Chapter 6: The Fortune Teller
"I have always believed, and I still believe, that whatever good or bad fortune may come our way we can always give it meaning and transform it into something of value."
― Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha
Hinata
"He's exactly 20 meters ahead, to the northeast." Hinata announces.
The wind is crisp at her back, dawn unfurling about them in growing rays of honey yellows and pastel blues.
Their target, Yasuhiro Fukuda is planning a 'medicinal trade' with a local community leader of Kusagakure's pharmaceuticals at 7:00 am sharp.
'If he gets any deeper into the forests, we could lose his trail.' She frowns.
Fukuda is wise enough to almost constantly cover his tracks and face with a series of jutsus, make-up, and wide brimmed hats. He keeps to a low enough profile to ensure the pills and concoctions that have led to addictions and overdoses don't get tied back to him.
Until now.
Akamaru sniffs the air to her left, Kiba's nose wrinkling in agreement.
"Yeah boy, I agree. Smells like rain coming in from the south."
Shino draws out a stream of black, beetles the color of charcoal enveloping his arms.
"All the more reason for us to finish this mission before late afternoon then."
Kiba scoffs at his tone. "Don't forget what Kurenai-sensei is always saying Shino. This is a team mission so we gotta capture this guy together."
"...You should follow your own advice. As long as you don't rush ahead like the last time we cornered him, we should be fine. Why? Because this will be our last chance to capture him in this area before he moves outside of Kusagakure's borders."
"Stop fighting, don't lose his scent." Hinata hisses, startling both boys at her sharper tone.
None of them want to go back to Konoha unsuccessful, least of all her knowing how it will look to so many.
'The sacrifice can't even be a proper kunoichi, no wonder her Father chose her to be given to the jinchuriki.'
'I heard her team was unsuccessful in their first true ranked mission; not a surprise knowing her current status. Even their assigned jonin is just a beginner too when it comes to leading teams.'
Hinata shakes the thoughts away, relaxes her posture.
Kiba grits his teeth silently, clearly not ready to back down just yet and Hinata draws in a breath as Shino's bugs swarm precariously closer, buzz rising in pitch sensing the change in mood between them all.
"All of you need to focus, this is not the time for petty squabbles." Kurenai warns from above.
Fukuda is well aware of their arrival, may be leading them into a trap.
A risk they'll just have to take.
Kiba blows out an impatient breath, cracks his knuckles.
Kurenai leaps down beside them. "I'll clear a path for you all via a sensory genjutsu to affect his sight and smell. It should slow Fukuda down enough for you all to stop him. Wait for my red flare signal before heading any deeper into the forest. In the interim, come up with a plan in these 5-10 minutes on how to properly secure him this time."
And with that, she disappears into a mix of shrubs and leaves deep shades of vibrant greens and browns.
"Fine, how about this time I go in second with fang over fang? Shino, you go in first and I'll back you and your beetles up while Hinata can guide us from behind in case Fukuda gets thrown off course and paralyze him via gentle fist." Kiba suggests.
Shino nods, insects forming a path of black while Hinata nods her agreement to the plan.
They look to the sky now a mix of blues and grays, streak of red soon cutting through in a jagged line.
It's time.
Shino leaps into the darker sections of the leaves with his swarm, Kiba giving a final look to Hinata with a thumbs up, confident grin marring his lips.
"We got this; don't stress about it!"
Akamaru yips his agreement, leaping down from his shoulder to join him in the underbrush.
Hinata watches each of them with her byakugan, slowly moves into moss and vine to follow their tracks.
She pinpoints on Fukuda first, pace haphazard and sluggish.
"He's slower, you can use your beetles to trap his legs Shino. Kiba's fang over fang will incapacitate him." She communicates via her headpiece.
Pearl watches Fukuda's dazed look, twisting around in a mild panic when Shino's insects turn paralyzing at his feet.
"It's over for you!" Kiba's voice calls out from above.
Shino's insects' claw and grip at his legs to keep him in place, fang over fang preparing to tear into him.
As soon as the first claw strikes, Fukuda's body crumples, melts into the forest floor.
'A mud clone?!' Hinata startles.
She didn't sense any change in his chakra pattern or behavior for him to have made a body double and clearly neither did Kurenai-sensei, clicking her teeth.
Her eyes search the field, crackle of leaves coming from behind.
A kunai is at her throat before she can call out to Kiba and Shino, pursing her lips at Fukuda's sneering laugh in her ear.
His breath reeks of sweat and cigarettes, hand trembling just slightly from Kurenai's earlier attack despite pulling off the clone.
'He's still shaky.' Hinata realizes.
Enough for her to strike when he gives her an opening.
"Good thing that sensei of yours didn't know all about my mud clones despite that stupid flower poison she managed to get in my system. No matter though, she'll stand down knowing I've got you." Fukuda snarls.
Hinata calms her breathing, scopes out his weaker side.
'His right.' She decides.
"I've heard everything about you little Hyūga girl or really, should I say former Hyūga? I'm sure you know word travels fast around these parts about what goes on amongst all those noble clans of Konoha, right? As the latest sacrifice in Konoha, the ryo I can get you is probably more with you dead than alive compared to your teammates." Fukuda grunts, grip tightening.
Hinata half eyes him, draws forth a senbon needle out of her sleeves away from his view.
"I won't die out here in this forest miles from home to the likes of you." She whispers.
Fukuda chuckles, pushes his blade closer, enough to draw up a trickle of blood.
"You're in no position to negotiate, but if you beg or maybe give up one of those pretty eyes of yours-"
Hinata doesn't let him finish, elbows him hard towards the right side of his chest eliciting a wheeze.
Fukuda curses as he stumbles backwards, hand grabbing onto her ankle before he can fully slip off the branch, rage morphing his skin into a violent red.
"Little bitch, don't think you can escape me!"
He twists her ankle and Hinata bites her tongue not to cry out through the rush of pain that slams into her, swings them roughly sideways slipping them both off the trees. Hinata maneuvers herself into position above him, infuses fire into her senbon needle.
"You...You'll no longer be in the drug trade after this!" She hisses, plunging the weapon into his left eye as they crash into a thicket of evergreen and ferns.
Fukuda's howl alerts the rest of team 8, Kurenai upon them first.
"Hinata, Hinata?! Are you okay?" She breathes out, sanguine eyes wide in panic as she enters the bushes.
They move between her and Fukuda, slamming the ground causing vine and bark to wrap around his form when he feebly tries to move an arm forward to Hinata.
Kiba ambles up beside her a minute later, whistles with a pleased nod taking in Fukuda's face.
"Huh, and you were so worried sensei! Hinata went and jabbed out his freaking eye! And right before the rain came too!"
Akamaru barks in happy agreement, nuzzling into Hinata's side to lick away spots of blood to her hands before returning to Kiba's side.
Shino nods in approval beside him and Hinata finally dares to fully look then, takes in bright red to deep maroon colored blood marring Fukuda's neck and shirt. The needle is still embedded in his eye, cleanly pierced through to the back of his head. Parts of his skin have turned a raw pinkish red from the flames, the worst a deep purple-black.
Kurenai hurriedly quiets what remains of his fidgeting and screams as the flames sputter out, but it does nothing to stop the queasiness rising up in her as his eyes soon glaze over from the blood loss, fall from her to the forest floor as his body completely stills.
Dead.
She swallows back the taste of acid on her tongue, clenches her eyes shut as pain ripples over her like a sting, a ceaseless wave.
"He...He twisted my ankle." Hinata manages to murmur out before she slips into darkness too.
Naruto & Sasuke
The morning is sticky with a humid fog that rolled in from overnight, Naruto dazedly awoken by a sharp nudge from Sasuke.
"It's time. Tazuna and the other bridge builders are going to go confront Gatō and his men one final time."
Whatever sleepiness in him instantly evaporates.
"And what about Zabuza and that masked guy y'know?" He grunts in return as he sits up to gather his belongings.
Sasuke shrugs. "We'll deal with them if or when they show up."
Sakura is already awake beside Kakashi-sensei at the kitchen table, emerald eyes layered with concern staring towards outside. Her gaze twists to them as they join her, following her gaze outside as she points.
"A heavy mist has settled over the bridge and surrounding area. Round 2 is coming."
Kakashi turns to peer at all 3 of them then. "Sakura, you'll need to stay back out of Zabuza and Gatō's men's range and help guard Tazuna and any other villagers in the vicinity that couldn't escape. Use Earth release to form as many barriers as possible to impede Gatō's thugs."
Sakura nods, pushes on a smile for Inari and Tsunami that neither can manage to fully return.
Her chest swishes as she forces herself to ignore a rising cramp slithering into her stomach. She's been the one primarily assigned guard duty this entire mission, even they can see how little faith Kakashi-sensei has to put her on the frontlines...
'It's fine, you're not a heavy hitter like Naruto and Sasuke just yet.' Sakura reminds herself.
'But how am I going to get there without experiencing it firsthand eventually?' Her thoughts press before she can burrow them completely away.
Her nails dig crescents into her palms, hiding them quickly out of everyone's sight. Too late though for Sasuke not to notice and arch a brow, sense maybe where her mind has wandered too far.
'Weak. You're the weakest link of this team.'
Sakura forces on a smile in his direction, relieved when he looks away.
Kakashi's gaze turns to Sasuke and Naruto then. "I'll go for Zabuza, you two go for his masked partner."
Naruto and Sasuke silently nod, everyone heading out.
"You're faster on your feet than me, you'll better keep up with the masked guy while I assess what type of move set he has as a support." Naruto ventures.
Sasuke hums, mulls the plan over. He shouldn't be surprised really that Naruto is constantly watching others, knows when to react and when to hold back knowing his background as a jinchuriki to always stay cautious and alert.
"Why didn't you act this way at the Academy?" He can't help but question.
He recalls Naruto mostly being known for playing pranks on their teachers and generally skipping class.
Naruto's features give nothing away before chuckling dryly.
"Probably because I had to only worry about myself then y'know. And sometimes it was fun just to mess with the teachers knowing that the majority of them would do nothing to me in return. Anyways, now that we're on the same team, it would be a tragedy if you died before you got to kill that brother of yours, right?"
Sasuke rolls his eyes, straightens his shoulders.
"Just make sure you can back up all that snark moron. Don't slow me down."
Zabuza and his masked partner are already at the bridge awaiting them all, Wave civilian crumpled at their feet.
The air reeks of blood and ash, stormy greenish-blue waves crash violently against the rocks and harbor, match the rising tension soon to befall the area.
Zabuza steps forward first only for his masked partner to hold up an arm.
"Zabuza, please let me be the one to put them down. Kakashi is the more dangerous opponent that you should deal with."
He says nothing for a long minute, gauging each of them one by one before scoffing. Both Sasuke and Naruto seem to be formidable opponents despite their age, especially the blond knowing he killed one of the Thunder Brothers with relative ease.
"Alright, though be quick Haku." Zabuza eventually agrees.
Naruto's expression darkens as Haku goes for Sasuke first, Sasuke catching a flicker of that unnerving scarlet in Naruto's eyes.
"Same to you asshat; don't worry about me once the battle truly starts."
Kakashi
"You don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment." Zabuza grins.
He coats the area in a heavier mist than before, disappears completely into the fog.
It's a sharp change of tactics Kakashi notes from the way he closes his eyes, moving with a speed he has to watch more carefully than before.
'So he learned about how the sharingan operates, that must've been the work of his partner studying a bit on how the technique works.' Kakashi decides. He peers over to Sakura who nods in understanding, running to Tazuna's side to keep him from being targeted.
In that same moment he hears Zabuza's voice approaching, swish of his blade ringing out before Sakura can fully get into a protective stance.
"I'm ready for you this time Kakashi, you can't escape my blade or use those same tricks with your eye again!" Zabuza comes in from his left just as Sakura gets into a defensive position, jade eyes widening in horror as his sword slashes right across his vest, blood trickling out.
"Kakashi-sensei!" She gapes, balls up her free hand slamming it to the ground.
"Earth Release: Rock Collapse!"
The ground crumples at their feet as stone and dirt shoot up like arrows, cracks forming across the terrain. It isn't enough to completely split the ground in two, Zabuza still on his feet somewhere within the fog, but at least further out of the way of Tazuna.
"Are you alright sensei?! I can try for another ground split or-" Sakura thinks quickly, Kakashi holding up a hand.
'It's fine, I can end this now.'
Kakashi shakes his head for her to keep her position by Tazuna.
"Don't worry about me Sakura, this fight will be over soon." He promises.
He removes a scroll from his vest pocket then, smears blood upon it while stepping forward once more into the mist.
"Not many get a chance to see my sharingan twice in action and still live to tell the tale; there won't be a third time for you Zabuza."
Zabuza chuckles at his confidence, about to step forward only to hear a series of growls rising towards him from all sides.
'That noise? Dogs?'
He half turns at seeing a coming shadow, bulldog sinking his teeth into him from behind before he can dodge. The rest of his ninken pin him in place across his every limb, Kakashi crackling lightning into his hands.
"You made a fatal assumption about me, that I only rely on my sharingan as a way to attack."
He prepares himself to charge only for the surrounding air to grow heated; charged.
A painfully familiar malevolent chakra he hasn't sensed in years spreads out, blasts away part of the fog.
'The Nine Tails chakra?'
Zabuza senses it too, eyes following his back towards Haku's dome of ice mirrors.
Kakashi scowls, turns his focus back to Zabuza to finish him, calming his thoughts that he'll deal with that next.
'Naruto. Sasuke. What's going on over there?'
Naruto & Sasuke
"Stay back Naruto; keep attacking from the outside!" Sasuke directs.
'Long range isn't working though damn it, most of my moves are meant for a close-range attack!' Naruto glowers.
And before he can yell back that he's about to join him in this ice fortress, his body gets enveloped once more in mist. More and more needles jab into Sasuke's skin every time he manages to catch a look at him, blood spraying the cement in various shades of scarlet.
Naruto tsks, with the speed Haku's been moving at, nothing he's done has been feasible enough to leave a dent.
He draws his hands together, switching gears.
"Wind Release: Air bullets!"
The bullets don't even crack at the ice mirrors, Haku still able to move through them with ease.
And Sasuke is now layered with needles from head to toe, breathing turning ragged.
"Sasuke, we're going to have to both fight him at close range y'know!" Naruto calls out, running into the ice chamber despite his protests. Sasuke throws him an annoyed look, pulls out a needle to block the coming torrent Haku sends.
"Idiot, now you're trapped in here as well!" He bellows.
Naruto says nothing for a moment, picks up a needle from the ground to help him in swiping away the miniature spears. He half assesses Sasuke's current condition while watching as Haku flickers through the mirrors with a speed neither can match.
'Sasuke's been slowing down more and more since this match started. Direct attacks just lead to more of his needles hitting, so what else is an option we haven't tried yet?'
"Would you rather I have stood by watching you bleed out? There has to be a way to break these mirrors we just haven't seen yet from the outside or inside."
Sasuke blows out a breath, vision blurring despite his efforts.
"I've tried direct punches to his mirrors and even fire Naruto. You'll...just exhaust yourself trying the same methods."
His body wavers then and Naruto moves to catch him before he can hit the ground, frown marring his lips taking in the hazy features to his eyes.
"Hey, focus Sasuke! You still have to have some energy left in you!"
'Shit, he's going to bleed out!' Naruto grimaces, pulling out needles along his arms and legs.
Sasuke takes in his frantic expression and laughs hoarsely. Naruto has overall kept his distance from himself and Sakura, for a while he wondered if he truly actually cared about them beyond just as teammates.
"Don't worry about me Naruto, just don't...die."
Naruto looks back up at him again, his body stilling and going limp in his arms.
'Dead. Sasuke's dead?'
Haku comes out from one of the ice mirrors behind him, peers from Sasuke to him.
"It seems your friend has finally succumbed to his injuries, perhaps you should've been quicker to enter my ice dome. Then again, I'm sure he didn't want you to end up dying too in vain. This is a shinobi's life; it can be gone in an instant with one wrong move or just being too weak to carry on."
Naruto lays Sasuke down, gaze locking on Haku. He cracks out his hands, nails elongated, sanguine encompassing his eyes.
The ground and air rise in heat, spread across the fortress seeming to imprison them.
"You talk as if you knew him. As for lives, the same can be said for you." He snarls.
Haku steps back, chill running through him.
'What is this chakra coming off of him? It's darker and stronger than anything I've ever come across.'
Those eyes, Zabuza told him stories of the deities each village keeps as a weapon, power beyond that of a normal shinobi.
He attempts to step back into his mirrors only for Naruto to rush forward faster than he can dodge, nails digging in roughly pulling him back down.
"You can't run away back into your mirrors."
He slams a fist into his face knocking him backwards, mask cracking completely from the heat of his chakra, rage spilling across the terrain shattering the remaining ice mirrors.
Naruto steps forward to him, kunai at ready only to stop taking in his true features.
'The boy from the forest area?'
Auburn eyes dull at his brief hesitance, wiping away blood from lips. "Ah, I've been bested; I can't be any further use to Zabuza as a weapon in my current state. I don't believe there's anything left in my arsenal that can finish you off."
Naruto regards him carefully, crimson remaining sharp on his body's posture of supposed defeat. Haku's focus is less on him though and more on Kakashi and Zabuza's fight now, observing the duo to assess who is about to win.
And who is about to die.
His eyes widen a fraction as the mist clears enough, about to leap away only for Naruto to block him.
"Who said I was just going to let you go? You're no longer a useful tool, exactly like you said." He sneers, kunai piercing straight into his chest before he can parry it.
Blood gushes from his lips in shock, but still Haku twists himself to keep moving for Zabuza, arm stretching out for him as Kakashi's lightning cutter gets closer, too close...
'No, not yet! Move faster!' Haku clenches his teeth.
He stumbles down, body rejecting his commands to keep moving to at least protect Zabuza, to be of use to him one last time. He still hasn't taken his revenge upon Kirigakure, hasn't made a name for himself amongst the 5 great nations.
Black spots and tears swim into his vision, metallic taste filling his mouth.
'Zabuza, I'm sorry. I don't think...I don't think I'm going to be able to reach you in time.'
Sakura
'Curiosity kills.' Sakura muses dejectedly, pace the slowest compared to her companions.
While all of them were relieved Sasuke wasn't dead after all, Naruto immediately went back into his own thoughts.
Particularly when she brought up the subject of their reward ryo.
"Stop worrying about what's going on with me or Sasuke for that matter Sakura. And it's none of your business what I'll spend my ryo on, I just need some sleep and then I'll be fine." Naruto asserts, waving off her attempts to bandage any of his lingering wounds.
They seem to have all healed anyways without anyone's intervention, a 'perk' that comes with being a jinchuriki.
Sakura grits her teeth, hides her annoyance too late. "I'm just trying to make sure you're okay and that you don't waste your ryo on ramen or something unnecessary now that it isn't just you living in that apartment of yours! You just had a major fight Naruto and Sasuke could've died-"
"No, you're not actually that concerned over me. You can go back to pretending I don't exist, the same way Sasuke does to you." Naruto sharply interjects.
Sakura bristles, anger and embarrassment mixing into a poisonous cocktail, balling her fists. "That...That isn't fair! You know it's hard for me to get Sasuke's attention or even get him to agree to go out on a date with me."
Naruto rolls his eyes. "Because you don't truly know anything about Sasuke, be honest with yourself Sakura. Get stronger and maybe he'll actually look your way if he even cares about things like that."
Sakura clicks her tongue, glances back to Sasuke who's been purposefully keeping ahead to fully avoid listening or dealing with them.
Naruto meanwhile walks ahead as well to match Kakashi's pace. Sakura's gaze burns onto Sasuke's back, cheeks flushing red knowing he's heard everything anyways even without trying to.
"...Is that true, what Naruto just said?" She asks quietly enough for only him to hear.
Sasuke peers over to her once, shrugs. "He made some good points, that's all I'll say."
Even with this new field experience she's gained under the realms of a renown shinobi like Kakashi-sensei and catching up a little to her two teammates, she knows she's currently the weakest member of team 7 in terms of physical prowess.
And yet still, she does nothing to tamp down this new wondering what Naruto will do with their rewarded ryo, where their team goes from here. Jinchurikis aren't even typically allowed out of their home villages or even usually allowed to do tasks that involve so much interaction with others.
But Lord Third has made exceptions for Naruto, and for his latest sacrifice: Hinata.
She worries her bottom lip at maybe asking if he'll at least save some so he and Hinata can spend it towards necessities.
'He doesn't want your help or anyone's right now.' Her thoughts warn.
Because his mood since Haku and Zabuza's deaths has twisted into a darkness as foul and gray as the earlier morning storms, bad enough for even Kakashi-sensei to steer clear of rattling his emotions any further once they dealt with Gatō and the last of his men.
Sasuke nudges her shoulder, distracting her thoughts momentarily at his clipped look.
"What's wrong? Are the pain meds Tsunami gave you already wearing off? Or-"
"I know what you're thinking and now isn't a good time to keep bothering him." Sasuke curtly interrupts.
Obsidian eyes move to Naruto, the flat look in his expression walking absently forward behind Kakashi-sensei as they make their way back home. Tazuna and Inari's parting gifts are the last time he can recall seeing a grin upon his face before they left Wave, Tazuna even wanting to name the bridge after him once it's completed.
"He's not going to talk about what he did back there or what he's going to do with his ryo."
"Aren't you worried about Naruto too? I...I thought we were making some progress in and outside of being a team, but maybe that was just a cover."
Sasuke shakes his head, considers what to say to placate her fears. "If Kakashi-sensei isn't too worried about it, then we shouldn't be either. Naruto will come to us on his own terms, or we can just treat him to Ichiraku's, that always brings a smile to his face."
They split apart once they properly get back into Konoha's gates. Sakura detours past her house to get information if not on Naruto, but herself.
Madam Azeki is the best tarot and fortune reader in Konoha and perhaps the Land of Fire, predictions on people's love lives, financial prospects, and future successes and failures in life are read with an accuracy rate of nearly 97% from what she's heard her Mom gossip about with Ino's mom.
And now she has the ryo to put it to the test.
Crystal blue eyes shine teasingly as she enters, peering her up and down making her redden.
"Not often I get customers as young as you Dearie. But, it's not unheard of. Come, are you here for a palm reading or tarot reading?"
Sakura squirms before straightening. "Both."
Azeki reads her palm with a light hum then shuffles her deck of cards before laying them out.
"Interesting. Girls your age don't normally have such...unique paths. Right now, you've been feeling listless and a bit unsure of yourself on which path you should be going down as a shinobi, the rivers of your life have always been rather straight and calm, so be wary of a downward slope coming filled with darkness and heartache, it will change the dynamics of your life and relationships moving forward."
Her chest lurches. Does she mean Sasuke? Or her family?
Sakura leans forward in her seat too excitedly after drawing 3 cards at random. "Ah, is that what the cards say about my love life and kunoichi life too?!"
Azeki blinks, looks down at the cards she's pulled. "Hmm, the reversed chariot, the high priestess, and the magician. It matches with your palm reading in that you've been feeling a lack of control and direction in your life; both as a kunoichi and in love. However, you're intuitive and have a strong willpower and desire to change your current situation."
'Change my current situation? That means to get stronger like getting a second sensei to help boost my growthmaybe?' She considers.
Sakura sinks down in her seat, wonders if she's wasted her ryo or not at Azeki's bemused smile.
'Guess I'll head home and check in with Mom and Dad. I'm sure they're wondering why I didn't go straight there.' She sighs as she heads out of her shop, slowing her pace at seeing what looks to be Hinata? No, her sister telling by her shorter stature and chestnut locks.
And beside her must be Hiashi Hyūga, the man still known around the village for sacrificing his eldest child.
Neither glance her way and Sakura frowns at Hanabi's pained expression, knows she shouldn't be eavesdropping, crouching lower anyways near the bushes where they hopefully won't glance.
"Father, I was fine and nothing bad happened! I just wanted to make sure Big Sister was doing okay since you sacrificed her-"
"No, I don't want to hear your excuses Hanabi! Hinata did her duty and you've seen how much it's benefitted our clan! Higher paid assignments for both branch and main members, the best meal options at every restaurant, and escorts if needed on any missions outside the village. You should've cut ties with Hinata the same night she was given away to the jinchuriki."
Hanabi squirms under his intense glare, says nothing in return.
"Hirika shouldn't have been the one to tell me you went to visit Hinata on your own. You're lucky she was alone, that nobody saw you; people talk. It would look as if we regretted sacrificing her if you visit her again. Though I'm not fond of using these places, I need to see what your fortune says in regard to the future of our clan."
He pulls her in the direction of Lady Azeki's shop, Sakura watching them go with a grimace.
'Is that what Hinata's life was like before being sacrificed?'
Naruto & Hinata
A crunch of footsteps outside jolts him awake.
'That's Hinata's voice.'
"I honestly don't need this much help you two. Naruto will-"
"Naruto will what? Be pissed your teammates are helping you get back home? Shino and I ain't afraid even if he's the jinchuriki! We gotta know you're safe at least in case he's in a bad mood." Kiba barks back.
'Ugh, he's a loud ass no matter the time of day.'
Naruto greets them at the top of the stairs before they can even get to his door to knock, Hinata breaking into a soft grin seeing him and he feels his annoyance ebb just slightly at seeing her again despite having her teammates here too; she's safe.
His eyes fall to her leg then back up to her face, a bitterness she can't hide in her eyes that wasn't there before she left for this mission...
'But not uninjured.'
He takes in the bandage wrapped around her foot, a mix mash of plum-colored bruises sporting across her cheeks and arms.
"You all look like shit. Was your mission a failure?" Naruto asks bluntly.
Kiba instantly bristles, but Shino holds up his free hand with a shake of his head.
"We were successful. Why? Because Hinata stabbed out the left eye of our target and then Kurenai-sensei captured him before he could make any further moves to escape. Though it was unnecessary to bind him as he died soon after from the blood loss and damage sustained from Hinata's attack."
Naruto wrinkles his face at him; Shino is weirder than even his initial thoughts on Hinata.
Cobalt turns back to lavender, grins proudly.
"Our next spar session should focus on speed and defense then."
Hinata laughs hollowly, nodding.
Kiba moves to step forward then only for Naruto to impede his path once more, frown matching his scowl. It's nice that they brought Hinata back to his apartment instead of making him find them himself, but that doesn't mean he needs to invite them inside.
"Who said you can come in?"
He gives him an incredulous look in return that he ignores. The last thing he needs is Kiba of all people gossiping to anyone willing to listen about how his apartment looks, assumptions made of how he and Hinata are living in filth and squalor like so many of the civilians believe.
Like her old clan seems to believe.
"You really are as big of an ass as people say." Kiba grumbles just loud enough for him to hear.
Naruto scoffs, eyes swirling scarlet. "I don't want either of you inside my house, there's nothing wrong with that; is there? A jinchuriki lives alone typically anyways until a human sacrifice is given to them."
Hinata sends him a look and he knows he's pushing on the boundaries of her temper too.
But he's actively overheard at least twice before Shino's father and Kiba's sister discuss with Old Man Third that there should be more regulations on how often he should be able to move in and around the village depending on the time of day. That a village's jinchuriki must be kept in the shadows unless absolutely necessary to bring out for war.
There's no reason to believe that their family members think that differently from them.
Shino cuts through the tension with his bugs, barrier of black coming between the two. "We just want to help Hinata inside and then we'll go, that's all."
But Naruto has already moved himself beside her while pushing Kiba non too gently out of the way, lifts Hinata easily out of their holds into his arms in one swoop. "Hinata is light y'know; I can just carry her the rest of the way. Thanks for helping get her up the stairs."
Pink instantly stains Hinata's cheeks, squirming in his hold. "N-No! I don't need to be carried; honestly!"
She leans close to his ear, frown marring her lips speaking in harsher tone. "Please stop being rude to my teammates! Didn't you have to learn to trust Sasuke and Sakura too?"
Naruto only tightens his grip in response, whispers back just as quickly. "I won't apologize if that's what you're thinking, y'know. And you shouldn't be so trusting no matter what they say. Besides, I feel better keeping you close to me like this without them getting involved in being inside the apartment. Teammates or not, I know the rumors and stories that will start behind your back once they inevitably report back to their families."
Hinata swallows down a knot, feels the heat of her blush crawling down her neck unsure how to build a retort against that.
Onyx eyes cast a worried stare in Hinata's direction and Naruto grits his teeth at Kiba's unneeded pity. Heat clamps around his chest like a snare, thrum of his heartbeat rising in his ears as his concerned expression switches to annoyance when he glances back to him.
"Look, I'm trying to be patient; you two can head home before I force you to leave."
Kiba arches a brow, tries and fails to look past him towards the darkness of his apartment. "What is it exactly that you're hiding? Just cuz you're the jinchuriki doesn't mean I have to obey your every word or command."
Shino moves back wisely, beetles attempting to pull Kiba away as well.
"It's dangerous to taunt the jinchuriki Kiba; you know the sacrificial rules just as well as I do." He warns.
Kiba shrugs off his arm and beetles. "Doesn't matter to me. I'm going to call someone an ass when I see it! Especially when it's our teammate forced to be around him!"
Naruto snorts, blows out a gale of wind that slams him hard back against the stair's railing while turning away, done with this conversation. "I never forced Hinata to stick around y'know. Maybe think about that before deciding I'm such a jerkass. Also, jinchurikis aren't exactly known for being nice considering the way we're treated 364 out of 365 days a year."
And it's this remark that at least cracks at Kiba's smug facade, shoulders dropping with no smart or ugly point to make back.
His gaze falls back to Hinata once, lips set in a pursed line staring more at Naruto than him and Shino. Even with her darkened cheeks, her usual shyness is masked by changes she had to make about herself in order to adjust to this new life of hers.
"You can send us a message in the manner Kurenai-sensei taught us if you ever need us Hinata-"
Naruto closes his door in his face before he can finish. Hinata wiggles further of his hold, gives his back a light jab.
"P-Put me down now, you made your point."
Naruto smirks, shakes his head. "Wait, I know I'm not being hospitable, but I gotta surprise I want to do first."
"It...can't wait until in the morning?"
"No. Also, you need to tell me what happened on this mission for your foot to get hurt like that." Naruto replies, leaning them back against the door at her silence before sliding them down. His eyes stay glued on her waiting, probably not going to move them away from this door until she explains what she saw and did.
Hinata sighs, pushes herself to meet his stare. "I-I didn't think I was going to kill him with that stab. He was talking about how much ryo he could make off of me as a sacrificed person on the black markets, how much he could sell my eyes for as a Hyūga. It was lucky Kurenai-sensei's poison slowed him some as were standing on the branches when we both slipped off. I was above him since he fell first after elbowing him away; I drew out a senbon needle to attack before he could strike first."
She squirms, continues after a brief pause. "I've...never seen someone die in front of me. By my hand no less."
'You cannot hesitate Hinata, it's a weakness that will be used against you.' Father's voice comes to mind.
She balls her hands to hide their shaking. That was months ago when Father still believed there was a chance he could still harden her heart, mold her into a proper heiress. Being sacrificed seems to be the only thing she's done that's brought good prominence to the clan.
Connecting her former clan into one means to stop being afraid of such things.
But eventually, she'll find different ways to use the byakugan as more than just a way search for enemies, just to paralyze and kill.
Naruto frowns, voice flat picturing Haku's glassy eyes. "Eventually, you'll get used to it."
He snorts gently when Hinata's gaze drops, tilting her chin back up. "I mean it Hinata, you will get used to seeing death as you haven't decided to give up being a kunoichi, right? Such things come with the territory of this job; we both know that. Guess I'll have to find a way to expose you more to it, so you don't clam up, get injured, or feel as sick the next time you potentially have to kill."
Hinata tightens her lips again, how exactly Naruto will do that he doesn't say aloud just yet.
Naruto rolls his shoulders, slowly moves himself to stand once more. He can tell they both need a happier topic to end the night, grinning at the thought of Hinata's expression upon seeing the futon and her other little gifts.
"Alright, on to my surprises now y'know!"
Hinata reluctantly keeps her hold around his neck and once Naruto reaffirms his grip on her, he steps forward, long having memorized where to step in the dark to avoid squeaks and groans in the wood.
Their neighbors already dislike having to live next to him without having to hear him as well.
"The apartment is still clean." Hinata mentions teasingly noting no piles of laundry or ramen cups scattered about like when she first arrived, Naruto rolling his eyes despite his light grin.
"Yeah, yeah, I've actually listened and been following your cleaning tips."
He takes them into the living room, mumbles curses under his breath at bumping them against his sofa before gently guiding her to sit.
Hinata notes to-go bags with Sweet Delights & Sugar Bliss's labels, eyes widening in surprise as he pulls out a mix of cinnamon rolls and mini cakes. Naruto sees her stare and chuckles.
"You like sweet stuff the same way I like ramen, don't cha?"
Pink brightens her cheeks again, nodding slowly. Maybe he saw the receipts from the times she visited the bakeries just wanting to indulge her sweet tooth after a mission or he's making up for burning their food at past attempts to make meals for them only off of memory.
'I'm gonna get better at this y'know! We both need to know how to cook!' She recalls from the last time she let him take the lead in the kitchen to make curry with rice.
She smiles gently, squeezing his hand before he can fully move back.
"Thank you, it won't go to waste."
Naruto waves it off, own face warming. "I know, I know. Alright, close your eyes for a minute."
Hinata's expression turns wary, on the tip of her tongue to ask why, stopping herself seeing Naruto's antsy grin not to give away his final surprise too early.
Still her heart hammers, pitch black reminiscent of being shut away after a failed sparring session, Dr. Hashijimi holding her down...
'I can trust Naruto.' She quiets her thoughts.
The sounds of sheets and pillows fill her ears and a moment later he moves her to stand and walk a few steps forward, toes hitting something soft.
She opens her eyes not waiting for his command, takes in a midnight blue futon decorated with white and pink petals.
Hinata blinks, peers from the mattress to Naruto.
"This...This is for me? Thank you, but why?"
Naruto shrugs. "Of course it's for you silly. And I figured it would be good to not sleep on that hard sofa knowing we both need all the rest we can get for future missions."
"But, all that ryo-"
"Is mine to spend how I want to. And I can get more from Old Man Third knowing he's hiding things from me or take from the civilians as a 'tax' to not do any harm to their businesses." Naruto cuts her off.
Hinata doesn't push to ask exactly what he means or what he implies on how he's gotten ryo in the past, taking his hand pulling him down with her into the plush bedding.
"You're kinder than you think." She smiles softly and Naruto finds his voice abruptly too dry to refute her choice of words.
He wasn't kind when he killed Haku or when he told Sakura she'd probably never understand Sasuke's heart.
And as his latest sacrifice, he's kept her closer to him than necessary out of his own fears and desires...
None of these things are kind, Hinata hesitating before tapping her fingers along his whisker marks. The action makes him jolt and freeze when he's far too used to rougher touching and prodding.
"You're overthinking things."
Naruto scoffs, rolls over so abruptly, sits up before his heart can twist any further from her touch.
"I'm not." He mutters.
He refuses to look back at her, heading for his room.
He's never heard or read anything about a sacrifice actually being romantically involved with the jinchuriki they're beholden to. Maybe a tentative agreement to be friends or partners so as to help each other get stronger, but nothing more than that. However, more often than not, most try to escape via running away through a mission or die by illness/injury. Those seem to be the only two options and fate for a sacrifice that's gone on for decades now.
Naruto stops himself at a new thought, peers back over his shoulder to see Hinata still watching him, grin playing at her lips despite her exhaustion.
And a small smile rises up to match hers.
'I've never been one not to create a 3rd option if I hate the first two.'
-x-
Welcome back to the fun! I've missed this story! Happy New Year 2024 to all my old and new readers!
During the holiday break I thought a lot about this story while rewatching episodes, too often lol knowing how much I enjoy writing this. In the original drafts for this chapter, Naruto was a lot meaner to everyone. I'm trying not to make him an edgelord, but different enough from how his canon self handles things.
In terms of Sakura, what the fortune teller told her is true. (I don't know how to read tarots or anything like that, that section was based on google research.) Normalcy is coming to an end for her. Other characters will get spotlight and get stronger too, but there's certain people I'm going to focus on the most.
I like having Sakura interact with people and do skills in addition to the ones she had in canon, and I narrowed down her second sensei/mentor to two ppl. I asked my brother for advice during Christmas and though he said my choices were weird, I think I know who I'm going to choose. Hopefully she won't feel too OP but compared to the boosts Naruto and Sasuke get canon wise, I don't think it is.
Anyhow, if you want extra bonus and smutty content and my original writings, please check out my pa-tre-on. I go by TheLovelyMidnightWriter there! My Insta is the same name for my anime drawings, book reviews, and travel blog!
Let me know your thoughts!
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!