This is set-up after Pein Attack.
Prologue: Broken Wrist
Pain.
Pein.
Hinata shuddered. Another flashback of her misery replayed in her vision, the voice inside her stilled. Her soul trembled, still unrecovered from the way it was marred and maimed.
The purple-ringed eyes. The shrill tug at her chest. The thwarting blow to her by his one push.
A sizzle of her scorching pain ran up the curve of her spine, slumping her posture, weaving pain through the twisted paths of her veins.
The scent of damp earth wrapped around her, and the towering trees stretched skyward, their gnarled branches twisting to form a canopy overhead, filtering golden sunlight over her. The glow of sunlight glittered on her pale skin and reminded her of a person whose courage she admired the most.
Naruto—The one who still hadn't responded regarding her hasty and fearsome confession.
Her heart clenched. The ache in her bones never lessened.
She had thrown herself at Pein to attack, knowing she would lose. She had spoken her truth to Naruto, knowing it would be her last. And then—nothing. Nothing but a path of even greater devastation lay ahead. Nothing but the alarms ringing of more death, more blood spilt, more bones crushed, and more flesh marred.
Each step—beneath which fallen leaves rustled—weighed on her. The hollowness in her existence carved out another void, tethering her to a path that pulled her in, threatening to swallow her whole.
But… a frail thread of hope coiled around her wrist, holding her, cradling her.
The world had been shattered before her eyes and turned to rubble.
The echoes of the devastation screeched when Pein had crushed Konoha under his disillusioned idea of justice and peace.
The moss and twigs underneath her feet murmured to her about the dried blood on their surface. The woody and earthy air whispered to her about the decaying breaths that lingered in the fraying wisps of wind.
Her fingers twitched.
Another hand—softer than hers, smaller than hers—tugged on her wrist. Hinata glanced down, her eyes frowned. The boy, barely seven, looked up to her, with lonely fear lingering in his bright blue eyes. His blonde hair, unruly and spikey, was whipped to the side, and a few of the stray strands fell over his face.
His lip jutted out, "We tired, miss."
The bitterness on her tongue felt acidic and burned her.
She had been smothered by her thoughts and almost missed the eight kids walking alongside her. Her responsibility.
Pein hadn't just broken her. There was a world around her, with people far worse than her, with kids…displaced and distraught.
Get a hold of yourself, Hinata.
Despite his redemption—if that was what it was—Pein's damage to Konoha had uprooted their peace and life. The dense forest felt suffocating as Hinata, filled with indignation, straightened, squaring her shoulders and breathed a deep sigh.
"I apologize." She wrapped her hand around his and mustered a smile. The boy nodded, turned around, frowned and huffed towards the kids, younger than him, lined behind him. Hinata sensed the calmness seeping through every kid, and a couple of them ran towards her, clinging to her waist as they held onto her Kunai pouch. Hinata could see the sense of security settling down on their dirt-stained faces, streaked with blood.
She bit on her lip, turning towards the deepening forest. The path ahead dipped into a shallow stream. Nestled by the murmuring stream, the inn stood in quiet ruin. Her Byakugan pulsed and ached, as it drowned deeper, assessing the structure. The wooden frame was splintered, the roof had caved in from the back corner, and vines had found their home over the broken beams as they threaded through the broken windows.
Despite its decay, it was not lifeless.
The walls were weathered but standing, the main porch and the hall leading inside remained intact.
Children could stay beside the stream, wash themselves and rest inside the inn for some time. She thought.
Her mission reporting time was in the next two hours.
She exhaled again. Her ribs split with the phantom pain, carried ever since Pein had shown her the reality of her lacking strength. Her hand shot up to her stomach as she gasped, forcing herself to come back to the present. Her hand clutched the fabric covering her stomach as if to feel the wound that had long healed.
She shook her head.
Her pain was a cluster of loud noises, grating at the surface of her skull. Her veins crackled, with the heat of her memories.
The taste of metal, bitter sticky metal, on her tongue, roused her, reminding her of the present she was destined to live. She had bitten her lip too hard, a drop of blood sinning on her tongue.
Her head pounded.
The rush of responsibility pulled her back, the frantic screams in her head were prickling but distant as the soft tone of someone else lulled her into the embrace of the moment.
"Hinata-chan, your mission is to track the children displaced at the border of Konoha and bring them to safety. The map shared with you highlights the spot which was marked as a safety den for civilian women and children, however…these eight children are still missing…" Kakashi sensei, her new Hokage, spoke to her, his eyes dark and focused on her. Weariness sat on his shoulder, the Hokage robes hung on his frame. "You are to go alone, as the rest of the tracking teams are busy with other missing reports. And the rest of the members of your batch are busy rebuilding the village."
Children. Safety. Rescue.
Yes. Her mind churned. Juggled with multiple non-linear thoughts that stung with jagged edges.
Hinata blinked rapidly. Her heart stopped for a moment, before throwing her back to life, with palpitating beats.
She tucked those rumbling thoughts in the corner of her mind, letting them fester within her. Kakashi's firm voice with wavering worries peeled the shroud of self-inflicted agony. Her scars throbbed but she pressed harder on the floor, steadying herself, waking herself up.
The quiet mumbles between children made her look over her shoulder, her eyes widening at the hope glinting in the stares of those children looking up at her. Her.
She saw them as unfortunate souls, carrying hearts cast aside and spat on by the gods
Not because they were poor.
Not because they were civilians.
Not because they were children.
But because they were under her protection. And she had been nothing but useless. Pein showed her…she saw her true strength when he toyed with her.
How could those little children possess so much trust to bestow on her? she wondered.
Her smile warmed, bringing the red tint to the pale pallor of her face. Tasting ash, she let the heat simmer beneath her surface, letting the rage at her insecurities fill the cracks.
She gestured at the kids to move ahead of her, and they collectively skipped towards her and then with heavy and light steps, the ground thumped. The scent of moss and pine filled the air, tightening around them. Somewhere above, the wind hung and sighed, carrying the ashes and smoke from the ruined safety den they had left behind.
The stream glimmered in the clearing, water skidding down on the stones and the sun dipped lower above them. The children, in thirst, ran towards the edge of the stream. Their big eyes, devoid of life but weighed with hope, flinched at their reflections rippling on the surface of the clear water. Hinata approached them, crouching behind them, "It is not deep, you all can put your feet in." She leaned forward, twisting between two children; one girl and the other a boy, red-haired and a brunette respectively. Her hand dipped in the water, chill ran up her nerves, snaking inside her. "It is cold though."
Almost all of them beamed, thriving against the heat blaring down on them as they folded their tattered pants up and dipped their legs in the water, leaning back with their elbows on the grass. One of them, a girl with raven hair and green eyes, was looking at her reflection keenly, her tiny hand hovering over the water, her eyes watering and blinking.
Hinata scooted closer, her calloused fingers grazing the girl's shoulder in a gentle but steady grip. The child shivered, her frail form tensing as she sat up, her gaze darting away, unwilling—or perhaps afraid—to meet Hinata's eyes.
"You are going home," Hinata assured.
The girl's breath hitched. Slowly, hesitantly, she tilted her face upward, her wide, tear-brimmed eyes finally locking onto Hinata's gaze.
"T-To mommy?" Her voice trembled, fragile as a thread caught in the wind.
Something thickened in Hinata's throat, a fog creeping into her mind, blurring thought with emotion. But before hesitation could take hold, she breathed out the only answer she could bear to give.
"Yes."
A flush of red crept up her tear-streaked cheeks as she sobbed, hands clenching at the fabric of her tattered sleeves.
"Thank you!" Her voice cracked with emotion. "You're my hero."
Before Hinata could react, the girl scrambled to her feet, brushing the dirt from her clothes before dashing toward the blonde boy standing watch—the oldest of them, the one she had truly clung to all along. Perhaps, he had always been her hero. As Hinata stopped considering herself a hero.
Perhaps…she had never relished the deluded luxury of being the hero, or even feeling like the hero.
That title was reserved for people like Naruto, Neji…even her sister.
But not for her.
Never for her.
.
.
.
The weight of her restless slumber faded as her senses adjusted to the dull hush ruining the momentary peace. She lifted her face, still holding her knees in her embrace. The air was thick, damp, and woody. She leaned back, her head hitting the wall, her hair strands getting tangled with the spider webs. She winced.
Her sleep-struck eyes darted around, finding children huddled together, curled, and holding each other as if they were holding ontolife.Soft snoring, shuffling, and stirring, their slumbers were undeterred by the noise coming from outside. Through the shattered frame of the window, her eyes caught the movement. Her senses were alerted, and she stiffened. A chill ran up her spine, pooled inside the nape, thrumming and piercing.
Despite the pounding ache in her bones, Hinata rose soundlessly, stepping over the children with practised grace. Her Byakugan flared to life, veins burning against her skin as her vision sharpened. The haze of sleep vanished. She stood at the inn's doorway, and her breath caught in her throat.
Her hand trembled.
The presence of six…no, seven men, armed with swords, made her hold onto the vine-covered doorframe to steady her frame. She choked on air.
They were not just passing by.
They were not travellers.
They were waiting for her to come out.
The darkened sky outside hid their presence, cloaked it. But she could sense the flaring killing instinct weaving through them. The skittering of animals in the bushes and the hum or crickets—she could also hear the steady breathing of the people, shrouded in their dark purple capes, perched on trees or hiding behind the trees.
She gulped.
Her thoughts ran wild.
I am not strong enough.
The assault from Pein; its memory gnawed at her, reduced her to nothing but ashes. The strangers had their hands on the hilt of their swords, their eyes were shaped and gleamed with something predatory. Her Byakugan flickered, her chakra was not ample enough.
Hinata flinched. The thought of fighting became overwhelming, like a poison tearing her nerves apart.
Her breath stilled, and her body reminded her to exhale and relax.
Her frantic thoughts were rumbling, and her mind bellowed.
But she stepped out, the doorway empty, with no door to close and no way to shut the children safely inside. She glanced back, over her shoulder, all of them were like insects, heaving chests rising and falling and their eyes were shut, blissfully ignorant of the impending chaos. Except…one. The gleaming blue eyes and the golden hair…the boy lifted himself off the ground, his mouth parted, but no words came out.
Hinata's empty stare against his helpless one.
Hinata lifted her finger to her lip, and mouthed, "Don't make a noise."
He nodded.
He was a smart boy. He had been protecting those other children for so long, so he was aware of the danger thrumming in the air.
He could also hear the alarms. Alarms of something murky.
He curled behind the girl, wrapping his hand tightly around the raven-haired girl, his breathing heavy but his eyes squeezed shut as he mumbled a prayer that Hinata couldn't hear.
How unfortunate.
Everywhere she looked, there was dark.
How unfortunate was Hinata to see through the dark? How unfortunate!
She could also be the one sleeping in the dark, blissfully unaware of the looming shadows that were approaching the inn. She could also die, with a slash on her, in the dark, without facing the depths of void in the eyes of her assailant.
She could be blind. She hoped she was. For she was insanely tired of seeing…only seeing, and never winning.
Hinata turned her head towards the thick trees.
A man.
Four men.
Then seven men.
They emerged out of the darkness, their jaws tight, eyebrows drawn together and cold breathing fogging the air.
"She is the one," one of them barked, with a sneer.
"Ya sure about this? She looks weak!" The one with a stick dangling off the corner of his mouth questioned. Hinata's chest tightened.
Did they come for her?
The attacks in the forests were not common. After Pein, stealing and fighting while travelling to or from Konoha was common.
"Yes, look at the eyes," the man with grey hair responded.
"Stay back." Hinata ran forward. "Stay back!" she bellowed.
One of the men, who hadn't spoken yet, scurried ahead, chuckling and unsheathing his sword, "Or what…princess?" His answer was cold and swift…without mercy.
Hinata's eyes widened. Her heart was in her throat. Princess.
"Your family hates you, girl! Be nice, or we can be cruel." Another man, tall and bulky, armoured and caped, spoke with a lazy lilt in his tone.
"We should have gone with collecting the pearls of the little one, this one doesn't seem to hold anything special in particular." The grey-haired man urged. Hinata felt the chill slithering up her spine, freezing her blood. Little one? Hanabi? It struck her. Her anger throbbed, ignited under the shadows.
Hinata noticed that all of those men had circled her, one of them spat, "That Hyuga said this one is the heiress."
"Who are you?" Her voice wavered. The confusion about the situation baffled her. Hyuga?
The one who had his hood of the cap drawn over his head mumbled, his voice low but deep, creeping into her, "Collectors."
Her breathing evened out, she felt the surge of Chakra erupting from each pore of her body. "Collecting what?" she wondered, but loud enough.
"We collectors, collect debt from the filthy shinobi villages, for all the bloodshed—"
Her mind fumbled, understanding nothing that was unfolding before her. Her befuddlement flashed on her face, the biggest one of them laughed at her, his cackles laced with lunacy.
The man drawled, his voice carried disdain, "One of you…the mad one, Uchiha, had many of our brothers killed. We Samurai kept ourselves away from the likes of you but then—"
The one with his head covered commanded, his words brought an order amongst them as they all straightened, their legs steady and stance strong as their sharp eyes bore into hers. "Enough talk."
Hinata's heart dropped when three men approached her with the speed of light, emerging in front of her like ghosts. Their haunting sneers, their strong arms swinging the shiny swords around with swift movement, Hinata's instincts kept her defended as she jumped back.
To her dismay, she felt the sharpness piercing through her fabric and wounding her back by the men who were behind her.
"We collect the eyes, remember the task." The one who stepped away from them, keeping his head covered, spoke up as he sat down near the stream on the polished stone.
Hinata's mind growled at the mention of her eyes being the target. If those children she was supposed to protect with her eyes, end up getting harmed because of the same eyes…Hinata felt her blood running cold at the mere thought. Her heart felt heavy in her chest.
Her chakra was dwindling already, she had to fight the organ traffickers when she had rescued the children, and her strength—whatever laughable amount she had—was faltering.
Her Byakugan pulsed around her eyes, the ache shivered each nerve inside her. She barely had time to breathe before the men in front of them came at her again and the men behind her swung their swords in the air, with precision, aimed at her blind spot. They were well aware of Hyugas. She wondered how.
The worries weighed heavily on her. They were samurai, how did they know about her?
Her feet barely grazed the ground as she dodged and twisted, her hyper-aware vision guided her, and an occasional daze came over her but her instincts pulled her to safety. The wound continued to fester on her back, screaming. Her gait was sluggish as the loss of blood—evident by the warm liquid trickling down her back—slowed her down.
A blade nicked her arm. Another one aimed at her chest was blocked by the chakra coiled around her palm, aimed at the assailant's shoulder. Her deflection caused the rage to flare inside those depthless eyes that stared at her as if she were a vile creature. He huffed, groned and cursed under his breath as he lunged forward, his frame thrashing against hers, the impact rattled her bones.
She grunted, her body tumbled as she landed on the ground. The dust swirled around her and prickled her eyes and nose as she coughed out blood. The man chuckled darkly then he landed on her, straddling her. Hinata felt her body being crushed, the primal panic settling down inside her as she felt the sharp edge of the sword under her chin. The other strong fist of his slammed into her chest, and she gasped in terror as something crackled beneath her chest. Her rib.
A gutwrenching scream tore from her lips as the unnerving pain exploded in every part of her body. The crumbling chakra within her continued to shatter down, bit by bit, but she harnessed whatever little of her dignity was left in her and let her burning chakra seep out of every pore of her body. The man on top of her, squinted his eyes as the searing sensation engulfed him. She gritted her teeth.
She punctuated her every word as she hissed, "Get. off. Of. me."
Her hands lifted, both of them, lit up by the blue burst of energy wrapped around her wrist, keeping the middle of the palm crackling with the heat of her chakra. Her eyes flew open in panic, as the push of chakra from her palm at his chest kicked him off her, slamming him down towards the inn with a blaring thud. The man who flew in the air, had his chest charred. Instead of blocking his chakra points, Hinata's newly found strength within her ripped the flesh off his chest. His head slammed on the porch of the inn, the blood-spattered porch evoked a ringing sensation at the back of her head.
Two men rushed towards him, her stomach twisted at the way those men grabbed him and attempted to bring him back to life.
A deafening roar came from the other men who had left her alone after slashing her back. Their voice had a force that reverberated in the air, thickening and charging the air that nipped at her.
Her nerves frayed.
She whimpered as one of them snatched her head by clutching a fistful of her hair. His partner emerged in front of her, grabbing her neck, and choking the life out of her. She scrabbled wildly against him, pushing the chakra at the sole of her feet to lift her, attempting to lung towards the man in front of her, kicking the side of his head, the chakra-leaden kick threw him on the ground.
The man holding her by her hair cursed as Hinata squirmed and yanked herself away from his grasp, despite his harsh hands scraping her skull. Hinata twisted and stepped away, summoning chakra around her wrists again, the sharp pain aching her every bone ripped apart her senses. The blur in her vision made her mind go blank.
She couldn't breathe. She could feel the slickness dripping down her chin.
Her blood. Warm and metallic. Crimson and royal.
Useless. Her blood. Useless.
"Master! There are others with her," One of the men yelled, as he cradled his dead comrade's body over his shoulder.
Hinata's eyes flew open. A horrifying sob wracked her body.
No!
She swallowed the taste of iron.
She took a sharp inhale.
Her eyes snapped towards the inn's porch.
Her Byakugan ached, and the clarity of her vision dulled. She felt her heart plunging to the depths of her stomach.
The man who had grabbed her by her hair turned to her, "Well Well! Little princess got someone…" His lips curled into a nasty grin. Before she could shake herself out of the fearsome trance, that man picked up his injured partner and rushed towards the inn.
"Stop!" Hinata lunged forward, her voice breaking. The man, who was their master, the cloaked one, the hooded one, came at her with a speed unknown to even great shinobi. Another blade sliced through the air, urging her to hop back. She winced as the tip of his blade pierced through her cheek. Her exhausted limbs cried out and violently shuddered.
Hinata's eyes darted towards the inn, the men corralling the inn's doorway like a predatory animal. She caught the gleam of golden hair at the doorway, standing in front of the other children like a shield. Hinata felt the heart in her chest shrink. The child let out a strangled cry as he threw a discarded wood plank towards the men. Hinata's breathing started to come in panicked bursts.
Her body felt heavier, she held her chest and steadied her frame. She offered, her voice hoarse, "Take my eyes, leave them." She limped forward, the hooded man blocked her path and wrapped his hand around her waist, squeezing her as if he wanted to crush her bones with just his tormenting grip. "Take me—"
"We leave no witnesses." The man holding her, keeping her away from the children, bent down and whispered in her ear. She could feel the grin on his lips. She thrashed in his hold and writhed in agonizing hurt coursing through her limbs.
The children howled. Their pleas echoed.
With a ragged breath, she surged forward, attempting to wrench her body away from him. He snickered, "Our debt will be collected." She raised her palm and found the vulnerable spot beneath his collarbones. She slammed her palm onto his chest, but the laughter of his mockery echoed, eclipsing the haunting noise of the children's cries. He feinted to the side, deftly managing to outdo her.
The children's muffled sound of struggle…a child's scream…a sound of a crash.
Hinata, move!
Her pulse roared in her ears.
She staggered, but his bruising force on her arm yanked her back to him. His rough hand slipped down her marred skin and grabbed her wrist, he leaned in closer to her, his smoky breath fanned across her face as he muttered, "You lose."
His grip pressed into her bone. She gasped, struggling to wrench herself free.
A sickening crack split the air.
A strangling cry tore out of her throat as she fell onto her one knee, holding her broken wrist. Her vision blurred with stinging tears. Her wrist dangled uselessly in her grasp. Her skin already darkening with deep bruises. The pain surging in her bones felt like molten steel being forced into her veins.
The frail thread of hope that was coiled around her wrist, slipped down her broken bone and was dirtied in the blood on the ground.
Behind him, in the inn, a child's gutwrenching and ear-splitting pleading rang out.
"Weak little thing!" The man towering above her spoke lazily. His shoulders were firm and his hand firm, standing guard to throw another beating at Hinata if she dared to scramble off the floor and fight.
Despite the brutality sparkling in his eyes, she lifted herself off the ground, shivering like a leaf in the storm, withering like a flower shedding its petals. Her strength was ebbing with every passing second. She let her limp wrist hang at her side, and with one palm up, she glared at him. The crimson haze of her vision distorted his face for her.
"You force me for this," he craned his neck and grunted. "I will not cut you, I will beat you. You shinobi have many lessons to learn."
Her waning life within her clawed at her. Before she could assess the situation, while her vision was blurring at the edges, a kick with blunt force sent her tumbling down the cold and hard ground. She was sprawling down the ground, another kick crashing down on her already battered ribs. She tried to push herself up, but two men came rushing towards them, soaked in blood with wide grins on their blood-stained mouths.
The master restrained. The hooded figure skidded backwards, and she coughed out to breathe. He shared knowing glances with the two men and then before Hinata could even lift herself off the ground, one of them approached her and stamped down his boot on her broken wrist, grinding down at her destroyed wrist cruelling, relishing the sound of her suffering.
A guttural scream tore through her throat as the pain exploded in her arm.
"Pathetic, all talk about the great Byakugan yet you are here, crawling like an insect," he spat. "At least your cousin was worth the fight."
Hinata's mind was bewildered. Her thoughts couldn't find any edge of her brain to hold onto. Her eyes went wide at the mention of Neji, how do they know him?
He lifted his foot off her wrist and glanced towards the hooded figure who regarded the scene unfolding with restrained concern. "Master, are you sure this Hyuga and her eyes are worth it?"
The other man smacked the back of his head, "Shut it, Cane. Do not question Master's orders."
The brutal man shrugged and sneered. Kicking down at her again, her body folding under the assault, her world swam around her and every hit tilted. Blood pooled in her mouth, thick and metallic. The chakra began to gather around her feet to push herself off the ground, but the fading power rumbling beneath her surface was shrieking in terror, in helplessness.
The children's muffled cries sounded distant as if they were drowning.
"She is pretty," the man crouched down beside her and grabbed her chin, turning her face to face him. His filthy finger grazed the line of her jaw, he leaned down and licked the corner of her lips. Her hand shot up and barely touched the side of his head but his harsh grasp caught her hand in the air and just like his master, he twisted her wrist around and drained the life out of her bone, crushing it under his force.
She gasped, horror seeping into her, shaking her. Her breathing felt foreign as if she couldn't die but couldn't live either. The impact on her skull disoriented her, she felt the stirring behind her eyes and the thudding at the back of her head.
His hoarse voice rang, "I could take her…from head to toe. You keep the eyes, Master. I'll keep the body." He chuckled, his tone had the lilt of humour and unrestrained savagery. His thumb ran along the slope of her jaw to the depth of her neck, down to the valley between her breasts.
She didn't have any tears left to shed.
But she felt her dignity and honour draining out of her in strings of quiet muffled sobs.
Her body recoiling, curling on it's own as she fought for breathing.
The master's voice echoed, "Keep your filth to yourself, Cane. Fetch the eyes and discard the witnesses."
He sat on his knees beside her, preparing himself to do what was ordered, "Witnesses have been taken care of." The man's thumb retreated from her skin and a sigh of mocking relief released from her mouth.
Hinata felt the soul tethering her to life fizzle out like smoke in the air at the finality of his tone. Taken care of? She choked out a response, her words couldn't form on her tongue, she felt them melt there before she could bellow.
Master hummed a response.
She shook violently on the floor as the man pulled out a sharp dagger from his pocket, aiming directly towards her eyes.
A pathetic attempt…but she moved her arms, her twisted bones and quivering fingers attempted to hold onto the ground beneath her to pull herself up.
But…she failed.
Cane let out an amused chuckle, but before his dagger could reach her, the air charged with an overwhelming amount of lightning, it even sizzled and pierced through the flesh of her bare arms.
The sound of uncountable birds whispering and screeching crackled around her, echoing louder…and louder…as if the birds approached her.
"Abort," their Master announced.
Kunai began to rain down on them, flying in the air, targeted at their throats or embedded on the ground and exploding at their feet. Two men who were at the doorway of the inn had their throats sliced by the precise Kunai.
That man, Cane, yelled, "Did that Hyuga betray us?"
"Leave. Run," their Master was pathetic when he groaned.
His men, two of them died on the spot by the poisoned Kunai darted precisely at their throat, were picked up by the members alive. The man Hinata ended up killing, was picked up by the man Hinata had injured with a chakra-leaden kick at his head.
Hinata felt the tense commotion bubbling with intensity. Her eyes, all-seeing, could see the worry flicker through their expression. Her vision was blurring at the edges but the way the scowl marred the Master's face, it made her choke on her cackle.
Whoever was there, rattled them. And Hinata could feel the relief settling down on her, at their misery. Something dark, something vile, something extremely disgusting ignited within Hinata.
The commotion led to the death of three of their men, leaving four of them in shambles.
Hinata felt a surge of satisfaction.
The metallic blood on her tongue felt…good.
Die. She cursed at them.
"What about her?" Cane asked, his eyes boring on her contorted expression, seething at the curl of her lips.
The Master turned on his heels, his cloak billowing around him like a murky shadow. He sounded dismissive when he said, "She is barely alive."
"Eyes?" Cane shuffled his feet, adjusting the body of his comrade on his shoulder.
He announced and rushed towards the shadows of the trees, being one with the darkness, "She is not the only Hyuga in the world."
Her heart leapt to her throat.
She could see them following their Master like dogs on leash.
She felt her breathing getting shallow. Her lids were heavy with dizziness coursing through her. The pain lancing through her battered body began to torment her senses. Her wrist was twisted at an unusual angle, but she let her cold fingers claw at the dirt on the ground as she pushed herself forward. Her body felt as if it was being dragged with a rope tied around her chest, each breath that she took felt as if she swallowed a shard of glass.
The stones dug into her flesh as she dragged herself forward towards the inn, the dust collected beneath her tongue, and the leaves and twigs tangled with her hair. Bleeding from the cuts, and aching from the brokenness; Hinata stumbled onto the porch of the inn. Her body shrieked in protest, but she couldn't stop.
Blood soaked the path she dragged herself along, staining the ground as she inched toward the inn's porch.
"Yuki?" she croaked out.
"Renji?" she called out, barely above a whisper.
She staggered deeper into the inn, wooden planks groaning beneath her shaky body.
Her muscles tightened at her calves. Hinata felt swayed. A strangled sound broke from her throat, her stomach churned and the bile rose. The scent of blood, the scent of torn flesh—pressed heavily on her. A fire burned behind her ribs, a grief so deep that it cracked her apart.
Some of the children lay where they slept. Only…they were lifeless now.
Yuki, the girl she had promised, the girl who had called her hero, lay limp, curled on the floor. Her hand still clung to the floor, as if she was reaching out for someone to hold onto. She lay crumpled, broken, her chest was hollow as if a sword had mercilessly torn through her.
Hinata gasped, feeling her cheeks warm with the stinging after-taste of her tears.
Renji, the boy who was the protector, was slumped at the entrance, throat slit and blood gushing out of the gaping wound. His glassy eyes, blue as the sky, stare at the ceiling with a frozen and blanched expression.
No. She wanted to yell. But she couldn't.
"Hinata?"
She felt the sinking pressure brewing in the middle of her chest.
"Hinata!"
The world around her had blurred. She wanted to gouge her eyes out, the eyes, her eyes…always the culprit.
Her eyes saw through the dark, saw those children maimed …her eyes…why wasn't I blind? She whimpered.
"Hinata!"
She dangled on the inn's entrance with her vision distorting. Her breathing hitched. Her head dropped forward, her blood-matted hair falling around her face as her shoulders shook. Her vision blurred, but she refused to blink away the tears. Hinata clenched her fists, her broken wrist screaming in protest.
She felt a warm hand, an electrifying touch, brushing against her back. "Hinata…"
She couldn't crane her neck and look over her shoulder.
She was drawn into an embrace, her body weak and unresisting. Her limbs hung heavy, drained of all strength. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, tears slipping down her bruised cheeks. As her vision cleared through the haze of pain and exhaustion, she found herself staring into the familiar face of Kakashi.
"T-They…I…could-dn't…"
"Ssh. Many Hyuga were attacked. Neji as well. Nothing is your fault." Kakashi carried her in his arms, she felt the protective embrace of her Hokage who had his droopy eyes locked in on her.
She confessed, "A Hyuga… betrayed."
"What?" His eyes widened. His sharingan blared to life. The remnants of the electric field around his hold felt stinging and searing on her flesh.
"Yes…they…they said …A Hyuga t-told them a-about m-me…" she revealed, her eyes losing the light. The darkness engulfed her in an instant. Kakashi's surveying eyes on her felt like a storm reaching out to her.
As she stumbled into a deep slumber, she felt the encroaching dark steal her breath away and leave her soul mangled. Her brain continued to buzz and her body writhed, convulsing with every ragged breath she forced out of her.
The corpses of the children she was supposed to rescue, remained a few steps behind, remained…unburied. Their hopeful stares had turned into dead stares, their chatters and murmurs turned to their pleading noises, and their life turned to blood and darkness.
Her life stilled within her.
Mocking her.
Her sense of smell laughed at her.
Blood.
All she could smell was blood.
The blood spilt…and she couldn't rescue anyone who was bled dry.
The ache twisted inside her. Her life within her…thrummed…and she let the agony of breathing simmer inside her.
.
.
A/N: Hope you fav and review!
This was the challenge that I wanted to take for a while. Let's see how it goes. Wilted Petals and Fated Promise remain my priority, no worries.
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