Mari Makinami
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Chapter 3. Alone In Darkness.
When he planned on going to Nami no Kuni, Sasuke imagined himself feeling nostalgic once he would enter the place, just like he did last time with Suigetsu. He only had a few memories of Team Seven that he treasured dearly, and that mission years ago was one of them. It did teach him a lot of things and, in a way, it was sort of... Revelation, for the lack of a better word to describe his conflicted feelings on the matter.
That mission was the time when he finally realized that his times in the Academy were over along with his childhood, and there, at that time, started the real deal.
Which is why seeing this place being ruined like this, bathed in fire, made him feel irritated just a bit. Of course, Uchiha Sasuke was by no means a nostalgic person. It would be laughable to say he was, considering that just a few days ago he intended to destroy every single thing that was ever dear to him, and he felt perfectly fine about the idea.
His nearly complete indifference didn't mean, however, that he was alright with what was going on around them.
Even before he and the Hyūga girl entered the small town, it was fairly obvious that the damage caused by these people, whoever they really were, was really hard.
Now, looking around, Sasuke could see it first hand.
Small huts, like the one where Team Seven stood years ago during their mission, were already burned down, with only a few of them still standing – probably because of pure luck.
Bigger houses were either embraced with flames now, half-destroyed, or, if they were made of stone, completely locked out from the inside, windows boarded up, too.
Apparently those who were able to survive the attack hid within them.
Screams and cries of pain, agony and despair could be heard here and there, but it seemed like most of the attackers already withdrew the place, just before the two shinobi of Konoha came in.
The Uchiha narrowed his eyes. Such a massive strike just to ravage a not so wealthy place seemed unlikely to him. No matter who attacked the town, their true goals remained a mystery, just like their identity.
He then turned to Hinata, unsure what to do with her.
Watching around as well, the girl appeared pretty shocked, but there was something else there in her at the moment: even though he couldn't see those weird white eyes of hers, now covered with the bandage she made, the body language told him more than ample about her feelings.
Deep inside, she was furious.
Well, very deep, in fact, but it was clearly visible to him now: she wanted revenge on those who were guilty for causing this chaos and destruction, but didn't think she was capable of executing it.
He smirked.
So now we're righteous, huh? Fair enough, let's play this way. Perhaps it would turn to be to his... To their luck, in the end.
"T-this is!.." Hinata suddenly gasped, storming towards a small figure under the fallen pillar just few yards ahead of them.
He used his Sharingan to see through the stringy smoke that surrounded them: there laid a pinned child, a girl, still alive, judging by her chakra flow.
Sasuke stepped to the side lane, carefully watching Hinata's expression: the Hyūga seemed to be too absorbed with trying to help the poor kid, she didn't even notice her companion getting away.
Just perfect.
Taking a few more strides away from her, he got behind a big, now half-ruined store, and ran down the street really fast. He needed to get out of her range of sight, which couldn't be wider than one mile now as he imagined, judging by what Orochimaru told him long ago about Byakugan's capabilities and considering her being rather weak for a Hyūga.
Even though Sasuke didn't like the sudden idea that much, there hardly were any other options for them at the moment.
They needed to split, it would definitely work in their favor.
He couldn't afford babysitting her in such extreme conditions, he had to find out what was going on here and do something to help the situation before it was too late for the citizens.
In other words, he needed to act very quick, and that would be impossible with Hinata around. There was no way in hell for her to be able to keep up with him right now.
But there was actually more to it, as he imagined.
First, he wanted to see what she was capable of without any help from himself. It wasn't like he broke some sort of agreement anyway: he did tell her that they were on their owns, didn't he?
Second, and more important: she needed this.
The Hyūga always had someone to rely on, to help her. Her clan, her team, her sensei.
He needed to get her out of her accustomed zone of comfort, and leaving her alone right now was a perfect opportunity to do so.
And the last, but not least: he needed to know if her mind could endure something like this or not. As far as he remembered, she was a chūnin, and this was equal to a B, well, maybe A-rank mission at best. Compared to the war they went through, it would be a joke.
But she was unstable ever since the moment she left Konoha, and he needed to be sure that his ward wouldn't break down, because somehow he was sure that there were going to be much scarier things on his... Their way in this journey.
That's why he was running towards the furtherest gates of the small town, hoping to catch those who were responsible for this disaster and that he was fast enough for Hinata to not notice his disappearance.
Unfortunately, the attackers were gone: he met little to no one on his way, not counting those few who he saw dying, begging him to save their lives.
The only thing he could possible do to help them would be putting them out of their misery, ending their agony, and he didn't have time for this anyway.
There were still people who he could save for real, and those who needed to be interrogated and then slain for their crimes.
That's why he ignored everyone and everything until he finally ran out of the town, coming to the edge of the forest not too far away from the gates.
He looked at the soil under his feet: multiple fresh footprints led to the trees, making it obvious that they went there after finishing their dealings within the town walls, probably to some hideout considering that they were on an isle...
Or to ships on the coast opposite to the mainland.
He frowned, not slowing down for a second.
If what the man they met on the road to the bridge told them was true, then it would be pointless for them to stay on the isle any longer – he needed to hurry up. Gatō 's compound was located somewhere in the Land of Water, and if these goons were indeed working for Gatō's company, they would be completely out of his reach should he let them go now. It would take too much time looking for a ship and traveling there.
He had to get them before it was too late.
Running as fast as he could, venturing further into the forest, Sasuke tried to make sure to not lose their trace, though it was getting harder and harder considering the increasing density of greenery, even though it was nothing compared to the forests around Konoha.
The fact that it was already past sunset didn't make it any better for him, either.
Silently cursing, the Uchiha jumped up to a huge ash, continuing his chase in a more shinobi-like manner, jumping from one branch to another.
In about twenty minutes of non-stopping pursuit he started to hear some sounds not too far ahead. He smirked with relief: the coast was a few miles away from here, so they had no way out now.
And he was correct: in a minute or so, he stopped, carefully approaching the field that was now stretching before his eyes.
There was a big camp. A really big one: in fact, only because it was obviously temporary due to the lack of big, complicated buildings and ongoing constructions, he could call it a camp. The place seemed more like a small village: there were a few lanes, lighted with torches that were placed on top of wooden poles near the tents and roughly made small huts.
The only big and decent looking construct was in the middle of the field, towering over the others: there were two floors, and it was guarded by quite a few armed men. It reminded him a bit of Konoha's Hokage residence, seeing as it was round-shape.
Sasuke scanned the area with his Sharingan: there were only two shinobi, both currently staying on the second floor of the central building. All the others were just some thugs, just like he expected, supposedly mercenaries considering the differences in their clothings and appearances.
The Uchiha hesitated a bit, deciding what to do. The night almost fell upon the Land of Waves, so it was pretty dark outside the camp: he was sure that nobody was able to see him from this distance. Should he just storm in and kill everyone on his way to their leader? Or perhaps use some massive attack to wipe out the whole territory without further investigation?
After some thinking, he did neither: instead, he jumped down to the ground beneath himself, and then slowly went into the territory of the basef, covering his head with the cowl of his cloak.
Entering the lightened area and walking past three men that discussed something he didn't pay attention to really loud, each of them apparently in very good mood after what they did in the town just an hour ago, Sasuke barely was able to hold a snicker. What a bunch of retarded animals... In theory, even a few genin level shinobi could just walk in, mine up the whole area with explosive tags and then simply go out without even being noticed, destroying all of them with ease.
It was probably a right decision to be stealthy now, though: to Sasuke, those idiots were nothing but annoying bugs. He would deal with them later on, there was a more important task lying before him right now: to find, or rather to come in contact with their leader, who obviously was the person that separated him or herself from the others, guarded by the shinobi. If he started a mess, things would get too chaotic, causing a risk for him to miss their escape.
Without any rush, he came to the entrance of the main building: the four guards that eyed him with disgust, obviously thinking he was one of the mercenaries, looked very different from the rabble in the camp: they were dressed in neat, formal suits, their eyes covered with black glasses, the identical katanas resting within the scabbards on their hips.
In other words, they looked exactly like Gatō's bodyguards.
But could it be possible that Gatō was still alive?
"What do you need, scum? Get away from here." One of the guards spit to the ground near Sasuke's foot, obviously ready to attack should the Uchiha try to object.
The guard wasn't able to see his eyes that were covered by the shadow of his hood, but the smirk that appeared on the visible Sasuke's face made him feel uneasy for some reason. Was the guy mental or something? There was absolutely no way for him to get out alive if he decided to clash with them now: there were those two shinobi who their leader hired, plus himself and the other bodyguards, not to mention the whole army of relatively loyal bandits around them.
"I'd like to talk to the boss. Could you please let me in?" Sasuke asked in mocking tone, watching the guards' reaction.
They looked at each other for a second before putting their hands on the hilts of their swords.
"Are you deaf or what, you stupid pig? I told you to get the hell outta here!" The one before him growled, taking a step towards the Uchiha and preparing to strike.
"Hn... And here I thought you had some manners. How unfortunate..." The moment the man drew his katana, he, along with his fellows, was put in a simple Sharingan genjutsu, which was more than enough for the likes of him: they all stepped back, now looking as if they didn't see Sasuke at all, the expressions of their faces being extremely bored.
The Uchiha smirked, satisfied with the effect of his technique, and silently stepped inside the building.
The wasn't much spectacular stuff: a few tables, a hand-made stove and a few chairs, that was about it.
And a few more guards that were put in the very same genjutsu right away, of course.
Sasuke walked past them to the ladder that led to the second floor, picking up a tomato from the plate of one of the guards who apparently was having dinner now – the Uchiha was pretty hungry as he didn't eat anything since their last meal with Hinata.
The man didn't notice anything, he continued eating as usual.
To them, Sasuke truly simply didn't exist, and everything strange that happened around them due to his actions was explained by their brains in simplest and most suitable for their minds ways: a gust draft, a rat rustling in the corner of the room, or even an earthquake... Whatever their fantasy could come up with.
But it was never anything worthy of their attention, this was the main rule.
Taking a bite of the fruit, he slowly walked upstairs, his hood still on, wondering what was waiting him there. He wasn't going to have a long talk with them should the leader indeed turn to be Gatō – perhaps only to ask how did he actually survive, out of pure curiosity.
But he seriously doubted that this was the case.
And, just as he expected, his doubts were confirmed the moment he saw them.
There was a beautiful woman that looked to be in her early to mid twenties, wearing a frank, black dress, stockings of the same color, stiletto heels, elegant gloves that covered her hands to the elbows, and a broad-brim on her head. Her light brown wavy hair was pretty long, reaching her breasts; she sat at the big round table, a long cigarette holder in her left hand and a pen in her right.
He couldn't see her face, though: the room was pretty dark, the only lights being a few candles on the woman's desk. Clearly she was writing something, too deep in her thoughts to notice a stranger coming inside the room.
The shinobi that guarded her were not any better: they stood near the opposite windows, lazily watching what was going on in the camp outside. It wasn't surprising, though: no matter how strong or weak they were, nobody could expect a shinobi to sneak into this place in a god-forgotten land that they dominated with just a bunch of stupid swashbucklers just an hour ago, let alone someone of Sasuke's skill.
They probably considered themselves the most powerful people within a hundred mile radius, since almost every shinobi somehow participated in the latest Great War, only a few nukenin staying out of the conflict as well as weaklings that remained in their villages to defend them from nothing, basically. And, considering their latest occupation, they probably didn't even know yet that the war was over.
Sasuke's lips curled into a sneer: obviously they wouldn't have any chances against him even if they were cautious enough to notice his appearance, but their ignorance still amused him a bit.
Putting them in a genjutsu slightly stronger than the guards a minute ago, he watched as the woman winced and gasped, hearing the sound of their bodies hit to the wooden flooring synchronously, finally diverting her from her papers.
"What the... Kozai? Suirin?!" Her voice was imbued with fear, seeing as the two strongest protectors of hers fall down like that. She immediately got up from her chair and ran to the incapacitated pair, kneeling down before them.
Sasuke then came closer to the desk, his footsteps silent, and took the list of paper she was writing on just before he appeared, reading it.
He frowned. It only contained some foreign names and random sentences that didn't click in his mind at all. Some of them were crossed, and some were narrowed, exclamation marks in front of them.
Was this a victim list? Or perhaps something more?
He didn't quite understand.
"So all this mess you guys made was for this?.." He asked distinctly in a bored tone, as if he was talking to an old friend of his.
Perhaps it wasn't the best way to approach the woman: apparently he scared the leader of this bunch of morons to nearly dead state - she fell back on her, he had to admit, nice booty, reminding him of Hinata by suddenly being so clumsy, which didn't really go well with her image.
She then rolled around, quickly getting back on her feet. For a non-shinobi she was pretty fast: he didn't notice how she drew a dagger out of... Somewhere. He wasn't sure where she kept it, considering how revealing her outfit was.
"W-Who the hell are you?! Show your face!" She yelled, only to suddenly lose her voice. A lightning flashed in the sky behind the window, making her face clearly visible for a split second, which was more than ample for his Sharingan to copy her features: she was really cute, beautiful even – and he could say so even despite his tastes being rather choosy.
The woman's eyes widened in horror as she obviously didn't understand why she suddenly couldn't squeeze a sound out of her mouth.
A thunder strike outside didn't make it any better.
"Shut up. I'm the one asking questions here." He said bluntly, coming closer to her. She snuggled against the wall with her back, holding her weapon directed at the Uchiha.
Apparently his absolutely calm, almost mockingly so face only made her more frightened.
Sasuke sighed. Just few days ago he fought the power capable of creating and destroying worlds, and what now? He had to deal with such scumbags...
"Calm down. I won't kill you unless you cooperate. I'll ask simple questions, and I want truthful answers. If you satisfy me, I will let you get out of here alive." Her eyes widened at the word 'satisfy', but he didn't pay attention. "I'll kill you the instant you try to yell or ask for help in any possible way. Do you understand me?" She quickly nodded, dropping down her dagger and raising her arms to show that they were empty.
He smirked, canceling his silencing genjutsu.
"Good. Now, who are you and what are you doing here?"
Clearly she expected this question as she answered right away, her silky voice slightly shaking:
"My name is Kura, I'm the CEO of Gatō Corporation. We're looking for some property of our company, as well as those who stole it from us."
Gatō Corporation, huh? So at least some part of the information he had received was true.
"Why did you cause this to the town?"
She obviously looked confused now, he could tell this much by reading her face with the Sharingan in his right eye.
"Cause what? As far as I'm aware, the mercenaries brought back some part of our goods just shortly before you showed up... And by the way, can I maybe learn your name?" She gave him an unsure smile, still too afraid to try to seduce him in some way, which could be expected from someone like her, but still trying to be as nice and charming as possible.
"Shut up. I'm not gonna say it for the third time: you are only to reply. Your thugs nearly destroyed the whole settlement, ruined half of it and murdered hundreds of people, not to mention pillaging it all the way. So, I'm going to repeat my question for one last time: why did you do that?" She couldn't see his face, but he sounded dead serious about all this.
She covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes widening even more.
"Wha... What?! They did WHAT?! I was told they were just to march in and perform a quick searching operation, without any necessary violence! They were told to not kill anyone! How... How could this even happen?!" She nearly screamed desperately, not wanting to believe what the fearful stranger just said to her.
He cursed quietly, clenching his teeth in irritation. Using his dōjutsu to carefully check her facial expression, he was absolutely sure that this Kura didn't lie.
She knew nothing anything about what her mercenaries did there... Stupid, naive woman.
The Uchiha let out a sigh of disappointment, taking his cowl off and revealing his face to her, even though it was too dark for her to see him legibly.
"My name is Sasuke. I'm a shinobi of Konohagakure, the Hidden Village that currently holds the agreement with Nami no Kuni, our job being protecting these lands. Your thugs have stricken the town that is under our protection, therefore I'm here to decide your punishment, considering that you're the one behind the attack. The others will be executed shortly after our conversation. My decision will depend on how helpful you'll be to me in this situation."
Even though she couldn't see him well enough, she couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. Although he looked younger than her, she knew that shinobi matured much faster than civilians, and she was attracted by him despite the age gap.
And a shinobi of his caliber, being able neutralize the two former elite jōnin of Kirigakure with such ease... And he was going to, how did he put it? Execute the rest of them?
Somehow she had no doubt that he would back up his claim. He certainly wasn't an ordinary boy... A man. And Kura was smart enough to not provoke him.
"Sasuke-sama... I think we have a huge misunderstanding here. I didn't order any of it, I'm pretty sure you can check if I'm speaking the truth or not with some jutsu? Anyway, I'm terribly sorry to hear about this disaster they've created. But these people in the camp, they are just mercenaries. We've payed them to do the job and protect us, nothing more, nothing less. Hopefully we can find a way out of this awkward situation without unnecessary blood spilled?" She practically begged him in her own way, still trying to keep her face up.
So he was right, these goons were just hirelings. Apparently Kura really didn't know about what they did back in the town.
He eyed her up and down thoughtfully, trying to come up with a decision on what to do next.
Wait. What did she just mean by saying 'we've payed them'? Who the hell were 'we'?
"Who was leading the operation in the settlement?" He suddenly asked, ignoring her tries to look nicer than she was to avoid the forthcoming retribution as much as possible.
She opened her mouth to tell him, but then she apparently realized something important, because she went silent as if she'd swallowed something too big for her own good.
Just when he started to lose his patience with her, the woman finally replied:
"My husband, Gatō... He hasn't returned from there yet."
Now that was something surprising, at last. So Gatō was alive? Bullshit. Sasuke was present when the man was killed by Zabuza, he knew for sure.
"Gatō is dead, isn't he? I was there when he was killed here four years ago. Are you trying to lie to me?" He asked, his voice smooth and calm. He knew she wasn't, but it never hurts to startle them a little more while interrogating.
She quickly shook her head, holding her hands before herself.
"No, no-no-no! It's true that Gatō-san is dead. My husband is Gatō Jr. His son."
Oh, so that was it. That piece of trash had an offspring, and now this poor excuse of a man decided to avenge his daddy who was killed here in Nami no Kuni, just along with his own business that his wife was keeping records on here in their hideout. Precisely, it all made sense to him now.
But it did to her, too. And the woman certainly didn't look pleased by this revelation.
"Sasuke-sama, I'll be completely honest with you... If my husband is responsible for this, and it's fairly obvious by now that he is, I want to assure you that I have nothing to do with it. If you're going to execute him, or anyone here for their crimes, I will not interfere in any possible way. I don't want to have anything to do with criminals, my concern is only legal business... Well, as far as it is possible in our world." She gave him a charming smile as he realized that she was basically giving him a blessing to kill her husband.
He wondered for a second what their relationship was like. She probably didn't love Gatō Jr, and right now she saw an opportunity to get a hold of his corporation and money. That's why she was so willing to cooperate, with her own life coming on the line as well, of course.
"Alright. You said he's still there, correct?" She quickly nodded as he continued. "I'm going after him. I suggest you to follow me for now, since I'm going to destroy this place and eliminate everyone here once I'm out. I'll spare your life on one condition: you'll rebuild this country and you will invest here a lot. You can't erase the trauma your people caused to the citizens nor can you revive those who were murdered, but you can make the lives of those who survived better than they were before."
Kura gave him a bright smile, bowing in appreciation.
"It's the least I can do to them. I gladly accept your conditions here, Sasuke-sama." She understood that he could find her later again if needed, so no kind of contract was necessary in these conditions.
"Hn." He turned away, walking back to the ladder. "Cover yourself. Nobody should see your face."
A few minutes later they went out of the vast area of the camp and Sasuke stopped at the end of the field, turning back to the base they were leaving. A lot of lightnings were permeating the night sky, and Kura found it rather unusual. There was just too many lightnings, it wasn't natural, was it?..
She suddenly heard a weird, sibilant sound to her left that somehow reminded her of birds' chirping. Quickly turning her head, she gasped, taking a step away from Sasuke: he was holding a lightning in his right hand no less.
It was only then when she noticed that the man was actually one-handed, his left limb stumped slightly above the elbow. But that was of no importance to her right now: what on earth was he going to do with this?.. Jutsu? Or whatever it was...
"Cover up your ears. It will be really loud." He said, giving her a few seconds to do as he told her, and then she saw it: an immense dragon formed out of the lightnings in the sky, showing it's head between the heavy, rainy clouds.
A few men in the camp raised their heads to check what was going on there: of course, none of them ever saw anything like this before.
She fell down on her butt for the second time this night, now on the soil that was soaked by rain instead of the wooden floor, watching the amazing and dreadful phenomenon without blinking, her mouth open in awe.
And then he lowered his hand.
She instantly regretted that she didn't follow his advise to cover her ears: never before in her life she heard a rumble this strong and a flash of such brightness.
For a moment Kura thought she was dead, but then her eyesight started returning, even though she still couldn't hear anything but hum.
Rubbing her eyes with her hands, she tried to regain focus, only to see nothing but darkness. It was only when another lightning pierced the sky: she saw it for a second, but it was more than enough for her. The whole place was demolished, nothing solid being notable around. Nothing but heaps of cobble and dirt.
She couldn't utter a word when she heard his voice, calm and collected as if he was making a morning coffee and not manipulating the nature itself:
"Good riddance. Now, let's go and get Gatō." He turned away and walked to the trees.
Who on earth could this man possibly be?.. A god? Did a god come to earth to dispense justice, or was it what a true shinobi was capable of?..
Lost in her thoughts and guesses, still too shocked to say something, Kura got up and followed him into the darkness of the forest.
With a shrill cry, Hinata struck the fallen wooden pillar with her palm, breaking it in two, a few flinders flying in different directions with a strong crashing sound.
The little girl that she tried to save could still breath, but she was unconscious, mostly because of the smoke considering that she was lucky enough to be almost unharmed by the column. She had a long braid, her usually black hair now being gray because of dirt and dust, and wore a formerly pink rompers, currently of an uncertain color, along with a light blue T-shirt and a pair of sandals. She was no older than four years, and Hinata could only guess how did this little innocent creature end up here, without anyone looking after her. Were her parents dead now?
But the Hyūga nukenin didn't have any time to waste on thinking: she needed to save the girl, and to do so, a quick acting was a must.
Using her jūken, she gently tapped the child's chest, sending a pulse of chakra to her solar plexus in order to stimulate her neural system to awaken her, being as careful as possible to not harm her in any way.
Hinata wasn't a medic nin, yet still she knew the basic first aid techniques of her clan like this one. Despite the fact that she never tried it on anyone younger than herself, it seemed to work as intended: the girl's body arched, her eyes opening wide the instant Hinata's touch reached it's destination. With a greedy, deep breath, she started coughing: the air around them was still far from being healthy.
Hinata's lips tightened because of the tension around the whole situation: and where the hell was the Uchiha?! She certainly could use some assistance from him...
"Uchiha-san, please, help me here!" She yelled, not caring to look around for him. Taking her jacket off, she put it on the girl, wrapping her little body in it as if it was some kind of cocoon, covering the child's mouth and nose to make some breathing filter.
"Easy, girl, easy... It's allright, I will protect you... Nobody's going to harm you anymore, it's all over..." She whispered reassuringly, smiling as she saw how the little one's eyes visibly relaxed.
Raising her head up, Hinata finally took her time to look out for Sasuke, checking the ambience.
The town was being devoured by flames further and further with each minute passing: those who managed to survive were hiding either within the buildings that by some miracle remained intact, or down in basements. A few of them still fought the remaining enemy forces, though: just a few quarters away from them a boy, few years younger than her, was currently fighting three thugs. His arm was broken, so it was obvious that he wouldn't last much longer. She needed to hurry up if she wanted to save him.
Getting up on her feet and grabbing the girl's small frame, putting her on her shoulder and holding the improvised cocoon with her left arm, she gasped at sudden realization.
Sasuke was nowhere around her. Not within the range of her Byakugan.
He was gone.
Did he abandon her here on purpose, or did something unexpected happen to him?
She sighed, feeling her eyes filling with tears.
What could possibly happen here to someone like him? She didn't even see any shinobi around aside from the two of them, and even if she did, Hinata seriously doubted that there could be some shinobi to take Sasuke down, let alone this quick.
No, it was probably another violent joke of fate. He most likely didn't ever plan on allowing her to join him, and simply declining her request would be too boring for the god damned Uchiha: he decided to humiliate her like this... To ensure that she gets into as much trouble for bothering his solitude as possible.
But there was no time to cry now. No matter how much of a waste her life was, she had these people around who she could still save. She was a kunoichi: it was her job, and until it's done, her personal feelings needed to be thrown aside.
She smiled, picking up speed towards the nearly defeated boy.
Thank you, Sasuke.
He's given her another reason to fight. She couldn't ask more from him.
Because of his lesson, she now knew what she must do from now on.
Thank you.
A big fat man whose body was covered with sloppy tattoos raised his hand held a big wooden cudgel in it and laughed clamorously, preparing to smash the head of the dark haired teen that was lying before him on the cobblestone road.
"Your done, lil' shit! I kill ya here, ha-ha-ha! Whatcha you gonna do, call er mommy one last time?! Go ahead, I'll have fun with her too, brat!" He laughed again, only to be interrupted by a spit in his face, the boy's grimace being pained, raged, desperate... Anything but feared.
The laugh died within the loogan, his face becoming enraged as well.
But he wasn't able to say anything: before he could react, he fell down to the ground, desperately grasping his terribly bleeding neck.
The boy's eyes widened in shock and awe: a girl suddenly appeared before him and... Literally destroyed his three opponents, killing the two of them the same second he noticed her emerging, and now beating shit out of the third one with her bare hands... Or rather a hand for that matter, since she was holding some kind of bundle with her left arm.
She was done in no time: the three men, supposedly corpses now, didn't move. She turned around to face him, and he gasped: not only she was incredibly strong, but apparently she was blind as well, since her eyes were covered with some kind of swathe.
Other than that, she was nothing but beauty. In fact, he never saw anyone this beautiful and strong before. That's why he couldn't squeeze a word out of his throat when he watched her approaching him.
"Are you alright? Can you get up?" Her gentle voice sounded similar to a birds' singing to him, beautiful just like she herself was.
"Y-Yeah... I guess..." He tried to get up, and then he noticed it. A metal plate on her neck that shined under the rays of sunset. The Hidden Leaf emblem.
That settled it for him.
"You... You're Konoha nin! I knew you guys would save us! Ha-ha!" He shouted, laughing and pointing at her forehead protector.
She lowered her head for a moment, touching the plate with her fingers.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. You were supposed to hide it... Now everyone will know that a kunoichi from Konoha was here. This boy will most certainly tell every single survivor about who helped him.
Damn it. Perhaps Sasuke did a right thing to leave her for his own good.
She was a hopeless case.
Hinata sighed, coming closer to the boy and landing him her free hand.
"Please, don't tell anyone that you've seen this sign. I... I forgot to take it off."
He took her hand with his own undamaged one. Her palm felt surprisingly soft for someone who's just mercilessly mutilated the three men, singlehandedly, each of them being at least twice as bigger as her.
The boy carefully got up, grunting and hissing in pain. He looked at her incredulously, apparently confused.
"But why would you want to take it off? You should be proud to wear it here. Konoha's shinobi always come to help us, they are like guardian angels for us!.." He shut his mouth when she came closer to him, her long, silky dark hair tickling his cheek, her lips almost touching his ear and her impressive bust against his chest. What on earth was she?..
"Because I'm a nukenin. A criminal that's being wanted in her village. You better not tell anyone about it." She then stepped away from him, looking at his red face that was currently overwhelmed with a very wide spectrum of emotions. It was pretty easy to mess with someone like him, who was a few years younger than her. She didn't see him as anything but a child, so she couldn't possibly feel as shy around him as she felt around older men.
It always was rather easy for her to deal with children, after all. They couldn't possibly harm her.
"I... I get it, nukenin-sama! Please, don't kill me and my family!" The boy blurted, looking dead frightened by her words.
The Hyūga suddenly chuckled. So he wasn't afraid of those thugs, yet still he feared her this much? She was barely higher than him, and considering how much of a joke she was in Konoha...
Oh, the irony. Perhaps it won't be so hard to start anew after all, now that she was away from her home village, here, where nobody knew how truly weak she was?
"Just call me Hi... Hina." It would be better if nobody knew her true name here in this country, since they had pretty strong ties with Konoha.
"Alright, Hina-sama! By the way, is that... Is that a toddler you got there, eh?" He asked, pointing at the girl that she was still holding.
"Y-Yes... It's a girl. Could you please keep her while I'm leading both of you to some refuge?" She asked, taking the child off her shoulder and carefully passing the bundle to the boy.
He took the kid covered by Hinata's jacked with his undamaged hand, but shook his head, looking at the mysterious woman that saved his life a minute ago.
"I can't go yet. I need to find my..." He lowered his eyes to the little thing he was given to protect, only to suddenly yell in shock. "...Sister! Wha... Where did you find her?!" He looked at the nukenin who was now taking off the headband from her neck and hiding it in her pocket, unable to think straight. He was wandering through devastated streets, desperately trying to find his little sister, almost died here, and now this... This angel... She saved her, too! How could he ever thank her for all that she did for them?..
Hinata smiled, looking at the boy who was being overwhelmed with emotions and happiness.
Yes, that's what she still lived for.
To bring people hope, even though she herself didn't have any of it left.
"Now we can go. You better cover up your face, like I did to your little sister: it's no good to breath normally here now. Don't worry, I will protect the two of you with my life." She smiled assuringly, seeing as his eyes shined with inspiration and joy. "Can you lead the way to somewhere you can hide for the time being?.. I'm not that familiar with this place..." She muttered, feeling a bit of her usual shyness return for a moment.
He nodded, concentrating and looking at the damaged road.
"Yeah... I'll go to my home. It's pretty far from here, but it's well protected. My family's supposed to stay there and wait for my return... Don't worry, Hina-sama, I'll lead the way! I understand it must be uneasy to orientate when you're blind... By the way, how are you able to fight without seeing anything?! Is it some kind of super cool, secret shinobi technique?! Can you teach me something?! I..."
"Keep quiet. Someone might hear you and we'll get in trouble." She suddenly said, making him shut up instantly. Did she ever interrupt someone before?.. Probably not, but she felt quite annoyed by his jabbering now...
Suddenly Hinata felt bad. She didn't have to be this rude, and now the boy was probably offended. She needed to loose the tension a bit.
"By the way, I told you my name, but I still don't know yours?.." She wondered without directly looking at him, but still carefully watching his face shift, relaxing a bit. It was only now that she realized that he looked pretty similar to Sasuke.
Or was it just her imagination?.. Why was she thinking of the Uchiha this much anyway, now that he did what he did to her?..
"My name is Inari, Hina-sama! Glad to meet ya!" He smiled, lowering his head to check his sister.
The rest of their walk to his house was uneventful, but the atmosphere was pretty toxic, making her feel a little depressed. Apparently most of the attackers were out of the town now, and those who survived this massacre were still too afraid to come out of their shelters.
Finally approaching his home by the time of nightfall, which was a pretty big house compared to the others, not to mention that for some reason it remained intact after all, she winced as the entrance door opened wide, two men and a woman running out towards the boy she accompanied, the woman falling down to her knees before him and hugging her... Son?
"Inari!.. You've found her! Are you alright?! Are you hurt? And who is this young lady?.." She looked at Hinata, confused.
"Oh, it's..."
"Inari, my man! I knew you'd make it! That's the spirit!" An older man in his thirties that looked much unlike Inari came to them as well, rustling the boy's hair. "Thank you for saving Yumi and protecting the family, kid."
He shook his head, pointing at the Hyūga girl.
"I did nothing, Kenji, She saved both of us."
"Is that so?.." The boy's mother eyed her, searchingly. She obviously couldn't believe that a blind, fragile girl like her really saved her children.
"That's to be expected from such a fine young kunoichi!" The third man, the oldest one of them, said, almost laughingly. "Thank you for saving the kinds, girl. Are you from Konoha?" He wondered, peering at her. She probably looked awful now, since she hasn't taken a shower in three days, her body and hair were dirty, and her remaining clothes were torn all the way.
She suddenly realized why the woman looked at her so strangely: the man named Kenji was eating her with his eyes, which was probably no wonder considering how revealing her current outfit was, with her T-short cut above her waste, providing a good view of her flat stomach and emphasizing her C cup breasts, and her old shinobi pants covered with cuts and holes here and there, threatening to collapse.
Hinata blushed terribly, hugging herself in embarrassment. She couldn't show them that she was able to see what they were doing.
She suddenly felt the increasing pity to those who really were blind. People didn't even try to behave, knowing that they can't be seen. It was disgusting...
"No, I'm not. I was traveling with my... Companion... But we got separated, and... Well..." She muttered, eying the ground beneath her feet.
The old man laughed even louder now, clearly finding her attitude amusing.
"So you've lost your boyfriend there, eh?.. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure he'll find you in no time. He can't just let such a beauty to slip away from him!"
Her face blushed even more now.
"He... He's not my..."
"Enough of this!" The jealous woman suddenly interrupted her. "Father, lead them to the house. Inari needs help, look at his arm! And the girl, too..."
"No." The woman turned to Hinata, obviously confused by a sudden interruption. "I'm going back to the town. I can't stay here, there can still be those who might need my help."
Kenji snorted, looking at her with apparent arrogance in the eyes.
"What help can a blind woman like you possibly do there?.. You're..."
"I saved your children, Kenji-san. Please, do not underestimate me. I'm a kunoichi." She suddenly said, her tone surprisingly strong and self assured. The Hyūga then deliberately turned her head away and watched at the direction where none of them stood. "If you want to help, I need some supplies. And a new set of clothes, too. If you have any shinobi tools, I'd like to take them as well."
Kenji shook his head, sighing.
"I'm afraid we don't have anything that fits a kunoichi like..."
"Wait, Kenji-kun!.. I might still have some tools..." The old man exclaimed, coming closer to them. "I'm sorry for our impoliteness, young lady, you see, it's not our best time right now... My name is Tazuna, I'm dealing with those rare Konoha shinobi that sometimes come to our town and need a flophouse... Or whatever else they can need here. You're not from Konoha, but you saved our family here, and I appreciate it a lot, please, trust me. You already know Inari and Yumi... This girl here is my daugher Tsunami, their mother, and Kenji is her husband. He can be a douchebag sometimes, but he's a nice fellow..." He laughed at the man's expression – he didn't tell anything, turning his head away, not daring to argue with the old man.
"My name is Hina." The Hyūga girl replied calmly, her face not giving away any emotions.
"O-oh... Nice to meet you, Hina-san!" The old man smiled. "You see, what Kenji said there was nearly true... I still have some supplies which those shinobi that resided in our house left... But I'm afraid we really don't have any clothes suitable for you. Don't worry, though. There is a store... Probably abandoned now, with all this happening... Not far from here. Kenji will lead your way, and you'll be able to pick something up. He'll ensure your safety as well..."
Ensure her safety, huh? Interesting. A man who wasn't able to go and save his own daughter, sending the boy instead, was going to protect her, the one who saved his children?..
Funny.
"That won't be necessary, Tazuna-san. Protecting me, that is. I'd appreciate some help in finding the said store, though. And the tools you've mentioned as well, I'll need them."
Tazuna looked a bit surprised by her reply, but if there was something that he learned about shinobi in his life, it was that appearances could be very deceiving. This blind girl was dead confident, and she saved Inari and Yumi after all... She certainly knew what she was doing, and they weren't the ones to interfere.
"Suit yourself, Hina-san... I'll bring you the stuff now then." He walked away, back to his house, followed by Tsunami and her children, Inari taking a past peek at her over his shoulder.
"So... You're an almighty kunoichi, then? How is this even possible if you're blind, girl?.." Kenji's nagging voice was starting to piss her off. She wasn't going to allow them to think she was weak and to be disrespectful with her, no. Never again. Not in this new life.
"I'd rather avoid testing it if I were you, Kenji-san." Hinata tried to keep her countenance and not provoke him. She still needed the man to show her the road.
Surprisingly enough, he didn't reply, although he obviously was on verge of temptation to do so.
Hinata tried to digress then, satisfied with the long awaited silence.
She certainly didn't like this man.
Fortunately Tazuna was back in no time, with a bag of shinobi weapons and tools in his hands.
"Here you go... A few kunai, shurikens, some paper seals or whatever they are, and a smoke bomb... That's all I got, sorry. Hopefully it will be enough. Are you hungry, by the way?.." She took the package from his hands, putting the bag on her shoulder.
"Thank you, Tazuna-san. No, I'm fine. We'll be going now." Hinata turned away from the old man, waiting for Kenji to lead the way, which he did right away, walking ahead of her.
"You're welcome, Hina-san! It's the least I can do to pay you for saving my grandchildren lives... Please, come back once you're done. My house will provide you the necessary rest and everything you'll be needing. And please, be careful out there... Although it's probably stupid of me to say something like this to you, of all people." He laughed again, a bit uncomfortably this time.
She gave him a small smile without telling anything more and followed Kenji.
Perhaps it wouldn't end up that bad, after all.. She was able to make strangers respect her. Even this jerk, Kenji...
These feelings of sudden security and confidence were new to her, but she liked them quite a lot. In fact, she craved to get more of it.
The Hyūga thought that she was finally starting to understand Sasuke's attitude. He always was so strong, so adamant... So stately.
Really, how could she blame him for leaving her? Why someone like him would ever want to have anything to do with the likes of her?..
The streets of the town were still aloof and disquieting with nobody to be seen around. It was already completely dark, so the only lights were the dying flames here and there.
Not like she needed light to see anyway.
Now that they were closer to the central part of the settlement, she could see the remains of attackers not so far from them, just half a mile away. They were still there, apparently pretty busy with something near the entrance of the basement, or even dungeon considering it's size below the earth surface, of a little church.
She was going to get them in no time. But first, she needed a new outfit.
Entering the abandoned store Tazuna was talking about, followed by Kenji who looked bored and angered quite a bit, she smiled. Everything here seemed to be untouched by the marauders.
She then started to go through the showcases, trying to get something suitable for her goals.
Sasuke's word turned to be right, again: she had to steal these things, but for some reason this thought didn't bother her that much now. It wasn't even the fact of abandonment: it just didn't, she didn't care anymore. She needed it, so she took it.
Simple as that.
Ignoring lustful glances from Kenji, Hinata turned away from the man, taking off her damaged pants and T-shirt, standing there in nothing but her underwear.
For some reason, it didn't bother her much that she was standing nearly nacked in front of him, although just a week ago she would probably faint in such situation. What was the difference now? Why did she feel nothing?
Perhaps that was because she knew that she could kill him the same moment he tried something?.. Or was it the the environment around them that certainly wasn't suitable for this... Something?
She didn't know, and her mind was too preoccupied with more important things that lied ahead right now for her to venture into these thoughts any deeper.
She needed to capture the one who was responsible for this catastrophe, and she knew where he was now. She saw him and his hangers.
They all must pay for their sins. For all the innocent people that died here tonight. For children like Yumi that were not lucky enough to be saved by her...
She will bring justice upon them.
Never before Hinata had such a strong intent to kill. What was wrong with her?.. And was there something wrong at all? Maybe she was finally becoming what she was always meant to be?
But she really didn't care. She liked it. This feeling of freedom that was so new and foreign to her...
But would their deaths really settle anything? What about that chain of hatred and vengeance Naruto had spoken about with Madara and Obito?
Instead of thinking over it, she picked a nice white female shirt with short sleeves that looked almost formal. Not only it looked well in her opinion, but it kind of reminded her of Sasuke's outfit during the war, and she appreciated the things he taught her in that little time of them traveling together, she did quite a lot.
That's why she liked the similarity.
Not to mention how well it narrowed her curves, but she wouldn't admit it, of course.
Then she chose herself a new pair of pants. These were a bit shorter than her previous ones, and certainly more tight. In fact, they looked a lot like the ones their former Hokage, Tsunade, wore, but the color was different as these were dark blue, just like the night sky above them.
Finally the girl took a dark gray, almost black traveling cloak that reached her knees, and a new pair of sandals.
Looking at her reflection in the big mirror on the wall, she smiled, satisfied with her new outfit. If not for the long hair that was traditional in her clan, she looked nothing like she did a few days ago.
"You're free to go, Kenji-san. I'll manage from here on." Hiding her weapons and ninja tools under her new cloak, she walked out of the accommodation only to be followed by the confused man who was now pulled out of whatever his thoughts were while he was looking at the almost naked her dressing up.
"H-hey! Are you insane?! Where are you going all alone like this?!" He yelled, trying to keep up with her now surprisingly fast walking speed.
"I don't need your help. Please, go back home. It will be dangerous where I'm going, you might get hurt." She said neutrally, her voice impassive.
Apparently she hurt his pride by saying this.
"Just who do you think you are, you idiot girl?! There is no way in hell I'm leaving you now! If anything, I will protect you just like the old man asked me to!" He snapped, only to be even more annoyed by the indifferent shrug of her shoulders.
Few minutes later they came to where the hostile men were still standing, the majority of them already went down into the big dungeon Hinata saw with her Byakugan before. There were only two thugs outside, and she didn't want to waste any more time. Without hesitation, she rushed towards them, knocking the men down before they could react.
Kenji watched her movements, his face looking somewhat between amazed and depressed. Now he could see why the girl was so confident. In fact, he deeply regretted his previous behavior now, seeing what she could potentially do to him should he taunt her a bit longer.
She killed these two guys that were bigger and stronger than him within a second, as if they were nothing. Was this the power of kunoichi?.. But she looked so innocent and helpless, especially with her eyes covered... And how was she able to move like this if she was blind?..
How much did he not know about shinobi?
He then winced, seeing as she disappeared through the door of the basement that the now dead goons were guarding, and hurried to catch up with her.
There was a long, really long ladder that ended up in the beginning of some passage, as far as he could see. Apparently Hina was already down there, since he couldn't see her from his point.
Of course, he was no match to her when it came to speed, shinobi moved on just completely different level than them civilians, even mediocre ones, and she certainly didn't look mediocre to Kenji.
Carefully following the way down to the dungeon, he was barely able to react when something big almost demolished his skull away, cutting the air just an inch away from his head.
Jumping out, he turned back, only to see one of the supposedly killed men try to hit him with an axe of impressive size again.
So she didn't slay them, just rendered innocuous...
Dodging another strike, Kenji rushed forward with a desperate cry, knocking the man down to the stone floor of the cave: the bloody thug dropped his weapon while falling. Obviously the injure Hina left on him made him quite clumsy now.
Which was only to Kenji's favor, giving him a chance to defeat his foe.
None of them muttered a word during their fight, so the only sounds that could be heard in the dungeon were grunting and growling of both of them.
With blood tickling down into his eyes and making his not so good vision in the dark even worse, Kenji was finally able to notice an opening and, with the last piece of his strength, he hit the goon's face with his elbow, breaking his jaw – his enemy losing conscious.
Lying over the defeated thug and relaxing a bit, Kenji tried to catch some breath and collect the remaining power to get up. He still needed to follow Hina... No matter how ridiculous this could sound, but...
In order to stay alive.
He slowly got up and started walking through the passage, seeing the bodies of those who Hina supposedly incapacitated on her way. None of them was moving.
She was truly frightening and dangerous, this girl.
In a minute or two, he finally came to the open ancient wooden door. Going through it, he gasped: he was in a big hall lighted by torches on the walls and stone pillars that were covered with bizarre ornament.
It looked like some secret, hidden temple to him: there was a lot of luxurious things around, and in the middle of the hall...
He didn't pay attention to quite a few bodies that laid there without moving.
No, what he saw there was much more shocking and terrific.
Hina was tied to some kind of altar, gagged and surrounded by three shinobi of Kirigakure and a rather young man that wore an expensive, neat suit. He was about her height, pretty ugly, actually, as if he was half-human and half-gnome from some fairy tale.
He also looked like some kind of a businessman that used the shinobi as his bodyguards.
The girl was still trying to fight, but the short man made sure she could barely move, certainly not free enough to harm him or his subordinates.
"So a bae like you killed all of my men there, eh?.. I find it hard to believe... But, anyway... You'll repay me for that right now, little doll, with your own body..." His giggling was disgusting as the man started to unbutton Hinata's new shirt.
He needed to save Hina. But what could he possibly do to those who defeated someone like her?..
No matter...
"Hey, you, bastards! Let her ****ing go right now!" He shouted as he moved out to the altar, limping.
The ugly richman turned to him, as well as the shinobi, surprised with an unexpected appearance of his. Good. Perhaps Hina could come up with something if he bought her some time...
But he could see it, her efforts were futile. She was too tired and hurt.
So this was the end for the two of them. She's going to be raped and killed, and he, well... Hopefully just killed.
But he couldn't go down without a fight, could he? He was Kenji, after all!
"Who are you, fool? Are you her boyfriend or something? You look like shit, though... So I doubt she would hang out with some squalor like you..." The shorty laughed again, the shinobi smirking at Kenji, too.
"I..." He clenched his fists, not knowing what to do now. And this was the moment when he nearly freaked out, hearing the calm, yet somehow threatening voice behind his back:
"Yeah, I'm pretty surprised as well. Good job, Hinata."
Before he could turn around to see the newcomer, he gasped, seeing as the two shinobi that stood closest to him screamed in monstrous pain.
Their bodies bathed in dreadful black flames.
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