodded, "Now take your places and wait for my signal." Nata and Naruto walked out onto the sparring area and stood face to face with one another, only a distance of seven feet between them. Nata put away her kunai and threw both her weapon pouches to Sai for safe keeping. She glanced at Naruto and with a motion of her hand, called him forth. Naruto happily obeyed; he charged at the blue haired shinobi. Iruka yelled, "Wait Naruto! I didn't say go!"
Nata easily dodged the male's fist, but she was so unused to his erratic style of fighting. She was unable to counter anything he threw at her; so she tackled him to the ground. Nata rolled off of him and pushed herself up with her hands but brought her legs up higher and brought them down on the male's middle. She frowned when he rolled out of the way and her heel broke into the ground. She got back to her feet and blocked his kick to her face. She caught his leg and looked at him, "What do you call this fighting style?"
"Butt kicking," he said and tried to pull his leg from her grip, "now let go!" Nata shrugged and flipped him over and watched as he landed on his belly. He stumbled to his feet and got back into a defensive position. "Why did you want to fight me, anyway?"
"Your hair," she said blandly and he looked at her funny.
"Okay…" he said and tensed as she walked up to him. "Stay back or I will be forced to knock your lights out?"
"What lights?" She said grabbing his wrist and pulling his arm straight, "The way you talk is pretty interesting too," she poked his wrist and he winced in pain. "If you are wondering what I just did, I stopped your wrist from working," she let him go and while he held his wrist she poked his shoulder. "If I was you, and be moving." Nata went to hit him in the chest, but he was able to dodge and her moment propelled her forward. Nata used her hands to flip herself over and land on her feet. She spun back around and watched as he tried to move his wrist and shoulder. She looked to Iruka, "I'm done…he can't even use his left arm anymore."
"Hey I'm not done with you," Naruto yelled at her but stopped as she walked up to him. "go ahead, I dare you to try!"
"Keep quiet," she said and lightly pushed his wrist and shoulder. His eyes widened and began to move them again, "there, I fixed it-" she caught his fist. "Don't make me break your hand." Naruto nodded and she let him go and walked back to her spot with Sai. Oh yes, this boy had a high chance to make it through.
(Line Break)
Nata frowned as she and Sai looked through the files that Iruka had left unlocked in his desk. It was the middle of the night, and this was their last night on their mission. She and Sai had no need to come in the next day since they were not going to be placed, nor did they care if they were. She looked to the three teams that they had made and she was unhappy to see that her name was on the list, but not Sai's. She glanced at him as he was looking through other accounts of student evaluations and test scores. She was placed on a team with the Inuzuka and Aburame; it was very odd that she was allowed to make it to a team when only being in school for a few days. She wrote down all the names that had made it to genin and then she wrote down who their senseis would be. She looked to Sai who was just watching her. "What is it?"
"I like this image," he said lightly as his eyes scanned over her figure. She was bathed in the moonlight with her body slightly hunched over and her hair falling to the right side. He pulled out a piece of paper and then grabbed a pencil that had been left on the floor. "Don't move," Nata sighed as she was forced to stay in the position and all she could do is watch him quickly try to sketch her figure. "You had very high test scores."
"I know," she said lightly, "I made a team…"
He glanced up at her, "That's too bad; they could use someone like you."
She gave a nod, "I was surprised that you didn't."
"I sabotaged my scores," he said with a shrug. "There," he tucked the sketch away into the bag on his back, "we can leave now." Nata nodded and then put away all the files and followed him out. She walked right beside him and without any thought he grabbed her hand, "once we get back to headquarters, I want to read up on some of those feelings that you seem so in tune with." Nata nodded and walked a bit closer to him, "why were you so interested in the demon holder?"
"I just was," she said lightly.
"Well stop it," he said as they walked into the village streets, "we won't be seeing him again and you need to be focused for all our missions."
"I don't see what's wrong with being interested in the male," she said glancing at him, "it won't get in the way I go about my missions."
"I am serious about this Nata," he said looking down at her, "just forget about him."
"Fine," she said as they walked to the village square where a Root man was waiting. Nata let go of his hand, "But then I'm going to come back and see him again." Sai frowned, but said nothing to her.
They went back to the base without another word.
(End)
I am for sure going to make a part two, since I couldn't put a lot of romance in this one since they were still at a young age. Next up is a Gaara and Hinata, but the plot I got for it was to have Hinata get the same way that Gaara got about only loving himself. Well I thought that one over and decided that I had another idea in mind for the two. I'm going to go with the idea that I have and if the one who requested it is unsatisfied then I can make the other one too. I hope you enjoyed this and I'm going to start on the next one-shot.