CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Our benefactors Part-3
"Naruto-kun!"
Hinata frantically shook the unconscious body of Naruto trying to wake him up.
"Naruto-kun wake up!"
She shoved fistfuls of snow down his shirt but to no avail, the jinchuriki still didn't move.
"I may have gone too far…." Hinata bowed her head in guilt. "I'm so sorry Naruto"
She debated leaving him to go get professional help from the hospital but she didn't want him to freeze in the snow. Hinata knew some basic medical ninjutsu but it wasn't enough to resuscitate Naruto. Three minutes later, she decided she was going to get help from the hospital. She wrapped Naruto in extra layers of clothing she got by using her own sweater and prepared to leave. As she laid him up on a nearby tree, she decided to try to resuscitate him again before leaving for good.
"One more time" then she knelt down beside him.
Focusing all her chakra to her hands, she placed them directly on his cold chest and concentrated…
Hmm…..
Hinata felt Naruto's body shift and clasped her hands in joy.
"Naruto-kun!" she happily pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-"
To her surprise, Naruto pushed her away and scurried back into the tree in fear. It wasn't until she looked into his blood red, fox-like eyes that she realized something was off.
"K-kyuubi….sama" she slowly put distance between herself and Naruto's body, which was now possessed by Kurama.
You….how did you….
Kurama studied the girl carefully, she was shivering both due to fear and the cold, trying her best to remain still before him.
What are you?
Hinata opened her mouth to speak but it felt dry. She knew that Naruto harboured the nine tails but outside of combat she rarely saw him, actually conversing with such an ancient being was a totally different experience for her.
"I…I don't know k-kurama"
The fox seemed to be wary of her too, Hinata noticed.
Maybe I hurt him too when I attacked Naruto? Are they connected like that?
She summoned the courage and bowed in apology to him.
"I'm sorry for hurting you Kurama!" Hinata half expected to feel the weight of a tailed beast bomb on her back as she bowed to the nine tails
The fox was startled by her sudden apology and moved backwards into the tree he was already pressing himself against. He calmed down a bit when he saw the girl was just apologizing to him. Why she was doing so, he didn't understand.
Hyuuga girl, how did you obtain this power?
6 hours later
"Why did you make us beef soup?" Naruto asked, collecting the steaming bowl from Hinata.
"We haven't had beef soup in a while" Hinata sat next to him on the couch and turned on the TV in front of them.
"I mean it's okay but, it's not exactly what I'm into y'know"
Hinata turned to face him and smiled. "You should consider Kurama too. He likes beef soup"
"KURAMA?" Naruto almost spat out a spoonful of soup. "He can't even eat!"
"Well, he said he liked the feeling, so I just took note"
"So you're listening to that smelly fox over me?"
Sit down and enjoy your meal, Ramen breath.
Hinata placed a hand on Naruto's seal and smiled after a moment.
"Well at least one of you appreciates their dinner"
Grumbling to himself, Naruto shoved spoonfuls of soup into his mouth while a romantic movie played on the TV. An hour passed and Naruto was bored out of his mind.
"Why don't we watch something else?"
"Shhh!" Hinata silenced him. "Don't interrupt, and besides Kurama enjoys romance movies"
Naruto wanted to say something humourous to that regard but the fox interrupted him.
Don't even
"The other bijuus are definitely hearing this ya big softie" Naruto mocked.
"I don't know what you two talked about but now you're trying to steal Hinata from me? That's not very nice y'know"
Your human affairs do not concern me. She is just being considerate
"Naruto-kun, someone's at the door"
Hinata's voice brought him back to the real world, where panicked knocking once again rang out from his front door"
"I'm coming, geez" Naruto opened the door to find Konohamaru. "What is it?"
Konohamaru stepped inside and grabbed Naruto's collar with both hands.
"Naruto, you've got to help me out bro! I-I need you!"
"Hey, calm down Kono, what's the issue?"
Konohamaru looked over Naruto's shoulder at Hinata who was waving at him in greeting.
"Not here, it's a secret that no one can hear, especially lady Hinata"
Puzzled, Naruto decided to play along and led his former student inside the kitchen and away from the living room. Finally alone, he turned to Konohamaru with an impatient look.
"What?"
Konohamaru clasped his hands together and looked dreamily at nothing in particular. "Naruto, I….I'm in love!"
Naruto unsuccessfully stifled a small squeal and pulled Konohamaru into a tight hug. Releasing him and clearing his throat, he asked him who it was.
"Only the coolest, prettiest kunoichi in the village of course!" Konohamaru replied, still doe eyed and blushing.
"Well who is it Konohamaru?"
"Hanabi Hyuuga…" his ex student sighed dreamily
"HANAB-" Naruto was silenced by Konohamaru's hand before he could finish saying her name.
"Be quiet! I told you not to tell anyone!"
"Really Konohamaru? You two hate each other!"
"Well now I love her, times are changing old man!"
Naruto took a seat at the dining table. "This is news to me"
"You've got to help me big bro! I don't know a thing about romance!" Konohamaru pleaded to Naruto who flashed him a wide grin.
"Then you've come to the right place!" he stood up and walked towards his bookshelf
"See I go by a lot of names among Konoha's fairest" Naruto slicked his hair back as he continued boasting. "Darling hero, Lady magnet, Most eligible shinobi in Konoha". Naruto reached for a brown package on top the shelf.
Konohamaru raised an eyebrow. "No one calls you any of those"
"Lucky for you, my dear student, I know a thing a two about reaching a woman's heart" he began unwrapping the package, ignoring Konohamaru's comment. "I can teach you a few moves that'll get any girl you want to fall head over heels in love." Naruto began listing some of his techniques.
"The tactical shoulder brush! The thirty yard stare! The fifteen yard stare! He paused and leaned into Konohamaru, rolling his eyebrows.
"Or Hinata's personal favourite, the Uzumaki barrage…"
"All of those sound so cool!" Konohamaru was brimming with excitement. "How do I learn them?"
"Through this!" Naruto presented the contents of the package to Konohamaru, which turned out to be the entire Make out series.
"A book?" the chunin asked, poorly masking his disappointment.
"Not just any book, Make out tactics" Naruto continued, "Follow the examples in this book and Hanabi will fall for you in no time!" he handed a book from the series to Konohamaru.
"I mean, it worked on her older sister for me, once I set my sights on Hinata she stood no chance against my charm" Naruto folded his arms in pride.
Konohamaru wanted to tell him that Hinata would've still bitten his hand off if he asked her out over a radio during a mission but he decided against it, letting Naruto live in his delusion. But maybe, the book may have some things he could find useful….
"Naruto, Hanabi is nothing like Hinata" Konohamaru opened a random page of the book and started skimming it. His eyes progressively widened as they travelled over the pages and his face turned red.
"Big bro….this is…."
Naruto noticed his former student's uncomfortable expression and peeked at the title of the book he was reading.
Make out paradise
"Whoooa, this is a bit too…advanced for you Konohamaru" Naruto laughed nervously, yanking the book from Konohamaru and replacing it with a copy of Make out tactics.
"Well you see big bro, I'm a fast learner. I'm sure I can handle it?"
"No"
In the Hokage's office that night, Kakashi, Ino, Sai, Kiba and Shikamaru sat deep in discussion.
"The investigative team has processed what we could from her mind Lord sixth, it took a while but we pulled it off" Ino spoke to the Hokage.
"And what were you able to find?" Kakashi replied.
Ino looked to her left and right at Sai and Shikamaru before continuing, "Mikasa's ritual killings served a purpose…to prolong her lifespan"
Kakashi rested his head in his hands. "Prolong her lifespan for what reason?"
Shikamaru cleared his throat, "Apparently it was in preparation for the arrival of our 'benefactors', we don't know exactly who these are referring to but Mikasa was looking forward to reuniting with them"
Kiba placed a folder on the desk. "This contains all we could obtain from her mind." He folded his arms and shook his head, "To say that woman is messed up would be an understatement"
Kakashi accepted the folder and went through it's contents.
"So what do we do with Mikasa?"
He looked up to find Sai speaking.
The former anbu continued, "Should we order her execution? It's in accordance with our law"
Shikamaru interrupted, "Wait….we can't kill her just yet, there's still so much we haven't learnt"
"He's right" Ino agreed, "As vile and disgusting as she is, Mikasa just might be the answer to all the questions we have about these benefactors she revers so much"
Kakashi lowered his gaze to the documents in his hands and spoke. "Continue the investigation, use any means necessary to get information from Mikasa" he paused to focus on Shikamaru. "And I mean any means necessary"
The Nara nodded In understanding and left the room with the rest of the group.