Chapter 7: Solar Eclipse
With the morning sun creeping into her eyes, Sakura awoke with a stiff back. “Damn this stupid temple,” she thought to herself. Due to their mission taking place within the Hyuga’s ancestral grounds, the original plan had been to apprehend the target, and move to one of the outposts members of the clan used to patrol their land. However, due to the unforeseen events of their target escaping, and losing Naruto and Hinata, their plan had been completely redrawn. Despite her aching back, the pink haired Kunoichi focused all of her attention on preparing to search for her teammate.
Looking around, she saw the other members of the Konoha patrol were slowly starting to wake. Standing towards the head of the staircase was Shino, who had been standing guard for the last two hours: having drawn the final guard lot. She then noticed Neji also happened to be awake. Sakura had not noticed the Hyuga Prodigy before, likely due to his stillness. Neji sat firmly in the middle of the Tenshuno Temple: resting much like their target had upon their arrival. Managing to stand herself up, Sakura slowly moved over to the center of the circular shrine to speak with Neji.
Before she could question what was on his mind, Neji opened his eyes. “It would appear everyone is beginning to wake. Immediately standing up, Neji walked over to the finally standing Kakashi. “I believe it would be best if we split our force in half. It would be the most efficient way to maintain both our current objective, and locate Hinata-Sama and Naruto. Combining the tracking skills of your Ninken with Kiba and Akamaru, we should be able to locate them via scent. Adding Sakura for any necessary application of medical ninjutsu would be a given. Meanwhile, Sai, Shino, and I will remain here. That way we can scout the area for our target.”
“Well…it appears it wasn’t just his impressive mastery of the Gentle Fist that Neji earned his Jounin status… then again, I shouldn’t be surprised,” Kakashi thought to himself, “But… he still has some room to improve. You have to learn to keep you emotions out of your judgement.” Having finished thinking things over, Kakashi addressed the group. “A good analysis… but… you forgot to think of the enemy. Our target is far more familiar with this territory than we are. He’s able to move around using the Hyuga Clan’s own hidden techniques. I know I don’t have to tell you that he can easily ambush us at any point. So… to compensate we need to use numbers. Still, you are right. We do need to maintain both tasks at the same time, and splitting up is the best way to do so.”
Taking a quick pause, Kakashi continued. “Sai, I want you to stay here. As a member of ROOT, you probably have the greatest amount of skill when it comes to hidden surveillance outside of me; however, facing this guy alone is too much of a risk… which is why you are staying behind, and not me. Unlike you, I don’t have the ability to fly. I’d like you to use your Ink Birds for both communication and surveillance. If you find yourself at risk of being discovered, I want you to move away using your advantage in flight. The rest of us will move to find Hinata and Naruto, but also to use numbers in case we come across the enemy. Is that understood?”
“Understood!” The rest of the members responded in unison. Scanning the group, he noticed Sakura bite her lip. His eye resting on Neji for only a second, Kakashi could easily tell that the Hyuga should have been aware of the present situation. Kakashi knew that despite his calm composure, the Hyuga Prodigy did not want to face the prospect of his cousin being dead. Despite being in a similar position, Kakashi knew he had no other choice.
“Alright then, Move Out!”
With his order, the platoon moved out. Sai remained on top of the Temple as he began drawing. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, the group effortlessly flew through the open clearing that was at the staircase’s base. Upon entering the forest, Kakashi keep his lead as they began to descent and encircle the mountain in hopes of reaching the mountain’s base. Not long after entering the forest, he found Sakura moving up to his right.
“Kakashi- Sensei, I understand your orders… but I was wondering why we didn’t just have Sai fly to the base of the waterfall?”
“I thought you might have had that on your mind,” Kakashi replied coolly. “Firstly, like I said, we need to maintain numbers. We have to assume this Tsukasa Shirokishi can appear anywhere within the territory… as it will keep us from a false sense of comfort, but it also explains how he’s only been spotted at the temple. As such, sending Sai down alone presents problems. If he lands and our target appears, he’s by himself. Even worse, if he finds Hinata and Naruto… and those two can’t move on their own, we will have a problem if the target appears just when Sai has found our missing members. While we may have been able to take the majority of us using multiple birds, we still need to focus on the objective. Leaving someone behind is necessary, and Sai is the best for the job... I know you’re worried, but we have to move cautiously.” As he finished, he saw his student look down with worry in her eyes. Shortly after, Sakura returned to her original position in the formation. As she moved to back and to Kakashi’s right, Neji was moving just beside her to Kakashi’s left. In between Sakura and Neji, but further back moved Kiba and Shino.
As she moved back in formation, Sakura took several deep breaths to calm herself. Having regained her composer, she began to focus and think. “Despite his calm and calculated composure, Kakashi seemed lost in some thought,” the Pink Haired Kunoichi thought to herself. Sakura was not surprised. To her, Kakashi was always thinking steps ahead. Deciding it would be pointless to guess what was in the thoughts of the Copy Ninja, she glanced back at Kiba and Shino to see how they were. It was then she saw Shino shiver as though a chill had run down his spine. Immediately doubling her focus on the vigilant Aburame, Sakura immediately called out to him. “Shino! Are you alright.”
“Yes,” the Aburame replied. Pressing his index and pointer finger to his goggles, he continued. “Just now… I suddenly felt forgotten.” Putting up a smile, Sakura replied.
“Ah…I see!” In her head, Sakura thought to herself. “….It isn’t like you make it hard to be forgotten.” As the thought crossed her mind, she could not help but notice as the Aburame’s fingers twitched. While she had not expected the calculating Shinobi to actually have such a quirk, what did shock her were the words spoken by the Hyuga Prodigy to her left.
“Sakura,” Neji started, “While we have the time, I would like to take the opportunity to apologize.” Amongst her own shock, Sakua could only imagine Kiba and Shino wore similar expressions.
“Eh…Neji …what do you have to apologize for? “
“I see…you would not understand if I do not clarify….very well. I wanted to apologize for Hinata’s behavior from two days ago.” Sakura’s shock was quickly replaced by anger.
“Neji! You don’t need to apologize for things Hinata does. Just because you are her cousin doesn’t mean you have to be her lap dog! TSCH! If Naruto didn’t beat that into your head, then I sure as hell will!”
Closing his eyes for a second, Neji continued. “It is not a matter of feeling indebted or in service to Hinata-Sama, but instead for two reasons. Firstly, it was of my own negligence that the event even transpired. Secondly, I only apologize on her behalf for Hinata-Sama could not possibly have known what had transpired on that day...”
“What are you talking about?” Sakura said. Her face was entirely serious. What traces of shock or anger she once had were replaced with a determined inquiry. As if he were a child being struck, Neji’s head immediately sunk. It took him several minutes to reply.
“Two days ago… used to be a day I celebrated like no other day. Not even the day of my birth held more significance.” With this, Neji paused as he struggled with the actions of his not too distant past. After a few seconds, Neji continued. “As you know… before my fight with Naruto, I hated the main branch. I believed they had taken everything from me. My father’s life, my destiny, and in the deepest corners of my mind I could only stand in fear of what they would take from next. So… it was only natural for me to relish the day. Even now I tremble with the fury and shame I have for myself… and even more so because despite everything I knew she never felt superior. She never felt above the rest of us… she only felt like she was a member of a family. It did not matter to her that she was of the Main Branch.” As he mentioned the titular branch of the Hyuga Clan’s leading family, he paused once more as he gritted his teath.
“Two days ago. That day marks the seven year anniversary of Hiyori-Sama’s death.”
The information began processing in Sakura’s head. “Hiyori….SAMA!” The realization had finally struck her in full force, and her eyes widened. “But that would make her Hi…” Before she could continue, she was abruptly cut off.
“That’s enough chit-chat back there!” Kakashi ordered in a harsher tone than usual. “Stay focused on the objective. We can’t afford to let the enemy take us by surprise.” Despite the shock the three younger Konoha Shinobi felt, they did their best to suppress their emotions. Satisfied with their resolve, Kakashi continued. “Kiba, can you pick up their scent?!” The Inuzuka sniffed the air for a few second, and his expression grew grim.
“Yeah….I think they may be only a kilometer ahead of us…the air is really misty so I’m guessing that’s the waterfall’s drop off point. I can smell Hinata’s scent more clearly than Naruto’s… but they are both definitely ahead of us. But… I can also smell blood. It isn't much, but someone's hurt!” As he finished Sakura narrowed her eyes.
“Blood,” She thought to herself, “Naruto... Hinata. Don’t be hurt badly, I’m on my way!”
“Neji,” Kakashi said, “Use your Byakugan to scout the area ahead of us.” As he glanced back, he saw the Hyuga Prodigy staring forward with his eyes already active.
“I’m already on it,” Neji started, “I can see the base of the waterfall. Surrounding the base of the waterfall is a small body of water: 100 meters in diameter it would seem. Scattered throughout the water looks to be scattered rocks of various shapes and sizes……Other than that, there is about a 30 meter clearing separating the waterfall’s waterbed and the foliage. A ten meter wide stream carries the water from the waterbed into the forest. Due to the mist being caused by the falling water it is hard to say…but it appears as though there may be something behind the waterfall.”
Hearing Neji’s description of the clearing only a Kilometer ahead, the Konoha platoon hastened their pace. It took only six minutes before they could faintly hear the roaring waterfall, and another two before they had made it to the edge of the clearing Kakashi called the group to halt. As the waterfall roared the Konoha Platoon remained motionless as they searched the clearing for ambushes. Sakura noticed as Kakashi kept his head looking up. Not long after, from the direction Kakashi looked came one of Sai’s Ink Birds. Pulling out an empty scroll, Kakashi allowed the bird to ram into it as it shifted to form a written text from Sai. After scanning over the contents, Kakashi seemingly relaxed.
“According to Sai’s report, there isn’t any movement back at the Temple. He also sent a bird to scan this area, and it was also empty. It is too soon to let your guard down, but we can move more casually.” With that, the team moved slowly in formation. Kiba took the point, and after taking a brief pause, Kiba moved forward into the heart of the pond. Reaching his hand into a group of jagged rocks, he pulled out a torn up lavender hoodie that could not belong to anyone other than Hinata.
“Damn….this isn’t good!” The Inuzuka was beginning to panic. Matching his feelings, Akamaru began to whimper. He soon found Kakashi kneeling beside him.
“Kiba…. Calm down.” Kakashi said, “There is only a hoodie here. The fact that neither Hinata or any traces of blood are here means that the jacked floated here from further in the waterfall…Neji, you said that the waterfall seemed suspicious, check to see if you can see better now that we are just in front of the mist.”
“Very well,” Neji said. Narrowing his activated Byakugan, Neji peered into the falling water. “Now that we are closer…Yes, there is without a doubt some form of cave formation just beyond the Waterfall!”
“I see,” Kakashi began, “Shino?”
“We aren’t being followed. That’s because, my insects are moving in formation around us. If the enemy is following us, they aren’t close enough to cause us trouble for the moment. In addition, some of my insects that were in front of the formation have reported back. Neji’s Byakugan would appear to be correct. A small cave formation sits just behind the waterfall.”
Taking a breath, Kakashi gave his orders. “Alright, let’s move into the cave formation! But stay cautious, we have to be prepared to find anything in there.”
“Yes!” answered his platoon in unison. Watching them from a tree on the edge of the clearing, a shadow sat quietly observing.
Quickly moving around the right side of the waterfall, Sakura found they would be able to enter cave formation without having to get soaked. Taking the lead, she moved into the cave quickly followed by the members of Team Kurenai. Moving into the entrance, it did not take her long to spot a fire. Taking a few seconds to adjust to the lighting and move forward, Sakura’s heart skipped a beat in joy. In front of her sat Hinata, her hands seemingly on her knees and with Naruto’s jacket on. She could make out Naruto’s spikey blond hair just on the other side of the Hyuga Hieress.
“Naruto! Hinata!” Sakura exclaimed, “Are you two ok?!” Almost matching her reaction, Akamaru barked in triumph, but slowly gave yet another whimper.
“Yes, but Naruto has a cut on his arm,” Hinata said as she turned her head to the voice behind her. Hinata hid eyes were under her bangs. Despite a soft smile on Hinata’s face, Sakura could hear the sadness in her voice.
“Hinata….I’m sorry for how I’ve acted… I didn’t know about your mother until Neji explained it!”
“SAKURA!” Neji exclaimed. Once more he had failed to anticipate the actions of Team Kakashi. “Hinata- Sama forgive me. I only wished for them to fully understand the situation. Had I known how they would…”
“It’s ok…Neji-Nisan,” Hinata said. Her eyes were still hidden. Taking off the jacket on her shoulders, Hinata carefully folded it, and placed it before Naruto. “Thank you for letting me borrow your jacket Naruto- Kun, but I’m alright now that we’ve dried off.” Having placed the jacket before Naruto, Hinata stood up, turned, and exited the cave. As she exited the cave formation, Kiba and Shino took steps to the side so she could pass… between her current state, and the knowledge they had just learned, they did not know how to approach their comrade. Akamaru curled himself by Kiba's leg. Neji stood with his head down: his hands clenched. The narrowed eye of Hatake Kakashi watched her carefully before it focused on Naruto.
Kneeling beside Naruto, Sakura began to treat with the poorly bandaged gash on Naruto’s arm. “You Baka! You can’t even tie a bandage right.” Taking a slight pause, Sakura continued, “It’s a good thing you jumped to save her, but next time think of a better strategy than blind luck… Naruto?!” Sakura paused as she noticed Naruto's expression. His eyes were widened and his mouth was open....a face frozen in shock. "W-what...impossible....there's no way....” He could not stop hearing Hinata’s words, and his mind continued to replay what the conversation he just had.
“No… it’s alright.” Hinata said slowly. “After how awfully I treated you… you should know………Naruto-Kun, two days ago was the Twenty-Third of July… the anniversary of the day I killed my mother.”
END CHAPTER
. Finally, as you've said Hinata has become FAR more confident compared to her part I and even war start self
XD XD XD I really love the flow, as well as the little details like Sai's joke and how Shino is always forgotten. Thumbs up! =D
looking forward to it