Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mokushita Hyuuga ❯ Chapter 24
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Moghedian 
Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.28.2007 | Updated On: 02.11.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 545 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters belong to Kishimoto, not me.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 01.28.2007 | Updated On: 02.11.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.3K | Visits: 545 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 24
Hinata walked into her apartment and sighed. She tossed her bag onto the floor inside the single bedroom the apartment contained, and sighed again when it hit the closet, causing the door to open.
"Ugh, this apartment sucks. When I get Jounin, I'll convince him to get a bigger one.", Hinata said out loud.
Pushing the door closed, she sighed again when it jammed. Looking down she saw that a scroll had fallen out of the closet. Picking it up, she saw that it was held closed by a red ribbon with butterflies decorating it.
"My journal..." Hinata back up to the wall and sat down. Untieing the ribbon, she slowly unrolled it and read a random passage.
I fought Neji-ni-san a few days ago. I just woke up today. But even though I lost the battle, I won the war. Thank's to Naruto-kun, I was able to give it my complete all, and he was there, cheering me on. Ino-san visited me today and told me that Naruto-kun swore vengence on my blood that he would beat Neji-ni-san. My adoration of him rose even higher, if possible. I hope one day, that he sees me as I see him.
~Hinata
Smiling through tears, Hinata unrolled the scroll more and read another date. Frowning, she paused before reading the entry.
This cant be happening...It has to be a horrible dream...Naruto-kun....WHY!!?? It's been about three weeks since I found out I was pregnant. He...I didn't even get to tell him...I want to follow him! Why? I thought that maybe if I sit here in this strange room and do nothing, I would die peacefully. The constant pain in my heart should be enough. I'm writing this now, because I feel that soon, maybe really soon, I can join Naruto-kun, and I want to leave proof that I existed. maybe Neji-ni-san will tell someone where I am, so that they can collect my body. Maybe he will collect it himself. I dont care. My heart...it just, everytime I breath, think, it hurts...
Hinata was not smiling. She saw that she didn't even sign it. Clutching her chest, Hinata had almost forgotten that she sat in the clearing for nearly two weeks before someone from that small village found her, unconcious and starved, and nursed her back to health.
"Naruto..." Hinata whispered before breaking out into tears. I can't live like this! I told myself that Kouden needs to think I'm dead early on so he isnt sad when I really do die, but, Naruto...I want to join you so bad. My heart hurts everyday....but Katoki...
Biting her finger, Hinata gasped when she tasted blood. Taking her finger out of her mouth, she saw she had a small slit on the joint. Standing shakily, the scroll fell off her lap and hit the ground with a hollow thump. Walking across the hall to the small bathroom, Hinata grabbed a small roll of gauze and wound her finger up. She decided that healing it would be cheating.
Katoki sighed as he stood in front of badly painted door. He held the key in front of the lock, but didn't insert it. He just got back from a 6 day mission to the waterfall country where had met Jiraiya, and that kid with blonde hair.
"So you will stay neutral?" Katoki said, his nondescript ANBU mask covering his face. The leader of the village hidden in the waterfall nodded.
"We will. We are very secluded, and do not like getting into the affairs of the larger nations. But if we get attacked, we will fight." The man was tall, almost as tall as Katoki, and had a head of reddish orange hair tied in a ponytail that trailed down to mid back. His eyes were the same colour as his hair and radiated power.
"Please...if you do decided to fight, Konoha, Kumo, and Suna will all apreciate your help." The leader's eyebrows rose.
"Hmm? It depends. If you end up attacking us, I may have to ally with Iwa." Katoki grunted and bowed.
"Thank you for your time." The leader bowed back and Katoki exited the room.
Walking towards the hotel, Katoki was thinking on how he was going to explain to the Raikage that he failed to get an alliance with the Waterfall. Sighing, he turned a corner only to walk into someone. Looking down, the person, a boy with blonde hair looked up and said,
"Aah, Gomenaisai. I wasn't watching where I was going." Katoki blinked and said,
"Hey! I know you! You're the tree destroyer!" The boy looked up at Katoki with a questioning face. Katoki took off his ANBU mask, and the boy's face lit up.
"Oh! You! Ka...Katoki-san?" Katoki clapped and helped the boy up.
"Right! And you are Kouden-kun." Kouden's face lit up as he grabbed Katoki's hand.
"Kouden-baka! What are you do- oh! Sorry..." A taller boy with dark hair that was long in the front, and short in the back came running up to Kouden and Katoki. Looking a little flushed, the boy bowed and said,
"Gomen, I didn't realize you were talking." Katoki laughed and Kouden said,
"Shiro-teme, this is Katoki-san...remember I was telling you that he was standing on that tree when I first used rasengan?" Shiro's eyes widened, and Kouden turned back to Katoki.
"What are you doing here? Are you a Shinobi here?" Katoki shook his head.
"No, I'm on a mission, but it's classified." Kouden shifted his feet and made a whining noise.
"Er, Kouden...Jiraiya-sama wants us to get him some sake along with the large balloons." Kouden sighed and Katoki chuckled. Waving a quick bye, Kouden and Shiro disapeared off into the crowds, and Katoki continued down the street towards his hotel, when he heard a loud roar of laughter that sounded suspiciously drunk. Poking his head into the bar, he saw at the back, a large man with white spiky hair, who was surrounded by three women. His face was red and his eyes were slightly askew.
"Ohhh, Jiraiya-chan, you're so charming!" one girl said. The other giggled and Jiraiya roared with laughter again. Katoki blinked. Jiraiya?
Walking in, he ordered himself a drink and sat at the bar, observing Jiraiya out of the corner of his eye.
Ten minutes of Katoki quietly drinking at the bar, and one of the girls around Jiraiya came over to Katoki and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey hun, did you want to rent us for the hour? His is almost up." The girl pointed her thumb at Jiraiya. Katoki glanced over at Jiraiya, who all of a sudden didn't look as drunk. Instead he looked mildly jealous that one of the girls was talking to him. Katoki caught his eye, and Jiraiya choked on his sake. Sputtering everywhere, one of the girls squealed.
"No thanks, miss. I've got to be going soon any way." The girl nodded and made her way back to the old man.
"Ahh, Jiraiya-chan, you made such a mess...wanna help clean it up?" Katoki nearly choked on his drink when he heard the low seductive voice the girl was using. He glanced and saw that Jiraiya was smiling, but his attention wasn't on them, it was on Katoki.
Katoki noticed this and quickly paid for his drinks and left. Rounding the first corner, he jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Hey, who are-" The figure stopped when Katoki yelled. Clutching his head, Katoki was brought to his knees, but another wave of pain hit, but Katoki passed out before he hit the ground.
When Katoki woke up, the first thing he saw were a pair of white eyes.
"Hinata-chan?" The white eyes widened and Katoki snapped up, smacking his forehead on the owner. Holding his forehead he saw that the owner of the white eyes was in fact not Hinata, but Kouden.
"Kuso...She's gonna kill me. Kouden-kun, are you ok?" The boy, still holding his forehead nodded and looked up at Katoki. His eyes tearing. Behind him sat Shiro and Jiraiya was smoking from a pipe in the corner.
"So you're awake." Katoki nodded and noticed that he was on a pallet, and a wet cloth was on his lap.
"How long was I out for this time?" Jiraiya paused, and Shiro said,
"Jiraiya-sama brought you here 4 hours ago." Katoki sighed and nodded.
"So, to finish my sentance earlier, who are you?" Katoki looked the old man straight in the face and was surprised to see a small amount of hurt in his eyes.
"Jiraiya-sama of the Densetsu Sannin?" Jiraiya inclined his head. "I suppose it's alright then. If you wanted to kill me, you would have already. I am Katoki of Kumogakure." Kouden flinched, and Shiro stared at the blonde boy. Jiraiya didnt do anything but take another puff of his pipe.
"Ano sa...Katoki-san, when you woke up, you said a name..." Katoki sucked his breath in. Hinata was definatly going kill him, he couldn't just lie to the boy.
"I did..." Kouden's fists grabbed his black pants.
"Why her name...?" Katoki paused, collecting his words.
"Because when I woke, I saw your eyes and thought you were her." Kouden froze.
"...Kaa-san?" Shiro's eyes widened and he looked at Katoki.
"Kouden-kun, Your Kaa-san is still alive and well. She lives in Kumogakure with me. Next time you are there, come visit. She misses you. I see it everyday." Jiraiya's eyebrows were up past his bangs, but he was still sucking on the pipe. That was the last thing he expected this mystery man to say.
Standing up, Katoki said,
"Well, I was supposed to be gone by now. I will have to bid you a farewell. Jiraiya-sama, it was nice to finally meet you. You are a legend in Kumo." Jiraiya just smiled and said,
"Boy, I'm a legend everywhere. Now, tell Yondaime that I will be visiting soon. I just remembered that I have some...buisness with him." Katoki hesitated at the pause, but bowed and left the small room.
Still standing at the door, Katoki went over and over in his head how he was going to tell Hinata that her son knows she's alive. Ten minutes later found Katoki still standing at the door, when a neighbour, an old lady prodded him in the back. Jumping, Katoki turned and sighed.
"Aaah, Kaede-san, can I help you?" The old lady smiled and said,
"Can I help you? You've been standing there for quite some time, son." Katoki rubbed the back of his head and grinned.
"Sorry, I was zoning out. I wont do it again, but thank you for your concerns." Kaede nodded and turned back to her apartment across the hall.
Katoki pushed the key into the lock and unlocked the door to his apartment. As soon as he walked in, he was assaulted by the scent of tears. Dropping his stuff in the doorway, he closed the door and tiptoed to the bedroom.
"Hinata-chan?" He said quietly peering around the corner. He sighed when he saw that Hinata was wrapped up against the corner of the room, several scrolls in her hands, he called her name again, but he realized that she was sleeping.
Making her pallet, he picked her up, surprised again by how light she was, and laid her down on her pallet. Brushing her bangs off her face, he noticed that there were dried tears around her eyes. Katoki sighed quietly. He knew that she cried out names in her sleep, sometimes that of her son, but mostly Naruto's. He made Katoki angry. Katoki thought it was very unfair to Hinata that he died. Hinata says it was her fault, but Katoki refuses to believe that. Making his pallet next, Katoki banished all thoughts of Naruto from his mind, he slipped into a light sleep.
Rubbing his forehead, the Kazekage sighed. A small crash from the corner of his office made Gaara glance to his right. His daughter had just pushed over the pile of blocks she had been playing with, and was now squealing with laughter. Seeing his daughter laugh made Gaara smile. Extending a hand towards her, he used his control of sand to gently pile all of the blocks back up. Kaisa squealed again and Gaara grinned.
Turning back to the paper that he was reading, Gaara once again held his forehead in his hands. Iwagakure was offically declaring war on Sunagakure with the intention of taking over the Wind country.
Go over the actions in his head, he decided that he needed to inform Konoha and Kumo right away. Sighing, he wrote the letter that he really wished he wouldnt have had to, and after picking his daughter up, Gaara gave it to the nin posted outside of his door.
"This needs to get to the Hokage as soon as possible." The nin nodded and Gaara left the room, holding his giggling daughter.
Skidding along the ground, Sasami didn't have time to readjust her stance as a tall dark skinned woman came flying at her with her foot extended. Blocking with her left arm, Sasami tried to push her fingers against the taller woman's ankle, but she twisted around and swung her other foot at the other side of her head.
Sasami let out a grunt as she quickly blocked the attack. Dropping the woman's foot, Sasami darted in, under the woman's foot, and flicking her hands through a few seals, watched as her hand became aflame with green fire. Pointing her hands, she managed to smack the woman's side with an open handed punch. Sasami grunted. She had missed what she was aiming for, but that hit must have left damage.
The woman backed up before she bent over and started to cough up blood. Sasami swore and said,
"Ahh, Souma-sensei! Are you ok?" Souma, still bent over, raised her hand and nodded.
"That was good, Hime-sama. Im glad that your chakra scalpel is getting better. I think you severed my abdominal muscles." Sasami swore loudly, and blushed. Rushing to her Sensei's side, her hands caught on fire again as she searched out the damage. Scrunching her nose up, Sasami tried to knit Souma's muscles together with as much accuracy as possible.
"There...I cant get it all, but when it heals you wont notice anything...or, you shouldnt. You should get checked out at the hospital. Gomen..." Souma laughed and ruffled Sasami's hair, making the single ponytail come loose. Sasami blushed and Souma said,
"You dont need to apologize. I sparred with you, and I expected to get hurt. Im impressed though, you are getting better." Sasami grinned and Souma laughed again.
Leaning back, Sasami brushed a few pink strands behind her ear and Souma noticed a slight dusting of rose across her face.
"What's wrong, Hime-sama? You're blushing!" Sasami started and her face turned a bright shade of red. Covering her mouth, Sasami glanced up. Souma's face has a sadistic smile on it. The dark skinned woman leaned forward a bit and said,
"Boy troubles?" Sasami squeeked and turned an even brighter shade.
"I-I...K-k-k....I m-miss K-kon-noha..." Souma's smile turned into a motherly one as she ignored the slight sting in her abs to give her student and queen a motherly hug. Sasami tensed up, but relaxed after a second. Souma whispered in Sasami's ear,
"I know, child. But all will be well, you shall see." Sasami smiled and wiped away the tears that had started to form.
"Souma-sensei...Someone is watching us." Sasami whispered as quietly as she could. Souma nodded and casually looked about. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she made a move to hug Sasami again.
"Let's just go back to the main hall." Sasami nodded and stood up. Straightening her thigh length casual obi, Sasami smiled at her teacher and helped her up. Souma stood with little difficulty, despite the constant stinging in her abdomen.
"We really need to get you to the hospital...I'm not quite sure how to heal that..." Sasami said, her face tinging red again. Souma laughed.
Walking out the archway that led to the small civilian hospital, Sasami saw Souma make a slight hand guesture at nothing. Turning her head back to the hall in front of her, she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye, but upon looking, nothing was there. Shivering, Sasami continued to lead her teacher to the small hospital.
Stepping out into the streets of the large city Sasami lived in, it only took a few seconds before someone shouted.
"Hoku-Hime! Everyone, Its the Hoku-hime!" Sasami winced. Within seconds, she and Souma were surrounded.
"Please, Hoku-hime, can you heal this?"
"Please, Hoku-hime-sama!"
"Please, can-"
"Please!"
"Hoku-hi-" Sasami paniked. Stuck between her concern of the villages, and trying to get Souma to the hospital, Sasami flustered, and out of reflex shoved a young man that was blocking her way. Everyone's eyes followed the man's fall, as he didnt just fall, but flew a good ten feet back, taking out a few more citizens.
Sasami gasped. Every single eye was turned towards her, and the only sound was Souma sighing.
"G-gomen...I didn't even realize I used chakra! Are you alright sir?" Sasami said, rushing to the man through the now parted crowd. The man flinched at the sight of her, and backed away from her touch. Sasami withdrew her arms as tears pricked her eyes.
"Gomenasai...." The man ignored her, but kept a watchful eye as she ran back to her teacher.
Making it past the still and silent crowd, Sasami nearly broke into a cold sweat. Souma laughed quietly and said,
"Now, Hime-sama, they will think twice than to crowd you like that." Sasami looked down and her face reddened out of shame.
"Now they will fear me. I don't want that. Not at all." Souma gave a slight grin and said,
"They wont. They will fear your power, and with that fear brings respect." The pink haired girl grimaced.
"If that's what it takes to be respected, I'de rather be loved and helpless."
"If you were helpless, you would have been dead the first day you walked in here." Sasami's face lost a bit of colour, but she didnt move her gaze from her feet.
End Chapter 24
Hinata walked into her apartment and sighed. She tossed her bag onto the floor inside the single bedroom the apartment contained, and sighed again when it hit the closet, causing the door to open.
"Ugh, this apartment sucks. When I get Jounin, I'll convince him to get a bigger one.", Hinata said out loud.
Pushing the door closed, she sighed again when it jammed. Looking down she saw that a scroll had fallen out of the closet. Picking it up, she saw that it was held closed by a red ribbon with butterflies decorating it.
"My journal..." Hinata back up to the wall and sat down. Untieing the ribbon, she slowly unrolled it and read a random passage.
I fought Neji-ni-san a few days ago. I just woke up today. But even though I lost the battle, I won the war. Thank's to Naruto-kun, I was able to give it my complete all, and he was there, cheering me on. Ino-san visited me today and told me that Naruto-kun swore vengence on my blood that he would beat Neji-ni-san. My adoration of him rose even higher, if possible. I hope one day, that he sees me as I see him.
~Hinata
Smiling through tears, Hinata unrolled the scroll more and read another date. Frowning, she paused before reading the entry.
This cant be happening...It has to be a horrible dream...Naruto-kun....WHY!!?? It's been about three weeks since I found out I was pregnant. He...I didn't even get to tell him...I want to follow him! Why? I thought that maybe if I sit here in this strange room and do nothing, I would die peacefully. The constant pain in my heart should be enough. I'm writing this now, because I feel that soon, maybe really soon, I can join Naruto-kun, and I want to leave proof that I existed. maybe Neji-ni-san will tell someone where I am, so that they can collect my body. Maybe he will collect it himself. I dont care. My heart...it just, everytime I breath, think, it hurts...
Hinata was not smiling. She saw that she didn't even sign it. Clutching her chest, Hinata had almost forgotten that she sat in the clearing for nearly two weeks before someone from that small village found her, unconcious and starved, and nursed her back to health.
"Naruto..." Hinata whispered before breaking out into tears. I can't live like this! I told myself that Kouden needs to think I'm dead early on so he isnt sad when I really do die, but, Naruto...I want to join you so bad. My heart hurts everyday....but Katoki...
Biting her finger, Hinata gasped when she tasted blood. Taking her finger out of her mouth, she saw she had a small slit on the joint. Standing shakily, the scroll fell off her lap and hit the ground with a hollow thump. Walking across the hall to the small bathroom, Hinata grabbed a small roll of gauze and wound her finger up. She decided that healing it would be cheating.
Katoki sighed as he stood in front of badly painted door. He held the key in front of the lock, but didn't insert it. He just got back from a 6 day mission to the waterfall country where had met Jiraiya, and that kid with blonde hair.
"So you will stay neutral?" Katoki said, his nondescript ANBU mask covering his face. The leader of the village hidden in the waterfall nodded.
"We will. We are very secluded, and do not like getting into the affairs of the larger nations. But if we get attacked, we will fight." The man was tall, almost as tall as Katoki, and had a head of reddish orange hair tied in a ponytail that trailed down to mid back. His eyes were the same colour as his hair and radiated power.
"Please...if you do decided to fight, Konoha, Kumo, and Suna will all apreciate your help." The leader's eyebrows rose.
"Hmm? It depends. If you end up attacking us, I may have to ally with Iwa." Katoki grunted and bowed.
"Thank you for your time." The leader bowed back and Katoki exited the room.
Walking towards the hotel, Katoki was thinking on how he was going to explain to the Raikage that he failed to get an alliance with the Waterfall. Sighing, he turned a corner only to walk into someone. Looking down, the person, a boy with blonde hair looked up and said,
"Aah, Gomenaisai. I wasn't watching where I was going." Katoki blinked and said,
"Hey! I know you! You're the tree destroyer!" The boy looked up at Katoki with a questioning face. Katoki took off his ANBU mask, and the boy's face lit up.
"Oh! You! Ka...Katoki-san?" Katoki clapped and helped the boy up.
"Right! And you are Kouden-kun." Kouden's face lit up as he grabbed Katoki's hand.
"Kouden-baka! What are you do- oh! Sorry..." A taller boy with dark hair that was long in the front, and short in the back came running up to Kouden and Katoki. Looking a little flushed, the boy bowed and said,
"Gomen, I didn't realize you were talking." Katoki laughed and Kouden said,
"Shiro-teme, this is Katoki-san...remember I was telling you that he was standing on that tree when I first used rasengan?" Shiro's eyes widened, and Kouden turned back to Katoki.
"What are you doing here? Are you a Shinobi here?" Katoki shook his head.
"No, I'm on a mission, but it's classified." Kouden shifted his feet and made a whining noise.
"Er, Kouden...Jiraiya-sama wants us to get him some sake along with the large balloons." Kouden sighed and Katoki chuckled. Waving a quick bye, Kouden and Shiro disapeared off into the crowds, and Katoki continued down the street towards his hotel, when he heard a loud roar of laughter that sounded suspiciously drunk. Poking his head into the bar, he saw at the back, a large man with white spiky hair, who was surrounded by three women. His face was red and his eyes were slightly askew.
"Ohhh, Jiraiya-chan, you're so charming!" one girl said. The other giggled and Jiraiya roared with laughter again. Katoki blinked. Jiraiya?
Walking in, he ordered himself a drink and sat at the bar, observing Jiraiya out of the corner of his eye.
Ten minutes of Katoki quietly drinking at the bar, and one of the girls around Jiraiya came over to Katoki and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey hun, did you want to rent us for the hour? His is almost up." The girl pointed her thumb at Jiraiya. Katoki glanced over at Jiraiya, who all of a sudden didn't look as drunk. Instead he looked mildly jealous that one of the girls was talking to him. Katoki caught his eye, and Jiraiya choked on his sake. Sputtering everywhere, one of the girls squealed.
"No thanks, miss. I've got to be going soon any way." The girl nodded and made her way back to the old man.
"Ahh, Jiraiya-chan, you made such a mess...wanna help clean it up?" Katoki nearly choked on his drink when he heard the low seductive voice the girl was using. He glanced and saw that Jiraiya was smiling, but his attention wasn't on them, it was on Katoki.
Katoki noticed this and quickly paid for his drinks and left. Rounding the first corner, he jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Hey, who are-" The figure stopped when Katoki yelled. Clutching his head, Katoki was brought to his knees, but another wave of pain hit, but Katoki passed out before he hit the ground.
When Katoki woke up, the first thing he saw were a pair of white eyes.
"Hinata-chan?" The white eyes widened and Katoki snapped up, smacking his forehead on the owner. Holding his forehead he saw that the owner of the white eyes was in fact not Hinata, but Kouden.
"Kuso...She's gonna kill me. Kouden-kun, are you ok?" The boy, still holding his forehead nodded and looked up at Katoki. His eyes tearing. Behind him sat Shiro and Jiraiya was smoking from a pipe in the corner.
"So you're awake." Katoki nodded and noticed that he was on a pallet, and a wet cloth was on his lap.
"How long was I out for this time?" Jiraiya paused, and Shiro said,
"Jiraiya-sama brought you here 4 hours ago." Katoki sighed and nodded.
"So, to finish my sentance earlier, who are you?" Katoki looked the old man straight in the face and was surprised to see a small amount of hurt in his eyes.
"Jiraiya-sama of the Densetsu Sannin?" Jiraiya inclined his head. "I suppose it's alright then. If you wanted to kill me, you would have already. I am Katoki of Kumogakure." Kouden flinched, and Shiro stared at the blonde boy. Jiraiya didnt do anything but take another puff of his pipe.
"Ano sa...Katoki-san, when you woke up, you said a name..." Katoki sucked his breath in. Hinata was definatly going kill him, he couldn't just lie to the boy.
"I did..." Kouden's fists grabbed his black pants.
"Why her name...?" Katoki paused, collecting his words.
"Because when I woke, I saw your eyes and thought you were her." Kouden froze.
"...Kaa-san?" Shiro's eyes widened and he looked at Katoki.
"Kouden-kun, Your Kaa-san is still alive and well. She lives in Kumogakure with me. Next time you are there, come visit. She misses you. I see it everyday." Jiraiya's eyebrows were up past his bangs, but he was still sucking on the pipe. That was the last thing he expected this mystery man to say.
Standing up, Katoki said,
"Well, I was supposed to be gone by now. I will have to bid you a farewell. Jiraiya-sama, it was nice to finally meet you. You are a legend in Kumo." Jiraiya just smiled and said,
"Boy, I'm a legend everywhere. Now, tell Yondaime that I will be visiting soon. I just remembered that I have some...buisness with him." Katoki hesitated at the pause, but bowed and left the small room.
Still standing at the door, Katoki went over and over in his head how he was going to tell Hinata that her son knows she's alive. Ten minutes later found Katoki still standing at the door, when a neighbour, an old lady prodded him in the back. Jumping, Katoki turned and sighed.
"Aaah, Kaede-san, can I help you?" The old lady smiled and said,
"Can I help you? You've been standing there for quite some time, son." Katoki rubbed the back of his head and grinned.
"Sorry, I was zoning out. I wont do it again, but thank you for your concerns." Kaede nodded and turned back to her apartment across the hall.
Katoki pushed the key into the lock and unlocked the door to his apartment. As soon as he walked in, he was assaulted by the scent of tears. Dropping his stuff in the doorway, he closed the door and tiptoed to the bedroom.
"Hinata-chan?" He said quietly peering around the corner. He sighed when he saw that Hinata was wrapped up against the corner of the room, several scrolls in her hands, he called her name again, but he realized that she was sleeping.
Making her pallet, he picked her up, surprised again by how light she was, and laid her down on her pallet. Brushing her bangs off her face, he noticed that there were dried tears around her eyes. Katoki sighed quietly. He knew that she cried out names in her sleep, sometimes that of her son, but mostly Naruto's. He made Katoki angry. Katoki thought it was very unfair to Hinata that he died. Hinata says it was her fault, but Katoki refuses to believe that. Making his pallet next, Katoki banished all thoughts of Naruto from his mind, he slipped into a light sleep.
Rubbing his forehead, the Kazekage sighed. A small crash from the corner of his office made Gaara glance to his right. His daughter had just pushed over the pile of blocks she had been playing with, and was now squealing with laughter. Seeing his daughter laugh made Gaara smile. Extending a hand towards her, he used his control of sand to gently pile all of the blocks back up. Kaisa squealed again and Gaara grinned.
Turning back to the paper that he was reading, Gaara once again held his forehead in his hands. Iwagakure was offically declaring war on Sunagakure with the intention of taking over the Wind country.
Go over the actions in his head, he decided that he needed to inform Konoha and Kumo right away. Sighing, he wrote the letter that he really wished he wouldnt have had to, and after picking his daughter up, Gaara gave it to the nin posted outside of his door.
"This needs to get to the Hokage as soon as possible." The nin nodded and Gaara left the room, holding his giggling daughter.
Skidding along the ground, Sasami didn't have time to readjust her stance as a tall dark skinned woman came flying at her with her foot extended. Blocking with her left arm, Sasami tried to push her fingers against the taller woman's ankle, but she twisted around and swung her other foot at the other side of her head.
Sasami let out a grunt as she quickly blocked the attack. Dropping the woman's foot, Sasami darted in, under the woman's foot, and flicking her hands through a few seals, watched as her hand became aflame with green fire. Pointing her hands, she managed to smack the woman's side with an open handed punch. Sasami grunted. She had missed what she was aiming for, but that hit must have left damage.
The woman backed up before she bent over and started to cough up blood. Sasami swore and said,
"Ahh, Souma-sensei! Are you ok?" Souma, still bent over, raised her hand and nodded.
"That was good, Hime-sama. Im glad that your chakra scalpel is getting better. I think you severed my abdominal muscles." Sasami swore loudly, and blushed. Rushing to her Sensei's side, her hands caught on fire again as she searched out the damage. Scrunching her nose up, Sasami tried to knit Souma's muscles together with as much accuracy as possible.
"There...I cant get it all, but when it heals you wont notice anything...or, you shouldnt. You should get checked out at the hospital. Gomen..." Souma laughed and ruffled Sasami's hair, making the single ponytail come loose. Sasami blushed and Souma said,
"You dont need to apologize. I sparred with you, and I expected to get hurt. Im impressed though, you are getting better." Sasami grinned and Souma laughed again.
Leaning back, Sasami brushed a few pink strands behind her ear and Souma noticed a slight dusting of rose across her face.
"What's wrong, Hime-sama? You're blushing!" Sasami started and her face turned a bright shade of red. Covering her mouth, Sasami glanced up. Souma's face has a sadistic smile on it. The dark skinned woman leaned forward a bit and said,
"Boy troubles?" Sasami squeeked and turned an even brighter shade.
"I-I...K-k-k....I m-miss K-kon-noha..." Souma's smile turned into a motherly one as she ignored the slight sting in her abs to give her student and queen a motherly hug. Sasami tensed up, but relaxed after a second. Souma whispered in Sasami's ear,
"I know, child. But all will be well, you shall see." Sasami smiled and wiped away the tears that had started to form.
"Souma-sensei...Someone is watching us." Sasami whispered as quietly as she could. Souma nodded and casually looked about. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, she made a move to hug Sasami again.
"Let's just go back to the main hall." Sasami nodded and stood up. Straightening her thigh length casual obi, Sasami smiled at her teacher and helped her up. Souma stood with little difficulty, despite the constant stinging in her abdomen.
"We really need to get you to the hospital...I'm not quite sure how to heal that..." Sasami said, her face tinging red again. Souma laughed.
Walking out the archway that led to the small civilian hospital, Sasami saw Souma make a slight hand guesture at nothing. Turning her head back to the hall in front of her, she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye, but upon looking, nothing was there. Shivering, Sasami continued to lead her teacher to the small hospital.
Stepping out into the streets of the large city Sasami lived in, it only took a few seconds before someone shouted.
"Hoku-Hime! Everyone, Its the Hoku-hime!" Sasami winced. Within seconds, she and Souma were surrounded.
"Please, Hoku-hime, can you heal this?"
"Please, Hoku-hime-sama!"
"Please, can-"
"Please!"
"Hoku-hi-" Sasami paniked. Stuck between her concern of the villages, and trying to get Souma to the hospital, Sasami flustered, and out of reflex shoved a young man that was blocking her way. Everyone's eyes followed the man's fall, as he didnt just fall, but flew a good ten feet back, taking out a few more citizens.
Sasami gasped. Every single eye was turned towards her, and the only sound was Souma sighing.
"G-gomen...I didn't even realize I used chakra! Are you alright sir?" Sasami said, rushing to the man through the now parted crowd. The man flinched at the sight of her, and backed away from her touch. Sasami withdrew her arms as tears pricked her eyes.
"Gomenasai...." The man ignored her, but kept a watchful eye as she ran back to her teacher.
Making it past the still and silent crowd, Sasami nearly broke into a cold sweat. Souma laughed quietly and said,
"Now, Hime-sama, they will think twice than to crowd you like that." Sasami looked down and her face reddened out of shame.
"Now they will fear me. I don't want that. Not at all." Souma gave a slight grin and said,
"They wont. They will fear your power, and with that fear brings respect." The pink haired girl grimaced.
"If that's what it takes to be respected, I'de rather be loved and helpless."
"If you were helpless, you would have been dead the first day you walked in here." Sasami's face lost a bit of colour, but she didnt move her gaze from her feet.
End Chapter 24