Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mokushita Hyuuga ❯ Chapter 30
[ 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: 04.15.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 553 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters belong to Kishimoto, not me
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.15.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 553 | Status: Completed
Chapter 30
A woman with brown hair gave a mighty twitch and dropped the large knife she was holding. The knife clattered on the ground loudly, but the woman didn't notice. All she could concentrate on was the large chill that wormed it's way up her spine.
"Oka-chan?" a smaller voice said from behind her. The woman turned to look at the girl sitting at the low table behind her. The girl had brown hair done up in small buns similar to the woman's usual style, but unlike the woman, had pearly white eyes that lacked pupils.
"Daijoubu?" She said, tilting her head. The pen in her hand fell to the table, forgotten by it's writer. The woman stared at her daughter, and shivered again. Rubbing her arms she said,
"Aiko-chan...No, nevermind. It's nothing. But I need to go do something, I just remembered, can you finish breakfast? I will be back in half an hour." Aiko stared at her mother for a few seconds before standing up.
"Sure...Are you sure you're ok, Oka-chan?" Laughing, Aiko's mother waved her hand.
"I'm fine, fine! Now, remember that the eggs go in last, and the potatoes first." Aiko nodded and took up chopping the potatoes.
Making her way out the door, the two braided pigtails swaying behind her, she quickly crossed town. Coming upon the Hyuuga compound, she walked in and was quickly stopped by branch member guards.
"Halt, state your name and buisness." The woman sighed in irritation but said,
"Hyuuga Tenten. I need to speak with Hanabi-chan, it's urgent." The two branch members looked at each other and bowed before quickly moving out of her way. Tenten gritted her teeth, but made her way into the head family quarters.
"Hanabi-chan! Are you here?" Tenten shouted. A few servants looked at her oddly, but quickly minded their own buisness.
"Sumimasen, Hyuuga-sama?" A small voice said from behind Tenten. Turning around, she saw a petit girl who looked to be about Aiko's age. Her forehead was left uncovered to show that she had no curse seal, but her right arm had a blue band around it, marking her a branch member. Tenten internally sighed, as she did every time she saw the bands. The council of elders had been...reluctant to let the bird cage seal be banned, and insisted on something to differenciate. Tenten, not being of Hyuuga blood was not required to wear one, but Aiko and Neji were, if they were on grounds.
"Yes? Is Hanabi-chan around? I really need to speak to her..." The petit girl shook her head, her short, dark hair reminded Tenten of what Hinata's used to look like when they first became genin.
"She isnt, ma'am...She left with Hiashi-sama to fight in the war..." Tenten clicked her tongue. Shifting her feet, she put her fists on her waiste and looked around.
"Who's in charge, then...what was your name?" The girl hesitated before saying,
"Aah...My name? Kahei... and Hinomaru-sama is, Hyuuga-sama. Hanabi-sama placed him in charge of affairs until she returns." Tenten nodded. Placing a hand on top of the girls short mop of dark hair, she said,
"Thank you, Kahei-chan. Seeing as I am not particularily fond of Hinomaru-san, I think my concerns can reach her by mail." Kahei gave a small and pretty smile, bowed her head, and scrambled away.
Marching back down the way she had come from, she quickly made her way to a small building on the edge of one of the forests. Climbing up the outside staircase that spiraled it's way up to the top, she walked through the arch way.
"Ahh, Shizune-san?" Tenten said, spotting the Hokage's assistant. Shizune looked up from the small bundle of scrolls she was carrying and smiled.
"Tenten-san! How nice to see you! It's been a while." Tenten nodded and spotted the small desk that carried stationary.
"Who are you writing to, if that's not to forward...?" Shizune asked as Tenten started to scrawl out a note.
"The Konoha ANBU. I had the worst feeling today, and I want to make sure that Neji is alright." Shizune nodded and bid Tenten goodbye as she left the shelter. The sqwakings from the cages of the various raptors got louder as Tenten chose a bird that, she was fairly sure, was a native from the wind country.
After strapping the pack onto the back of the bird, she made a one handed seal to make sure the bird went in the right direction. The bird screeched once and flew out from the large windows.
Tenten watched it leave, and holding her hand to her chest, she sighed.
"Neji, please be alright..."
"Gaara... The Hokage-sama has arrived." The redheaded jinchuuriki nodded, but didn't turn his head from the window. He heard the door creak, and felt the sand quiver in anticipation.
"Gaara, It's been a while." Gaara grinned slightly and turned his head. A small flick of black and Gaara's sand was holding his pen. The point was less than an inch away from his eye. Without even flinching, Gaara picked his pen out of the sand and set it down on his desk.
"Tsunade-san, I am aware that you admire the abilities of my sand, but is it nescessary to throw things at me every single time we meet?" Looking at the older woman's face, which had a very wide grin, Gaara just sighed.
"So what is so dire that you need to travel three days to Suna just to talk to me?" Gaara said, his voice cool and level. Tsunade's grin slipped and was replaced by a grimace.
"I have discovered how Naruto died. In great detail. I thought that maybe you should know, as he was your best friend." Gaara's face dropped and paled. Sitting back heavily, a small dust cloud was disturbed on his tall-back chair.
"H-how? How did he...That girl, did she really do it?" Tsunade pulled out a small envelope from her blouse and handed it to the Kazekage. Gaara fingered the envelope before using a quick dash of his sand to neatly tear the top. Taking out the short peice of yellowed paper, he looked at Tsunade.
"This looks cut. How can we tell it's authenticity?" Tsunade shifted her pack and said,
"I cut it out. It was fairly large scroll and...Well, I thought that you might have wanted to know this." Gaara looked at her young looking face for another moment before reading the excerpt.
Dear Tsunade. I made the choice to tell you this. According to my son, whom I have recently been reunited with, Jiraiya-sama, Shikamaru-san, Kakashi-sensei, Ino, Sai-san, Neji-ni-san, and Gaara-sama and his repected wife know who he is. It pains me greatly to write this, but as Naruto-kun thought you family you deserve to know how he died. I did not kill him, as I am sure you all guessed. No, but I will tell you, in as greatest detail as I can possibly remember.
I woke up sometime around 7 am. A little late for me, but I had been training late with Naruto-kun the previous night. About a week before that horrible day, on our year anniversary, our friends threw us a party, and although I'm sure I only had a few drinks, I woke up the next morning in Naruto-kun's apartment, not wearing a stitch of clothing, a horrible headache, and an extremely sore body. Feeling like I had been sparring with Lee-san for hours, I didn't notice my lack of clothing until Naruto-kun rolled into me. It's a little fuzzy there, as I think I had fainted. I mustered up the courage to get my clothes on and get home. I remember that I ignored everyone save Neji-ni-san, who was smirking at me. Glaring at him, I went to bed and spent the next few days in hiding.
But back to the day, Naruto-kun thought at first that I was avoiding him, but Neji-ni-san told him that I was just shy. Naruto-kun seemed happy when he invited me to a sparring session, and I happily accepted. The next morning, as I said, I woke up at around 7 and went through my daily routine of a bath, and then counting out 100 strokes of my hair brush. I heard a tap at my window, which made me start. Looking out, I saw nothing, but something yellow covered my vision and planted a kiss on my lips. I screamed, quite loudly, but Naruto-kun covered my mouth with his hands.
Apologizing, he waved it off, but told me that he just wanted to say good morning. He said he was coming back at 10 to see if he could get a mission for us. Naruto-kun had just achieved the Jounin rank, and bragged whenever he could. After he left, I jumped around a bit, excited, but Hanabi slammed my door open and told me to be quiet. I remember my face heating up, I must have blushed. I bowed to her, but as soon as my door shut again, I flopped on my bed.
I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Otou-sama had a hold of my left arm and was dragging me off of my bed. I shouted, I remember that, but I cannot recal what I shouted, nor if he had even said anything. He dragged me by my arm into the courtyard and pulled me up. Letting go of my arm, I was already crying when he slapped me. I think I stopped crying then, mainly because the pain was numbing.
He proceded to yell at me about being with a demon. To this day, I still dont know what he meant by demon. I assumed he meant Naruto-kun, and I remember that my heart skipped a few beats. I was thinking, about whether or not he found out about the party and it's after effects. My face was surely confused looking, which seemed to make Otou-sama angrier. He started yelling things about his reputation, and everything that I had heard throughout my life, but in greater volume.
This is when he started to attack me. Training with my friends and Neji-ni-san helped, I was able to block most his attacks, which were strange, they were all aimed at my abdomen. I took a hit on my shoulder, and had it rendered useless. When he brought his wakizashi out, I remembered that I had stopped breathing. He wasn't punishing me, he was trying to kill me. I watched as he slowly charged the weapon with his lethal chakra. When it had got to a point to where the Wakizashi actually shimmered with unseen chakra, he moved forward.
That's when I saw him and time froze. Naruto-kun, was there, in the archway of the Hyuuga estate. Two paper bags had been dropped to the ground. I saw, him start to move, but words failed to reach my lips. I saw Otou-sama's jyuuken charged Wakizashi slowly aim itself towards my heart. I closed my eyes, and waited for the pain.
It never came. Instead, a pressure on my shoulders and a small whisper made my eyes shoot open again.
"Hinata-chan..." Those were his last words. I remember looking down, and seeing the entire front of his body covered in blood. I remember seeing the tip of the short sword sticking out of his chest. I remember the sickening sound of Otou-sama pulling the sword out of Naruto-kun's body, and he even had the nerve to look smug.
Naruto-kun fell heavily forward onto me, and slipped out of my arms onto the ground. I remember that I looked at my hands, covered in his blood and fell to my knees. I tried to shake him a few times, to tell him to stop playing, but the look of his dull blue eyes froze me in place. It was only when it started to snow that I died inside. Still screaming, I ran. I dont even know how I got out of Konoha, or what happened to Naruto-kun's body, but I just remember collapsing somewhere. I was running from ANBU, the back of my mind knew that Otou-sama would send out personal ones to retrieve me or kill me, so when an ANBU flipped me over, I just smiled and closed my eyes. Savouring the feel of snowflakes landing on my cheek.
When, for the second time that day, death would not come, I opened my eyes and stared at milky white irises. Neji-ni-san took me to a small village somewhere in the fire country and left. He told me that he was going to make sure we were both recognized for our sacrifices to the village.
I found out a few weeks later, that Otou-sama must have seen Kouden's week old embryo with his honed byakugan.
Gaara set the paper back down on the desk.
"When was this written?" Tsunade shrugged and said,
"The date says that it was written just over a month ago. It's the last entry in her journal." Gaara didnt move, but his killing intent flooded the room. Vaguely he registed a retching noise outside his office, but Tsunade didn't look affected.
"Why isn't Hiashi dead?" Tsunade frowned and put her fist on her hip.
"I haven't found him. That's why. It's part of the reason I came here." Gaara shifted his turqouise eyes towards the scribbly drawing of him, Matsuri, and Kaisa that the little girl herself drew. Staring at the picture always calmed him down somewhat.
"And what are the other reasons?" His cool voice floated around the room and Tsunade said, with a tad of spite,
"I intend to find Neji, Hiashi, and Hinata herself. She's in the Kumo ANBU, you know. My reports say that she must have been one of the 30 that left Kumogakure. I came here to help with the medic attention. I'm not a sannin for nothing." Gaara gazed at the blonde woman said,
"Tsunade, only 12 ANBU survived the trip here. They were ambushed. She may be dead for real this time." Tsunade frowned and smiled.
"This isn't the first time she has supposedly died. I will find her. I will hug her, and then I will kill her." Gaara let out a small amused chuckle.
"I daresay, her son would not like that. At all." Tsunade shrugged, but a small smile wormed it's way onto her face.
Miles away, in the middle of a desert, a woman with long indigo hair and white eyes sneezed loudly. Her partner laughed at her, and she scowled.
"Look at this...The war has only been going on for just over a month, already the names are piling up." A short man with sandy hair said. His partner, a taller man wearing standard a standard suna flak vest, and wrappings around his head to protect it from the sun, took the sheet of paper.
"Ahh, 683 from Suna listed dead, 116 listed MIA." The short man snorted.
"How many from Konoha? We must pay respect to all those who stand with us." The taller man nodded and scanned down the paper.
"473 dead, 79 MIA. Here, Kumogakure as well. Thanks to Konoha, we have a new treaty with them. They couldnt send as many out, it seems, but I heard that they lost many on the way...oh...Listen; Kumogakure no Sato, 951 dead, 102 MIA. Wow, they lost almost as many as Suna and Konoha together." The shorter man whistled softly and gave a silent prayer for both the dead, and for the war to end soon.
"Do you have the sheets with the names of the shinobi in their respective ranks?" The short man nodded and handed a small bundle over.
"They go from Genin to ANBU. The Genin sheet only has three names, thankfully. Poor children weren't even fighting. I knew two of them, they were both good kids." The tall nin nodded sadly and skimmed back to the ANBU.
"Ahh, kami-sama... Jinjou-chan and Yuki-chan are both dead...Chichi-san is MIA...Oh! Oh no! Kagari-chan! She was your genin teamate, correct?" The short man turned his head, and the tall man quieted down. He continued to scan the names of the dead and MIA when one named jumped out at him.
"Nara Shikamaru? MIA? Isn't he the brother in-law of the Kazekage?" The shorter man gazed at the page and smiled.
"Shikamaru-sama, he will probably show up in a few days. He knows that he will be listed as dead after 7 days if he doesnt check in. He's got two days left. Lazy bastard." The taller man was slightly taken aback by the tone used when talking about the cheif strategic officer. A soft scuff in the sandy ground brought both shinobi's attention to the flap of their tent. A girl, from Konoha as her hiteate depicted, was shyly peeking in.
"Su-sumimasen...May I look at the list...?" The shorter nin motioned for her to come inside. When fully in the lantern light, the taller sand jounin saw that she wore a flak vest, but from the way she moved, she was probably only chuunin. Her dark purple hair was twisted into a bun that flared with loose ends, and her mini-skirt was divided, showing her black shorts. She had a scar that ran from her forehead over her eye to her cheek.
"This is a dreary tent, miss. Who's name might you be looking for?" The tall nin said, as he couldnt help but eye her figure. Drawing her hands to her chest, her tanned cheeks flushed a bit and she said,
"Haha-ue...She hasn't checked in yet, and it's been 6 days. I would like to know if she is still on the MIA list, or if her body has been found." The tall man clicked his tongue, but regretted it when the girl jumped. Sighing, he put his hand on her shoulder and said in a soothing tone,
"Don't be so tense, you're safe here. While this isn't particularily the happiest place to spend your time, it's nice and quiet. Would you like a drink, miss?" The girl nodded and gave a small smile and a thanks when he gave her a small cup of cold sake.
"What's your Oka-san's name, miss?" The girl sighed and said,
"Mitarashi Anko, Konoha jounin..." the girl sipped her sake, and listened to the soft sliding noise the paper made as the shorter nin riffled through the jounin section.
"Mitaminao, Mitanou, Mitarashi! Here we are...Anko-san is still on the MIA list, but if she doesn't check in by midnight tomorrow, she will be listed as KIA. Gomen, miss."
Waving a delicate hand in front of her face, she said,
"Please, call me Chiyo. A-ano...it seems you have alot of sorting to do still..." Chiyo motioned the large pile of papers, reports, and letters that had still to be filed. The shorter man sighed and hung his head. Chiyo stiffled a small giggle.
"If you'd like, I could help...Filing helps my nerves. No one from my class is Chuunin still...I have no one to talk to." The taller man smiled and handed Chiyo a bag full of paper.
"Here, these are letters. Some are addressed to indivduals, some to a group. Sort them into groups and individuals, alphabetically." Chiyo nodded and smiled as she reached into the large bag a pulled her first of many handfuls of letters.
"Katoki-kun, you have a letter..." Hinata said, shutting the door to the small room that she, Ganjou, Katoki, and Suri shared. The blonde looked up from his game of shougi and smiled. Taking the letter from Hinata's outstreched hand, Ganjou moved a peice on the board, sat back and said,
"Checkmate." Katoki sighed. Suri gave a small snore, and turned in her bunk.
"Who's the letter from, Kato?" Ganjou said, running his hand through his brown hair. Katoki snorted at the nickname and flipped the letter over.
"It's from Yondaime-sama." Hinata sat down beside him, and Ganjou sat up straighter. Katoki opened the letter smoothly with his fingers, and pulled out the peice of parchment inside.
"Katoki, I am distressed to hear this, and have warned the other squads. Make sure to send me another report or note if any of the squads show up in the same condition as your group. I hope that you receive this before the fighting commences, as I have a small mission for the entire ANBU squad. It seems that Kei managed to slip away. Thanks to your stealth training, we cannot trail him properly. I blame this entirely on you. Inform the ANBU that if he is seen amoung the chuunin and jounin in camp, that he is to be detained, and held inside Sunagakure's walls until the fighting dies down. You are then to escort my grandson back up here. Give my regrets and goodwishes to the rest of squad." Katoki crushed the paper with his fist and said, quite angrily,
"Kei...that stupid kid. When I get a hold of him..." Hinata put a hand on his shoulder and said softly,
"Katoki-kun...c-calm down..." Katoki looked down at the indigo haired woman and felt his anger melt. Hinata's heart, on the other hand, was beating quite fast.
"Is something the matter, Hinata-chan?" Hinata's eyes widened a bit but she then blushed and looked away.
"A-ano...K-katoki-kun...do your eyes alw-ways d-do that?" Ganjou tuned in, but pretended to read the letter from his Raikage. Katoki seemed taken aback.
"...Do what?" Hinata blushed again and shook her head. Katoki grabbed her shoulders and said quietly, but firmly.
"Hinata-chan. You dont stutter unless it's important. What did my eyes do, and when?" Hinata looked directly into his cerulean eyes and said, in little more than a whisper,
"R-red...somet-times, when you a-are ang-gry, they t-turn red. W-when you use alot of ch-chakra t-too..." Katoki let go of her shoulders and looked at Ganjou.
"Do they, Ganjou?" Ganjou shrugged and said,
"I guess, I thought I saw it a few times, but as ANBU, I dont see your face when you use alot of chakra. But Kato, you look like you are gonna be sick...should Hina-chan heal you?" Hinata glanced at Ganjou, her cheeks red from his nickname, as she leaned forward. Holding one of her hands up in a seal, she placed her now glowing green hand on Katoki's forhead and Katoki felt a wave of cool releif.
"Nothing's wrong...are you s-sure you're ok?" Katoki leaned away from Hinata's hand and waved his hand in front of his face.
"I'm fine, honestly! I just didn't realize that my eyes change...maybe I have a bloodline limit?" Hinata smiled and Katoki leaned over and pecked her on the lips. Ganjou clicked his tongue and sighed.
Sighing loudly and drooping his shoulders, Shikamaru wished he was sleeping in his bed, instead of being chewed out by his brother-in-law. A few moments passed, and even though the Cheif Strategist was letting the words run in one ear, only to fall out the other, he noticed that the angry murmur had stopped. Focusing his eyes, they settled on the red haired former vessel.
"Are you even listening?" Gaara said. Shikamaru shifted his feet and said, quite clearly,
"No." Gaara dropped his head onto his desk. The dull thud was muffled by numerous reports spread out across his desk, and the clatter of wooden blocks falling as Kaisa pushed the pyramid she had built over.
"Shikamaru, you arrived at the checkpoint exactly 7 seconds before midnight, on your 7th day. Do you know how much stress you put Temari through? At the end of the 5th day, she holed her self up in your house hugging my family photo!" Gaara exclaimed, pointing at the slightly lighter rectangle shape on the wall behind him. Shikamaru would have snickered if it hadn't have been too troublesome. So just standing there, his shoulders drooped with a casualty that, not for the first time, irritated Gaara.
"I have a mission for you. As punishment for doing that to Temari-ne-san." Shikamaru heaved a mighty sigh, and Gaara's 'ai' symbol twitched.
"I have received a classified document, involving Hyuuga Hinata. I know that she is alive, and in the Kumo ANBU. Now, their numbers have been reduced to, according to the last check in, 8. The information I received, verified that you are aware of her, and have been in occasional contact. Tsunade knows that she is going under a different alias, but she will not tell me. Perhaps you know? Go fetch her for me. Check the ANBU quarters first, a few of them returned earlier today." Shikamaru tensed, but did not stand any straighter.
"Me? Do I not get to see my wife yet?" Gaara frowned and shook his head.
"No. But if you see her on the way, just bring her with you, I need to see her, but she wont come to me if she catches wind of you." Shikamaru sighed louder and spun on his heel.
"Dont make a scene, you lazy dolt." The spiky haired special jounin from both Konoha and Suna didnt reply as he walked out the office doors.
Sighing again, Shikamaru almost found it too troublesome to lift his hand to knock on the door of the apartment.
Knock..................knock... Looking to his left, he heard some scrambling from the other side of the door and a few clicks of locks unlocking before it finally opened. An man with brown hair, brown eyes, and of average height was standing in the door way. He looked Shikamaru right in the eyes and said, in an average sounding voice,
"What?" Shikamaru leaned his head over and looked into the room over the man's shoulder.
"I'm looking for Kasumi-chan, and Katoki-san." The man shook his head and thumbed to the left.
"Next door over." Slam! Shikamaru didnt flinch as the door almost hit his nose, but instead sighed with such tenacity that you would assume he was asked to carry every single surviving nin from all three countries participating on this side of the war, back to Konoha, one at a time. Moving to the next door, he knocked twice, and listened.
The rustling, albeit quieter than the previous room, went on for a few more moments before the door opened. A short woman with long indigo hair, a bit mussed, and pearly white eyes stood before him. Her eyes widened and she said,
"Shikamaru-san? Can I help you?" Her tone was surprised, but not as surprised as Shikamaru hoped. His satisfaction quickly deflated, he peeked into Hinata's room and spotted Katoki, still asleep, on the bed in the corner.
"Gaara has requested your presence, he found out your secret. But, we have to take the back routes." Hinata furrowed her brow.
"Why? About the back routes I mean, I suspected that Tsunade-sama would tell Gaara-sama. I'de like to avoid her for now." Shikamaru was curious as to why she was not caught off guard, but saved his questioning for later.
"Temari doesnt know I'm back yet...to my knowledge. If she finds me, she will kill me. Simple as that." Hinata nodded, and followed her fellow ex-classmate towards the office of the Kazekage.
"Gaara, I brought her without incident. Can I go home now?" Hinata was a bit taken back by the informality of Shikamaru's speech, but quickly pushed it away when she remembered that he was married to Gaara's elder sister.
"Yes, go. Hinata-san, please come in and sit." Shikamaru brushed past Hinata quietly and closed the door behind him, sealing Hinata's only way of escape. Tremors racked her body as she shakily took a the seat in front of Gaara's desk. Gaara tented his fingers and stared at the Hyuuga for a long time.
"You've caused us quite a lot of greif, Hinata-san. But after reading your last passage, I can't say that I blame you. Tell me, did you know that Tsunade is here, fighting and healing? Also that Hiashi-san is here as well, according to Tsunade, he told Hanabi-san that he must fight to erase his sins. I suppose we know now what he meant." Hinata had, by this time, blushed when Gaara mentioned reading her passage, paled when he mentioned Tsunade, and started to turn green when he said her father's name.
"Ahh, I'll move off that subject. I brought you here, partly as punishment for Shikamaru, but mostly because I wanted to thank you for living. Without you, we would not have any of Naruto left in this world. He was my best friend, he brought me out of my personal hell, and acted like it was nothing. I am forever grateful for that...I'm sure you know all about how amazing he was." Hinata was looking down, the tears in her eyes threatened to fall.
"I-is that all? K-kazek-kage-sama? I have b-been fight-ting all d-day, and I n-need my rest..." Gaara looked into her eyes when she raised her head, and was taken aback to see so much hurt. He saw a touch of fear, and it reminded him of the first chuunin exam he ever took. He passed her genin team, and glared at each and every one of them, but her eyes had been wider and filled with more fear back then.
"I want to know if you have any information on your son or Jiraiya-san." Hinata furrowed her brow,
"No...gomen, but why? The last time I saw ether of them, was almost a month and a half ago." Gaara nodded.
"Jiraiya-san was seen past the border of Kazekuni, along with your son and another boy...but I'm afraid that they seem to have disapeared. None of my contacts can find him...I was hoping you might have had more information." Hinata shook her head. Her face was pale, and she felt slightly wobbly.
"Ahhh, gomenasai, Hinata-san. Go and rest. I will want to talk to you later, when I can think of more questions." Hinata gulped and shakily stood. Stumbling towards the doorway, she heard a scuffle right behind her. A hand enclosed itself around her arm, and turning her head, she looked directly into a pair of concerned turquoise eyes.
"Here, you seem a little shaken. I will personally escort you back to your rooms." Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but only squeaked instead. Gaara laughed quietly, and Hinata blushed.
End Chapter 30
A woman with brown hair gave a mighty twitch and dropped the large knife she was holding. The knife clattered on the ground loudly, but the woman didn't notice. All she could concentrate on was the large chill that wormed it's way up her spine.
"Oka-chan?" a smaller voice said from behind her. The woman turned to look at the girl sitting at the low table behind her. The girl had brown hair done up in small buns similar to the woman's usual style, but unlike the woman, had pearly white eyes that lacked pupils.
"Daijoubu?" She said, tilting her head. The pen in her hand fell to the table, forgotten by it's writer. The woman stared at her daughter, and shivered again. Rubbing her arms she said,
"Aiko-chan...No, nevermind. It's nothing. But I need to go do something, I just remembered, can you finish breakfast? I will be back in half an hour." Aiko stared at her mother for a few seconds before standing up.
"Sure...Are you sure you're ok, Oka-chan?" Laughing, Aiko's mother waved her hand.
"I'm fine, fine! Now, remember that the eggs go in last, and the potatoes first." Aiko nodded and took up chopping the potatoes.
Making her way out the door, the two braided pigtails swaying behind her, she quickly crossed town. Coming upon the Hyuuga compound, she walked in and was quickly stopped by branch member guards.
"Halt, state your name and buisness." The woman sighed in irritation but said,
"Hyuuga Tenten. I need to speak with Hanabi-chan, it's urgent." The two branch members looked at each other and bowed before quickly moving out of her way. Tenten gritted her teeth, but made her way into the head family quarters.
"Hanabi-chan! Are you here?" Tenten shouted. A few servants looked at her oddly, but quickly minded their own buisness.
"Sumimasen, Hyuuga-sama?" A small voice said from behind Tenten. Turning around, she saw a petit girl who looked to be about Aiko's age. Her forehead was left uncovered to show that she had no curse seal, but her right arm had a blue band around it, marking her a branch member. Tenten internally sighed, as she did every time she saw the bands. The council of elders had been...reluctant to let the bird cage seal be banned, and insisted on something to differenciate. Tenten, not being of Hyuuga blood was not required to wear one, but Aiko and Neji were, if they were on grounds.
"Yes? Is Hanabi-chan around? I really need to speak to her..." The petit girl shook her head, her short, dark hair reminded Tenten of what Hinata's used to look like when they first became genin.
"She isnt, ma'am...She left with Hiashi-sama to fight in the war..." Tenten clicked her tongue. Shifting her feet, she put her fists on her waiste and looked around.
"Who's in charge, then...what was your name?" The girl hesitated before saying,
"Aah...My name? Kahei... and Hinomaru-sama is, Hyuuga-sama. Hanabi-sama placed him in charge of affairs until she returns." Tenten nodded. Placing a hand on top of the girls short mop of dark hair, she said,
"Thank you, Kahei-chan. Seeing as I am not particularily fond of Hinomaru-san, I think my concerns can reach her by mail." Kahei gave a small and pretty smile, bowed her head, and scrambled away.
Marching back down the way she had come from, she quickly made her way to a small building on the edge of one of the forests. Climbing up the outside staircase that spiraled it's way up to the top, she walked through the arch way.
"Ahh, Shizune-san?" Tenten said, spotting the Hokage's assistant. Shizune looked up from the small bundle of scrolls she was carrying and smiled.
"Tenten-san! How nice to see you! It's been a while." Tenten nodded and spotted the small desk that carried stationary.
"Who are you writing to, if that's not to forward...?" Shizune asked as Tenten started to scrawl out a note.
"The Konoha ANBU. I had the worst feeling today, and I want to make sure that Neji is alright." Shizune nodded and bid Tenten goodbye as she left the shelter. The sqwakings from the cages of the various raptors got louder as Tenten chose a bird that, she was fairly sure, was a native from the wind country.
After strapping the pack onto the back of the bird, she made a one handed seal to make sure the bird went in the right direction. The bird screeched once and flew out from the large windows.
Tenten watched it leave, and holding her hand to her chest, she sighed.
"Neji, please be alright..."
"Gaara... The Hokage-sama has arrived." The redheaded jinchuuriki nodded, but didn't turn his head from the window. He heard the door creak, and felt the sand quiver in anticipation.
"Gaara, It's been a while." Gaara grinned slightly and turned his head. A small flick of black and Gaara's sand was holding his pen. The point was less than an inch away from his eye. Without even flinching, Gaara picked his pen out of the sand and set it down on his desk.
"Tsunade-san, I am aware that you admire the abilities of my sand, but is it nescessary to throw things at me every single time we meet?" Looking at the older woman's face, which had a very wide grin, Gaara just sighed.
"So what is so dire that you need to travel three days to Suna just to talk to me?" Gaara said, his voice cool and level. Tsunade's grin slipped and was replaced by a grimace.
"I have discovered how Naruto died. In great detail. I thought that maybe you should know, as he was your best friend." Gaara's face dropped and paled. Sitting back heavily, a small dust cloud was disturbed on his tall-back chair.
"H-how? How did he...That girl, did she really do it?" Tsunade pulled out a small envelope from her blouse and handed it to the Kazekage. Gaara fingered the envelope before using a quick dash of his sand to neatly tear the top. Taking out the short peice of yellowed paper, he looked at Tsunade.
"This looks cut. How can we tell it's authenticity?" Tsunade shifted her pack and said,
"I cut it out. It was fairly large scroll and...Well, I thought that you might have wanted to know this." Gaara looked at her young looking face for another moment before reading the excerpt.
Dear Tsunade. I made the choice to tell you this. According to my son, whom I have recently been reunited with, Jiraiya-sama, Shikamaru-san, Kakashi-sensei, Ino, Sai-san, Neji-ni-san, and Gaara-sama and his repected wife know who he is. It pains me greatly to write this, but as Naruto-kun thought you family you deserve to know how he died. I did not kill him, as I am sure you all guessed. No, but I will tell you, in as greatest detail as I can possibly remember.
I woke up sometime around 7 am. A little late for me, but I had been training late with Naruto-kun the previous night. About a week before that horrible day, on our year anniversary, our friends threw us a party, and although I'm sure I only had a few drinks, I woke up the next morning in Naruto-kun's apartment, not wearing a stitch of clothing, a horrible headache, and an extremely sore body. Feeling like I had been sparring with Lee-san for hours, I didn't notice my lack of clothing until Naruto-kun rolled into me. It's a little fuzzy there, as I think I had fainted. I mustered up the courage to get my clothes on and get home. I remember that I ignored everyone save Neji-ni-san, who was smirking at me. Glaring at him, I went to bed and spent the next few days in hiding.
But back to the day, Naruto-kun thought at first that I was avoiding him, but Neji-ni-san told him that I was just shy. Naruto-kun seemed happy when he invited me to a sparring session, and I happily accepted. The next morning, as I said, I woke up at around 7 and went through my daily routine of a bath, and then counting out 100 strokes of my hair brush. I heard a tap at my window, which made me start. Looking out, I saw nothing, but something yellow covered my vision and planted a kiss on my lips. I screamed, quite loudly, but Naruto-kun covered my mouth with his hands.
Apologizing, he waved it off, but told me that he just wanted to say good morning. He said he was coming back at 10 to see if he could get a mission for us. Naruto-kun had just achieved the Jounin rank, and bragged whenever he could. After he left, I jumped around a bit, excited, but Hanabi slammed my door open and told me to be quiet. I remember my face heating up, I must have blushed. I bowed to her, but as soon as my door shut again, I flopped on my bed.
I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Otou-sama had a hold of my left arm and was dragging me off of my bed. I shouted, I remember that, but I cannot recal what I shouted, nor if he had even said anything. He dragged me by my arm into the courtyard and pulled me up. Letting go of my arm, I was already crying when he slapped me. I think I stopped crying then, mainly because the pain was numbing.
He proceded to yell at me about being with a demon. To this day, I still dont know what he meant by demon. I assumed he meant Naruto-kun, and I remember that my heart skipped a few beats. I was thinking, about whether or not he found out about the party and it's after effects. My face was surely confused looking, which seemed to make Otou-sama angrier. He started yelling things about his reputation, and everything that I had heard throughout my life, but in greater volume.
This is when he started to attack me. Training with my friends and Neji-ni-san helped, I was able to block most his attacks, which were strange, they were all aimed at my abdomen. I took a hit on my shoulder, and had it rendered useless. When he brought his wakizashi out, I remembered that I had stopped breathing. He wasn't punishing me, he was trying to kill me. I watched as he slowly charged the weapon with his lethal chakra. When it had got to a point to where the Wakizashi actually shimmered with unseen chakra, he moved forward.
That's when I saw him and time froze. Naruto-kun, was there, in the archway of the Hyuuga estate. Two paper bags had been dropped to the ground. I saw, him start to move, but words failed to reach my lips. I saw Otou-sama's jyuuken charged Wakizashi slowly aim itself towards my heart. I closed my eyes, and waited for the pain.
It never came. Instead, a pressure on my shoulders and a small whisper made my eyes shoot open again.
"Hinata-chan..." Those were his last words. I remember looking down, and seeing the entire front of his body covered in blood. I remember seeing the tip of the short sword sticking out of his chest. I remember the sickening sound of Otou-sama pulling the sword out of Naruto-kun's body, and he even had the nerve to look smug.
Naruto-kun fell heavily forward onto me, and slipped out of my arms onto the ground. I remember that I looked at my hands, covered in his blood and fell to my knees. I tried to shake him a few times, to tell him to stop playing, but the look of his dull blue eyes froze me in place. It was only when it started to snow that I died inside. Still screaming, I ran. I dont even know how I got out of Konoha, or what happened to Naruto-kun's body, but I just remember collapsing somewhere. I was running from ANBU, the back of my mind knew that Otou-sama would send out personal ones to retrieve me or kill me, so when an ANBU flipped me over, I just smiled and closed my eyes. Savouring the feel of snowflakes landing on my cheek.
When, for the second time that day, death would not come, I opened my eyes and stared at milky white irises. Neji-ni-san took me to a small village somewhere in the fire country and left. He told me that he was going to make sure we were both recognized for our sacrifices to the village.
I found out a few weeks later, that Otou-sama must have seen Kouden's week old embryo with his honed byakugan.
Gaara set the paper back down on the desk.
"When was this written?" Tsunade shrugged and said,
"The date says that it was written just over a month ago. It's the last entry in her journal." Gaara didnt move, but his killing intent flooded the room. Vaguely he registed a retching noise outside his office, but Tsunade didn't look affected.
"Why isn't Hiashi dead?" Tsunade frowned and put her fist on her hip.
"I haven't found him. That's why. It's part of the reason I came here." Gaara shifted his turqouise eyes towards the scribbly drawing of him, Matsuri, and Kaisa that the little girl herself drew. Staring at the picture always calmed him down somewhat.
"And what are the other reasons?" His cool voice floated around the room and Tsunade said, with a tad of spite,
"I intend to find Neji, Hiashi, and Hinata herself. She's in the Kumo ANBU, you know. My reports say that she must have been one of the 30 that left Kumogakure. I came here to help with the medic attention. I'm not a sannin for nothing." Gaara gazed at the blonde woman said,
"Tsunade, only 12 ANBU survived the trip here. They were ambushed. She may be dead for real this time." Tsunade frowned and smiled.
"This isn't the first time she has supposedly died. I will find her. I will hug her, and then I will kill her." Gaara let out a small amused chuckle.
"I daresay, her son would not like that. At all." Tsunade shrugged, but a small smile wormed it's way onto her face.
Miles away, in the middle of a desert, a woman with long indigo hair and white eyes sneezed loudly. Her partner laughed at her, and she scowled.
"Look at this...The war has only been going on for just over a month, already the names are piling up." A short man with sandy hair said. His partner, a taller man wearing standard a standard suna flak vest, and wrappings around his head to protect it from the sun, took the sheet of paper.
"Ahh, 683 from Suna listed dead, 116 listed MIA." The short man snorted.
"How many from Konoha? We must pay respect to all those who stand with us." The taller man nodded and scanned down the paper.
"473 dead, 79 MIA. Here, Kumogakure as well. Thanks to Konoha, we have a new treaty with them. They couldnt send as many out, it seems, but I heard that they lost many on the way...oh...Listen; Kumogakure no Sato, 951 dead, 102 MIA. Wow, they lost almost as many as Suna and Konoha together." The shorter man whistled softly and gave a silent prayer for both the dead, and for the war to end soon.
"Do you have the sheets with the names of the shinobi in their respective ranks?" The short man nodded and handed a small bundle over.
"They go from Genin to ANBU. The Genin sheet only has three names, thankfully. Poor children weren't even fighting. I knew two of them, they were both good kids." The tall nin nodded sadly and skimmed back to the ANBU.
"Ahh, kami-sama... Jinjou-chan and Yuki-chan are both dead...Chichi-san is MIA...Oh! Oh no! Kagari-chan! She was your genin teamate, correct?" The short man turned his head, and the tall man quieted down. He continued to scan the names of the dead and MIA when one named jumped out at him.
"Nara Shikamaru? MIA? Isn't he the brother in-law of the Kazekage?" The shorter man gazed at the page and smiled.
"Shikamaru-sama, he will probably show up in a few days. He knows that he will be listed as dead after 7 days if he doesnt check in. He's got two days left. Lazy bastard." The taller man was slightly taken aback by the tone used when talking about the cheif strategic officer. A soft scuff in the sandy ground brought both shinobi's attention to the flap of their tent. A girl, from Konoha as her hiteate depicted, was shyly peeking in.
"Su-sumimasen...May I look at the list...?" The shorter nin motioned for her to come inside. When fully in the lantern light, the taller sand jounin saw that she wore a flak vest, but from the way she moved, she was probably only chuunin. Her dark purple hair was twisted into a bun that flared with loose ends, and her mini-skirt was divided, showing her black shorts. She had a scar that ran from her forehead over her eye to her cheek.
"This is a dreary tent, miss. Who's name might you be looking for?" The tall nin said, as he couldnt help but eye her figure. Drawing her hands to her chest, her tanned cheeks flushed a bit and she said,
"Haha-ue...She hasn't checked in yet, and it's been 6 days. I would like to know if she is still on the MIA list, or if her body has been found." The tall man clicked his tongue, but regretted it when the girl jumped. Sighing, he put his hand on her shoulder and said in a soothing tone,
"Don't be so tense, you're safe here. While this isn't particularily the happiest place to spend your time, it's nice and quiet. Would you like a drink, miss?" The girl nodded and gave a small smile and a thanks when he gave her a small cup of cold sake.
"What's your Oka-san's name, miss?" The girl sighed and said,
"Mitarashi Anko, Konoha jounin..." the girl sipped her sake, and listened to the soft sliding noise the paper made as the shorter nin riffled through the jounin section.
"Mitaminao, Mitanou, Mitarashi! Here we are...Anko-san is still on the MIA list, but if she doesn't check in by midnight tomorrow, she will be listed as KIA. Gomen, miss."
Waving a delicate hand in front of her face, she said,
"Please, call me Chiyo. A-ano...it seems you have alot of sorting to do still..." Chiyo motioned the large pile of papers, reports, and letters that had still to be filed. The shorter man sighed and hung his head. Chiyo stiffled a small giggle.
"If you'd like, I could help...Filing helps my nerves. No one from my class is Chuunin still...I have no one to talk to." The taller man smiled and handed Chiyo a bag full of paper.
"Here, these are letters. Some are addressed to indivduals, some to a group. Sort them into groups and individuals, alphabetically." Chiyo nodded and smiled as she reached into the large bag a pulled her first of many handfuls of letters.
"Katoki-kun, you have a letter..." Hinata said, shutting the door to the small room that she, Ganjou, Katoki, and Suri shared. The blonde looked up from his game of shougi and smiled. Taking the letter from Hinata's outstreched hand, Ganjou moved a peice on the board, sat back and said,
"Checkmate." Katoki sighed. Suri gave a small snore, and turned in her bunk.
"Who's the letter from, Kato?" Ganjou said, running his hand through his brown hair. Katoki snorted at the nickname and flipped the letter over.
"It's from Yondaime-sama." Hinata sat down beside him, and Ganjou sat up straighter. Katoki opened the letter smoothly with his fingers, and pulled out the peice of parchment inside.
"Katoki, I am distressed to hear this, and have warned the other squads. Make sure to send me another report or note if any of the squads show up in the same condition as your group. I hope that you receive this before the fighting commences, as I have a small mission for the entire ANBU squad. It seems that Kei managed to slip away. Thanks to your stealth training, we cannot trail him properly. I blame this entirely on you. Inform the ANBU that if he is seen amoung the chuunin and jounin in camp, that he is to be detained, and held inside Sunagakure's walls until the fighting dies down. You are then to escort my grandson back up here. Give my regrets and goodwishes to the rest of squad." Katoki crushed the paper with his fist and said, quite angrily,
"Kei...that stupid kid. When I get a hold of him..." Hinata put a hand on his shoulder and said softly,
"Katoki-kun...c-calm down..." Katoki looked down at the indigo haired woman and felt his anger melt. Hinata's heart, on the other hand, was beating quite fast.
"Is something the matter, Hinata-chan?" Hinata's eyes widened a bit but she then blushed and looked away.
"A-ano...K-katoki-kun...do your eyes alw-ways d-do that?" Ganjou tuned in, but pretended to read the letter from his Raikage. Katoki seemed taken aback.
"...Do what?" Hinata blushed again and shook her head. Katoki grabbed her shoulders and said quietly, but firmly.
"Hinata-chan. You dont stutter unless it's important. What did my eyes do, and when?" Hinata looked directly into his cerulean eyes and said, in little more than a whisper,
"R-red...somet-times, when you a-are ang-gry, they t-turn red. W-when you use alot of ch-chakra t-too..." Katoki let go of her shoulders and looked at Ganjou.
"Do they, Ganjou?" Ganjou shrugged and said,
"I guess, I thought I saw it a few times, but as ANBU, I dont see your face when you use alot of chakra. But Kato, you look like you are gonna be sick...should Hina-chan heal you?" Hinata glanced at Ganjou, her cheeks red from his nickname, as she leaned forward. Holding one of her hands up in a seal, she placed her now glowing green hand on Katoki's forhead and Katoki felt a wave of cool releif.
"Nothing's wrong...are you s-sure you're ok?" Katoki leaned away from Hinata's hand and waved his hand in front of his face.
"I'm fine, honestly! I just didn't realize that my eyes change...maybe I have a bloodline limit?" Hinata smiled and Katoki leaned over and pecked her on the lips. Ganjou clicked his tongue and sighed.
Sighing loudly and drooping his shoulders, Shikamaru wished he was sleeping in his bed, instead of being chewed out by his brother-in-law. A few moments passed, and even though the Cheif Strategist was letting the words run in one ear, only to fall out the other, he noticed that the angry murmur had stopped. Focusing his eyes, they settled on the red haired former vessel.
"Are you even listening?" Gaara said. Shikamaru shifted his feet and said, quite clearly,
"No." Gaara dropped his head onto his desk. The dull thud was muffled by numerous reports spread out across his desk, and the clatter of wooden blocks falling as Kaisa pushed the pyramid she had built over.
"Shikamaru, you arrived at the checkpoint exactly 7 seconds before midnight, on your 7th day. Do you know how much stress you put Temari through? At the end of the 5th day, she holed her self up in your house hugging my family photo!" Gaara exclaimed, pointing at the slightly lighter rectangle shape on the wall behind him. Shikamaru would have snickered if it hadn't have been too troublesome. So just standing there, his shoulders drooped with a casualty that, not for the first time, irritated Gaara.
"I have a mission for you. As punishment for doing that to Temari-ne-san." Shikamaru heaved a mighty sigh, and Gaara's 'ai' symbol twitched.
"I have received a classified document, involving Hyuuga Hinata. I know that she is alive, and in the Kumo ANBU. Now, their numbers have been reduced to, according to the last check in, 8. The information I received, verified that you are aware of her, and have been in occasional contact. Tsunade knows that she is going under a different alias, but she will not tell me. Perhaps you know? Go fetch her for me. Check the ANBU quarters first, a few of them returned earlier today." Shikamaru tensed, but did not stand any straighter.
"Me? Do I not get to see my wife yet?" Gaara frowned and shook his head.
"No. But if you see her on the way, just bring her with you, I need to see her, but she wont come to me if she catches wind of you." Shikamaru sighed louder and spun on his heel.
"Dont make a scene, you lazy dolt." The spiky haired special jounin from both Konoha and Suna didnt reply as he walked out the office doors.
Sighing again, Shikamaru almost found it too troublesome to lift his hand to knock on the door of the apartment.
Knock..................knock... Looking to his left, he heard some scrambling from the other side of the door and a few clicks of locks unlocking before it finally opened. An man with brown hair, brown eyes, and of average height was standing in the door way. He looked Shikamaru right in the eyes and said, in an average sounding voice,
"What?" Shikamaru leaned his head over and looked into the room over the man's shoulder.
"I'm looking for Kasumi-chan, and Katoki-san." The man shook his head and thumbed to the left.
"Next door over." Slam! Shikamaru didnt flinch as the door almost hit his nose, but instead sighed with such tenacity that you would assume he was asked to carry every single surviving nin from all three countries participating on this side of the war, back to Konoha, one at a time. Moving to the next door, he knocked twice, and listened.
The rustling, albeit quieter than the previous room, went on for a few more moments before the door opened. A short woman with long indigo hair, a bit mussed, and pearly white eyes stood before him. Her eyes widened and she said,
"Shikamaru-san? Can I help you?" Her tone was surprised, but not as surprised as Shikamaru hoped. His satisfaction quickly deflated, he peeked into Hinata's room and spotted Katoki, still asleep, on the bed in the corner.
"Gaara has requested your presence, he found out your secret. But, we have to take the back routes." Hinata furrowed her brow.
"Why? About the back routes I mean, I suspected that Tsunade-sama would tell Gaara-sama. I'de like to avoid her for now." Shikamaru was curious as to why she was not caught off guard, but saved his questioning for later.
"Temari doesnt know I'm back yet...to my knowledge. If she finds me, she will kill me. Simple as that." Hinata nodded, and followed her fellow ex-classmate towards the office of the Kazekage.
"Gaara, I brought her without incident. Can I go home now?" Hinata was a bit taken back by the informality of Shikamaru's speech, but quickly pushed it away when she remembered that he was married to Gaara's elder sister.
"Yes, go. Hinata-san, please come in and sit." Shikamaru brushed past Hinata quietly and closed the door behind him, sealing Hinata's only way of escape. Tremors racked her body as she shakily took a the seat in front of Gaara's desk. Gaara tented his fingers and stared at the Hyuuga for a long time.
"You've caused us quite a lot of greif, Hinata-san. But after reading your last passage, I can't say that I blame you. Tell me, did you know that Tsunade is here, fighting and healing? Also that Hiashi-san is here as well, according to Tsunade, he told Hanabi-san that he must fight to erase his sins. I suppose we know now what he meant." Hinata had, by this time, blushed when Gaara mentioned reading her passage, paled when he mentioned Tsunade, and started to turn green when he said her father's name.
"Ahh, I'll move off that subject. I brought you here, partly as punishment for Shikamaru, but mostly because I wanted to thank you for living. Without you, we would not have any of Naruto left in this world. He was my best friend, he brought me out of my personal hell, and acted like it was nothing. I am forever grateful for that...I'm sure you know all about how amazing he was." Hinata was looking down, the tears in her eyes threatened to fall.
"I-is that all? K-kazek-kage-sama? I have b-been fight-ting all d-day, and I n-need my rest..." Gaara looked into her eyes when she raised her head, and was taken aback to see so much hurt. He saw a touch of fear, and it reminded him of the first chuunin exam he ever took. He passed her genin team, and glared at each and every one of them, but her eyes had been wider and filled with more fear back then.
"I want to know if you have any information on your son or Jiraiya-san." Hinata furrowed her brow,
"No...gomen, but why? The last time I saw ether of them, was almost a month and a half ago." Gaara nodded.
"Jiraiya-san was seen past the border of Kazekuni, along with your son and another boy...but I'm afraid that they seem to have disapeared. None of my contacts can find him...I was hoping you might have had more information." Hinata shook her head. Her face was pale, and she felt slightly wobbly.
"Ahhh, gomenasai, Hinata-san. Go and rest. I will want to talk to you later, when I can think of more questions." Hinata gulped and shakily stood. Stumbling towards the doorway, she heard a scuffle right behind her. A hand enclosed itself around her arm, and turning her head, she looked directly into a pair of concerned turquoise eyes.
"Here, you seem a little shaken. I will personally escort you back to your rooms." Hinata opened her mouth to speak, but only squeaked instead. Gaara laughed quietly, and Hinata blushed.
End Chapter 30