Sleepless D: New update, hopefully I shall make the chapter good and you know. I have been updating like mad, and this story, while unique is the least popular compared to those I have been updating. It might be different, but like most authors, you always hope your stories are popular. Please enjoy. Peace out.
Naruto sits there, having told them what happened, only a lot of details left out since he wants to keep that privacy to him and Hinata. Choji and Shikamaru look at him, somewhat surprised and shocked. Their impression of Hinata now is completely different, going from a shy girl, to a cold teenager, then an emotionless young woman and now seems oddly caring on some weird level.
Shikamaru looks at Naruto, seeing his eyes staring at the remains of his ramen, though his eyes are unforcused. "Naruto, are you sure that happened?" Choji asks, looking at his friend with some worry, "You were sick and hearing things, maybe you were delusional?"
Naruto's eyes come back to focus and he looks at Choji, looking at him with confusion, "No delusion would be that detailed...Genjutsu maybe, but that was real." Naruto tells her, gaining a surprised nod from Choji and Shikamaru.
"So…are you two…you know?" Choji asks, looking at his friend with some concern and wonder in his eyes.
Naruto shakes his head, sighing a little and looks back at his bowl, "No…I can't figure Hinata out. I think she cares about me, but she keeps saying 'doing for her younger self'." Naruto tells her, looking as confused as them.
Shikamaru pats Naruto's back, "Well…next time you see her, see where she is with feelings. Though it seems like a drag, but maybe there's something there?"
Naruto sighs and his head rests in his hands, thinking that Hinata really is troublesome, quoting Shikamaru. "Yeah…maybe." Naruto says, getting off his seat and leaves, his friends eyes watching him leave.
"I feel sorry for him." Choji says, slowly eating his meal while looking emotionally down.
Shikamaru sighs and nods, "Yeah, troublesome that Naruto's mood changes your mood." He notes, somewhat annoyed by that and wished things were simple.
Xxxxxxxxxx
A couple of days pass and Hinata's team along with Kakashi have engaged with the enemy already. Assistance has been sent, though little has been required for the group of six. The team has split up, Kakashi is in combat with Gozu, Shino is building his beetles which are immune to crystallisation while Kiba, Akamaru, Hinata, Eri and Susumu are in combat with the rest of Guren's subordinates.
Hinata and Eri stand by side, waiting patiently in the smoke screen. Kiba and Akamaru are pulling back while Susumu waits agitatedly behind Eri and Hinata. "So, you going to attack, or are we waiting for Orochimaru to appear himself?" Susumu asks, looking at the dark figures in the smoke that he knows is Hinata and Eri.
"We're to gain information of Orochimaru's location, you're required for that." Hinata tells him, her Byakugan active and looks towards Eri, "Do not kill them, use restraint."
Eri nods, taking a breath and her chakra levels lower. "Four enemies; one is singled out and appears to be ready to engaged us in combat, two are keeping their distance and one appears to be in hiding."
Hinata nods, though she is only counting three, the fourth one must be out of range of her Byakugan. The two hear/see the single one launch straight at them, seeing his body shift and stretch as if he had no bones and fly straight at them. Hinata and Eri easily dodge the attacker's blows while Susumu gets hit and curses as the blows were too quick for his chakra to invade his body.
Susumu rolls away, his bones clicking from the force and rubs the blows. Confusion sets in as he pulls his hand back and sees slime covering his hand, his sights going up and looking straight at the dark mass attacking smaller masses that are Hinata and Eri.
The two dodge the blows with ease, Hinata slides under an attack, her knees and shins dragging against the ground as her palms smash into the core of their attacker. She feels her hands slide and stop on either side of his torso, a chuckle follows from the man as a fist flies straight for her face. Hinata's quickness and flexibility allowed her to twist her head and narrowly avoid the blow. Eri steps in, her palm flying towards the feminine man, gently touching him.
The mans' body violently shakes and his body flies, spinning rapidly as a deathly face seems to be imprinted in the man's near gelatinous form and smashes into a nearby tree. His body becomes thin for a brief second before its mass becomes normal again and he hits the ground.
Xxx
"Did they just take out Nurari, Rinji?" A man questions, wearing a black jacket and gas mask.
"No...he is getting back up. It's a bit unnerving that they made him fly like that." Rinji says, looking at the bat on his shoulder as it squeaks. "They're on the move, all three of them, one is heading for Nurari, the other two are-GET DOWN!" Rinji yells, quickly ducking as a small mass flies straight at them and the masked Shinobi gets smashed into by a palm. The sudden hit causes the man to yell in pain and falls back, falling from the branch and a gentle tap hits him. Bones snap and the man is thrown across the area and crash into the ground, gaining a frightened yelp as a small figure jumps out of a bush that is smoking with dust and the smoke screen shifts from the fast movement.
Eri rushes to the small figure while Hinata dives for Rinji. The tanned man quickly rolls off the branch and aims to hide in the bushes and flee the area, knowing that the situation rapidly become bad. Hinata jumps and thrusts her palms at the man and the direction he's heading towards. Rinji didn't see it coming and the bat's hearing didn't reach him in time as the ground is crushed and Rinji hits the ground, his bones cracking from the force. He quickly goes to stand back up, ignoring his dead bat and rushes forward. Sharp jabs hit his shoulders and the back of his knees. His limbs go dead and his face smashes into the ground.
Hinata stands atop of him, staring intently and seeing his face showing panic as he tries to move, but can't. A scream of pain follows and Hinata sees Eri deal with the last attacker before they begin dragging them to Susumu. The smoke screen gradually begins shifting as the wind starts to pick up. The three attackers are left near Susumu who holds onto Nurari, Hinata sees the young man covered in slime for tackling him for long enough to invade his chakra.
Susumu smirks a little and pulls out three knives with string attached to them, he throws them at the attackers, hitting them in the limbs, gaining cries of pain. The very short man and the masked one become rigid and quiet down while Rinji doesn't seem to change. "What the…" Susumu begins, but then sighs, "Hinata, unplug his chakra network, please…"
Hinata smashes her index fingers in the chakra points she sealed and Rinji becomes rigid as well. "You know the objective, Susumu." Hinata tells him, gaining a nod from the young man and looks at the four ninja.
"Right then jackasses, where is Orochimaru?" Susumu asks, looking at each one.
Rinji looks up, his eyes unfocused, "We do not know, we've been imprisoned for a long time. We're the subordinates of his subordinates."
Susumu curses and kicks Nurari in annoyance, "I hate the lackey's lackeys. Okay, who else might know?" he asks, kicking the slime off his sandal.
"Kabuto is Orochimaru's right hand man, he came here with the kid, Yukimaru and Guren might know where he is as well."
Susumu nods and looks at Hinata, shrugging and she nods. "Anything else you want to know?" he asks, sounding bored already.
Hinata shakes her head, turning away from them and Susumu sighs, pulling out a knife and tears it into Nurari's throat. Susumu's chakra ensures that he remains solid as the knife slowly tears into his neck, blood erupting from his neck that floods the ground and stains Susumu's arm and knife. Blood gargles out of the man's mouth, his eyes widening and collapsing, his body spasms before remaining limp. Susumu walks over to the masked one and the blade plunges into his eye socket, the blade making a cracking sound as it punctures the back of his head and blood begins to run down his face and his left eye flicking wildly before Susumu's foot places itself on his face and rips it out, causing a sudden splash of fluid to land on the ground. Susumu goes to the small one, readying his blade. Eri steps forward and taps his head, causing him to throw down and his skull collapses, causing blood and brain matter to spread across the grass. Susumu looks at her, chuckling at her kill before walking to the last man, going behind him and grabs his head with his left hand and the blade presses against his neck. The blade digs in deep, blood gushing out while Rinji spasms in shock and pain, Susumu smirks as the blade rips itself out from the other side, tearing his neck in half.
The four men lay deceased, blood staining the ground and Susumu cleans his blade on the clothing of Rinji's remain, whistling a merry tune and follows after Hinata while Eri lingers for a moment. She looks towards the location of the lake, hearing and feeling an immense power coming from it. She swallows and quickly follows Hinata and Susumu.
Xxx
A small group wait within the darkness within the forest, watching and waiting. They saw Hinata's team mates kill the subordinates and continue to wait. "So when are…we going…to move?" one of the group members asks, his voice deep and breathing deeply, having bubbles flowing with each breath.
"We know the target; we know who to follow. We wait until they leave the area." One of others tells him, having catlike eyes while the others wait patiently.
"I hope boss will be alright." A giant, hulking person says, towering over them all.
"Susumu isn't your boss, just because he can control you with touch, it doesn't mean he's your boss." The cat eyes person tells him, sounding annoyed.
"Okay, little one." The large person says with a smile on his face.
Xxxxx
Hinata's group returned to the others, not taking any casualties and Everyone seems somewhat surprised that their group wiped out the enemy so easily. Guren did engage her advisories, though they proved to be more challenging than initially thought and she was wounded in the process. Yamato and his team arrived through Guren's barrier easily enough and a small amount of chaos came. Kakashi managed to pull back after pushing back Gozu. Naruto went way
, her remaining team pulling back and reassessing their situation.
Naruto looks at the others, sighing in relief that his friends are safe and his eyes keep glancing over to Hinata, catching her eyes more than once. He can't help but smile a little, though he's not really sure why he is. Maybe it's because he's sure of his feelings towards the pale skinned Kunoichi, or if it's an embarrassment reflex, he's not sure.
"The Three Tails has been located. Full tailed form. I shall destroy the target and retrieve what's required."
Naruto holds onto his head, his stomach churning and his mind shooting with pain, like lightning shooting through him. Naruto opens his eyes, seeing Hinata's form wobble, but stands firm. Naruto sees Susumu grabbing hold of his head while Eri holds onto a nearby tree.
Confusion sets in for Naruto, wondering if Hinata truly hears the voices in his head, evidence of her new teammates showing similar signs confuses him. Naruto opens his mouth, wanting to ask Hinata if she is okay, but his mouth is dry as it was before.
The ground shakes and the air thickens with dread and bloodlust. Kakashi and the others quickly ready themselves and their weapons, scanning the surrounding area, but nothing comes. Rain begins to fall, though it's odd, the rain falls in a pattern where it starts, but stops and then starts again. The sound of trees shattering and waters flow around them, confusing them greatly.
Kakashi jumps onto a tree and continues to reach the very top and scans the lake. A few moments later, he quickly drops down and lands amongst them all. "Something very big and dangerous is in the middle of the lake, it's the cause of this rain!"
"Should we investigate?" Yamato asks, looking towards the lake which hides from view by the forest.
"Yes, but secure this area, I'll go and investigate myself!" Kakashi tells them, soon vanishing in a whirl of leaves.
Naruto stands, his stomach settling as the others set up a perimeter. He notices Susumu whispering to Hinata, but she ignores him and walks to her post and he begins whispering to Eri, but whether or not she is listening is hard to tell. Naruto begins following Hinata, keeping his eyes on her two companions as he catches up.
Hinata doesn't turn to him, she just continues walking towards the tree line and actives her Byakugan. Her chakra level increasing and causing Naruto to momentarily stop as the chakra pressure seems dark. Hinata's eyes strain and she's only managing to see the lake.
A lone figure of immense chakra faces a giant, turtle like being that appears to be that of pure chakra fighting the figure. The beast fires off several balls of condensed water, but the figure ducks and avoids every attack the beast gives.
The figure is a woman, wearing leather armour and a similar jacket that hides more weapons and items than humanly possible. Her face is covered by a gas mask and her hair tied down by the leather straps that keeps her mask tied down. Her left hand holds a blade that is infused with chakra that seems to suck rather than leave its blade. Her chakra however, reminding her greatly of those that only recently infused themselves with the waters of the Pool of the Rift, so extremely similar to Norio's.
The beast charges at her, closing the distance and its fist smashing into the woman. The waters shake and explode, spreading across the river and leaving no trace of her. The figure appears above the creature, diving onto the creature's neck of exposed skin and plunges deep into it and leaves the blade in it. The beast roars in anger and dives, sinking into the waters and taking the woman along with it.
The woman holds tight, her right feet stabbing into the flesh and the back of its shell to remain near it. She places her right hand onto the beast and a mechanism attached to her wrist stabs into the beast, twisting and reloading and firing again, again and again. She does this several times as the beast dives deeper and deeper, the pressure would've killed most people, but not her, her body holds out.
Hinata can see the beasts' chakra, the part she stabbed turning a different colour as it spreads through its chakra coils. Its chakra that remains unaffected around the area fires up around her, growing coral which slowly consume her. The world around her shifts, cracking and she vanishes, leaving the beast diving deeper into the waters.
The woman reappears, standing on the waters above, dripping from her time in the lake and watches it intently. The woman reaches into her jacket and pulls out a small, metallic device, reaching for its top and twists it, filling it with a small amount of her chakra and drops it into the waters. Moments pass and bubbles rise, shaking before the waters erupt and she vanishes.
The beast re-emerges from the waters, soon having a large explosive hit its shell and pushes it back into the waters. Its shell smokes as it rises again, standing on the waters with the marks of the explosive on its back. Its single eye scans the area, anger rising while its chakra weakens, the contaminate in its chakra spreading more.
The woman stands at the edge of the waters, looking at the beast as it searches for her. She reaches into her jacket and unbuckles a belt, pulling out a long strung with balls exactly the one she threw and she begins to pump chakra into them, even greater than she used before. The balls begin to vibrate ever so slightly, pulsating with power as her other hand reaches to the very top, her fingers brushing them gently before violently thrusting down. All the balls twist, causing a series of cracking sounds before she vanishes.
The beast looks and soon spots her, but she appears from nowhere and hangs on its face, the horns that retract to cover its face. Its eye sees her hand, chucking it at its eye and vanishes just as she appeared.
Xxx
"Hinata!" Naruto calls, shaking her shoulder, making her look and seems somewhat shocked by his appearance. He continues to shake her, not noticing that she has in fact regain focus of her surroundings. "Hinata!" he calls again, shaking her a little more.
"N-Naruto?" Hinata calls back, confused somewhat.
Naruto sighs in relief, looking at her and coughs nervously. "It took me a few minutes to even begin to talk. That's when I noticed you were in a trance or something." Naruto tells her, gaining an understandable nod.
The ground shakes and the winds blow violently; the force nearly takes Naruto off his feet while Hinata's short hair is blown from the force. Hinata activates her Byakugan again and her eyes widen. She quickly grabs Naruto's hand and pulls him to her, quickly ducking behind a tree and she holds him close to her.
Naruto looks at her in confusion, unsure what's going on. The smell of Hinata brings memories to Naruto and he blinks a few times, trying to remove the image of Hinata from his mind's eye.
Rushing sounds come, bringing Naruto's attention elsewhere. He tries to step to the side, but Hinata held him firm and as she did that, a large amount of water hits them. A tidal wave of water rushes past them, the width of the tree only managing to hold and keep them from being washed away. Their sides become drenched and the screams of surprise comes in the distance of the tidal wave. Just as sudden the waves came, they left and only left destroyed trees, knee deep waters and the wreckage remaining in the waters around them.
Naruto releases the breath he held, shocked by what happened and his body shakes. He looks at Hinata, swallowing and takes a few breaths and looks down, seeing the waters slowly sink and reveal what damage the waters done. "Th-Thanks…" Naruto whispers, looking back up and sees her eyes, looking into his. For a moment, they showed worry and relief of what happened and smiles at him, for an instant, showing the Hinata he knew. Naruto looks down for a moment, his hand reaching up and cupping her chin, his thumb grazing the small of her scar that goes from the corner of her eye to the line of her jaw. His eyes focus in hers, seeing her stare into his soul. He leans down, his lips brushing hers and feels a warmth that takes him somewhat by surprise, but she moves her lips against his. They soon break the kiss and both look down.
"Is everyone okay!" A voice comes shouting amongst the ruins of the forest.
Hinata straightens up and her face becomes emotionless once again, side stepping Naruto and begins walking. Naruto looks at her walking away, his eyes wondering to the back where he knows holds the scar markings for 'Envy' and 'Wrath'.
"Hinata!" Naruto calls, gaining her attention, "How…how did you get…those scars…on…" Naruto trails off.
"Which scar?" she asks, turning to him now.
"The…back?" Naruto asks, soon remembering she has several, the obvious one being her face, but he became use to it, faster than he thought.
She thinks for a moment, nodding, "The first scar is the symbol of Envy, it was carved into my back as a form of acceptance for mastering Sin. The other students have similar marks to mine, some in different areas. The second scar; Wrath, is my graduation scar for the Sin that overpowers my original Sin."
Naruto stares at her, confusion not really being the word to describe it, perhaps a new word should be invented for his feeling. "Sin?" Naruto asks, looking at her as the shy girl he knew and 'sin' never meeting in the same place in his mind.
"All are born from Sin, your spirit holds your Sin and mine is Envy. I envied you for so long, and so many others."
"…Okay…that makes sense…in some universe…" Naruto whispers the last part, "Didn't it hurt?" Naruto asks her, feeling concern for her.
Hinata nods to his response, "Yes, it did Naruto, but it's part of life." Hinata tells him, turning back and begins to walk to the group who seem somewhat unharmed.
Naruto quickly follows after her, his eyes sticking to her back and swallows nervously. "So…so what about the others scars?" Naruto asks her, feeling curious about them.
Hinata looks his way, her eyes unmoving for a moment, "Ask me another time, we've got a mission to accomplish."
Naruto swallows and nods, looking at his companions and seeing most of them are wet, some with twigs and leaves in their clothing and hair. Some have scrapes and bruises for those that didn't manage to escape the waters.
"What was that!?" Sakura yells, coughing a little and brushes a few twigs from her hair.
"Something happened at the lake, a creature with three tails went berserk and fought with someone." Hinata informs them, gaining their attention.
"How do you know?" Yamato questions, knowing the limit of the Byakugan at the best, and that they were way out of range for her to see anything there. "Did Kakashi Senpai return?"
Naruto shakes his head, "No, Hinata must've seen it with her eyes. She was in a trance and didn't hear me for a while." Naruto tells him, gaining a surprised nod from Yamato and even Sai for that matter, also knowing the best limit of the Byakugan.
"We should move cautiously, Kakashi might need assistance and the enemy may have a hand at this." Yamato tells them, looking around and sighs a little. "Shino, you're to stay here for our reinforcements to arrive and ready your insects. Sai, you're to take Naruto, Sakura and Eri. You're going to be the aerial assault squad since you're capable of dealing massive damage in a large area when dropped; Eri shall provide you everyone's location. The rest shall follow my lead, locate Kakashi and move towards the lake with high caution. We shall not engage the enemy is the risk is too great."
They all nod, getting into position; Sai flies off with his companions while Yamato moves out with his squad, leaving Shino behind who ponders being left behind again.
Xxxxx
The mist across the lake has all but vanished, the water levels being shockingly lower than it ever has and a large structure of the beast lies motionless on the surface. Several wounds are clear in its physical body as well as its blood seeping into the waters. A lone figure stands within the bloodstained waters, looking at the beast and holds a small container that drips with water and blood, mixing together as she waits.
A flash of blue comes from nowhere and another figure lands on the waters. The figure wears a ragged, blue cloak that covers his body and a metallic mask covering his face and messy, brown hair and stares at the dead mass with its yellow eye sockets. "Is it dead?" the man asks, gaining no reply as the beast steams and parts of its body starts melting and greying. "Is that the sample?" he then asks, gaining no reply and he sighs, "You've always been quiet…if memory serves."
The woman nods and holds out the container for him, "For you, General Pestilence." She says, her voice distorted by the gas mask.
"I am not him, not anymore. Death tends to do that." He tells her, reaching out and taking the container. It flashes blue and it ceases to exist. "Best find the next target, Ili. You don't want to look lazy in front of your…subordinates."
The woman known as Ili just shakes her head, "We don't think, we just act for our master. Whether it be killing beasts of nature or killing you. That is our purpose, that is our life, that is why we trained and we shall die for it."
Strife chuckles, shaking his head. "Yeah, purpose of killing us all if we ever broke from the master." He scans the area, noticing something and sighs, "We best be on our separate ways, say 'Hi' to the next person you slay."
Both vanish in a blink of an eye, one flashing blue before vanishing, the other looking like shadows consumed it. Both leaving the Tailed beasts' corpse that turns ever greyer and dissolving into nothing.
Xxxxx
Kabuto stands amongst the trees, his eyes wide and shocked as the Three Tails dissolves upon death and realises his mission is a complete failure. He calculates on whom to bring back, Guren is showing signs of affection towards Yukimaru, Gozu appears loyal to Guren. Thoughts of having the two cover him with the promise of taking Yukimaru to safety, though whether or not he does make it is another question.
He curses, not wanting to give Orochimaru the news, though the only good thing about it was experience and the enemy not getting the Three Tails. The one that killed the Three Tails, now that made him wonder to what purpose was that action, and he knew it wasn't an easy action to perform either.
He calculates some possible options, and the fact that the Akatsuki are now delayed for a number of years. Tailed Beasts have died before, but they never truly die, they reappear in the world, mostly in the similar manner as the Three Tails. He curses and begins to head back for the others, deciding the best plan of action that he believes Orochimaru would do.
Xxx
Kakashi manages to get to the edge of the lake, having managed to hold onto a tree when the wave hit. His hair sags down from the moisture, the mask wet and making it slightly harder to breathe through the moisture. He adjusts his mask as he scans the area, soon settling on the massive figure in the distance, the decomposing remains of the Three Tails. Some amount of shock came to him, the biggest one being how this happened. He pulls away his headband, his Sharingan scanning the area, see some trace amounts of chakra remaining on the lake, though most of it appears to be that of the Three Tails. He looks at the beast, now truly knowing that it is dead, not moving anything, not giving off chakra like the beast should, even while sleeping. He curses, deciding to head back to check on his team. He was close to the lake when it hit, and he decided to check on the lake before heading back and inform them of the situation.
Xxxxx
They stayed in the vicinity to await their reinforcements and to keep note of the remaining area. The remains of the lake have become a toxic pool from the remains of the Three Tails and the enemy have vanished during the confusion.
Yamato has set up a small building to shelter them and allow them to dry up and await the reinforcements. Hinata sits patiently while most of her Leaf comrades start resting up, most sleeping, others getting their equipment dry.
A light snoring comes to her left; she ignores it as she knows Naruto chose to sleep next to her. Her hand gently reaches up and brushes the scar line on her face, thinking deeply as Naruto snores next to her.
"Well done." A voice whispers, sounding somewhat distorted.
Hinata looks up, soon seeing the metallic face of the man she knows as Strife, "Is the mission done?" she asks, gaining a nod from him and a small chuckle.
"Yes indeedy do." Strife tells her, crouching down and looks into her eyes through his tinted eye sockets, "We've got what we need, and we've received a new mission for you to complete."
"What is it that needs to be done?"
Strife taps his chin, touching the cold metal and humming with some amusement, "You're to receive some…items that belong to us and are required to complete the mission."
Hinata nods, looking at Naruto next to her before looking back at Strife, "What is required of me? Where shall the mission take place?" Hinata asks him, her voice still and motionless.
Strife chuckles at her question, gaining a small amount of confusion from he, "You're going to the place you…died."
Hinata's eyes narrow with some confusion, staring at him, "The Academy?"
Strife just chuckles a little, "Oh no, that place is sealed away. No one is willing to buy that place, too many murder and suicides, plus that leaky tap, that's the thing that turns people away. Did anyone clear that place out?" Strife wonders, but shakes his head and focuses back on Hinata. "Anyway, the place I'm talking about the place you received…this scar." Strife tells her, his finger reaching down and pressing her lower abdomen, touching her jagged scar. "You're going to the place you died to get some things back, I just wanted to inform you before Kim did." Strife tells her, pulling his finger back and pats her shoulder, "So you've got time to deal with it."
A snort comes from Naruto, coughing a little and turns groggily, "Hinata?" Naruto grunts with some discomfort.
Strife looks at him and pats his arm, "Go back to bed, sweetie." Strife whispers soothingly, gaining a tired nod before he rolls over.
Naruto makes a sigh of relief, getting comfortable again, not noticing a flash of blue. His eyes shoot open, confusion clear in them and he turns around, seeing nothing and wonders who just said that or if he was dreaming. Naruto's eyes set on Hinata, seeing her shiver, her left hand covering her eyes and her right hand lazily lying on her knees which are to her chest. Naruto yawns a little, sitting up and puts his arm around her, aiming to warm her up.
Hinata just sits there, her left hand hiding her eyes while her thumb brushes the scar on the corner of her eye, slowly going down to her jaw. The thumb nail stabs deep into the scar, grazing it and slowly causing blood to surface on the scar as the nail stabs deeper and deeper into the scar.
Sleepless D: Well I hope you enjoyed the story, I'll update as soon as possible. Please review and enjoy. Peace out.