Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Mokushita Hyuuga ❯ Chapter 35
[ 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: 05.29.2007 | Updated On: 05.30.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 564 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters belong to Kishimoto, not me
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.29.2007 | Updated On: 05.30.2007 | Pages: 4 | Words: 5.2K | Visits: 564 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 35
Natsumi placed her small pack down beside the blonde boy and gently pulled his chin towards her. Kouden looked up at her, a slight grimace on his face. Natsumi looked him in the eyes, and cocked her jaw.
"Hmm. I've never seen eyes like this. Are you blind?" Kouden blinked and removed his head from her hand.
"No. I have the byakugan. Okaa-san was a Hyuuga." Natumi raised her eyebrows in slight admiration and pulled his chin towards her again. Slowly removing the bandages that cross his face and cheeks, she said,
"Hmm. Intresting. Never heard of the Hyuuga. Ahh...this cut will leave a scar...a really obvious one too..."
Jiraiya winced. Natumi took a small plastic bag of herbs out and carefully snatched a single leaf out. Kouden studied it's fuzzy textured before Natsumi crushed it with her hands, and squeezed the juice onto some new bandages. Placing the slightly damp bandage back on Kouden's face, he hissed, but Natsumi just slapped his hands away. Tying the bandages tightly at the back of his head, she sat back and Jiraiya said,
"Will that help? What would make the scar least visable?" Sitting back, Natsumi tossed her loose white hair over her shoulder and pursed her heavily painted red lips.
"Mmm...That will help some. When I think the scarring has gone down as much as it can, I will try to heal the scar tissue. Why is it so important, Tou-san?" Jiraiya paused at 'tou-san' but ignored it.
"Dear Natsumi-chan. If his 'baa-sama' as he calls her, sees this scar, she will kill me for letting a weapon touch her beloved Kouden." Kouden chuckled, but winced, a few of his ribs were still broken and bruised.
"Who's this old woman that you are so afraid of? You're a densetsu sannin, aren't you?" A small grin tugged te corners of Jiraiya's lips when he heard the small amount of pride Natsumi inserted into those words.
"The other surviving half. Tsunade-hime, Godaime Hokage, self appointed obaa-san of Kouden." Natsumi sucked her breath in.
"I've heard of her. Okaa-chan said that a few years before I was born, she came to Amegakure and lost alot of money to our village leader. She also said that to get away, she tried to disguise herself as a little girl, but got caught, and ended up destroying the leader's castle with one punch." Jiraiya gave a hearty laugh.
"That's my Tsunade-hime." Kouden grinned widely and made his cheeks itch. Looking over at Shiro, he said,
"One-chan...When is Shiro going to wake up? I've been awake almost a week, I think, and Ero-sennin said that I had been out for three weeks...Ero-sennin, what did happen by the way? You never told me." Jiraira shook his head.
"Shiro-kun should wake up any day...But I'de rather him not. His injuries are still healing, and people heal faster when we sleep. You heal faster than normal, Kouden-kun. It's quite amazing." Kouden looked at Jiraiya and said,
"Naruto could heal near instantly. He was impaled through his lung once, so he told me, and healed it within seconds." Both Natsumi and Kouden looked at Jiraiya with looks of awe on his face.
"Kekkai genkai?" Natsumi said, Jiraiya shook his head.
"I will tell you when you are older." Both Kouden and Natsumi pouted.
Hinata sighed and rubbed her chest. The cut had finally healed, leaving two thin white scars, where the blade had entered and left. Sitting up, she lifted the side of her thick jacket and stared at the tattoo. Tsunade had done the pleasure of analyzing it and said that it contained Hiashi's chakra.
"Well?" Hinata said after Tsunade finished probing her tattoo. Tsunade stood up straight, towering over Hinata, and said thoughtfully.
"It's a special mark...It has a small well of chakra in the kanji...But it's constantly swirling. I can tell you one thing for certain, that mark is from Hiashi. I'de recognize his chakra anywhere. I'll have to ask him later. I think he's still in the containment cells. Judging from the kanji he inscribed, I think he knows about your child." Hinata sighed. She knew that Hiashi had put the tattoo there. It took her a few days, but she remembered the grating feeling of his chakra from her childhood.
"How are you doing?" Tsunade said, when Hinata sighed. Hinata looked up and smiled.
"Fine, fine...As fine as I can be, I suppose." Tsunade sighed and put an comforting arm around Hinata.
"It's always hard...He was like a grandson to me. It seems you share my luck, Hinata." Hinata looked upa t Tsunade with tired eyes.
"What do you mean?" Tsunade sighed.
"I lost my brother, Nawaki a long time ago. He looked a bit like Naruto, eh. I lost my boyfriend Dan...You know, we were planning on eloping in a near city just a week before... And then, I lost Naruto, and you in the same day. That one hurt the most I think. Naruto was the first person to wear my necklace without dying...But now, when I finally thought that I had a peice of that boy back in my hands...How do you bear this, Hinata?" Hinata was silent, but tears welled up in her pale eyes.
"A-ano...I think, I had better go to Katoki-kun..." Hinata said after a minute. Tsunade nodded and removed her arm from the woman's shoulders.
"Hinata, do you love Katoki-san?" Hinata lowered her head, and nodded slightly. "You know, you aren't dishonouring Naruto...He'd want you to be happy. Just remember that, and try to live out the rest of your days in peace."
Hinata had started to sob quietly as she left the room. Tsunade reached for the nearest sake bottle and drained it without a second thought, smacking her lips when the bottle emptied.
"Hinata-chan?" Hinata looked up at the door of the room she was staying at in Gaara's house. Quickly wiping her eyes, she sat up when Katoki sat on her bed. The cast had been taken off of his arm, but but they were both still bandaged. The bandages on his face were removed, and Tsunade was displeased at the scarring. Katoki neglected to tell her that they were there in the first place.
"Is everything ok?" He said, leaning over her, his weight on his left arm. Hinata gave a small giggle as strands of his blonde hair tickled her nose.
"You need a hair cut. I'll give you one tonight. Ok?" Katoki lowered his head more and rubbed his hair against her face, causing Hinata to laugh even more. Raising his head, Katoki quickly pecked Hinata on the lips, and she turned beat red, but still laughing. Katoki ran his fingers over her stomach and Hinata started to giggle again.
"Ticklish? The mighty Hyuuga is ticklish?" Hinata shook her head, but laughed again when Katoki softly scratched her side with his fingers. She turned beat red again when Katoki leaned in for a kiss, but this time, in a desparate attempt to make him stop, she grabbed the back of his head and kept the kiss going. Katoki flushed a bit at this, but stopped tickling Hinata, opting instead to wrap his arms around her waist instead. Hinata sighed with releif, and closed her eyes. Not wanting the good feeling to stop, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and held the blonde close.
Knock knock. Hinata groaned and rolled over. Rolling into Katoki she opened her eyes slowly.
"Hinata-san? Are you in there?" Hinata sat up and said groggily.
"Y-yea...Who's asking?"
"Matsuri, you have a visitor..." Hinata looked down and saw that she lacked a top. Blushing furiously, she looked back at Katoki and her eyes were drawn to the large scar that splayed accross his bare chest.
"A-ano...I will be out in a second...Please ask them to wait...Matsuri-san..." She heard Matsuri leave the doorway and quickly scrambled out of the covers. She found a slightly rumpled black body suit and tugged it on.
Hinata sighed as she looked down at her outfit. Grabbing her large hoodie, she pulled it on, not bothering to undo the zipper. Taking an elastic, she quickly tied her hair up. Patting down the wrinkles on her coat, she paused to stare at Katoki's scar again before leaving the room.
"Ah...Hinata... It's been a while..." Hinata blushed at her visitor and bowed deeply.
"A-ano...Gomen nasai for fooling you last time we met, Sakura-san..." Sakura smiled prettily and waved her hand. She walked over to Hinata and enveloped her in a hug. Hinata smiled a little bit and hugged back.
"I missed you alot Hinata...and please, call me Sakura. How many times have I had to tell you." Hinata gave a short laugh, and Sakura followed suit.
Matsuri had made tea, and the three women sat in the sunken sitting room chatting quietly.
"A baby? Are you really? Congratulations!" Sakura exclaimed. Hinata blushed a bit.
"How far along are you?" Matsuri asked and Hinata said,
"I think...about 2 months now... It's both a blessing and a burden though..." Sakura leaned forward.
"Oh? Why is that?" Hinata glanced towards the room that held Katoki and said,
"I can't fight in the war anymore. That's both a blessing and a burden." Matsuri nodded and sipped her tea. Sakura leaned back and gave a large smile.
"Ne, Hinata? Where's Kouden? Osshi-kun was asking about him at home, same with Sasami-chan? Have you seen or heard from them recently?" Matsuri sucked her breath in and reached out towards Hinata. Hinata waved the hand away, and Sakura sat staring cluelessly at them.
"What? Did I say something?" Hinata looked up at Sakura, her pale eyes looked tired and emotionless. Sakura was taken aback.
"K..Kouden..." Hinata said, her voice choked. Matsuri continued for her.
"Kouden...He is a true hero of the village." Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. They quickly teared up and she scooted over and gave Hinata a large hug.
"I'm so sorry I didnt know...O kami-sama...He was all we had left of Naruto... How is Sasuke going to act...Does that mean that Shiro-kun is too? Weren't they travelling together? Oh kami-sama..." Hinata sniffled and said,
"It's fine...He was a shinobi. We must learn to face the consequences. But I talked to Tsunade yesturday...she seems to be taking this harder than I am...Sakura...I think maybe you should comfort her." Sakura leaned back.
"Haa... I've done my share of comforting this week. Did you know? Gai-sensei was killed..."
Sakura heard a small rustle behind her. Smirking she said,
"Gaara-san...What brings you to the medical tents?" Gaara looked at the pile of gauze she was picking up off the floor, and directed his sand to finish the job. Sakura nodded a thanks and picked out a small bottle off the small platform of sand.
Walking over to a boy who couldnt be more than 12, she pressed the end of the bottle, which turned out to be an immunization, into his arm. The boy grimaced slightly, but after a few minutes, his face regained colour.
"Are you ok?" Sakura said. The boy's eyes fluttered open. Looking up at Sakura, his eyes focused on the red hat that sat on her pink hair.
"M-medic-nin?" Sakura nodded. Placing her hand on his forehead, she said,
"Your fever has gone done almost all the way. You should be able to get up tomorrow...Tch..sending such a young one into battle..." The boy moved his head away and said,
"I'm a jounin! I'm not a boy!" Sakura stood up straight, and the Konoha hiteate that hung loosely around her waist glinted in the lamplight. The boy stared at it and his face went ridgid.
"K-k-konoha...?" Gaara watched the boy struggle, but the leather bonds on his arms and legs kept him still
"You are a prisoner of war...Tomorrow, you will be taken to a camp, and when the war is over...well, let's hope it ends soon." The boy struggled again, but when it was clear to him that he wasn't going anywhere, he started to cry. Sakura soothed his hair back, and turned to Gaara.
"Well, my shift was done when he woke up... Did you wa-" THUNK!!
"Ahh! Someone! Help!" A voice yelled from outside. Sakura rushed out the tent and almost fainted at what she saw.
Rock Lee, covered in blood, and holding Maito Gai's body tightly. Lee's student, Fai, was holding his sensei up.
"Lee-san! Fai-kun!" Sakura yelled. Fai looked up and almost cried.
"S-sakura-sama!! G-gai-sensei...I think...uuu....Please, help Lee-sensei!" Sakura nodded and skidded to a stop in front of Gai. Her hands lit up in an intense green glow and she placed her hands on Gai's chest. Her heart thudded in her throat as she shook her head slowly. Fai started to wail, but a firmhand on his shoulder courtesy Gaara, made him quiet down to a slow sob. Moving to Lee, Sakura put her hands on his and tried to move them, but Lee had a firm grip.
"Lee-san...you need to let go...Gai-sensei is dead..." Lee didnt say anything, but instead held Gai tighter. The wounds that ran down his face and abdomen started to bleed harder. Sakura started to worry and tugged on his arm.
"Lee-san...I need to treat you...Let go of Gai-sensei!" Lee looked up into Sakura's emerald eyes and Sakura's heart missed a beat. The anger made her want to break out into a sweat.
"Lee! I need to treat you, or you are going to die, think of Fai-kun!" Lee's eyes softened, and he slowly let go of Gai. Gaara's sand formed a small cloud for him, and kept his body off the ground. Sakura's hands touched Lee's arm and she shuddered. Lee had numerous, too many to count, lacerations on his body. All ranging from shallow to chipping the bone. His lower spine was cracked, and his right leg and left arm were both almost dust. She didnt know how he had managed to transport Gai here, let alone himself.
Sakura set about knitting together the cracked vertabrae, which came quite easily and quickly. She sighed when she started to work on his leg. A quick mental count told her she had somewhere around 30 bone fragments to peices together.
"How are you, Sakura-san?" Gaara asked. Sakura turned slightly and wiped the sweat from her face.
"I'm getting low on chakra...but I'm almost...no, I'm done. I losely peiced together the bones in his arm and leg...and I managed to stop most of the bleeding. The rest is nothing bandages can't take care of. Fai-kun, are you hurt anywhere?" Fai was still trembling when he held out his hand. The bandaged that he usually had wrapped around it was stained heavily with red.
"Ah! Fai-kun! Why didn't you show me before! You've lost alot of blood!" Fai drew back slightly, but welcomed the cooling feeling of his wound healing. When Sakura was done, the skin was still raw, but intact. Fai gazed at the back of his left hand. A large scar ran to his wrist from his pinky finger. Or rather, where his pinky finger used to be. All that was left was a small stub that wiggled slightly when he tried to move it. The feeling of bile started to rise in his throat, and he looked away.
"Oh...kami-sama...I hate war." Hinata said, her hand over her heart. Matsuri nodded. A loud thump made the three women turn their heads towards the back of the living room.
"H-hinata-chan? Why are you up so...early...aa..." Hinata turned a deathly white before colour exploded into her face. Sakura's face was just as red, but a greedy smiled was plastered accross her face. Matsuri was red, but mostly due to her laughing.
Katoki turned back into his room and slammed the door. His face was nearly as red as Hinata's.
"Kuso! This isn't Kumo, Katoki! You cannot be walking around in the nude!" Meanwhile, Hinata was having trouble breathing.
"Well. Hinata, your...er...man, is quite the....man." An evil grin graced the pink haired woman's face. Hinata shot a death glare at her friend before squeaking out,
"Aren't you married?" Sakura laughed and said,
"Happily. Are you going to get? I mean, you're bearing his children..." Matsuri stopped laughing, and Hinata looked down.
"...I dont know...I dont think I'm ready." Sakura sighed.
"Hinata...Naruto has been dead for almost 16 years. It doesn't have to be hard, I mean, pick a night, and do it in secret, like me and Sasuke-kun!" Hinata blushed again, but was saved from saying anything when Katoki re-entered the room, fully clothed. He laughed nervously as he slipped in beside Hinata.
"Saa...Hello ladies. I hope you enjoyed the show." Matsuri burst out laughing, and Sakura said,
"Oh, we did. Especially Hinata. I'm almost jealous that Hinata get's to tap that whenever she wants." Hinata groaned and dug her face into her hands. Katoki laughed.
Sasami shivered. It was still pitch black, and all she could hear were the steady breathings of Doumeki. The girl had exhausted herself using that odd doujustu of hers. Something about it rang a bell in the pink haired girl's head, but she was far too scared to think about it.
That woman came back, and took Raiden away. He tried to use his special jutsu on her, but something was stopping their flow of chakra, and all he could do was give her a static shock. The woman had laughed before bashing his head in. Sasami remembered the look on Doumeki's face as she tried to hide in Sasami's chest.
Sasami looked down. She couldnt see anything, but she could imagine what the girl's face must look like while she slept. Softly running her hand down Doumeki's hair, she sighed.
"Aniki...Kouden-kun...anyone..."
A boy with soft blonde hair and honey brown eyes sneezed. A lock clicked open at the sturdy door, and Keii sat up from his place on the bed. He had been stuck in this room for almost three weeks.
"Keii...Pack your bags." A voice called. Keii narrowed his eyes.
"Katoki-sensei?" Katoki slid in the room. Keii sucked his breath in and eyed Katoki's arms.
"Sensei? What happened?" Katoki shook his head.
"I'll tell you on the way to Yondaime-sama's." Keii's head perked up.
"Is the war over?" Katoki shook his head again and said,
"It's not. I'm stealing away, me and Hinata-chan are. The escort isn't going to come anytime soon, and nor is the war going to end soon. You need to come with us. We need to get back to Kumo as soon as possible, and neither of us can fight at our fullest right now." Keii opened his mouth ask another question but Katoki cut him off with a raised hand.
"Pack your bags, and at midnight, be ready to get going, wear dark brown, if you have any." Keii nodded.
Midnight couldn't have come fast enough, and the next thing Keii knew, he was flying across the sand dunes. Hinata soared into veiw to his left, slightly behind, and Katoki was on the other side of her.
"Katoki-sensei! Can you tell me how you got injured now?" Katoki looked at the boy, and then at Hinata.
"I ... I dont remember. But I was fighting and I woke up and both my arms were broken, my right arm was almost shattered." Keii looked horrified.
"How come Hinata-san cannot fight at her full? Were you injured as well?" Keii asked formally. Hinata was a bit surprised at his manners, but said quietly, almost unheard above the sound of the wind,
"I was stabbed through the lung..." Keii tripped and almost faced himself on the sand.
"How! How are you still moving around? How long ago?" Hinata blushed and Katoki snapped at Keii.
"Shut up, Keii. We have to keep moving. We can chit-chat later. We need to get a head start." Hinata nodded, and Keii shut up.
Brushing a stray strand of silver hair out of his eyes, the leader of the organization called Manjuushage paced back and forth down a small hall infront of a plain brown door. The rocky ceilings were dripping water, and the noise was slowly torturing his brain.
A scream of pain ripped through the air, followed by a loud moan. The Leader whipped his head up and stared at the door. His hand reached out to open it, but he curled his fingers back and pursed his lips. He wasn't usually one to take orders, but for the sake of this child, he would do anything.
Another scream tore through the air and the Leader started to mull over his plan of action.
"Sensei? What's an affinity? I heard some chuunin talking about it today..." A tall man with black hair that fell to his shoulders looked down at the child. He couldn't have been more than 8. His hair was messy and fine. The colour of it, stark white, along with his crimson eyes, made most people think of an albino.
"Mmm...An affinity is the element that you are naturally able to control easier. Most people are born with one affinity....although when you reach jounin, you are expected to be able to master two." The boy grinned and leaned i closer to his sensei.
"What affinity are you?" The black haired man kneeled to the ground and placed one hand on the ground. The ground rumbled slightly and a crack appeared. The crack started to leak mud.
"Earth. But my second affinity, the one that I mastered to become jounin was fire." Holding his other hand up, a small flame flashed in his hand.
"Waa! Sensei! How did you do that without seals?" The man laughed and ruffled the kid's hair.
"Practice. And I can still only do that. Now, did that answer your questions?" The boy nodded, but jumped up again.
"Aa! Sensei! You said most people? And how do you know what element you can use?" The man with black hair sat back and pulled the boy closer.
"Some people have kekkai genkai. Those people are sometimes born with two affinities...Let's use some examples. Pick a Kage village." The boy pondered for a second and said,
"Mmm....Konohagakure? They dont have much information on that city in our books at academy..." The man thought for a few seconds and then said,
"There is a shinobi in Konoha... His name is Yamato...well, that's his codename. The files I read didn't say his real name. He has a kekkai genkai that lets him use earth and water. He can combine them together to make plants. The same as our Zetsu, well, before he bacame a missing nin, and joined Akatsuki." The boy nodded and smiled.
"As for how to find out your element? Erm, here. I probably shouldn't do this, as your genin teacher usually would after you graduate, but oh well, no harm in it." Ruffling into his pockets on his vest, the man pulled out a few peices of paper.
"You can mold chakra, right? You should have started that in school by now." The boy nodded and said,
"Of course I can! I'm 2 years ahead of the other people my age." The teacher smiled and ruffled the boy's white hair again. Holding the paper out, it suddenly crumbled and floated away on the wind. The boy watched in fascination. The man handed him a paper, and the boy held it out in front of him.
"Ok, you dont have to channel much, just a bit. Go ahead now, try it!" The boy grinned widely and shut his eyes. Channeling chakra to his fingers, he felt it leak into the paper. Opening his eyes, he looked at his teacher quizzically.
"Sensei?" The black haired man shook his head and took the paper. He looked at it, and it crumbled away. Brushing the dust off of his hand, he handed the boy another paper.
"Channel more." The boy nodded and channeled even more chakra. Almost enough to pull off a bunshin no jutsu, but the paper remained intact. The boy sat down and said,
"What's wrong with me?" The teacher shook his head and said,
"Here, let's go to Tsuki-hime. She is better at this stuff than I am." The boy nodded and took his teacher's hand.
Squeezing his fist, the Leader of Manjuushage felt angered. That was the day that he discovered his kekkai genkai, and the day that difficulties began for his road to becoming a shinobi. After asking the jounin who ran the academy, he had found out from his sick mother that his father had a kekkai genkai.
"Oka-san...you should be resting..." The boy said to a rather plain woman with long and bedraggled black hair. Bags under her eyes showed the long illness she was suffering from. The woman smiled at the boy, but when she made eye contact with him, she turned her head.
"My son... I suppose I can tell you. I'm not long for this world anyway." The boy remained silent. His mother was the most important person in the world to him, and to hear her talk like this...
"Your Otou-san...He looked exactly like you. White hair, red eyes...but you have my nose." She smiled slightly and the boy smiled as well.
"He had a kekkai genkai of an odd sorts. He said that it was dominent in the male side of the family. But nevermind that...your limit, it causes the user to not be born with an affinity. I heard you talking with your teacher the other day about this... I was not a shinobi, but I married one. I know my stuff." The boy leaned in closer to his mother, half supporting her.
"Oka-san..." The woman rested her hand on her son's mop of white hair and said,
"They might have more information in the library...if not, then maybe when you are older, you can go to a place with a greater library. Maybe, Konoha, or Iwa...." The boy felt his mother started to drop, and he quickly caught her. Moving her to her bed, he sighed as we watched her sleeping figure. He turned to leave when he heard a whisper.
"Ginkaimu...that's the name of it...he told me once..." The boy turned towards his mother, but she was already sleeping.
"Silver nothing? What a weird name..."
"Weird indeed." the leader spoke out loud. He had never been able to have more than average efficiancy with any elemental chakra. He had found most of his information out in the library in Iwa, like his late mother had suggested. The library in Kusa was pitiful.
After a few years of research, he found that because he had no affinity to any element, he was suceptable to foreign elemental chakra. It was sometimes a curse, and sometimes a blessing. Smiling, the leader turned his head towards the room he was paceing infront of when he heard another peircing scream.
His smile grew wider when he heard something he had yearned to hear for the better part of a year.
Pushing the door open, he was assaulted with the smell of blood. Piles and piles of sheets were covered in blood, and the leader almost gagged at the sight. The two midwives that he had hired from his information lines looked at him and shook their heads.
"Sir...Rikuri-sama...I'm afraid she won't make it long. It was along and difficult birth." The leader looked at the Iwa nukenin he had picked up well over a year ago. Her eyes were half open, and her hair plastered to her face. She wore a small smile, but her gaze was focused on the small bundle in her arms. The leader walked over to her and bent down to look at the infant's face.
Rikuri stroked his face, her hand shaking.
"Byakko...I want him named Byakko...as payment for my services to you...Leader-sama." The leader glanced at Rikuri before taking a closer look at the babe.
"Boy or girl?" One of the midwives bowed and said,
"Congratulations, you have a son." The leader nodded and turned back to the boy. The top of his head was covered in a fine silver mist, and when the infant had started to gurgle he caught a glimpse of his eyes. His crimson eyes. The leader smiled again. The boy had his kekkai genkai.
"The wetnurse had better be here soon. I need him cleaned and prepared by tonight." Turning to leave, he heard a groan. Looking back, Rikuri, still holding the infant in her arm, had raised a shaky hand to him.
"...Sir, what about Rikuri-sama?" The leader glanced at Rikuri one more time before turning.
"She had born me a healthy and perfect boy. You say she is dying? Make it painless." With that the leader of Manjuushage left the room, his son, and his dying partner.
End Chapter 35
Natsumi placed her small pack down beside the blonde boy and gently pulled his chin towards her. Kouden looked up at her, a slight grimace on his face. Natsumi looked him in the eyes, and cocked her jaw.
"Hmm. I've never seen eyes like this. Are you blind?" Kouden blinked and removed his head from her hand.
"No. I have the byakugan. Okaa-san was a Hyuuga." Natumi raised her eyebrows in slight admiration and pulled his chin towards her again. Slowly removing the bandages that cross his face and cheeks, she said,
"Hmm. Intresting. Never heard of the Hyuuga. Ahh...this cut will leave a scar...a really obvious one too..."
Jiraiya winced. Natumi took a small plastic bag of herbs out and carefully snatched a single leaf out. Kouden studied it's fuzzy textured before Natsumi crushed it with her hands, and squeezed the juice onto some new bandages. Placing the slightly damp bandage back on Kouden's face, he hissed, but Natsumi just slapped his hands away. Tying the bandages tightly at the back of his head, she sat back and Jiraiya said,
"Will that help? What would make the scar least visable?" Sitting back, Natsumi tossed her loose white hair over her shoulder and pursed her heavily painted red lips.
"Mmm...That will help some. When I think the scarring has gone down as much as it can, I will try to heal the scar tissue. Why is it so important, Tou-san?" Jiraiya paused at 'tou-san' but ignored it.
"Dear Natsumi-chan. If his 'baa-sama' as he calls her, sees this scar, she will kill me for letting a weapon touch her beloved Kouden." Kouden chuckled, but winced, a few of his ribs were still broken and bruised.
"Who's this old woman that you are so afraid of? You're a densetsu sannin, aren't you?" A small grin tugged te corners of Jiraiya's lips when he heard the small amount of pride Natsumi inserted into those words.
"The other surviving half. Tsunade-hime, Godaime Hokage, self appointed obaa-san of Kouden." Natsumi sucked her breath in.
"I've heard of her. Okaa-chan said that a few years before I was born, she came to Amegakure and lost alot of money to our village leader. She also said that to get away, she tried to disguise herself as a little girl, but got caught, and ended up destroying the leader's castle with one punch." Jiraiya gave a hearty laugh.
"That's my Tsunade-hime." Kouden grinned widely and made his cheeks itch. Looking over at Shiro, he said,
"One-chan...When is Shiro going to wake up? I've been awake almost a week, I think, and Ero-sennin said that I had been out for three weeks...Ero-sennin, what did happen by the way? You never told me." Jiraira shook his head.
"Shiro-kun should wake up any day...But I'de rather him not. His injuries are still healing, and people heal faster when we sleep. You heal faster than normal, Kouden-kun. It's quite amazing." Kouden looked at Jiraiya and said,
"Naruto could heal near instantly. He was impaled through his lung once, so he told me, and healed it within seconds." Both Natsumi and Kouden looked at Jiraiya with looks of awe on his face.
"Kekkai genkai?" Natsumi said, Jiraiya shook his head.
"I will tell you when you are older." Both Kouden and Natsumi pouted.
Hinata sighed and rubbed her chest. The cut had finally healed, leaving two thin white scars, where the blade had entered and left. Sitting up, she lifted the side of her thick jacket and stared at the tattoo. Tsunade had done the pleasure of analyzing it and said that it contained Hiashi's chakra.
"Well?" Hinata said after Tsunade finished probing her tattoo. Tsunade stood up straight, towering over Hinata, and said thoughtfully.
"It's a special mark...It has a small well of chakra in the kanji...But it's constantly swirling. I can tell you one thing for certain, that mark is from Hiashi. I'de recognize his chakra anywhere. I'll have to ask him later. I think he's still in the containment cells. Judging from the kanji he inscribed, I think he knows about your child." Hinata sighed. She knew that Hiashi had put the tattoo there. It took her a few days, but she remembered the grating feeling of his chakra from her childhood.
"How are you doing?" Tsunade said, when Hinata sighed. Hinata looked up and smiled.
"Fine, fine...As fine as I can be, I suppose." Tsunade sighed and put an comforting arm around Hinata.
"It's always hard...He was like a grandson to me. It seems you share my luck, Hinata." Hinata looked upa t Tsunade with tired eyes.
"What do you mean?" Tsunade sighed.
"I lost my brother, Nawaki a long time ago. He looked a bit like Naruto, eh. I lost my boyfriend Dan...You know, we were planning on eloping in a near city just a week before... And then, I lost Naruto, and you in the same day. That one hurt the most I think. Naruto was the first person to wear my necklace without dying...But now, when I finally thought that I had a peice of that boy back in my hands...How do you bear this, Hinata?" Hinata was silent, but tears welled up in her pale eyes.
"A-ano...I think, I had better go to Katoki-kun..." Hinata said after a minute. Tsunade nodded and removed her arm from the woman's shoulders.
"Hinata, do you love Katoki-san?" Hinata lowered her head, and nodded slightly. "You know, you aren't dishonouring Naruto...He'd want you to be happy. Just remember that, and try to live out the rest of your days in peace."
Hinata had started to sob quietly as she left the room. Tsunade reached for the nearest sake bottle and drained it without a second thought, smacking her lips when the bottle emptied.
"Hinata-chan?" Hinata looked up at the door of the room she was staying at in Gaara's house. Quickly wiping her eyes, she sat up when Katoki sat on her bed. The cast had been taken off of his arm, but but they were both still bandaged. The bandages on his face were removed, and Tsunade was displeased at the scarring. Katoki neglected to tell her that they were there in the first place.
"Is everything ok?" He said, leaning over her, his weight on his left arm. Hinata gave a small giggle as strands of his blonde hair tickled her nose.
"You need a hair cut. I'll give you one tonight. Ok?" Katoki lowered his head more and rubbed his hair against her face, causing Hinata to laugh even more. Raising his head, Katoki quickly pecked Hinata on the lips, and she turned beat red, but still laughing. Katoki ran his fingers over her stomach and Hinata started to giggle again.
"Ticklish? The mighty Hyuuga is ticklish?" Hinata shook her head, but laughed again when Katoki softly scratched her side with his fingers. She turned beat red again when Katoki leaned in for a kiss, but this time, in a desparate attempt to make him stop, she grabbed the back of his head and kept the kiss going. Katoki flushed a bit at this, but stopped tickling Hinata, opting instead to wrap his arms around her waist instead. Hinata sighed with releif, and closed her eyes. Not wanting the good feeling to stop, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and held the blonde close.
Knock knock. Hinata groaned and rolled over. Rolling into Katoki she opened her eyes slowly.
"Hinata-san? Are you in there?" Hinata sat up and said groggily.
"Y-yea...Who's asking?"
"Matsuri, you have a visitor..." Hinata looked down and saw that she lacked a top. Blushing furiously, she looked back at Katoki and her eyes were drawn to the large scar that splayed accross his bare chest.
"A-ano...I will be out in a second...Please ask them to wait...Matsuri-san..." She heard Matsuri leave the doorway and quickly scrambled out of the covers. She found a slightly rumpled black body suit and tugged it on.
Hinata sighed as she looked down at her outfit. Grabbing her large hoodie, she pulled it on, not bothering to undo the zipper. Taking an elastic, she quickly tied her hair up. Patting down the wrinkles on her coat, she paused to stare at Katoki's scar again before leaving the room.
"Ah...Hinata... It's been a while..." Hinata blushed at her visitor and bowed deeply.
"A-ano...Gomen nasai for fooling you last time we met, Sakura-san..." Sakura smiled prettily and waved her hand. She walked over to Hinata and enveloped her in a hug. Hinata smiled a little bit and hugged back.
"I missed you alot Hinata...and please, call me Sakura. How many times have I had to tell you." Hinata gave a short laugh, and Sakura followed suit.
Matsuri had made tea, and the three women sat in the sunken sitting room chatting quietly.
"A baby? Are you really? Congratulations!" Sakura exclaimed. Hinata blushed a bit.
"How far along are you?" Matsuri asked and Hinata said,
"I think...about 2 months now... It's both a blessing and a burden though..." Sakura leaned forward.
"Oh? Why is that?" Hinata glanced towards the room that held Katoki and said,
"I can't fight in the war anymore. That's both a blessing and a burden." Matsuri nodded and sipped her tea. Sakura leaned back and gave a large smile.
"Ne, Hinata? Where's Kouden? Osshi-kun was asking about him at home, same with Sasami-chan? Have you seen or heard from them recently?" Matsuri sucked her breath in and reached out towards Hinata. Hinata waved the hand away, and Sakura sat staring cluelessly at them.
"What? Did I say something?" Hinata looked up at Sakura, her pale eyes looked tired and emotionless. Sakura was taken aback.
"K..Kouden..." Hinata said, her voice choked. Matsuri continued for her.
"Kouden...He is a true hero of the village." Sakura's eyes widened and her mouth dropped. They quickly teared up and she scooted over and gave Hinata a large hug.
"I'm so sorry I didnt know...O kami-sama...He was all we had left of Naruto... How is Sasuke going to act...Does that mean that Shiro-kun is too? Weren't they travelling together? Oh kami-sama..." Hinata sniffled and said,
"It's fine...He was a shinobi. We must learn to face the consequences. But I talked to Tsunade yesturday...she seems to be taking this harder than I am...Sakura...I think maybe you should comfort her." Sakura leaned back.
"Haa... I've done my share of comforting this week. Did you know? Gai-sensei was killed..."
Sakura heard a small rustle behind her. Smirking she said,
"Gaara-san...What brings you to the medical tents?" Gaara looked at the pile of gauze she was picking up off the floor, and directed his sand to finish the job. Sakura nodded a thanks and picked out a small bottle off the small platform of sand.
Walking over to a boy who couldnt be more than 12, she pressed the end of the bottle, which turned out to be an immunization, into his arm. The boy grimaced slightly, but after a few minutes, his face regained colour.
"Are you ok?" Sakura said. The boy's eyes fluttered open. Looking up at Sakura, his eyes focused on the red hat that sat on her pink hair.
"M-medic-nin?" Sakura nodded. Placing her hand on his forehead, she said,
"Your fever has gone done almost all the way. You should be able to get up tomorrow...Tch..sending such a young one into battle..." The boy moved his head away and said,
"I'm a jounin! I'm not a boy!" Sakura stood up straight, and the Konoha hiteate that hung loosely around her waist glinted in the lamplight. The boy stared at it and his face went ridgid.
"K-k-konoha...?" Gaara watched the boy struggle, but the leather bonds on his arms and legs kept him still
"You are a prisoner of war...Tomorrow, you will be taken to a camp, and when the war is over...well, let's hope it ends soon." The boy struggled again, but when it was clear to him that he wasn't going anywhere, he started to cry. Sakura soothed his hair back, and turned to Gaara.
"Well, my shift was done when he woke up... Did you wa-" THUNK!!
"Ahh! Someone! Help!" A voice yelled from outside. Sakura rushed out the tent and almost fainted at what she saw.
Rock Lee, covered in blood, and holding Maito Gai's body tightly. Lee's student, Fai, was holding his sensei up.
"Lee-san! Fai-kun!" Sakura yelled. Fai looked up and almost cried.
"S-sakura-sama!! G-gai-sensei...I think...uuu....Please, help Lee-sensei!" Sakura nodded and skidded to a stop in front of Gai. Her hands lit up in an intense green glow and she placed her hands on Gai's chest. Her heart thudded in her throat as she shook her head slowly. Fai started to wail, but a firmhand on his shoulder courtesy Gaara, made him quiet down to a slow sob. Moving to Lee, Sakura put her hands on his and tried to move them, but Lee had a firm grip.
"Lee-san...you need to let go...Gai-sensei is dead..." Lee didnt say anything, but instead held Gai tighter. The wounds that ran down his face and abdomen started to bleed harder. Sakura started to worry and tugged on his arm.
"Lee-san...I need to treat you...Let go of Gai-sensei!" Lee looked up into Sakura's emerald eyes and Sakura's heart missed a beat. The anger made her want to break out into a sweat.
"Lee! I need to treat you, or you are going to die, think of Fai-kun!" Lee's eyes softened, and he slowly let go of Gai. Gaara's sand formed a small cloud for him, and kept his body off the ground. Sakura's hands touched Lee's arm and she shuddered. Lee had numerous, too many to count, lacerations on his body. All ranging from shallow to chipping the bone. His lower spine was cracked, and his right leg and left arm were both almost dust. She didnt know how he had managed to transport Gai here, let alone himself.
Sakura set about knitting together the cracked vertabrae, which came quite easily and quickly. She sighed when she started to work on his leg. A quick mental count told her she had somewhere around 30 bone fragments to peices together.
"How are you, Sakura-san?" Gaara asked. Sakura turned slightly and wiped the sweat from her face.
"I'm getting low on chakra...but I'm almost...no, I'm done. I losely peiced together the bones in his arm and leg...and I managed to stop most of the bleeding. The rest is nothing bandages can't take care of. Fai-kun, are you hurt anywhere?" Fai was still trembling when he held out his hand. The bandaged that he usually had wrapped around it was stained heavily with red.
"Ah! Fai-kun! Why didn't you show me before! You've lost alot of blood!" Fai drew back slightly, but welcomed the cooling feeling of his wound healing. When Sakura was done, the skin was still raw, but intact. Fai gazed at the back of his left hand. A large scar ran to his wrist from his pinky finger. Or rather, where his pinky finger used to be. All that was left was a small stub that wiggled slightly when he tried to move it. The feeling of bile started to rise in his throat, and he looked away.
"Oh...kami-sama...I hate war." Hinata said, her hand over her heart. Matsuri nodded. A loud thump made the three women turn their heads towards the back of the living room.
"H-hinata-chan? Why are you up so...early...aa..." Hinata turned a deathly white before colour exploded into her face. Sakura's face was just as red, but a greedy smiled was plastered accross her face. Matsuri was red, but mostly due to her laughing.
Katoki turned back into his room and slammed the door. His face was nearly as red as Hinata's.
"Kuso! This isn't Kumo, Katoki! You cannot be walking around in the nude!" Meanwhile, Hinata was having trouble breathing.
"Well. Hinata, your...er...man, is quite the....man." An evil grin graced the pink haired woman's face. Hinata shot a death glare at her friend before squeaking out,
"Aren't you married?" Sakura laughed and said,
"Happily. Are you going to get? I mean, you're bearing his children..." Matsuri stopped laughing, and Hinata looked down.
"...I dont know...I dont think I'm ready." Sakura sighed.
"Hinata...Naruto has been dead for almost 16 years. It doesn't have to be hard, I mean, pick a night, and do it in secret, like me and Sasuke-kun!" Hinata blushed again, but was saved from saying anything when Katoki re-entered the room, fully clothed. He laughed nervously as he slipped in beside Hinata.
"Saa...Hello ladies. I hope you enjoyed the show." Matsuri burst out laughing, and Sakura said,
"Oh, we did. Especially Hinata. I'm almost jealous that Hinata get's to tap that whenever she wants." Hinata groaned and dug her face into her hands. Katoki laughed.
Sasami shivered. It was still pitch black, and all she could hear were the steady breathings of Doumeki. The girl had exhausted herself using that odd doujustu of hers. Something about it rang a bell in the pink haired girl's head, but she was far too scared to think about it.
That woman came back, and took Raiden away. He tried to use his special jutsu on her, but something was stopping their flow of chakra, and all he could do was give her a static shock. The woman had laughed before bashing his head in. Sasami remembered the look on Doumeki's face as she tried to hide in Sasami's chest.
Sasami looked down. She couldnt see anything, but she could imagine what the girl's face must look like while she slept. Softly running her hand down Doumeki's hair, she sighed.
"Aniki...Kouden-kun...anyone..."
A boy with soft blonde hair and honey brown eyes sneezed. A lock clicked open at the sturdy door, and Keii sat up from his place on the bed. He had been stuck in this room for almost three weeks.
"Keii...Pack your bags." A voice called. Keii narrowed his eyes.
"Katoki-sensei?" Katoki slid in the room. Keii sucked his breath in and eyed Katoki's arms.
"Sensei? What happened?" Katoki shook his head.
"I'll tell you on the way to Yondaime-sama's." Keii's head perked up.
"Is the war over?" Katoki shook his head again and said,
"It's not. I'm stealing away, me and Hinata-chan are. The escort isn't going to come anytime soon, and nor is the war going to end soon. You need to come with us. We need to get back to Kumo as soon as possible, and neither of us can fight at our fullest right now." Keii opened his mouth ask another question but Katoki cut him off with a raised hand.
"Pack your bags, and at midnight, be ready to get going, wear dark brown, if you have any." Keii nodded.
Midnight couldn't have come fast enough, and the next thing Keii knew, he was flying across the sand dunes. Hinata soared into veiw to his left, slightly behind, and Katoki was on the other side of her.
"Katoki-sensei! Can you tell me how you got injured now?" Katoki looked at the boy, and then at Hinata.
"I ... I dont remember. But I was fighting and I woke up and both my arms were broken, my right arm was almost shattered." Keii looked horrified.
"How come Hinata-san cannot fight at her full? Were you injured as well?" Keii asked formally. Hinata was a bit surprised at his manners, but said quietly, almost unheard above the sound of the wind,
"I was stabbed through the lung..." Keii tripped and almost faced himself on the sand.
"How! How are you still moving around? How long ago?" Hinata blushed and Katoki snapped at Keii.
"Shut up, Keii. We have to keep moving. We can chit-chat later. We need to get a head start." Hinata nodded, and Keii shut up.
Brushing a stray strand of silver hair out of his eyes, the leader of the organization called Manjuushage paced back and forth down a small hall infront of a plain brown door. The rocky ceilings were dripping water, and the noise was slowly torturing his brain.
A scream of pain ripped through the air, followed by a loud moan. The Leader whipped his head up and stared at the door. His hand reached out to open it, but he curled his fingers back and pursed his lips. He wasn't usually one to take orders, but for the sake of this child, he would do anything.
Another scream tore through the air and the Leader started to mull over his plan of action.
"Sensei? What's an affinity? I heard some chuunin talking about it today..." A tall man with black hair that fell to his shoulders looked down at the child. He couldn't have been more than 8. His hair was messy and fine. The colour of it, stark white, along with his crimson eyes, made most people think of an albino.
"Mmm...An affinity is the element that you are naturally able to control easier. Most people are born with one affinity....although when you reach jounin, you are expected to be able to master two." The boy grinned and leaned i closer to his sensei.
"What affinity are you?" The black haired man kneeled to the ground and placed one hand on the ground. The ground rumbled slightly and a crack appeared. The crack started to leak mud.
"Earth. But my second affinity, the one that I mastered to become jounin was fire." Holding his other hand up, a small flame flashed in his hand.
"Waa! Sensei! How did you do that without seals?" The man laughed and ruffled the kid's hair.
"Practice. And I can still only do that. Now, did that answer your questions?" The boy nodded, but jumped up again.
"Aa! Sensei! You said most people? And how do you know what element you can use?" The man with black hair sat back and pulled the boy closer.
"Some people have kekkai genkai. Those people are sometimes born with two affinities...Let's use some examples. Pick a Kage village." The boy pondered for a second and said,
"Mmm....Konohagakure? They dont have much information on that city in our books at academy..." The man thought for a few seconds and then said,
"There is a shinobi in Konoha... His name is Yamato...well, that's his codename. The files I read didn't say his real name. He has a kekkai genkai that lets him use earth and water. He can combine them together to make plants. The same as our Zetsu, well, before he bacame a missing nin, and joined Akatsuki." The boy nodded and smiled.
"As for how to find out your element? Erm, here. I probably shouldn't do this, as your genin teacher usually would after you graduate, but oh well, no harm in it." Ruffling into his pockets on his vest, the man pulled out a few peices of paper.
"You can mold chakra, right? You should have started that in school by now." The boy nodded and said,
"Of course I can! I'm 2 years ahead of the other people my age." The teacher smiled and ruffled the boy's white hair again. Holding the paper out, it suddenly crumbled and floated away on the wind. The boy watched in fascination. The man handed him a paper, and the boy held it out in front of him.
"Ok, you dont have to channel much, just a bit. Go ahead now, try it!" The boy grinned widely and shut his eyes. Channeling chakra to his fingers, he felt it leak into the paper. Opening his eyes, he looked at his teacher quizzically.
"Sensei?" The black haired man shook his head and took the paper. He looked at it, and it crumbled away. Brushing the dust off of his hand, he handed the boy another paper.
"Channel more." The boy nodded and channeled even more chakra. Almost enough to pull off a bunshin no jutsu, but the paper remained intact. The boy sat down and said,
"What's wrong with me?" The teacher shook his head and said,
"Here, let's go to Tsuki-hime. She is better at this stuff than I am." The boy nodded and took his teacher's hand.
Squeezing his fist, the Leader of Manjuushage felt angered. That was the day that he discovered his kekkai genkai, and the day that difficulties began for his road to becoming a shinobi. After asking the jounin who ran the academy, he had found out from his sick mother that his father had a kekkai genkai.
"Oka-san...you should be resting..." The boy said to a rather plain woman with long and bedraggled black hair. Bags under her eyes showed the long illness she was suffering from. The woman smiled at the boy, but when she made eye contact with him, she turned her head.
"My son... I suppose I can tell you. I'm not long for this world anyway." The boy remained silent. His mother was the most important person in the world to him, and to hear her talk like this...
"Your Otou-san...He looked exactly like you. White hair, red eyes...but you have my nose." She smiled slightly and the boy smiled as well.
"He had a kekkai genkai of an odd sorts. He said that it was dominent in the male side of the family. But nevermind that...your limit, it causes the user to not be born with an affinity. I heard you talking with your teacher the other day about this... I was not a shinobi, but I married one. I know my stuff." The boy leaned in closer to his mother, half supporting her.
"Oka-san..." The woman rested her hand on her son's mop of white hair and said,
"They might have more information in the library...if not, then maybe when you are older, you can go to a place with a greater library. Maybe, Konoha, or Iwa...." The boy felt his mother started to drop, and he quickly caught her. Moving her to her bed, he sighed as we watched her sleeping figure. He turned to leave when he heard a whisper.
"Ginkaimu...that's the name of it...he told me once..." The boy turned towards his mother, but she was already sleeping.
"Silver nothing? What a weird name..."
"Weird indeed." the leader spoke out loud. He had never been able to have more than average efficiancy with any elemental chakra. He had found most of his information out in the library in Iwa, like his late mother had suggested. The library in Kusa was pitiful.
After a few years of research, he found that because he had no affinity to any element, he was suceptable to foreign elemental chakra. It was sometimes a curse, and sometimes a blessing. Smiling, the leader turned his head towards the room he was paceing infront of when he heard another peircing scream.
His smile grew wider when he heard something he had yearned to hear for the better part of a year.
Pushing the door open, he was assaulted with the smell of blood. Piles and piles of sheets were covered in blood, and the leader almost gagged at the sight. The two midwives that he had hired from his information lines looked at him and shook their heads.
"Sir...Rikuri-sama...I'm afraid she won't make it long. It was along and difficult birth." The leader looked at the Iwa nukenin he had picked up well over a year ago. Her eyes were half open, and her hair plastered to her face. She wore a small smile, but her gaze was focused on the small bundle in her arms. The leader walked over to her and bent down to look at the infant's face.
Rikuri stroked his face, her hand shaking.
"Byakko...I want him named Byakko...as payment for my services to you...Leader-sama." The leader glanced at Rikuri before taking a closer look at the babe.
"Boy or girl?" One of the midwives bowed and said,
"Congratulations, you have a son." The leader nodded and turned back to the boy. The top of his head was covered in a fine silver mist, and when the infant had started to gurgle he caught a glimpse of his eyes. His crimson eyes. The leader smiled again. The boy had his kekkai genkai.
"The wetnurse had better be here soon. I need him cleaned and prepared by tonight." Turning to leave, he heard a groan. Looking back, Rikuri, still holding the infant in her arm, had raised a shaky hand to him.
"...Sir, what about Rikuri-sama?" The leader glanced at Rikuri one more time before turning.
"She had born me a healthy and perfect boy. You say she is dying? Make it painless." With that the leader of Manjuushage left the room, his son, and his dying partner.
End Chapter 35