CHAPTER TEN

In our midst Part-7

Hanabi waited impatiently near the guard tower of the southern gate. It was almost curfew time which meant her team's nightly patrol was about to commence. She had arrived first…as usual, and save the Shinobi permanently assigned to the gate, she found herself completely alone at the tower. Eventually, Moegi joined her at the gate, followed by Konohamaru half an hour later.

"You're late" Hanabi addressed him, folding her arms.

"Sorry, I got caught up in something"

Moegi looked at her watch. "Where is lady Hinata by the way? She and Naruto are supposed to assign us our patrol areas for the night"

"Hanabi, did you run into her at home?" Konohamaru asked his teammate

"No I didn't. Come to think of it I've barely seen her today"

"And she's not at work either…" Moegi rubbed her chin in thought. "Do you think she overslept at Naruto's?"

"And abandoned us to our tasks? I don't see her doing that. Naruto? Ehhh…maybe, but not Hinata" Konohamaru said.

Moegi fumbled with her flak jacket. "What's taking them so long, and we can't even contact them"

"We could've if someone didn't break the damn radio" Konohamaru said with a sideways glance at Hanabi. The Hyuuga rubbed her neck in embarrassment.

"It was just a minor accident"

At that moment, the three ninjas were interrupted by a man calling out for Hanabi. As he approached them, they recognized him as Ko, Hinata's old caretaker.

"Lady Hanabi, you must come with me" he said as soon as he reached the team, taking Hanabi by surprise.

"Huh? Can't you see I'm on a mission?

"It's urgent"

Konohamaru gave his teammates confused looks. "Is there something wrong mister?"

Ko cleared his throat and spoke with a hint of urgency in his voice.

"It's your sister, we need to go now"

Hanabi's eyes widened as she registered what Ko said and she immediately darted after him, Moegi and Konohamaru in tow.

In a building in the southern part of town, Sakura and a team of medic nins had finally given up. She took Hinata's hand in hers and held it close to her, allowing the tears to flow freely. She had tried for over an hour to revive her friend but it was useless. She could only watch as the medics prepared to evacuate the body of her friend, then she finally accepted reality.

Hinata was dead.

Naruto pulled Sakura into an embrace as she sat on the floor in exhaustion. The two said nothing to each other as they held each other, Naruto trying to comfort his friend even when he felt like his own heart got shattered into a million pieces. Just then, Ko entered the room followed by Hanabi and the rest of team four. Hanabi stopped at the door to the attic, frozen in place.

"Big sister?" she stared in disbelief at what she was looking at. Hanabi ran towards a pair of medic nins lifting her sister's body into a stretcher. She took Hinata's hand in hers and tried in vain to wake her up.

"Hinata!" she cried, her voice cracking with emotion. Another medic stepped in to hold her back. Hanabi struggled against him and it wasn't until Konohamaru came up behind her and pulled her into an embrace that she finally gave in and broke down in sobs.

"Hinata….no"

Hinata

Hinata please wake up

Get her on her back

I'm not letting you die Hinata

A pair of lavender eyes shot open and struggled to grasp their immediate surroundings. The terrain was rocky and lifeless and the sky was pitch black and filed with stars. A calm voice suddenly rang out.

"Hinata"

The person in question spun around, startled.

"Who is that?" she asked. She stared into the endless abyss of nothingness she was surrounded by, finally pausing as her eyes settled on a large, blue celestial body in the night sky.

"Is that….earth?"

"Hinata" came the voice again. She felt a presence behind her and turned around to find a young man walking towards her. He was pale, almost white-skinned with a head of white hair. He had on an expensive looking robe and emanated an air of authority

"Who are you? Where am I?" Hinata asked.

The man opened his eyes to reveal a pair of empty eye sockets.

"You are in my mind plane, Hinata Hyuuga" he paused and said with a small smile.

"You are dead"

Hinata's eyes widened in shock. "I'm dead? So I didn't make it…"

"Yes" the man replied. "That is why I'm finally able to speak to you"

"Just who are you exactly?" Hinata asked.

The man paused for a moment before replying. "My name is Otsusuki Toneri"

"Time of death, write down 3:47 pm" came the voice of a medic ninja, instructing her partner. She watched the man nod and add some more details to his notepad. The woman took a look at a dejected looking Naruto answering questions from a police officer, and turned back to face the corpse on her stretcher and shook her head in pity.

"Poor girl" she removed the wig from Hinata's head which was looking more disheveled, exposing her long dark hair. Then she pulled the wraps over her face.

"To have your lover taken in such a manner and at such a young age too….it's a real tragedy" she said to herself, referencing Naruto. The medic signaled for help and was joined by another of her colleagues to lift up the stretcher.

"On three. 1, 2, 3!"

The corpse suddenly sprung up from the stretcher, gasping for air and throwing off the white sheets. Stricken with fear, the two medics dropped the stretcher and took several steps back.

"What in the world?" one of them called out. "She's alive!"

Hanabi sprung up in disbelief and ran downstairs. Sure enough, she saw the lifeless body of her sister get up from the stretcher.

"Hinata?"

Hinata looked up to meet Hanabi's gaze, watching tears fall down her cheeks.

"Hanabi, you-"

Her little sister was holding her in an embrace in a flash, and she could see more movement at the front door from the corner of her eye. Eventually the head of blonde hair she was subconsciously looking for made it's way into the room.

"How…." Naruto stood in disbelief staring at his medically pronounced dead girlfriend hugging her little sister. Hinata flashed him a small smile and called his name in her unique manner.

"Naruto-kun"