Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A friendship... ❯ The mission gets complicated ( Chapter 4 )

It started out simple and then we ran into trouble. We get ambushed by Sound nins. One seems to know Naruto.

“Well, if it isn't the dobe,” says the silver-haired nin.

“Kabuto!” shouts Nartuto. “What you doing here?”

“Nothing,” he says with a shrug as he tosses a kunai at Naruto.

Naruto ducks as other nins appear and attack us. Iruka-sensei is fighting a trio and Naruto is fighting Kabuto. Gaara-san is at one side fighting with some as I join in with Iruka-sensei. While we are fighting, I notice something strange with my Byakugan. I fall back a little and see a nin doing odd hand symbols as he races towards Gaara-san. `Oh, no, you don't. I won't let you hurt my friend.' I dash off to intercept him and barely make it in time to intercept the jutsu. The world then becomes dark. It's quiet and I feel no pain. Suddenly, I'm in a garden and it's oddly familiar.

“Where am I?” I wonder as fog appears.

“Hinata…Hinata. Over here, precious daughter,” says a voice in the fog.

“Okaasan,” I whimper as I recognize her. “Mother, what's going on?”

“You are in between life and death,” says mother, “You do not belong here precious one. He needs you. You need to tame the demon in him. The world needs your kindness.”

“Who's he?” I ask.

My mother just shakes her head and points in a direction. I look and then the landscape suddenly changes. Wind comes from nowhere as I appear in a sandstorm. It whips my face. Sand is beneath my feet and is tainted red with blood.

Freak!…Monster!...Mother-killer…How dare you live?!? I turn trying to find the voices whispering in the air as sand whips around me. Weak…It is like hearing a broken record…Never ending.

Weakling…”No, I'm not weak. Not anymore!!”

Then why do you let them walk all over you, child?

I turn to the voice as the wind and the whisperings die.

I don't see what's so special about you and that fox-bearing brat. You fight for others…open yourselves to being hurt…why? Don't you know you should only love yourself, fight for yourself. Feelings are a weakness.

“They are not!” I yell at the voice. “Who are you?!?”

How can you not recognize me? You only just saved my vessel, but I guess I shall have to show myself.

It gets very quiet as the sand shifts and moves. Suddenly, a person appears. `Gaara-san?' -Snort- “Close, child” says the figure. “I'm Shukaku. You may have heard about me from that Kyuubi-carrying brat.”

He appears to be very dangerous. He looks just like Gaara-san only older and with a tail circling his waist. He starts to pace around me. If I was to take a guess, he doesn't know what to do with me.

“Well, well,” he ponders aloud. “I guess we owe you our lives for jumping in front of that jutsu. The brat is too busy right now so I believe you and I shall have to negotiate terms. Mmmm…”

He sits on the ground, closes his eyes, and allows his tail to lie besides him to twitch as he thinks. I decided to sit as well because I don't know where I am or how to get back. `Am I in his mind?'

“You are,” he says without opening his eyes. “About time you said something. I was starting to think you were mute. If I remember right, you now have a backbone…(I stiffen at the reminder that I was once very shy)…mmm.”

“Is there a way to get out?” I ask him.

“Probably,” says Shukaku, “but it hinges on the brats killing the person who did the jutsu or breaking it. Oh.”

I look up at his startled `Oh' only to see him become blurry.

“Guess we'll have to have this conversation later, girl,” he says with a feral grin.

“The name is HINATA!” I shout as everything vanishes.

~~~~~~~

“HINATA!” shouts a voice.

“Naruto-kun?” I ask, trying to clear my vision as I open my eyes.

“Don't move too much, Hinata,” says another person. `Iruka-sensei.'

“Yay! Hinata is awake,” cheers Naruto-kun.

“What happened?” I ask.

“It was super cool,” says Naruto. “So, there we are fighting Kabuto and then whoosh sand is everywhere. I don't know what that weirdo jutsu do to you, but man, did it piss Gaara off. I think you surprised Kabuto `cause he was all like “Hey, what the hell?!? That should have been him (Naruto points to Gaara).” Then we are like, “What did you do to Hina-chan?!?” He's like…owwwww!!!”

“That's enough, Naruto,” says Iruka-sensei while Naruto raises his hand to soothe where he was hit.

I giggle as I look at my friends. Naruto seems alright with only a few visible wounds on him. Iruka-sensei's arm is bandaged up tightly and so is one of his legs. I look over to Gaara-san only to see that he vanished.

“Where's Gaara-san?” I ask and their faces turn serious.

“Well, after the fight…,” starts Iruka-sensei.

“It was obvious that something was up,” says Naruto, “Gaara was very perplexed because he said that there was another voice in his head and it sounded like you. So, Iruka-sensei had to send for help…”

“And Tsunade-sensei sent me,” says a new voice. “Jeez, you guys could have told me that she was up. Now, what did you do to yourself, Hinata-chan?”

“SAKURA-CHAN!!” yells Naruto as he tries to glomp her only get hit.

“Idiot,” she says. “We need to make sure Hinata is alright.”

“Oh, but I'm fine,” I say with a smile.

“I don't know about that,” Sakara said with a soft smile. “That jutsu was very complex and even though you're now conscious there could still be a mental link between you and Gaara-san. We'll have to have Tsunade-sensei and Ino-chan look at you when we get back home.”

“So the mission is still on?” asks Naruto-kun.

*SIGH* “Yes, Naruto,” says Sakura.

“YES!!” yells Naruto-kun only to be hit by Sakura. “OOOWWW!!! Iruka-sensei, Sakura is being mean.”

“Well, stop acting like an idiot and I wouldn't have to hit you,” says Sakura. “And yes I'm joining you because there may be other lingering effects of the jutsu on Hinata. If it gets to be too much, we'll have to cancel the mission and go back home.”

Everyone looks at me and I just stand there feeling slightly nervous.

“I feel fine,” I say with a smile, “Really!”

“Let get moving then,” says Iruka-sensei and off we go.