I do not own Naruto.
Talk now – normal talk
What now – normal thoughts
Speak – biju, higher being talk
Listen – biju, higher being thoughts
Chapter 18 : Year IV part II
Naruto grunted as he took a punch to his stomach and fell down, he heard his white haired teacher call the match; quickly he got up and dusted himself off, his opponent held out her hand for the seal of reconciliation, for his part Naruto smiled and completed the seal.
He looked for a moment at his opponent's back and was content that at least the girl didn't brag about her victory. It was something that still irked him, while he had to show great restraint, his sister could go wild at times, and she had done so at a few points already.
Sacrifices are necessary and all; I can't wait to get to the middle of pack, once there I'll be able to show more skill.
Making his way out of the circle he noticed his second teacher, Umino Iruka, giving him an odd look. It was something else that irked him; he wasn't sure what had occurred, however in the last few weeks the man's attitude towards him had changed significantly. The looks of suppressed loathing and hatred where replaced with something else, concern he reckoned.
Maybe after he called me a demon the Hokage had a few words with him, he either punished the man or manipulated him emotionally.
Naruto remembered the moment upon the Hokage Monument when the third Hokage had given him the will of fire speech; he reckoned that the old kage definitely had skill for manipulating people.
Well either way, just something I need to watch out for, shouldn't be surprised if he tries to get close to me.
As he exited the sparing circle and began to make his way towards Yakumo, his third problem, the Hyuuga girl, fumbled with her hands and shyly looked at him.
"Y-you d-did a good j-job Naruto!"
He blinked and looked at the girl like he had grown a second head, it was very rare for him to receive a compliment from his classmates, most of those where for the pranks he pulled; he could count the number of compliments he received for his fighting abilities on hand with plenty of fingers to spare.
The only people from his class that actually gave him any meaningful compliment were Yakumo and Chouji. He blinked again, he feared his mask would crack before he recovered and quickly mended it. He gave her his usual boisterous smile and grin with a hint of sadness in it. "No I didn't, I lost."
The girl he noticed seemed to retreat inwards before Naruto continued. "Next time I will definitely win, just watch!"
The girl brightened and nodded, he smiled one more time before making his way towards Yakumo. I really have to deal with her, on one hand she doesn't appear to be against me, on the other hand her stalking isn't something I want to continue, the game has been fun however she's getting rather good at it, well for her age and the small effort I put into it. Something else I'll need to talk about when I visit the god realm.
Tenten crossed her arms as she leaned back towards the wall behind her. "I don't see a problem with it."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "You don't sister, I do."
Tenten raised an eyebrow looking at her brother in all but blood. "How is getting invited to a sleepover something bad? I wouldn't mind doing something like that."
Naruto huffed. "That's for little children."
Tenten looked at her brother with a deadpan expression. "Uh huh, right…."
Naruto rolled his eyes at her exasperated. "You know what I mean; I think I would have problems keeping the mask in place during such an event."
"Well all the more reason to go then" she smiled at him "look at it as training."
Naruto nodded rubbing his chin. "That's one way of looking at things I suppose, I'm not sure what we would be doing there, I mean, I haven't even heard about anyone doing such a thing."
Tenten shrugged. "Play games or something, think of it this way you could try and use Yukimura's magic trick to see if he can copy any scrolls in the compound."
"True but…"
"Yeah" she nodded "they may catch you in the act, or sense the odd new energy in place."
"It would be hard to explain that, besides I don't think Chouji's room would be next to the clan vault or something."
Tenten rolled her eyes. "Just an idea to play with brother, come one I missed the old place."
The two found Yukimura and Sayaka in the living room drinking tea again, Yukimura was wearing a dark red kimono while Sayaka was wearing dark blue one.
Sayaka smiled towards the two. "Welcome back."
They smiled and nodded. "It's good to be back." Naruto took the chair in front of Sayaka while Tenten took the one in front of Yukimura.
Tenten gently picked up one of the cups carefully testing the drink's temperature. "What's on the agenda this time?"
Yukimura poured more tea to Sayaka's cup. "The usual training and something…extra."
"Anything special?" Tenten asked with a raised eyebrow.
Yukimura shrugged. "Depends on what you understand by special."
Tenten smiled. "Well I for one can't wait…"
Naruto placed his cup down again looking at the two. "That reminds me, I wanted to talk to you about a small irk I'm having."
"Something you can't deal with on your own?" Sayaka placed her own cup down on the table and leaned back into her chair.
Naruto nodded. "In part, there's the situation with one of my teachers, Umino Iruka, who's been acting strange recently, I think it's because of the old man's intervention that he made his face heel turn. No, what I really want to talk to you about is the Hyuuga girl in my class."
"Heh" Tenten snickered "you're little stalker friend."
Naruto shook his head. "That girl needs a hobby."
Tenten smirked at him. "Stalking is a hobby."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "So is serial killing, but you don't see me encouraging it."
Yukimura smiled breaking into the conversation. "Ah, so she wasn't let up on her pursuit."
"No, she's pretty good at hiding and tracking I'll give her that, not Anbu level, still she's good at it."
"And you hate her?" Sayaka asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What?" He looked back at them surprised."No, when did I ever say that?"
"Do you have something against her?" Sayaka asked looking intently at him.
Naruto shrugged. "Beside her chosen favorite activity, no, I enjoyed the game until now…" he looked away from them towards one of the walls in the room.
"Brother?" Tenten asked concerned leaning towards her brother.
Naruto shrugged and quickly took a sip of tea going over the words in his head while the three waited his response, he could see a look of concern on their faces. "After I started the new academy year in the class it didn't take long for most of them to gain that look everyone has for me. Chouji and Yakumo were the exception, I figured their parents or someone else told them to stay away from me. "
"Brother…" Tenten squeezed her brother's shoulder leaning in to envelop him in hug.
Naruto nodded. "It's alright, the thing is that she was different, she didn't look at me like that, maybe I missed it at first and it only changed later, never the less I didn't see the same thing in her eyes, they looked so clear, so pure. I don't think she's bad or anything."
Both Yukimura and Sayaka turned to each other, a silent a conversation taking place, eventually they both nodded.
"Well" Yukimura began "then it's decided, you can bring her here."
"What!" both Naruto and Tenten looked at the two stunned.
Sayaka smirked at their expressions. "You heard correctly, let her follow you into the clearing where the portal is located, knock her out and then bring her here."
"Why?" Naruto asked looking at the two.
"Why not?" Sayaka smiled at the two again and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
Yukimura leaned towards the table pouring himself more tea. "She doesn't sound like a bad person, or well child, her behavior could be the result of a multitude of events. Besides would it hurt for you two to have another friend, one who knew about us?"
Tenten nodded and brought her cup towards Yukimura as well. "Not really, I would be kind of nice, even if she would be very young." She narrowed her eyes at the two. "There's more to this isn't there?"
"Hmm?" Yukimura smiled. "What are you implying?"
Naruto nodded. "She's right, why would you two want me to bring her here, why not Chouji or Yakumo, why her?"
Sayaka set her own cup on the table. "Why her indeed, she has potential."
Tenten took a sip of tea looking at the two. "So you know more about her."
Yukimura nodded. "We've gained a bit of knowledge both from your use of my magic, and another source."
"That source being?" Naruto asked.
"A secret, for now." Yukimura replied leaning back in his chair.
"A secret?" Tenten asked suspiciously.
"For now, we will reveal that particular one next year, towards the middle of the year." Yukimura replied studying their reactions intently.
"Really?" Naruto asked stunned before shaking his head. "What's so important about it, why not reveal it now?"
Sayaka and Yukimura exchanged a look between them before Sayaka answered the question. "There are items in motion now that can't be stopped and that must not be stopped, we hope that the two of you will find it in your hearts to forgive us for keep the secret."
Tenten bit her lip seeing their expression. "Is it that bad?"
"No. Yes." Yukimura and Sayaka looked at each other again given their conflicting answers.
Yukimura nodded towards Sayaka before replying. "It depends on your point of view."
Naruto's eyes narrowed and he grit his teeth. "So we're not prepared to understand it now?" the conversation had started to remind him of his interactions with the third Hokage and he wasn't pleased about it. "Or are we not in the right mind set yet?"
Yukimura sighed seeing their expressions. "A bit more time under your belts wouldn't hurt the two of you."
"As for the mindset" Sayaka began "we'll leave that up to you to decide."
Naruto let out a tired breath knowing how the conversation would end. "Are your own plans in motion, the one you kept talking about?"
"Yes."
"And you'll be able to reveal more next year." Naruto pressed.
Yukimura nodded. "Yes, we'll tell you everything next year."
Sayaka continued the conversation. "And if you then find that you can not trust us, then we will accept your decision."
"Brother…."
Naruto sighed tiredly. "Alright then, we'll wait until next year."
Sayaka smiled towards him. "Very well."
Yukimura nodded at the two. "This brings up to another sensitive topic."
"Oh?" Naruto asked curiously.
Yukimura picked up his cup again. "Tell us have you noticed something different about the Uchiha clan lately?"
Naruto shakes his head. "Not more than usual, I haven't been paying them too much attention."
Tenten briefly scratches her chin thinking on the matter. "They seem to have gotten even stiffer as of late, their body language seems to have gotten more tense."
Naruto cursed himself for not keeping his eyes open.
"Correct" Yukimura nodded his head again "the clan is planning a coup against Konoha."
"What?!" The two shouted in surprise.
"How do you know that?" Naruto asked.
Yukimura kept his smile contained. "We have our own sources that we shall reveal next year alongside the other matters."
Tenten looked between the two. "What do we do about the matter?"
"Nothing."
Tenten asked looking bewildered. "Nothing? But if their planning a coup then..."
Sayaka shrugged. "The situation is already known to the higher ups in Konoha, it's in their hands now."
Tenten could almost see the end result of the decision. "It's going to end in blood isn't it?"
Yukimura nodded.
She stopped herself from snapping, if the clan was planning betrayal then chances were high that that blood would be spilt. "I take it that we can't stop it from occurring?"
Yukimura shook her head. "No, there are so many issues finding a solution would be extremely difficult, and even then it is likely that the clan would reject it in favor of the coup. These issue have existing since the founding of the village, and have pilled up over time, perhaps, there is still a chance to untangle the mess that has been weaved however many will simply refuse the long and arduous processes required for such a thing, no they will chose the shorter road, one that could lead to ruin and death. "
Naruto joined the conversation seeing the possible consequences. "It could start a civil war in Konoha, and that in turn could trigger a new war if the other villages smell weakness, with the Kyuubi incident it could still look like we're weak, this would just tip things over."
Tenten shook her head. "There's no way that can happen, it won't be allowed, if the clan doesn't back down then its going to be put down hard and fast."
Yukimura nodded. "Correct."
"So we stand by and watch everything occur?" Tenten asked glaring at the duo.
Sayaka nodded. "Yes, there isn't much you can do. Like we've said before, these issues have existed for a long time and the people have gotten far too bitter about them to let everything go. "
"You could reveal our presence and see what happens, most likely it would end with the two of you locked up in a dark cell somewhere and perhaps the Uchiha's would get a pat on the back for revealing such a thing, of course you could also get your throats slit after a lengthy torture session. It's doubtful that they would believe that I am a god, and even if they did what would change? Would they back down from the coup? Would they swallow their wounded pride? Given their arrogance it's more likely that they would try to control me to gain an upper hand in their plans. "
Sayaka squeezed his hand. "In any case, what we can do is plan around this issue."
Naruto blinked looking at the two. "Are you suggesting we take advantage of whatever is about to happen to the clan?"
"Yes."
He shrugged. "Alright, what are your plans?"
Tenten rounded her brother. "Brother!"
He looked at her surprised. "What? I never liked them to begin with and they never liked me either, from what I've heard I doubt they would settle for a peaceful solution, because even with their great love for Konoha I don't think the higher ups would immediately jump to hostile action that would involve war with the clan, chances are that they are long past the point of accepting any other solution then the coup."
Tenten grit her teeth. "I understand that, it's just that…, it will end in blood, I can understand that, it's just, to actually propose to use that to our advantage. It still feels wrong."
Yukimura grimaced looking at the two. "The world isn't always a pretty place, the shinobi world especially, there will be times when you will be faced with these kinds of situations, sadly, and as horrifying as it sounds, you will have to make the best of it."
She lowered her head. "It still feels wrong."
Sayaka nodded. "Yes, in a better world, this wouldn't occur, sadly we live in one where we must make such a choices." Seeing her sad face. "Of course, if you find a way to make the world better, then perhaps in the future such a thing will not be necessary."
"How can I do that?"
Naruto turned around and looked at his sister. "Why would you change it?"
Yukimura smiled. "That will be up to you to figure out, we don't have an answer that worked that well, for every world things are different."
Sayaka nodded. "In the end just do what you think will make the world a better place and hope that someone will eventually continue the work you started."
"Alright."
"Now perhaps we should take a small brake, to cool our heads."
"Brother…" She began looking at Naruto.
He shrugged. "I'm alright."
"No, you're not." She gently squeezed his shoulder.
"You aren't either."
"Yeah…."
Naruto let out a tired sigh. "It's just that… it feels like something the old goat would, withhold information until I'm of the right mindset, one that what have me see things as he wants and to ignore what may inconvenience him."
"Do you really think so?"
Naruto nodded. "A part of me does, it's just, why keep secrets like this?"
"Maybe it is something bad, something that we aren't ready to handle."
He nodded. "Yeah, but how bad do you think it is, to keep it under wrap for so long?"
She smiled at him. "I don't know, well, I guess we'll find out next year, we've trusted them so far and they haven't led us astray, for the moment let's keep going for a while longer, alright?"
"Alright." He chuckled and smiled at her. "You're acting like the regular big sister nowadays."
"Well" she smiled crossing her arms. "I am one."
"Technically speaking… "
"I'm older then you as far as everyone outside are concerned…"
"Well…"
"And" she smirked. "I'm taller then you..."
Naruto pouted. "You just have to rub it in don't you? Besides I've caught up with you."
"Eh" she shrugged "there's still a few centimeter difference, so age plus height equals I'm the older one."
Naruto pouted again looking away from her. "Stupid sister logic."
Tenten moved closer and patted Naruto on the head. "It's alright you are catching up to me in height at least."
He smirked turning his head towards his sister. "And you in mind."
"Oh" she asked titling her head to a side "what's that mister accidentally sprayed the toilet seat then sat down on it because you forgot?"
Naruto blanched. "It only happened once, and I was preparing for a prank!"
"My point still stands."
"Fine, you win this round….barely."
"Listen." She began the humor from her voice disappearing.
"Hmm?"
"Are you really alright with letting a conflict between the two factions occurring?"
He rubbed his chin. "I can't say I like either one that much, and if they chose to go down the violent route can you honestly say they don't deserve it?"
"It's just, it seems that either way people will get hurt, they'll lose their loved ones."
"If they chose to go down that path, then they must know that there a chance that will happen, no one's forcing their hand are they? You've seen the clan around the village, they have their jobs, as the police men and they can be active shinobi as well, and they seem to want more than that."
"Yeah, but just because we can't see it doesn't mean that things aren't bad for them."
He snorted. "Shinobi are meant to endure right?"
She nodded grimly. "Yes."
"Well, it looks like these guys, are done with that, rather then gritting their teeth and showing the world that they aren't assholes, letting their deeds speak for themselves, it sounds like these guys are all gathered up and in their little compound crying away about how they don't have more power because of their name."
"I think Yukimura's attitude has rubbed of on you, and maybe there's something else there?"
"Nah, I just don't like them, the history books talk about how great their clan is, how integral it was to the founding a Konoha."
She smirked. "Whose fan we are not."
"Right, how great they are thanks to those thieving eyes of their, but you know what, even with those eyes, they haven't had a Hokage, ever. Even with all the prestige these guys have, it doesn't seem it's enough for them, no, they want more but aren't willing to pay the price for it, and so they'll try and cheat, again."
"You really don't like them do you?"
"They keep giving me the stink eye and think I can tell, I didn't ask to be made into a sacrifice, I'm in the same boat as them and yet they seem to think like I'm the cause of their problems. At least they don't try anything, but, uh, back at the start of the first year, there was this Uchiha family there, you should have seen the glare the mother was giving me, like my very existence offended her; just being in the same area was some sort of insult to her."
Tenten frowned. "You never told me about that."
He shrugged. "I didn't want to ruin your day" he smiled "you were happy, about starting the academy."
"Screw that!" she rounded on him "You should have told me."
"It wouldn't have changed anything."
"So what!" She grabbed the collar of his shirt shoving her face close to his. "We're family we should tell each other stuff like that!"
Naruto nodded lowering his head feeling his eyes watering. "Thanks."
"It's what big sister is here for." She patted him on the head again.
"Uh, shut up."
"Don't worry, if the Hyuuga girl joins up, maybe you can be a big brother as well."
He snorted. "Oh joy."
"Come on, lets brag something to eat, before going back, I'm sure a bit of rose syrup will help to brighten your mood."
"Know it all."
"Heh, it's what big sisters do."
"So, I take it we've calmed down a bit?" Yukimura asked leaning into his chair.
The two nodded.
"Good, then we can continue."
"What do you want to do?" Tenten asked taking a rising a cup of tea from the table.
"While you may not like it, we are proposing to take advantage of the upcoming incident with the Uchiha clan."
"Oh?" Naruto asked pouring Sayaka more tea.
Sayaka smiled at him. "It would be an ideal time to gain access to the Hokage's office with him around; time that we can use to copy whatever is in there."
"I see…" Tenten looked at the two intently "you're very confident that something bad will happen."
Sayaka smiled sadly at her. "It appears that it is unavoidable, the clan will not back down and the Hokage cannot back down more than he already has."
Yukimura continued. "Tell him how the clan members have been watching you lately, he will most likely assign Anbu guards to you for a time again, something that you will need to be on guard against."
Naruto smiled counted on his fingers the task ahead of him. "So lie to the old man, get into his office then while he's out dealing with whatever happens, something most likely bloody, use the magic trick to steal as much stuff as possible, sounds easy enough."
Sayaka smiled. "And something to help disable the viewing orb."
"What?" The two asked surprised.
"You have something like that?" Naruto asked.
"We've been working on that for quite some time now, with the spell we've come up it should give you some peace and quiet from that thing."
"How?"
Yukimura waved his hand. "The details are complicated to say the least; in essence it will gradually and overtime diminish the desire of the user to spy on you with it."
Tenten smiled. "That sounds neat."
Sayaka smirked. "We've also added a second little gift to it of course."
"Oh?"
"While the time may not be right now, however in the future we will be able to destroy it in a permanent manner."
"What?"
Yukimura smirked. "Hmm, our little trick will have a secondary function of planting a small explosive in the orb, one that we intend to use to get rid of the blasted thing once and for all."
"That sounds great." Naruto could almost imagine how much more comfortable his life would be if that occurred.
Sayaka nodded. "Sadly, the problem with that is that we can't use it right away as it would draw suspicion onto you."
"We need someone else to blame for the deed; the best option would be if it is destroyed during a crisis or an event that would draw people's attention away from it."
Naruto nodded. "And with us in the room with it while the Uchiha incident occurs we could be seen as partially responsible if not fully. I doubt the old man has let any Uchiha near it, if there's another crisis one where someone can get close to the orb…hm I see your point."
"Exactly."
Tenten grimaced raising her point. "You now I can't help but notice how everyone is dancing around the issue of what will happen to the Uchiha clan."
Naruto looked at her surprised. "Isn't it obvious sister? It will end in blood, there's just no other way around it."
Tenten grit her teeth. "Just how much blood and why aren't any of you reacting to it?"
He shrugged. "They dug their own graves; it would be a shame not to bury them in it?"
"What's wrong with you? How can you say that?"
Both Yukimura and Sayaka looked unfazed. "Both of us have seen far worse than this before."
Yukimura smiled sadly at her. "Understand, the clan can't win the upcoming battle, if they start the fight hundreds will die, the other clans won't take this laying down, neither will the non clan shinobi. A civil war will tear Konoha asunder, the clan would lose but many more would die, far to many, a new great war could start because of their actions and in that conflicts thousands will die, that much is guaranteed."
"He is right, they've made their graves and the time is coming for them to be buried in them."
Sayaka smiled at her. "Please understand Tenten, we have considered other options, sadly we don't see any of them succeeding as well as this one."
"This means…"
"People dying, yes it does, it comes down to saving many compared to the few, the clan has other options, ones that they refuse to acknowledge, even knowing that their actions could lead to the death of their children and spark a new war in which thousands more will die they refuse to back down. If you had to make such a choice what would you do?"
She gripped the arms of her chair. "I'd save the many; I would try to find another way, one that doesn't involve potentially starting a war."
Yukimura nodded. "Exactly, in very rare cases will you be forced between two choices, you often have far more then you believe, and ones that don't involve jumping of a damn cliff head first."
Sayaka looked at the two with a grimace. "You both will have to make hard choices in the future, consider this a learning experience."
"Could we try and run during the crisis?"
"You wouldn't get far if you did, we may gain a day or two tops, and then they would hunt you down. Without knowing when a ship leaves for Avalon it's useless to head towards Tea country."
"Ahh…."
"As for your second problem, you can bring the girl here in the coming week and we will present her with an offer."
"Right."
"Is something on your mind?" Sayaka asked.
Naruto shrugged running a hand through his hair. "It's, well, now that I think about, she looked so sad, at times, like she was in pain, I don't know why, I figured she was just shy, but I think there's something more to it then that, uhhh, really should have paid more attention to her, tsk I guess I'll find out more about it if accepts. "
Sayaka smiled warmly at him. "It is an extraordinary act of courage to come to know a stranger's pain." Her smiled turned bloodthirsty. "Now off to sparing with the both of you, that should help cool your burning blood."
Naruto smiled as he spotted Hinata behind him, the girl had gotten better at staying hidden, when he realized that she wasn't doing anything bad by following him he decided to have some fun with it, he could still lose her anytime he wanted, however he wanted some amusement, so he started nudging her slowly, every time she made a serious mistake he would give away that he became aware of her presence, doing it overtime and at random mistakes, from small minor ones to the very large ones had helped the girl evolve in skill.
The girl had started following him around since the start of the second academic year, and while he had found it amusing for a time, he hoped it would stop after her time in the god realm, one way or another. Their chases had been fun, whether in the middle of the village or in the forests in Konoha, the girl had managed to keep up with him, for the most part, those damn eyes of her certainly gave her an advantage. Though compared to the training he had gotten in the god realm even that advantage wasn't enough, showing too much skill against it would be reveling far too much too soon.
No, he simple bled her dry, disappearing from time to time and forcing her to use her special eyes, her reserves weren't that big and she would soon tire out, if he didn't wear her out by having her chase him around the old fashioned way.
The girl, to her credit, and his relief, did have boundaries to her hobby, while she did follow him back to his home once or twice, the moment he got to his apartment she would leave, usually the girl watched him if he tended his rooftop garden, though even that was rare. If the girl hadn't stopped a certain boundaries he knew he would have crushed her hobby without hesitation.
Still, now he really needed her to stop and find another hobby, while it was fun to test the byakugan's capabilities, he didn't want to deal with her tendencies in the future, he was already paranoid enough at it was, he didn't need her adding more to it then that.
Damn shame she can't just talk to me during classes, besides a few words we don't talk that much, even those words feel like they are pried out. Heh, well let the chase begin.
Like before, the girl would follow him around and he would lead her to training where he would exercise for a time, it followed a schedule of sorts. Once finished he quickly gathered his belongings and left, he could hear Hinata right behind, following at his shadow.
Heh, here we go. He made a beeline for the market purposely getting lost in the crowd, going between stalls, he did leave her the proverbial breadcrumbs to follow, he doubted she actually knew that expression, the story he himself heard it from was of another world, something that still made him grin whenever he fought about the matter, still he basic idea of the story was the same. Once he was certain she had found him, he picked up his pace again and started walking towards the forested area of Konoha.
Hinata Hyuuga was started to get annoyed, she taken to observing a boy from her class, she didn't know what he was to her, she always felt better when she thought of him, she admired him, just looking at the boy brought a smile to her face, now though, the boy was putting on quite the chase, she wasn't sure of it he knew she was following him, she was always careful but the boy had a good sense about him and could sometimes if not see at least detect her presence and raise his guard.
Her admiration for him had started at the beginning of her first year at the academy, from what she overheard he had joined the academy two years earlier however he hadn't been able to pass his first year the previous times and thus ended up in her own class.
She noticed that from the first day at the academy their teachers seemed to be against him for some reason, it started with one of them making fun of his dreams, something they didn't do to anyone else and it continued on from there. Even the other teachers at the academy sent him odd looks when he passed by them in the hallway.
Their own class's teachers regularly denigrated Naruto's efforts and came short of actually outright sabotaging him, she didn't notice if they actually did that, from what she had seen even by peaking over his shoulder his own homework and test papers were always judged much harsher the rest. And yet even with all of these things stacked against him, the boy simply worked harder, even with the pressure on him to fail he was slowly climbing towards the upper part of the class ranking.
Even with her wish to help him she had no one to turn to, if all the teachers at the academy gave him those cold looks, who could she turn to for aid there, for all she knew the headmaster was of a similar mind and would simply rebuke her observations, her family had told her to be wary of the boy.
From what she had observed Naruto didn't have anyone to help him or someone to rely on, he had two friends at the academy, the Akamichi and Kurama clan heirs, that he knew from before the academy. Yet even with only a few people acknowledging him, somehow he still kept his determination. She admired and envied that will he showed, it was something she couldn't muster herself.
The situation with her family had gotten worse lately, her father had began to concentrate more on her little sister and his attitude had shifted to something far colder then before, most of the elders had always seemed disappointed in her for some reason and now they cared even less about her. No matter how much she tried she couldn't keep with her cousin's rapid growth in skill, worse was when she was made to spar with her little sister, she refused to use everything against her and lost the sparing matches against her, the little support she had of the few elders that didn't seem to resent her died after she lost her third match.
From what she had overheard from the elders while her lack of skill against her cousin could apparently be overlooked it was her refusal to harm her sister that cemented her own fall from grace, her attitude was the problem something that couldn't be allowed in clan leader least the mistake be similar to the last one. She didn't know who the last one was, it couldn't have been her father or grandfather, for time the title of heir was put aside, their talk of making her sister the new heir.
Her own fate was that of either marrying her to someone in the main family or to relegate her to the branch house, given her advanced age it was unknown if she could survive the branding ritual, at least no decision had been made and didn't look like one would come in the near future. A few discussed the possibility of her own rise to prominence again or of making Hanabi the new heir and being done with the matter, however a few were preparing an all too different solution, that of someone else taking over the title.
As a family and as a clan they were all related by blood, the position of clan head had usually gone to the strongest and his children afterwards, her own great grandfather had managed to gain the title by challenging the last clan head and defeating him. The problem arose as it allowed anyone to challenge for the right to rule and with all of them being related by blood they had a right do so, the only exception to this were the branch family members. Slowly a civil war seemed to be brewing in the main family, with different sides having their own potential heirs to back for the title.
One good thing with the apparent loss of the title was that she had a lot more free time on her hands, the guards that usually escorted her from the academy become fewer until they stopped all together, something that apparently would have happened anyway when she much older.
The only real time she spent together with her family was when they attempted to train her, though even that time had gotten cut down, every time she trained with them they seemed to find more flaws with her.
She didn't remember when she started to secretly following the boy around, he looked like a bright beacon to her, she would observe him training for hours, it brought her some comfort seeing a person who was so similar to her fighting against fate. She used what little strength she gained from watching him and tried to train harder as well, whenever she felt tired and close to giving up she would remember how he still strived and continued gritting her teeth.
And yet it all seemed for naught, she couldn't seem to catch up to her cousin nor could she harm her little sister. Attempting to approach the boy was something she couldn't do, for her it seemed like there was a wall that blocked her and that she could never move past it. She barely managed to exchange a few brief words with him at the academy as it was.
A friend seemed something out of her reach, the girls in her class were divided into two sides, either fawning over the Uchiha boy and were bickering with each other because of it or they treated her with formality knowing of her apparent status. There weren't any girls close to her age in the main family and those in the branch family treated her with formality as well, only theirs had much more of an edge to it, an underlying sense of fear seemed present, with one blurting out after spilling a tray how she asked not to have the seal used on her.
Even if she wasn't the heiress she could still use the seal on them, and any attempt to form a friendship would be under the veil of it being something forced under pressure. Her own sister was much too young to understand what was going on, and in her own mind perhaps it was for the best.
And now here she was chasing the person she wanted to be friends with and yet felt she could never move past the wall that separated them, the boy had managed to slip her sight several times while in the market place before she caught sight on him again, going from stall to stall and mingling amongst the people. She saw him heading towards the forested areas of Konoha at an increased speed and she increased her own to keep up.
It wasn't unusual for him to train in those areas; they made it more difficult to observe rather then the wide open ones. She blinked several times after she saw that he had disappeared from her sight, she stopped and looked around herself, she couldn't find any tracks he had left behind, bringing two fingers up she decided to use her bloodline to find him again, to her shock she spotted him smiling right behind her, she saw him casually lifting his right hand, it was the last thing she felt before darkness took her, her last thought was how she had never heard him either approaching her or lighting his arm.
"Well what do you think of this mess?" Sayaka asked sipping her tea.
"Uh, this is why I hate the clans, or well the world that forces them to organize in such a way." Yukimura said looking towards his better half.
Sayaka smiled bitterly before her expression turned cold. "Hate the sin not the sinner? Charming, the people make the world not vice verse, this isn't some savage world where everything in nature wants to kill them, they do not such an excuse, please don't defend them with such an argument."
"You are correct."
"Naturally."
Yukimura let out a tired sigh. "Going through her memories was something I had hoped would be easier to deal with."
"No you didn't, we knew something similar to her current situation would exist, the scale would be different though."
"You know me to well."
"Someone has to, perhaps this is for the best, sadly, Yakumo will have to wait until she can be approached, if ever."
"Yes, I don't want to know how bad her memories would have been a few years from now; still, you think she will accept our proposal?"
"Of course she will; you're skeptical, I figured you'd have thought of ten different ways to manipulate her already?"
"Oh, I have, I just didn't consider using them."
"Ah, showing more heart, it's nice to know the real you is still in there."
"Well, you're here aren't you?"
"So true, she does remind me of us at that age."
Yukimura smiled bitterly. "We were more broken then her, physically and mentally."
"Her own mind has taken a beating, and would most likely continue if we do not intervene."
"The offer will be made."
"And I shall do so."
He smiled. "And you call me manipulative."
"You are, all I'm going do to is help her adjust."
Yukimura held his mouth shout letting his words die in his throat, the fact that the girl was still grieving for her mother and would latch onto Sayaka as a new mother figure went unsaid, he did know that unlike what they had done with Tenten, who had a grudge against her mother and where he had used a manipulation playing with the father figure she had only good, if brief memories, Sayaka had no second intention, no desire to manipulate the girl. "Handling her case will be difficult."
"Nothing we haven't prepared for, Naruto has already aided us in making the initial contact, and once she awakens she will simply think that she fell asleep and return home, at night we will draw her here and make our proposal. The only difficulty will be with drawing Naruto and Tenten to the realm while we accelerate the flow of time, even so we succeeded doing it with Tenten, this will be no different."
"Tsk, hopeful we can help her in those six months."
"Hm…there is plenty to work on."
"It's troubling you know."
"Hmm?"
"Going through her memories you must have noticed her father's face."
"Ah yes, so many emotions, love, regret, anger, fear, quite the puzzle."
"Yes, why fear though? I can't understand it, who does Hinata resemble that he fears? Regret I can understand anger as well, but fear? That's something I'm having difficulties."
"Perhaps he simply believes that she has potential, so we shall not disappoint him and bring out that potential."
"I love when you get that expression."
Damn, I really should have seen the signs. Naruto walked through the market place keeping a small smile on his face. The clan members are so damn twitchy. Uhh, I've been slacking off; I've gotten used to the usual schedule and haven't been paying attention to the rest of the world. Well now that will have to change. Hmm, I guess I could make it a game to read peoples body language and possible motives. Actually that doesn't sound bad. That's how those two taught me the first time. Heh, not a bad idea, I wonder if sister will like the idea?
"I am curious about the orders given to the Kumo nin." Yukimura stated as he drank more of his tea.
"Oh? I doubt it has anything written out, given their…profession."
"True, the orders had to have been verbal; it allowed Kumo plausible deniability in case of failure. However even with mental training, Konoha does have a clan that are believed to be experts in mind walking, they could pry out those thoughts if he was caught."
Sayaka nodded. "Ah, I understand, it is something possible; given the nature of shinobi it is actually very possible for this to be the case."
"Yes, if there wasn't anything left of the kidnapper to interrogate, if he died at the hands of a Hyuuga, the proof would die with him as well."
"Even if they emerged successful from the last war, the Kyuubi incident had still weakened Konoha and would be hard pressed to start a new war, in this case Kumo had the leverage if something were to happen to its ambassadors. It may well be that the kidnapping was always meant to fail for Kumo to gain an advantage at the political table."
"Indeed, the issue is that the Yamanaka could still enter his mind and discover the truth, even freshly dead as he was. Hmm…of course several cards could have been played that night."
"Aye, the others could have demanded the body as soon as it was discovered, Konoha would have been hard pressed, give their weakened state to keep the body, they could be accused of killing the man themselves to steal his secrets using the Yamanaka or by cutting his corpse open."
"It's something we may never know, unless we get our hands on the current Raikage."
"Small chance of that happening, sadly."
"Hmm, ah she has arrived; it's time to greet her."
"Good luck."
Hinata blinked as she awoke, she tensed seeing she wasn't in her room, quickly she moved her head to the side where she caught sight of a woman was by the window of the room, her breath hitched seeing the woman, she had a soft smile on her face, smooth skin, and red hair, the sun made her hair look like it was on fire.
The woman turned towards her. "Ah, you've finally awoken."
She swallowed heavily, before speaking, the woman's warm tone made it feel like she was wrapped in a blanket. "Who are you? Where am I?"
"My name is Sayaka, and you my dear are at my home."
Her own eyes felt locked on the woman before her, unable to move away. "How did I…."
The woman smiled. "You've been following someone important to me for some time now."
Following someone around? "He knows?!" She half spluttered and half shouted.
Sayaka nodded. "Oh, yes, he simply lured here."
"Lured me?" she asked quietly feeling her blood turn to ice "...why….why would he..."
"Because I asked him to do so."
Her breath hitched and she felt her heart jumped up to in throat. "Why?"
The woman smiled again, and she felt her unease whittle away. "My beloved and I believe you have potential my dear and we wish to make you an offer."
"I…."
Sayaka waved a hand. "You don't have to make a decision now, you have plenty of time."
"My cla… family will search for me if I don't return."
"Will they now?" Sayaka asked raising an eyebrow. "Even you don't seem to consider them your family judging by that slip. It matters not; they won't be able to find here my dear."
"What?" Byakugan. How is this possible? "Where are we?" Her eyes that would normally allow her to see through walls where now unable to see past the walls of the room she was in.
"The how, well that is rather simple, the where, I mentioned before how you where at my and my beloved's home, what I did not mention is where exactly our home is."
"Not in Konoha." She whispered.
The woman shook her head. "We are in Konoha, in a manner of speaking, this realm was created by my beloved and here time flows differently."
Time flows differently? "What?"
"Look at me my dear" the woman waved a hand at her own body "do you think of me a simply being of flesh and bone?"
"Yes?"
"You would be wrong then, attempt again."
Taking a small breath she activated her byuakugan again before quickly shutting it off. "I…"
"No, my dear this is not a dream, my beloved is an actual god and I myself am not far behind."
"That…"
The woman smirked. "That's impossible? No, I assure you its quite possible, how else would everything you see be built?"
"I…..illusions?"
"No" she shook her head "everything around you is solid."
Her eyes widen when realization struck her. "Wait! Then…Naruto…"
"Oh, yes, he knows about us, as does his sister."
"He has a sister?" she asked surprised, she had never observed anyone like that around him.
"In all but blood, though we both know that blood doesn't always make family."
"I…"
"This is all overwhelming and you need time to think about everything" the woman made her way towards the door of the room "you have the run of the house, no harm shall come to you here."
"Well" Yukimura began looking into his cup "where to begin?"
"Um" Tenten began looking awkwardly around, she knew it must be something serious if he behaved this way "the start would be nice."
Yukimura nodded and rubbed his chin. "Hmm, I guess that after the spermatozoid entered the egg and conception occurred, it still took a while for…."
Sayaka sighed in irritation before elbowing him in the ribs. "Not from there."
…
"Heh, well she did ask from the start."
"Too far." Naruto contributed taking a small sip of his drink.
Yukimura nodded. "Right, so her situation isn't exactly pleasant, with a kidnapping attempt on her from a young age."
"A what?" Tenten asked placing her cup down.
Naruto halted with the cup near his lips. "When?"
"She was very young and it has left deep scars on her mind."
Naruto felt the need to chuckle. "So much for security in the clan."
"Actually…"
Tenten shook her head in sympathy for the girl. "It was worse wasn't it?"
"The would-be kidnapper was part of a delegation from Kumo."
"Ah" Naruto nodded satisfied "so, bad security for Konoha."
"Yes."
Tenten rubbed her head. "I'm guessing it got worse."
"Much worse." Sayaka nodded at the two.
"With a cousin that is more skilled then her in their clan style making her own reputation in the clan take a hit, her mother passing away shortly after giving birth to her sister, and well it only got worse, even she knows that her fate is most likely that of a trophy wife to a clan member."
"Well, I can almost forgive her for the stalking."
"Really?" Tenten asked looking towards her brother.
"Almost, still I could be her friend; her life is almost as messed up as ours."
"Well, I think it's actually worse than mine brother."
"Still does she actually have the skills to aid us in the future, I know her situation is bad however…"
"Yes she has great potential, neither of you were so different at start."
Both felt the ice in her tone and shuddered. "Ouch, we get it."
"Good, now you two will help her adjust when the time comes."
"Right."
"Got it."
The sword came from the left with great speed this time; he ducked and struck out with his staff striking at the legs of his opponent. He expected his opponent to either jump back giving him breathing space or to jump high a situation that would give him a small opportunity to strike at his target. However when his enemy placed one of his feet on his staff he only stared dumbly at him, the swift slash that fallowed cut across his right cheek.
The weapon made his second mistake there, he flinched rather then reacting accordingly, the blow that fallowed broke his right arm, and sent him crashing to the floor.
"Pathetic, it this your best Hidero?"
"That is not my name…" He began spitting blood.
"Isn't it?" the man asked rhetorically his sword pointed down at his opponents head.
"I don't have a name; I am a weapon for…" he felt his arm being broken in another place.
"A weapon would not make such mistakes, you are not a weapon you are a simple foolish little boy playing warrior." He waved the blade in front of the boy. "This is far more useful to us then you are boy. Get up this session is not over yet."
He moved his good hand to grab his staff before it was kicked from his reach.
"No, you do not deserve the weapon, boy, come at me with what you have."
He tightened his fist on the ground before using it as a crotch to get up; the situation was all too familiar to him. Pain was his teacher just as his master was, he could vividly recall all the times his master had cracked and broken his bones.
Now after fighting for a day straight exhaustion had caused him to stumble during the last of the challenges. Once more the weapon gritted its teeth. He needed to remember that he wasn't a human being anymore, he was more, he was a weapon, one that would be used to avenge his people, one that would bring swift and merciless retribution to their enemies.
He knew the odds against him, his master knew how to wield so many weapons, even for his advanced age he still had great strength in his arms, and now he also had two weapons, both deadly in their own rights, terrifying in his master's hands.
No, he was a weapon, such feelings were beyond him now, he breathed in before charging at his opponent.
Hinata let out a tired breath as she got back into her bed, she had been hesitant to wander the house at first, after exploring it to find the bathroom, she had gotten slightly boulder. At first she couldn't believe that she was in another realm, one created by a god no less. With the passage of time and her own exploration of the place she had come to accept it, try as she might her bloodline proved useless in this realm, her eyes couldn't see trough the walls of the house.
When she used her bloodline on the two occupants of the house she felt shock and her mouth hanged open, the two didn't have a chakra system, something that everyone had, their bodies appeared to have an odd energy inside of them, if anything it looked like their bodies were simply vessels for holding that power, it looked to her like a vast amount of water, more then she had ever seen in her short life.
She had hoped that while outside she could spot Konoha's large walls or the Hokage monument, even if she had been kidnapped it would have been impossible to keep her drugged for to long and to move her such a large distance.
Her hope of rescue died after the fifth day, after she left the house and traveled in the area near it she understood why that was. She wasn't in a normal area, going down the south path lead her into an endless forest, going down the west path somehow lead her into snowy mountains. The north path would lead her to a small cliff overlooking a green valley with a river running through the middle of it. She couldn't understand how so many different places where connected, she didn't believe they were illusions, everything felt far too real not to be.
The good part of her ordeal was that after accepting that she was in another realm, was that her sleep had been a peaceful one, besides the people already present no one else could enter the realm with our their permission. She had slept far better during her time in the realm then during the last two years at her home. As she pulled a blanket over herself she thought about the offer she was made and how she still had quite a lot of time to make her decision. The two would start showing her just what they could teach starting tomorrow.
"Dismissed Agent 51."
"Yes, Danzo-sama."
How foolish, the clan refuses to listen to the Hokage's peaceful words, even with his far too generous offer. The arrogance of believing they could rebel and seize control of Konoha, no, the moment word came of their choice they should have been put down and made an example.
Another sign of weakness on the part of Konoha for allowing such a thing to occur, and one on their side, a shinobi endures something they have forgotten. Now, a massacre will occur and the clan will be cut down.
With their own plan most of Uchiha will be in Konoha during the event, now my agents will remove all those who leave at the last moment for a mission. And the rest will recover specific pairs of their eyes; it would be a shame to lose such useful tools.
She breathed deeply gathering her courage before speaking. "Sayaka-san you mentioned an offer."
"Ah yes" Sayaka nodded "if you will agree to it, we would teach you as we have done with Naruto and Tenten."
"What would I need to do…"
"A great deal of things, keeping our secret is first amongst them, aiding Naruto and Tenten in the future hardships is another, last is helping us with our own plans."
She nodded hesitantly. "What would…."
Sayaka waved a hand. "We won't harm your family if that is what you are afraid of, if anything we would aid you in dealing with the situation in the clan. If they respect strength, then we can train you to defeat them in combat, we will help teach you how to best them in the political arena as well."
"I'm not strong…. I lose my spars I…."
"We both know you don't go all out during your spars."
"No" she shook her head "I fight with everything I have I…."
"You do not, not against your sister, not against your cousin."
"I won't hurt them…I."
"But they will hurt you, and you are wrong, you are hurting them in your own way."
"No I…"
"You pity your cousin for his loss."
"I…"
"It was not your fault what happened that night, you were a small child, frightened and confused, taken from your home at night. No, you are not responsible for what happened that night, never believe such a thing, the blame can fall on so many others, the clan's defense was weak, Konoha who didn't keep track of diplomats who's country they had been at war with not long ago. Even before you where shy, you didn't think you where good enough sparing with your cousin, he seemed to move to swiftly, to pick things up much faster then you. Somewhere along the way that pity, that guilt, it stopped you from going all out against him. A mistake that will be rectified, when the time comes."
"I….my sister."
Sayaka nodded. "The last reminder of your mother."
"Yes."
"You simply can't bring yourself to harm her, can you?"
"No."
"And that is the problem, I am not asking you to cripple her or take pleasure from her pain, but holding back will hurt her in the future. How can she grow stronger when her opponents won't truly test her skills? You are lucky that her other sparing partners don't hold back, tell me do you truly believe that if she where to judge her skills by only fighting you that she would be prepared for an actual battle outside the wall of Konoha."
"She's talented."
"Yes, she is, and yet, that is not what I asked you. If you hold back against her how will she grow?"
"I….."
"You don't need to hurt her, or even win all the spars, getting a draw and forcing her to constantly find new ways to fight against you would be a start. You do want her to be safe in the future, to hold her own come what may come?"
"Of course I want that!" she shouted before closing her mouth realizing what she had done "I…I'm sorry...I didn't mean to…"
"It's alright, I would have been disappointed if you didn't get upset, we were talking about your little sister's safety after all."
"Thank you."
"It's alright my dear."
"What happens if I don't agree with your offer?"
"Nothing bad will happen to you."
"But something will happen?" she asked realizing the meaning of words used.
"Yes, we will lock away your memories of us."
"Oh."
"And you will not approach Naruto again."
"What?!"
"Your hobby was started to irk him, he cannot allow you to continue with it, we will simply create a memory about a confrontation between the two of you with a harsh outcome. After which should you continue with your hobby…other measures will be taken. He is close to the Hokage and could ask him to intervene in the situation."
"Oh…"
"Still you misunderstand the situation my dear."
Sayaka placed a hand on her shoulder smiling warmly at her. "What?"
"Why do you want to walk behind him when you could walk beside him?"
…..
"Just because he doesn't want you following him around that doesn't mean he doesn't want you as a friend."
"He would accept me as a friend?"
"Yes, he would my dear."
"I…cant I'm afraid, I'm just a coward, I can't fight well I…."
"You're right. You are a coward that knows only how to run away. But there is bravery in you. It takes courage to be able to look squarely at your weaknesses. Listen to me Hinata, always believe in yourself. Do this and no matter where you are, you will have nothing to fear."
"Do you truly believe that I can become strong?"
"Yes."
"Then, I accept."
"Oh, they're all so cute!"
"Um…" Naruto looked around unsure about the current situation; Hinata was to his right and his sister was to his left, the girl had slowly joined them and seemed to be fitting in, they were currently in a part of the forest overlooking a group of rabbits.
"Each of you will pick one and take care of it." Yukimura intoned looking at the three.
"Why?" Naruto asked looking at the animals.
"Because we say so." Sayaka intoned.
Tenten nodded. "Fair enough."
Naruto looked amongst the group before picking up a black colored rabbit. "This one and I shall name you Night Terror!"
Hinata picked a small white furred one. "Mrs. Whiskers."
Tenten quickly chose one grey rabbit with a black spot at its left eye. "Black Spot."
Sayaka coughed in her hand. "Actually, beside Hinata's all of them are female."
"Oh…..well, ugh, Night Terror it still is."
"Yeah, I'm sticking with the name as well."
"So, what do we do with them?" Hinata asked nursing her rabbit.
Yukimura waved them off. "Just take care of them for the time being, feed them, make sure they have plenty of exercise and that they stay healthy."
"That's all?" Naruto asked looking at the three creatures.
"Yes."
Tenten smirked. "Afraid of the challenge brother?"
"Oh, Night Terror is going to kick Black Spot's ass!"
"Ha, in your dreams, Black Spot will run laps around your little girl!"
Naruto lifted his rabbit above his face staring into its eyes. "Come on Night Terror, it's time for some training, we have to put muscle on those bones! Then we're going to put Black Spot's muscles in your stomach!"
"Don't listen to him, come on we'll built your stamina by doing some laps."
Hinata blinked several times watching the two leave while she petted her rabbit before a single word escaped her. "What?"
Sayaka patted her on the head. "Just ignore the two; they tend to get somewhat competitive."
"Is it really alright?" she asked looking down at the small animal in her arms.
"Yes, just do your best to take care of him, you will understand later why it is required."
"Alright."
AN :
Sadly with work and real life getting more complicated this chapter got pushed back a great deal more than I ever intended, I do hope that I can get the next chapters out this year, it depends on the workload and what issues may pop up. I want to publish 6 more chapters written out that need to be heavily edited, the anniversary chapter has 17000 words at the moment.
-this chapter still needs a few more words added here and there
-Hinata's acceptance of her situation and offer was very rushed, far more than I desired, sadly it is what it is
Quotes used from :
-Darynda Jones, Death and the Girl Next Door
- Steven Erikson
- Baron Humbert von Gikkingen
-Shinku, 5th Rozen Maiden
Anything you recognize belongs to someone else. Any overtly original twists placed on old ideas you may wish to incorporate, feel free. Completely original ideas and concepts, please ask.
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