Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mokushita Hyuuga ❯ Chapter 26
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Moghedian 
I do not own Naruto in anyway.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.06.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 559 | Status: Completed
I do not own Naruto in anyway.
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.06.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 4.2K | Visits: 559 | Status: Completed
Chapter 26
Shiro stared at the door that had just been slammed in his face. Turning to his shorter, blonde friend, he said,
"Was that...?" Kouden nodded, his mouth hanging open. "Kouden, your Kaa-sama's hot." Kouden turned his head angrily and hit Shiro on the side of his head as hard as he could.
Hinata stood with her back to the door. Her hand covered her mouth as she held in a shout. Scrambling to her room, she quickly grabbed a pair of leggings and rammed her legs into them as fast as possible.
Running back to the door, she opened it, and said,
"What are you doing here?!?" Kouden didn't answer, but instead stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his now shorter mother.
"Kaa-san..." he said, nearly sobbing. Hinata tensed up, but soon gave in and warmly embraced Kouden. Shiro shifted awkwardly, but couldnt help but notice how much Kouden didn't look like Hinata. Pulling away, Hinata took a breath and held it in for a moment.
"Well, I suppose you should come in now." She said, finally. Kouden grinned and Shiro nodded.
"Ahh, Kaa-san...why didn't you ever contact me? Where have you been? Here?" Hinata shook her head, but didn't answer. Instead, she motioned for the two boys to sit in the small sitting room.
"Ahh, Shiro-kun, you've grown since I last saw you properly!" Shiro blinked and Kouden tilted his head.
"Ahh...Hinata-sama...I don't think I've ever met you..." Hinata blinked and then laughed a small delight-filled laugh. Shiro looked at Kouden, who just shrugged.
"I will make some tea, and then I will answer some of your questions. Some of them though." Kouden winced at the underlying anger and sadness that was skillfully hidden in his mother's voice.
Meanwhile, Katoki started to stir. He kept hearing a muffled klink of some kind, and he couldn't identify it, which bothered him.
Rolling over, he noticed the lack of warmth beside him seconds before the headache hit. Groaning, Katoki rolled over again, but this time he was clutching his head. The dull throbbing that was preventing him from thinking straight was almost a relief to Katoki. This was a hangover, not an episode.
Licking his lips, Katoki nearly retched at the fuzzy texture his tongue seemed to gain over night. Opening his eyes, Katoki squinted as everything was racing around the edge of his vision. Looking to the left and right, he tried to focus properly, when suddenly everything just slowed down. Katoki blinked again, and saw that his vision cleared. His tongue seemed a little less fuzzy, and his cheeks, which he didn't even realize were hurting, stopped hurting.
Bringing his hand to his cheeks, he was surprised to find that the old scars opened up again. Cursing, Katoki pressed his blanket onto his cheek. After a minute, the bleeding stopped, and let Katoki sit and deal with the throbbing behind his eyes.
Katoki grimaced. He remembered nearly everything last night, from the amount of sake he had consumed, to falling down the stairs. Katoki stopped. Rubbing his arms, he blanched. Scrambling to his feet, much to his head's dismay, Katoki threw the door to his bedroom open and yelled,
"Hinata-chan! My ar--uhhhhh..." Katoki blinked. He was not expecting to see the blonde kid and his friend sitting in his house. Especially not with Hinata.
Oh Kami-sama, she's gonna kill me... was Katoki's first thought.
"Ohayou gazaimasu, Katoki-san!" Kouden waved. Hinata glanced at Katoki. Shiro didn't say anything, but he did bow his head.
"So anyway, Kouden-kun, how did you find out where I lived?" Kouden grinned.
"I got here last night, so I went and saw the Raikage."
"Is this the right way to the Raikage tower?" Kouden asked a random stranger. The stranger grunted and pointed at the round building with yellow trim.
"Ahh, arigato, ni-san!" Kouden said, and jogged off in that direction, occasionally jumping as a clap of thunder sounded. Kouden grunted as flash of lightning went off again. It was raining really hard now.
"Aaa, Is this the Raikage's office?" Kouden yelled out as he approached the building. One of the two shinobi guarding the entrance nodded and gave Kouden a wink. Kouden grinned widely and ran through the doors into a much dryer enviroment.
"Can I help you, boy?" A lady sitting at a desk said. Kouden looked up and resisted the urge to shake his head like a dog to get the water off.
"A-ano...I'm here to see the Raikage..." The lady looked at a clip board and said,
"He is busy with someone right now, but he should be free-" a door on the far side of the room opened, and much to Kouden's surprise, Jiraiya walked out. He was holding himself high, and was sucking on a pipe.
"Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya coughed and stumbled.
"BOY! I told you not to call me that!" Jiraiya shouted, just as another old man walked out of the office.
"Ahh, Jiraiya-san, who might this be? And...Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya didn't say anything, but his ears turned a bright shade of red. He gave Kouden a look of murder that sucessfully made Kouden want to crawl in a hole.
"Ahh, Nothing, Raikage-sama. This is Kouden, my personal apprentice." The Raikage nodded and looked over.
"My...he really does, doesnt he..." Jiraiya nodded, but Kouden was puzzled. "Now, my boy. How can I help you?" Kouden shuffled his feet, his words suddenly stuck in his throat.
"Uhnnn, a-ano...I-I...I was wondering if....If...if you could tell me where Katoki-san lives?" The Raikage was silent for a second, as he gazed upon Kouden with his old brown eyes.
"Ok. Nanao, write down dear Katoki's address for this boy." The secretary blinked and nodded.
"...That's it? I dont have to argue about secrecy?" The Raikage laughed, and was joined by Jiraiya a second later.
"Of course not boy! Thanks to Jiraiya, anyway. Now git goin'." Kouden grinned and nodded, taking the slip of paper that Nanao was holding out for him.
"Arigato gozaimasu!" Kouden shouted and dashed out into the rain.
"I went back to the hotel and convinced Shiro to come and see you." Kouden finished, and took a sip of his tea. Mint. Kouden smiled.
"No, I mean, how did you know that I lived with Katoki-kun?" Kouden paused and looked at the other blonde.
"He told me, in waterfall country. He fainted in the road, and Jiraiya brought him back. When he woke up, he mentioned you, and then told us that you lived with him! I'm so happy you're alive!" Kouden said, scooting over and embracing Hinata, Hinata put her arm around him, but shot daggers at Katoki, who took a step back. Shiro just sipped his tea.
"What was it you were trying to tell me, Katoki-san?" Katoki winced at the formality, but pointed to his arm and said,
"Thank you for healing my arm!" Hinata's face lost all anger as she gazed at his arm.
"Katoki-kun...I didnt...what? Let me see..." Katoki's face dropped.
"Ehhhh?" Moving his arm around, he said, "It's definitly healed though..." Hinata stood up, and Katoki couldn't help but notice she was wearing his sweater. Controlling his thoughts to just a slight tinge of red on his ears, he held out his arm to Hinata, who was reaching for it.
Hinata's hands lit up in the familiar green fire and she placed them on his arm, spreading a small and comforting warmth in the area.
"It's healed nicely...I dont...did I..?" Katoki laughed and rubbed the back of his head.
"Kaa-san...Is Katoki your boyfriend?" Hinata twitched. Katoki looked at her face and saw that it was an impossible shade of red.
"Kouden-kun...Shiro-kun...I think that maybe you should leave, and come back later tonight, we can all go out to dinner, and I can use the time to think of more answers. Come back here at 6, ok?" Kouden nodded and He and Shiro stood. Hinata hugged her now taller son and planted a kiss on his cheek. Kouden blushed slightly, but Hinata wasted no time in pushing the two boys out of her apartment.
Katoki started to get a gut feeling that his health wasn't exactly safe at the moment, and glanced around to find a quick escape route. But before he could think of anything, Hinata shut the door softly and whispered so low that Katoki almost didn't catch it.
"Where's my dress?" Katoki's face reddened, and he turned to the fuuton. There, half tucked underneath a pillow was a crunched up lavender peice of fabric. Holding it out to Hinata, she snatched it from his hands and let it drape down. Seeing the blood at the bottom where a strip of fabric, that was still tied to Katoki's head, had been ripped. Turning the dress around, Hinata's breath caught in her throat.
There was a long, clean cut going down the back of the dress.
"I...er...a-ano...Katoki-kun...did...did we...?" Her face was a deep red that had spread to her neck and ears. Katoki waved his hand in front of him.
"Noooo! No! I dont think so, I'de certainly remember if we did..." Katoki paused and leaned forward. "But from what I do remember, you certainly tried." Hinata's face lost all colour as she grabbed the nearest object, which just so happened to be a steel teapot, and bashed Katoki over the head with it.
The pain rang through Katoki's head, and started to throb along with the throb of his hangover. Laying on the floor, he was vaguely aware of Hinata distressing over him, and apologizing profoundly.
Katoki's eyes were half-lidded as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
A girl with dark hair lay on the ground, he could see that her was breathing erratic, he could hear her heart beat unsteadily. He watched her eyes close as she was hauled away by...someone. Swirling around, his vision clouded over, but the anger and pain that seared through his heart nearly made scream.
"Katoki! Katoki!" some one was yelling. Katoki groaned and rolled over.
"Katoki-kun! Thank kami-sama!" Katoki looked over and saw his pearl eyed roomate staring back at him. Raising a cool hand to his forehead, Katoki said,
"Nnnn, how long was I out this time?" Hinata looked away, her face full of shame.
"About 4 hours. Gomen...I caused an episode, didn't I?" Katoki smiled and nodded.
"That's ok! I remembered more stuff this time!" Hinata couldnt help but grin at his attitude. Katoki sat up and was surprised that his hangover was gone.
"My hangover is gone too!" Katoki said, louder, which wiped the grin off of Hinata's face as she cringed.
"Shhh...mine's not." Katoki laughed, and Hinata swatted him.
"Ahh! Ah! I really do thank you for healing my arm! I remembered tumbling down the stairs and breaking it, but how did you get me back?" Hinata paused and stared at his arm.
"...I didn't bring you back, I think the neighbour helped me...that silent one." Katoki nodded, "d-demo...Katoki-k-kun...I really dont think I healed your arm...I mean, I think I remember trying...It's so fuzzy..." Hinata said, her voice choking up. Katoki grimaced and leaned forward.
"Dont cry, Hinata-chan! There is nothing to cry about!" Hinata looked up at her roomate with unshed tears, and nearly laughed at his face.
"We...We have to get ready...Kouden-kun and Shiro-kun are coming soon." Katoki nodded and Hinata stood up. Walking out of the bedroom, she paused and said,
"Thank you for telling him. I really did miss him." Katoki grinned and rubbed the back of his head.
The raikage grunted as he finished reading a rather long scroll. Setting the scroll down, he noticed one of the shinobi fidgeting.
"Is everything the matter, shinobi-san?" The Jounin in particular froze. Raising a hand to her purple hair, she laughed weakly and said,
"G-gomen, Raikage-sama, no offence, but I still remember the war with Kumogakure." the Raikage grunted, and very skillfully hid a blush as that particular Jounin moved her arm and the long trench coat she wore moved, exposing her chest, and the fishnet that hid nothing.
"No offence taken. Those were darker times. But in related events, I will say that it should take about three weeks to rally together all the shinobi who will be participating, along with a plan to defeat the Iwa-nin. I suggest that you relax as much as you can untill you are called for. But please try to stay in Kumogakure. We have several training grounds, and even a few tourist sights, if you get bored. I will call you when needed." The old man paused before adding, "In Konohagakure, I beleive the Hokage signals you with hawks? Seeing as hawks are not a natural inhabitant around here, we use snowy owls instead. Two screeches means you have been requested here." The group of four Konoha-nin nodded in unison.
"Arigato Yondaime-sama, your kindness will not be forgotten in the future." The raikage bowed his head, and dissmissed the group.
"Stop fussing, or I will use the pressure point again! The painful one!" A young woman nearly shouted as she struggled to keep a small child still. The threat seemed to work as the child stopped struggling, but the woman could clearly feel the resentment leaking from the child.
"That's better." The woman said, ruffling the child's light blue mop. The child growled but remained quiet.
"Are we ready to leave?" A male voice said from the mist that was covering the area.
"Hai, Yamato-kun, take him." The woman said.
"Her!" The child yelled.
"What?" The woman said, as she pushed the child towards Yamato.
"I'm a girl!" The woman laughed and gave the girl one final push towards Yamato. Yamato materialized out of the swirling mist and raised his hand up in a seal. Wordlessly, he flicked his fingers and the girl collapsed to the ground.
"She's the right one, right?" The woman asked. Yamato took out a small peice of yellow paper, and placed it on top of the girls forhead. The paper shone blue for a second before it appeared to melt as if water had been dumped on it.
"She is. Good work Kasumi." Kasumi knelt down beside the girl and peeled the wet peice of paper, now useless, off of the young girl's face.
"Sad really. She looks like she's what, 8? Too bad she's gonna die." Wrinkling her nose, she stood up and grinned at Yamato. Yamato bent down to pick up the blue haired girl, as Kasumi watched with renewed fascination. The scar across his face made her want to touch the one on her own, and reminded her of the nasty ones across his throat and torso.
"Do you remember Hinata-san?" Kasumi said after the pair, Yamato carrying the girl, started to walk into the failing light.
"How could I forget. She saved my life. I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a good person, but I'm indebted to her." Kasumi nodded.
"I researched her. Last month when we were undercover in Konoha. Their libraries are packed full of information. But to the point, I was curious, she said that her son went there to train to become shinobi. She was a shinobi herself, she must have a record. So I looked at all of the missing nin and dead nin names from the past 20 years. I found three Hinatas. An Akuzuu Hinata, she was a nuke-nin for three weeks before she was caught and killed. Her crime was that she lost her temper and killed 14 people in the market once. The second one was a Katara Hinata, but she was killed in the sound raid all those years ago, when the Sandaime Hokage was killed. Poor girl, she was 9 years old."
"Kasumi, get on with it." Yamato said, adjusting how the small girl was draped over his back and shoulders.
"Ahh, Sumimasen. I find information intresting." Kasumi threw her partner a grin, but he just sighed and motioned for her to continue.
"Ah..alright. The third Hinata was a Hyuuga, but she was made into a nuke nin after killing a boy her age named Uzumaki Naruto. They had both recently turned 17. The next day it said, she was killed by an unnamed ANBU. But check this out, she was killed 14 years ago. When we received assistance from her, she said her son was nine years old. That was 5 years ago. Who's to say that that Hinata is our Hinata. Wouldn't that be a lovely tale to jot down? Maybe I should find her, if she is still alive, and make her tell me the story. I will publish the book, and we can support Manjuushage for Leader-sama!" Yamato sighed.
"So what if that Hinata was our Hinata. It just means the ANBU didn't have the guts to finish her off." Kasumi wriggled her nose in a very rabbit like way.
"But you see, she said she had a son. He would have the Byakugan, most likely, I'm sure I read somewhere that the byakugan was a dominent trait that liked to over power nearly everything." Yamato shook his head.
"So? Her son has magic eyes. Whoop dee." Kasumi stuck her finger up.
"How many 9 year olds did we see in Konoha with white eyes?" Yamato grunted.
"I saw two! Well, one was like, 9-ish looking, but I couldnt be sure. But I saw him in a crowd of Hyuuga at a memorial service. He had a bandage tied around his head, and I figured he was covering a curse seal. The other one was that blonde kid I saw who frequented the training grounds."
"The one who sparred with the pink haired girl often?" Yamato asked in a surprisingly bright voice.
"Yea! That one! I saw him once with a girl with buns and brown hair too." Kasumi said.
"No. You're wrong, that boy had green eyes. He used to walk by our shop often." Kasumi grinned and Yamato looked at her as if she was crazy.
"You see, I got intrested into why he always passed by one day, and followed him. Everywhere and around Konoha. He met up with this freaky kid and his equally freaky teacher doing one handed pushups and yelling about youth or something. Then he went to the library and read books that had to do with Konoha's honourable mentions...or what ever they call it in that leaf covered village.
Anyway, when he was reading, I tipped over a stack of books once, and startled him. He spun around and his eyes were pearly white. Exactly like Hinata-san's, and every other Hyuuga I've seen. I apologized and pretended not to notice. He must have noticed later though. When He left the library, he had emerald eyes again. Strange how Hinata-san decided to hide her Hyuuga son with a Hyuuga."
"Alright, Kasumi, was there a point? Or a moral?" Kasumi wriggled her nose again and said,
"If we ever meet him again, should we extend our curtesies to him as well as his mother? If he was still living with her, you would have ended up on the floor." Yamato shrugged.
"Whatever, we aren't ever going to meet them again anyway."
"Nmmfff..." Kasumi glanced at Yamato's shoulder.
"Kuso, she's waking up. Here, hold still." Yamato froze and Kasumi tiltled the girl's head back before she delicately poked the side of her neck. The blue haired girl went limp again, and Yamato nodded an approval. Kasumi blushed slightly and started to laugh.
"So you never answered this morning. Why did you leave me, Kaa-san?" Kouden asked. Hinata paused mid-sip.
"Kouden... You must understand...Your father...ever since He died, I have this pain in my heart. No matter how hard I try, it never goes away. I feared that when you left for Konoha, it would kill me. I decided to sever all connections so that when I died, you wouldnt be sad." Katoki tightened his grip on the glass of sake in front of him.
"Hinata-sama? May I ask a question?" Hinata bowed her head and Shiro continued.
"How do you know me?" Hinata smiled.
"I was under a guise in Konoha until Kouden left with Jiraiya." Kouden's mouth opened.
"But! Why didn't you ever visit me! Ever!" Hinata grinned again.
"Oh, But I did. I had tea at your house, every tuesday with my dear cousin."
"KASUMI?" Kouden yelled. Hinata blushed, and the bar became silent. Kouden blushed and waved his hands.
"Gomen everyone, it's nothing to pay mind too...please, go back to your meals..." Shiro had his face in his hands, and Katoki was laughing.
Ten minutes of small questions passed by before Kouden remained silent for a good moment.
"Is something wrong?" Hinata asked her son. Shiro leaned in a tad to listen better. He had seen the look on the boy's face before.
"...In all of the history I read, it says you killed Tou-sama...how did he die? When I was a kid, you used to tell me that you would tell me when I was old enough, and im almost 14. I think Im old enough now." Hinata was silent. Her eyes had a faraway look in them.
"He...He got in the way. He took a killing blow for me, and died in my arms. He didn't even know about you. I fled the village shortly after. Neji-ni-san was sent after me by Otou-sama, to kill me and cover up the killer's misdeeds. Neji spared my life and wrote me off as dead, so that I might raise you in peace." Shiro's blue eyes were wide. Kouden's were not quite so wide, but much calmer.
"Who. I swear, I will kill him." Kouden said. His voice low and even. Hinata turned to her son and said,
"No. No, you will not know. I will NOT have you turn out to be against everything I taught you. I have met the man, and he suffers enough in his daily life." Kouden narrowed his eyes, but his anger was stopped when a rough hand grabbed his shoulder.
"That's enough boy. Your mother's right. Revenge is useless, it benefits no one, and only causes pain." Kouden shook his head slightly before nodding to the taller blonde. Kouden stood up and said,
"I swear I wont take revenge for Tou-sama. Does any one other than Shika-ni-chan, Neji-ni-san, and Kakashi-sensei know about my parents? Oh, and Jiraiya and Shiro know too, obviously."
"Ino knows. Sai-san too." Kouden blinked.
"Ino-san? Oh! Kaa-san, Jiraiya told the Kazekage too...and his wife..." Hinata drooped.
"Oh Kami-sama. Does the entire world need to know?"
"Will you ever come back to Konoha, Hinata-sama?" Shiro said, getting tired of being ignored. Hinata looked at his with her white eyes.
"I rather like it here. Maybe to visit...but I doubt as myself. Im sorry, Shiro-kun, Kouden..."
"Can I tell Tsunade-oba-chan? She'd be happiest, I think." Hinata looked away and over and Katoki. Katoki's face tinged a slight red before he shrugged.
"Give me time to write her a letter. How long are you staying in Kumo?"
"We are leaving with the army to help fight in the war." Hinata grimaced. The door to the small bar slammed loud enough for Hinata to turn and look over her shoulder.
"Ehhhh?? H-HINATA???" Hinata's face drained of all colour as she stared at the figure in the doorway.
End Chapter 26
Sorry for the wait! I wont be updating as fast anymore, but I will try~!
Shiro stared at the door that had just been slammed in his face. Turning to his shorter, blonde friend, he said,
"Was that...?" Kouden nodded, his mouth hanging open. "Kouden, your Kaa-sama's hot." Kouden turned his head angrily and hit Shiro on the side of his head as hard as he could.
Hinata stood with her back to the door. Her hand covered her mouth as she held in a shout. Scrambling to her room, she quickly grabbed a pair of leggings and rammed her legs into them as fast as possible.
Running back to the door, she opened it, and said,
"What are you doing here?!?" Kouden didn't answer, but instead stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his now shorter mother.
"Kaa-san..." he said, nearly sobbing. Hinata tensed up, but soon gave in and warmly embraced Kouden. Shiro shifted awkwardly, but couldnt help but notice how much Kouden didn't look like Hinata. Pulling away, Hinata took a breath and held it in for a moment.
"Well, I suppose you should come in now." She said, finally. Kouden grinned and Shiro nodded.
"Ahh, Kaa-san...why didn't you ever contact me? Where have you been? Here?" Hinata shook her head, but didn't answer. Instead, she motioned for the two boys to sit in the small sitting room.
"Ahh, Shiro-kun, you've grown since I last saw you properly!" Shiro blinked and Kouden tilted his head.
"Ahh...Hinata-sama...I don't think I've ever met you..." Hinata blinked and then laughed a small delight-filled laugh. Shiro looked at Kouden, who just shrugged.
"I will make some tea, and then I will answer some of your questions. Some of them though." Kouden winced at the underlying anger and sadness that was skillfully hidden in his mother's voice.
Meanwhile, Katoki started to stir. He kept hearing a muffled klink of some kind, and he couldn't identify it, which bothered him.
Rolling over, he noticed the lack of warmth beside him seconds before the headache hit. Groaning, Katoki rolled over again, but this time he was clutching his head. The dull throbbing that was preventing him from thinking straight was almost a relief to Katoki. This was a hangover, not an episode.
Licking his lips, Katoki nearly retched at the fuzzy texture his tongue seemed to gain over night. Opening his eyes, Katoki squinted as everything was racing around the edge of his vision. Looking to the left and right, he tried to focus properly, when suddenly everything just slowed down. Katoki blinked again, and saw that his vision cleared. His tongue seemed a little less fuzzy, and his cheeks, which he didn't even realize were hurting, stopped hurting.
Bringing his hand to his cheeks, he was surprised to find that the old scars opened up again. Cursing, Katoki pressed his blanket onto his cheek. After a minute, the bleeding stopped, and let Katoki sit and deal with the throbbing behind his eyes.
Katoki grimaced. He remembered nearly everything last night, from the amount of sake he had consumed, to falling down the stairs. Katoki stopped. Rubbing his arms, he blanched. Scrambling to his feet, much to his head's dismay, Katoki threw the door to his bedroom open and yelled,
"Hinata-chan! My ar--uhhhhh..." Katoki blinked. He was not expecting to see the blonde kid and his friend sitting in his house. Especially not with Hinata.
Oh Kami-sama, she's gonna kill me... was Katoki's first thought.
"Ohayou gazaimasu, Katoki-san!" Kouden waved. Hinata glanced at Katoki. Shiro didn't say anything, but he did bow his head.
"So anyway, Kouden-kun, how did you find out where I lived?" Kouden grinned.
"I got here last night, so I went and saw the Raikage."
"Is this the right way to the Raikage tower?" Kouden asked a random stranger. The stranger grunted and pointed at the round building with yellow trim.
"Ahh, arigato, ni-san!" Kouden said, and jogged off in that direction, occasionally jumping as a clap of thunder sounded. Kouden grunted as flash of lightning went off again. It was raining really hard now.
"Aaa, Is this the Raikage's office?" Kouden yelled out as he approached the building. One of the two shinobi guarding the entrance nodded and gave Kouden a wink. Kouden grinned widely and ran through the doors into a much dryer enviroment.
"Can I help you, boy?" A lady sitting at a desk said. Kouden looked up and resisted the urge to shake his head like a dog to get the water off.
"A-ano...I'm here to see the Raikage..." The lady looked at a clip board and said,
"He is busy with someone right now, but he should be free-" a door on the far side of the room opened, and much to Kouden's surprise, Jiraiya walked out. He was holding himself high, and was sucking on a pipe.
"Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya coughed and stumbled.
"BOY! I told you not to call me that!" Jiraiya shouted, just as another old man walked out of the office.
"Ahh, Jiraiya-san, who might this be? And...Ero-sennin?" Jiraiya didn't say anything, but his ears turned a bright shade of red. He gave Kouden a look of murder that sucessfully made Kouden want to crawl in a hole.
"Ahh, Nothing, Raikage-sama. This is Kouden, my personal apprentice." The Raikage nodded and looked over.
"My...he really does, doesnt he..." Jiraiya nodded, but Kouden was puzzled. "Now, my boy. How can I help you?" Kouden shuffled his feet, his words suddenly stuck in his throat.
"Uhnnn, a-ano...I-I...I was wondering if....If...if you could tell me where Katoki-san lives?" The Raikage was silent for a second, as he gazed upon Kouden with his old brown eyes.
"Ok. Nanao, write down dear Katoki's address for this boy." The secretary blinked and nodded.
"...That's it? I dont have to argue about secrecy?" The Raikage laughed, and was joined by Jiraiya a second later.
"Of course not boy! Thanks to Jiraiya, anyway. Now git goin'." Kouden grinned and nodded, taking the slip of paper that Nanao was holding out for him.
"Arigato gozaimasu!" Kouden shouted and dashed out into the rain.
"I went back to the hotel and convinced Shiro to come and see you." Kouden finished, and took a sip of his tea. Mint. Kouden smiled.
"No, I mean, how did you know that I lived with Katoki-kun?" Kouden paused and looked at the other blonde.
"He told me, in waterfall country. He fainted in the road, and Jiraiya brought him back. When he woke up, he mentioned you, and then told us that you lived with him! I'm so happy you're alive!" Kouden said, scooting over and embracing Hinata, Hinata put her arm around him, but shot daggers at Katoki, who took a step back. Shiro just sipped his tea.
"What was it you were trying to tell me, Katoki-san?" Katoki winced at the formality, but pointed to his arm and said,
"Thank you for healing my arm!" Hinata's face lost all anger as she gazed at his arm.
"Katoki-kun...I didnt...what? Let me see..." Katoki's face dropped.
"Ehhhh?" Moving his arm around, he said, "It's definitly healed though..." Hinata stood up, and Katoki couldn't help but notice she was wearing his sweater. Controlling his thoughts to just a slight tinge of red on his ears, he held out his arm to Hinata, who was reaching for it.
Hinata's hands lit up in the familiar green fire and she placed them on his arm, spreading a small and comforting warmth in the area.
"It's healed nicely...I dont...did I..?" Katoki laughed and rubbed the back of his head.
"Kaa-san...Is Katoki your boyfriend?" Hinata twitched. Katoki looked at her face and saw that it was an impossible shade of red.
"Kouden-kun...Shiro-kun...I think that maybe you should leave, and come back later tonight, we can all go out to dinner, and I can use the time to think of more answers. Come back here at 6, ok?" Kouden nodded and He and Shiro stood. Hinata hugged her now taller son and planted a kiss on his cheek. Kouden blushed slightly, but Hinata wasted no time in pushing the two boys out of her apartment.
Katoki started to get a gut feeling that his health wasn't exactly safe at the moment, and glanced around to find a quick escape route. But before he could think of anything, Hinata shut the door softly and whispered so low that Katoki almost didn't catch it.
"Where's my dress?" Katoki's face reddened, and he turned to the fuuton. There, half tucked underneath a pillow was a crunched up lavender peice of fabric. Holding it out to Hinata, she snatched it from his hands and let it drape down. Seeing the blood at the bottom where a strip of fabric, that was still tied to Katoki's head, had been ripped. Turning the dress around, Hinata's breath caught in her throat.
There was a long, clean cut going down the back of the dress.
"I...er...a-ano...Katoki-kun...did...did we...?" Her face was a deep red that had spread to her neck and ears. Katoki waved his hand in front of him.
"Noooo! No! I dont think so, I'de certainly remember if we did..." Katoki paused and leaned forward. "But from what I do remember, you certainly tried." Hinata's face lost all colour as she grabbed the nearest object, which just so happened to be a steel teapot, and bashed Katoki over the head with it.
The pain rang through Katoki's head, and started to throb along with the throb of his hangover. Laying on the floor, he was vaguely aware of Hinata distressing over him, and apologizing profoundly.
Katoki's eyes were half-lidded as he drifted in and out of consciousness.
A girl with dark hair lay on the ground, he could see that her was breathing erratic, he could hear her heart beat unsteadily. He watched her eyes close as she was hauled away by...someone. Swirling around, his vision clouded over, but the anger and pain that seared through his heart nearly made scream.
"Katoki! Katoki!" some one was yelling. Katoki groaned and rolled over.
"Katoki-kun! Thank kami-sama!" Katoki looked over and saw his pearl eyed roomate staring back at him. Raising a cool hand to his forehead, Katoki said,
"Nnnn, how long was I out this time?" Hinata looked away, her face full of shame.
"About 4 hours. Gomen...I caused an episode, didn't I?" Katoki smiled and nodded.
"That's ok! I remembered more stuff this time!" Hinata couldnt help but grin at his attitude. Katoki sat up and was surprised that his hangover was gone.
"My hangover is gone too!" Katoki said, louder, which wiped the grin off of Hinata's face as she cringed.
"Shhh...mine's not." Katoki laughed, and Hinata swatted him.
"Ahh! Ah! I really do thank you for healing my arm! I remembered tumbling down the stairs and breaking it, but how did you get me back?" Hinata paused and stared at his arm.
"...I didn't bring you back, I think the neighbour helped me...that silent one." Katoki nodded, "d-demo...Katoki-k-kun...I really dont think I healed your arm...I mean, I think I remember trying...It's so fuzzy..." Hinata said, her voice choking up. Katoki grimaced and leaned forward.
"Dont cry, Hinata-chan! There is nothing to cry about!" Hinata looked up at her roomate with unshed tears, and nearly laughed at his face.
"We...We have to get ready...Kouden-kun and Shiro-kun are coming soon." Katoki nodded and Hinata stood up. Walking out of the bedroom, she paused and said,
"Thank you for telling him. I really did miss him." Katoki grinned and rubbed the back of his head.
The raikage grunted as he finished reading a rather long scroll. Setting the scroll down, he noticed one of the shinobi fidgeting.
"Is everything the matter, shinobi-san?" The Jounin in particular froze. Raising a hand to her purple hair, she laughed weakly and said,
"G-gomen, Raikage-sama, no offence, but I still remember the war with Kumogakure." the Raikage grunted, and very skillfully hid a blush as that particular Jounin moved her arm and the long trench coat she wore moved, exposing her chest, and the fishnet that hid nothing.
"No offence taken. Those were darker times. But in related events, I will say that it should take about three weeks to rally together all the shinobi who will be participating, along with a plan to defeat the Iwa-nin. I suggest that you relax as much as you can untill you are called for. But please try to stay in Kumogakure. We have several training grounds, and even a few tourist sights, if you get bored. I will call you when needed." The old man paused before adding, "In Konohagakure, I beleive the Hokage signals you with hawks? Seeing as hawks are not a natural inhabitant around here, we use snowy owls instead. Two screeches means you have been requested here." The group of four Konoha-nin nodded in unison.
"Arigato Yondaime-sama, your kindness will not be forgotten in the future." The raikage bowed his head, and dissmissed the group.
"Stop fussing, or I will use the pressure point again! The painful one!" A young woman nearly shouted as she struggled to keep a small child still. The threat seemed to work as the child stopped struggling, but the woman could clearly feel the resentment leaking from the child.
"That's better." The woman said, ruffling the child's light blue mop. The child growled but remained quiet.
"Are we ready to leave?" A male voice said from the mist that was covering the area.
"Hai, Yamato-kun, take him." The woman said.
"Her!" The child yelled.
"What?" The woman said, as she pushed the child towards Yamato.
"I'm a girl!" The woman laughed and gave the girl one final push towards Yamato. Yamato materialized out of the swirling mist and raised his hand up in a seal. Wordlessly, he flicked his fingers and the girl collapsed to the ground.
"She's the right one, right?" The woman asked. Yamato took out a small peice of yellow paper, and placed it on top of the girls forhead. The paper shone blue for a second before it appeared to melt as if water had been dumped on it.
"She is. Good work Kasumi." Kasumi knelt down beside the girl and peeled the wet peice of paper, now useless, off of the young girl's face.
"Sad really. She looks like she's what, 8? Too bad she's gonna die." Wrinkling her nose, she stood up and grinned at Yamato. Yamato bent down to pick up the blue haired girl, as Kasumi watched with renewed fascination. The scar across his face made her want to touch the one on her own, and reminded her of the nasty ones across his throat and torso.
"Do you remember Hinata-san?" Kasumi said after the pair, Yamato carrying the girl, started to walk into the failing light.
"How could I forget. She saved my life. I wouldn't exactly say that I'm a good person, but I'm indebted to her." Kasumi nodded.
"I researched her. Last month when we were undercover in Konoha. Their libraries are packed full of information. But to the point, I was curious, she said that her son went there to train to become shinobi. She was a shinobi herself, she must have a record. So I looked at all of the missing nin and dead nin names from the past 20 years. I found three Hinatas. An Akuzuu Hinata, she was a nuke-nin for three weeks before she was caught and killed. Her crime was that she lost her temper and killed 14 people in the market once. The second one was a Katara Hinata, but she was killed in the sound raid all those years ago, when the Sandaime Hokage was killed. Poor girl, she was 9 years old."
"Kasumi, get on with it." Yamato said, adjusting how the small girl was draped over his back and shoulders.
"Ahh, Sumimasen. I find information intresting." Kasumi threw her partner a grin, but he just sighed and motioned for her to continue.
"Ah..alright. The third Hinata was a Hyuuga, but she was made into a nuke nin after killing a boy her age named Uzumaki Naruto. They had both recently turned 17. The next day it said, she was killed by an unnamed ANBU. But check this out, she was killed 14 years ago. When we received assistance from her, she said her son was nine years old. That was 5 years ago. Who's to say that that Hinata is our Hinata. Wouldn't that be a lovely tale to jot down? Maybe I should find her, if she is still alive, and make her tell me the story. I will publish the book, and we can support Manjuushage for Leader-sama!" Yamato sighed.
"So what if that Hinata was our Hinata. It just means the ANBU didn't have the guts to finish her off." Kasumi wriggled her nose in a very rabbit like way.
"But you see, she said she had a son. He would have the Byakugan, most likely, I'm sure I read somewhere that the byakugan was a dominent trait that liked to over power nearly everything." Yamato shook his head.
"So? Her son has magic eyes. Whoop dee." Kasumi stuck her finger up.
"How many 9 year olds did we see in Konoha with white eyes?" Yamato grunted.
"I saw two! Well, one was like, 9-ish looking, but I couldnt be sure. But I saw him in a crowd of Hyuuga at a memorial service. He had a bandage tied around his head, and I figured he was covering a curse seal. The other one was that blonde kid I saw who frequented the training grounds."
"The one who sparred with the pink haired girl often?" Yamato asked in a surprisingly bright voice.
"Yea! That one! I saw him once with a girl with buns and brown hair too." Kasumi said.
"No. You're wrong, that boy had green eyes. He used to walk by our shop often." Kasumi grinned and Yamato looked at her as if she was crazy.
"You see, I got intrested into why he always passed by one day, and followed him. Everywhere and around Konoha. He met up with this freaky kid and his equally freaky teacher doing one handed pushups and yelling about youth or something. Then he went to the library and read books that had to do with Konoha's honourable mentions...or what ever they call it in that leaf covered village.
Anyway, when he was reading, I tipped over a stack of books once, and startled him. He spun around and his eyes were pearly white. Exactly like Hinata-san's, and every other Hyuuga I've seen. I apologized and pretended not to notice. He must have noticed later though. When He left the library, he had emerald eyes again. Strange how Hinata-san decided to hide her Hyuuga son with a Hyuuga."
"Alright, Kasumi, was there a point? Or a moral?" Kasumi wriggled her nose again and said,
"If we ever meet him again, should we extend our curtesies to him as well as his mother? If he was still living with her, you would have ended up on the floor." Yamato shrugged.
"Whatever, we aren't ever going to meet them again anyway."
"Nmmfff..." Kasumi glanced at Yamato's shoulder.
"Kuso, she's waking up. Here, hold still." Yamato froze and Kasumi tiltled the girl's head back before she delicately poked the side of her neck. The blue haired girl went limp again, and Yamato nodded an approval. Kasumi blushed slightly and started to laugh.
"So you never answered this morning. Why did you leave me, Kaa-san?" Kouden asked. Hinata paused mid-sip.
"Kouden... You must understand...Your father...ever since He died, I have this pain in my heart. No matter how hard I try, it never goes away. I feared that when you left for Konoha, it would kill me. I decided to sever all connections so that when I died, you wouldnt be sad." Katoki tightened his grip on the glass of sake in front of him.
"Hinata-sama? May I ask a question?" Hinata bowed her head and Shiro continued.
"How do you know me?" Hinata smiled.
"I was under a guise in Konoha until Kouden left with Jiraiya." Kouden's mouth opened.
"But! Why didn't you ever visit me! Ever!" Hinata grinned again.
"Oh, But I did. I had tea at your house, every tuesday with my dear cousin."
"KASUMI?" Kouden yelled. Hinata blushed, and the bar became silent. Kouden blushed and waved his hands.
"Gomen everyone, it's nothing to pay mind too...please, go back to your meals..." Shiro had his face in his hands, and Katoki was laughing.
Ten minutes of small questions passed by before Kouden remained silent for a good moment.
"Is something wrong?" Hinata asked her son. Shiro leaned in a tad to listen better. He had seen the look on the boy's face before.
"...In all of the history I read, it says you killed Tou-sama...how did he die? When I was a kid, you used to tell me that you would tell me when I was old enough, and im almost 14. I think Im old enough now." Hinata was silent. Her eyes had a faraway look in them.
"He...He got in the way. He took a killing blow for me, and died in my arms. He didn't even know about you. I fled the village shortly after. Neji-ni-san was sent after me by Otou-sama, to kill me and cover up the killer's misdeeds. Neji spared my life and wrote me off as dead, so that I might raise you in peace." Shiro's blue eyes were wide. Kouden's were not quite so wide, but much calmer.
"Who. I swear, I will kill him." Kouden said. His voice low and even. Hinata turned to her son and said,
"No. No, you will not know. I will NOT have you turn out to be against everything I taught you. I have met the man, and he suffers enough in his daily life." Kouden narrowed his eyes, but his anger was stopped when a rough hand grabbed his shoulder.
"That's enough boy. Your mother's right. Revenge is useless, it benefits no one, and only causes pain." Kouden shook his head slightly before nodding to the taller blonde. Kouden stood up and said,
"I swear I wont take revenge for Tou-sama. Does any one other than Shika-ni-chan, Neji-ni-san, and Kakashi-sensei know about my parents? Oh, and Jiraiya and Shiro know too, obviously."
"Ino knows. Sai-san too." Kouden blinked.
"Ino-san? Oh! Kaa-san, Jiraiya told the Kazekage too...and his wife..." Hinata drooped.
"Oh Kami-sama. Does the entire world need to know?"
"Will you ever come back to Konoha, Hinata-sama?" Shiro said, getting tired of being ignored. Hinata looked at his with her white eyes.
"I rather like it here. Maybe to visit...but I doubt as myself. Im sorry, Shiro-kun, Kouden..."
"Can I tell Tsunade-oba-chan? She'd be happiest, I think." Hinata looked away and over and Katoki. Katoki's face tinged a slight red before he shrugged.
"Give me time to write her a letter. How long are you staying in Kumo?"
"We are leaving with the army to help fight in the war." Hinata grimaced. The door to the small bar slammed loud enough for Hinata to turn and look over her shoulder.
"Ehhhh?? H-HINATA???" Hinata's face drained of all colour as she stared at the figure in the doorway.
End Chapter 26
Sorry for the wait! I wont be updating as fast anymore, but I will try~!