Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Shinigami no Naruto: Power of the Soul ❯ Loss of a Loved One ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter Thirteen: Loss of a Loved One

The Shinobi Employment Office was a nondescript building, three stories tall, whitewashed facade, red tile roof, a leaf emblem emblazoned large over the door and on the door, the only indicators of what the building housed. Gai entered the building into a very large lobby. It was about fifty paces square, with an even dozen attendants seated behind a desk that spanned the entire back wall. The open area was filled with cheap plastic chairs, maybe a third filled with people filling out packets.

Gai approached one of the clerks and handed over his ninja identification. The man barely looked up to accept the documents as he held them under a blue light. Apparently whatever he saw passed muster because he handed them back and pointed to a door set into the left wall by the desk marked "Authorized Personnel Only."

Gai silently nodded to the clerk and passed through the door. The room beyond was far smaller, maybe twenty paces by twenty. Again, there was a desk with several clerks behind it. Again, he handed his papers to the clerk who checked them and handed them back.

“Jounin Maito Gai reporting for mission 0156982.” One of the clerks began shuffling through a stack of papers before handing one to Gai.

“Your client is in room 35.” He pointed to another door. Gai nodded and went through it.

The man in the hospital-like room could have been cut from a mold. He was of medium height, average black eyes, nondescript brown hair cut in an average fashion. Overall, he was some one you saw and forgot immediately. "Hello," Gai said calmly. "My name is Maito Gai and I will be leading the team that will be guarding your caravan to Grass Country.”

The merchant stood up and looked at the much taller shinobi in the eye. "Muramasa Shinji. A pleasure to meet you," he said warmly. "I am glad to see you are a little early. I have had some experience with less punctual members of your village before."

“Well, that is unfortunate, but we are here now.” Gai paused a moment before continuing. "These are my teammates," he said, introducing the other seven ninja.

“Three Hyuuga!” Shinji exclaimed. "How lucky. Although you don't seem to possess the Byakugan."

“That's because I'm Hyuuga by marriage.” Naruto sighed.

“Really? You love must be strong to marry at such a young age.”

“Something like that,” he muttered, not at all willing to straighten the man out, and go into the detailed explanation that it would require.

“Alright then,” Shinji said, clearly not understanding and disconcerted by the serious air that had fallen over the group. "Well, if you are ready shall we meet up with the others?"

Gai nodded and gestured for the merchant to exit the room. Shinji and the ninjas exited the building, leading the shinobi to the edge of town. There they found the ten covered wagons lined up, ready to depart, a few of the other prominent merchants among the caravan standing in a group, presumably to greet them.

“Maito-san, allow me to introduce the other leaders of the caravan. This is my wife Muramasa Izumi, Akahoshi Shimon, Hayase Hibari, and Iashi Hisame,” gesturing to a pretty, middle-aged woman, and elderly man with no hair, a black-haired, black-skinned thirty-something woman, and a young man, probably no more than twenty-five. Each person bowed slightly to the assembled shinobi when they were named. "If there is nothing you need, we would like to get going."

“Of course Muramasa-san. We are ready to depart now.” Shinji nodded and climbed into the driver's seat of the first wagon. Gai turned to the others.

“Ino-chan, Tenten-chan, you are our long-range support. I want you on top of the wagons, a third of the way from the front and the back. Neji-kun, Hinata-chan, I want one of you at the head and tail of the caravan. Anko-san, stay in close to the wagons. Naruto-kun, could you please make enough shadow clones to create a ring of outriders five hundred yards out. Lee and I will run a roving patrol.” Everyone nodded at their assignments. "Set your radios to channel four. Command is seven." Again, everyone nodded and split up to get to their posts. Most of the merchants looked surprised when Naruto exploded into smoke, to reveal several hundred copies. Five minutes later, they were underway.

OoOoO

The first night that the caravan broke for the night, Anko pulled three scrolls from her trench coat. Naruto's grin could have split his head in half. "You guys know what these are. First one by the time we get to our destination. Second one a week after that. Now get to it." She tossed one scroll at each genin and walked back to camp. A few seconds later, the most disturbing grin that Tenten and Hinata had ever seen spread across Naruto's face. A pair of seconds after that, he started giggling insanely.

Tenten tugged the scroll from Naruto's grip to see what technique Naruto had given her son. Her face drained of blood as she passed the scroll to Hinata, who gulped and whispered those fateful words. "Great Shadow Clone Explosion."

OoOoO

Anko was by the fire, chatting amicably with Gai when she was blown from her feet as Naruto fly-tackled her. When Naruto let her up, she rubbed her bruised ribs, smiling ruefully. "You like your new technique?"

“Oh God yes!” Naruto exclaimed. Anko tilted her head. Maybe giving Naruto a technique that turned him into a suicide bomber was not such a great idea in hindsight. The first time Naruto made a suicide clone, everyone froze, the merchants going for cover, the shinobi whipping out weapons. Gai and Lee had a good laugh, Neji, Ino glared daggers at him, Anko, Tenten, and Hinata just sighed.

Naruto's second technique was Water Release: Geyser Shot. It was a water attack that let the user spew forth a torrent of water. Tenten got an earth attack called Earth Release: Earth Serpent and a wind attack called Wind Release: Windstream. Earth Serpent was pretty self-explanatory, creating a giant snake made of dirt to control. Windstream created a high-density flow of air that could be shot from the mouth, or with enough skill, shot from a hand. What differentiated it from the Pressure Bullet was that the Pressure Bullet compacted the air into a single mass, whereas the Windstream Technique was a continuous flow. In other words, the first was spat, and the second was blown.

Hinata received Lightning Release: Thunder Strike and Fire Release: Inferno. Thunder Strike caused a bolt of lightning to strike her target out of a clear sky. Inferno gave her the ability to breathe fire, like a dragon.

When Tenten asked why Anko had given them one attack from a secondary element, Anko went into lecture mode. "Eventually, you are going to encounter a foe that utilizes the element that you are weak against. Having at least one attack strong against your weak element will negate this weakness to a certain degree. I am not going to have you die on me the first time you run up against a lightning user, Tenten, just because you don't have anything that will beat his attacks."

Almost all of the jutsus that Anko had given her students were either A- or B-ranked skills, but after months of constantly working to increase their control and chakra reserves, Tenten and Hinata had mid-chunin level chakra control and reserves, much higher than any of their classmates. As far as Anko was concerned, she had not given them anything that they could not handle.

OoOoO

After dinner was made and consumed, Naruto walked into the forest, gesturing for Tenten to follow. He stopped at the nearby stream and made a clone. It ran off into the foliage and there was a brief and furious battle a few seconds later, Anko's voice heard shouting at the clone. Naruto smirked when his clone was dispelled and Anko had been run off. Naruto turned to Tenten, sobering up.

“Tenten-chan, we need to talk.” Tenten sighed and sat down on a nearby log. Naruto sat down next to her and held her hands in his.

“I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I've just had a lot on my mind lately.”

“About what we talked about last night?”

“About that and other things.”

“Anything you would care to share?” Tenten looked at Naruto. He was so close to her; warm hands cupping hers, face completely open, urging her to share her burden with him. She could smell him, a combination of clean sweat, machine oil used to maintain their equipment, and a faint animal scent. She removed her hands from his and wrapped him on a hug, resting her head on his chest under his arms. Naruto in turn wrapped his arms around her, wrapping her in a comforting cocoon. He said nothing, sure that she would speak in her own time.

“My parents have forbidden me from seeing you outside team meetings.”

Flashback no Jutsu

Tenten had just entered the house after being interrogated by Hiashi with Naruto and Hinata. Both her parents were sitting in the family room, hands on knees, faces carefully schooled to impassivity. Tenten stopped in the doorway before sitting down in the couch across from them.

“Tenten-chan, we need to talk about your relationship with your teammate.”

“You mean you want to lecture me on how I should stop seeing Naruto-kun.”

Both of her parents winced slightly at the acid in her voice. "Tenten-chan, you must understand he is married now. It is most improper for you two to continue to maintain a romantic relationship," Chichi said.

“The boy's father-in-law could make life very difficult for you.”

“No,” Tenten said flatly, crossing her arms under her breasts.

Chichi placed a hand on Kouseki's forearm and he sat back, letting her take over. "Tenten-chan, please, be reasonable. Naruto-san is not a safe individual to be around in any case."

“You are referring to the Kyuubi sealed in him.”

Both her parents froze. "Who told you that?" Chichi asked carefully.

“Naruto-kun told me. He told me during the mission to Water and Wave Countries, after he used it's chakra to save our team. He was terrified that we would reject him like the majority of the village had.”

“Then you understand how dangerous he is.” Chichi said, no small measure of relief in her voice.

“I do,” Tenten said, and her parents visibly relaxed. "He is no more dangerous than any other active duty genin in the village."

“Tenten-chan-”

“He has never hurt or killed a single person in this village, civilian or shinobi. In fact, he has hurt quite a few less than most, because he was never allowed to participate in taijutsu or ninjutsu practice in the Academy. The first time Hinata-chan and I sparred with him while he was using his family taijutsu, he couldn't stop apologizing for beating the both of us so badly. He is one of the kindest and gentlest people I know.”

“He is dangerously disloyal to the village,” her mother tried again.

“No more than anyone else who was told that their personal techniques would be taught to everyone and become general knowledge. I don't know what you have heard, but I was at the Council meeting you are referring to, and can assure you, he is no traitor.”

“Tenten-chan, we are your parents We know what is best for you, even if you don't believe it, and will stop seeing this boy socially.”

“NO I will NOT, Father. I love Naruto-kun, and refuse to give up on him just because of a bunch of power-hungry geezers are paranoid. Naruto-kun is one of the kindest, gentlest, strongest men I know. He has been abused and ignored by all but a very select handful of people, and I REFUSE to abandon him when he needs me most. I find his loyalty to this village amazing, given how he has been treated. When we were sent to Wave, he took a sword through the chest to kill a man that was going to kill his mother. Then, when he was left at the house we were based in, left and rallied the villagers of the town, killing another mercenary and sending the rest fleeing, before collapsing from his wound. If he had not showed up then, I and my team might have died. Moreover, what thanks does he get? NONE! So, TELL me, DOES that SOUND like a demon? He nearly DIED TWICE saving me and my team. Those scars he has on his arms and head, do you know how he got them? He was put into a coma after being nearly beaten to death on his tenth birthday, and he got half a dozen visitors the entire time. The Hokage had to take over the case against his would-be murderers to make sure they weren't let off with a slap on the wrist. Naruto-kun has suffered so much and there is no way either of you are going to keep me from him.”

Chichi and Kouseki sat there, paralyzed from the ki that their daughter was directing at them. Tenten had risen from the couch at some point and was now staring down at them, anger and contempt in her eyes. It had not struck them until just this moment how much Tenten was an adult. Legally, she had entered her majority when she graduated the Shinobi Academy, but they kept treating her as if she was still the same little girl that liked to play with her dolls. She had been a ninja for over three months, and had been forced to grow up a lot in that time, so much so that Chichi and Kouseki barely recognized her.

Tenten saw the shock and a bit of fear in their eyes and relaxed a bit. The steely look in her eyes faded and she sat back down in the other couch. "Mother, Father, I'm sorry for yelling at you. However, I am a ninja and legally, an adult. I know that I can be killed any time that I leave the village. Therefore, I refuse to not be with him for as long as I can. Sorry if you can't agree with me, but I will not change my mind." Tenten stood up and ascended the stairs, closing the door to her room behind her.

Flashback no Jutsu kai

Naruto was quiet for several minutes after Tenten stopped telling her story. "I'm sorry, Tenten-chan."

That surprised her. She sat up, pulling out of his embrace to look him in the eye. "Why? You did nothing."

“I'm sorry that our relationship made you have a fight with your family.”

“Naruto-kun, there was nothing you could have done to avoid this. It was just something that my parents needed to hear. I will not stop seeing you because someone tell me to, be they my parents, Hiashi-bastard or the Hokage himself.” Tenten hugged his chest again. "I love you Naruto-kun, and I will keep loving you, not matter what anyone says."

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to say to that. "Thank you Tenten-chan, for fighting for us." Naruto stroked her back with one arm as the other pulled her head up to kiss her. They stayed on that log by the stream for a while, where it was just the two of them and they could love each other without anyone else.

OoOoO

The next night, Anko took Naruto aside after dinner. "What's up Mom?"

“I am going to start teaching you a technique that I don't want the others to see.”

“Why not? And why only to me? Why not just give me a scroll like usual?”

“Well, one, this is one of my personal jutsu that I am passing to you as my son, not my student. Two, there is no way that I would trust this knowledge to any scroll. Now, watch closely as I do it.” Naruto carefully memorized the three seals for the Hidden Shadow Snake Hands. Naruto made the seals a dozen times before actually trying it out for real. He was disappointed when he could only get one large garden snake out or each sleeve instead of the poisonous vipers that Anko made.

Anko patted him on the head in a consolatory manner. "Ah, don't worry about it brat. Nobody gets a technique right the first time. Keep practicing. I'll come get you for dinner."

OoOoO

The trip to Grass took eight days. Things were mostly quiet during that time, with the women of the caravan constantly fawning over Hinata, Tenten, and Ino, offering them large glasses of hot chocolate every so often, offering to let them ride inside the wagons so as to be out of the cold January weather. Even the mild mannered Hinata found herself snapping at the driver of the wagon she was pacing after the fifth time he offered to let her ride up with him so she didn't "needlessly exhaust her pretty little self." Anko found this incredibly amusing, having an outside view on the situation, as none of the merchants had enough nerve to approach her unless absolutely necessary.

The first major altercation occurred five days out from Otafuku Gai. The caravan had stopped for the evening. The women of the caravan had found out that Naruto and Hinata were married almost immediately. Naruto and Tenten were being discreet as everyone knew that the merchants would cause a fuss. Dinner had been served and consumed and most of the merchants had either already turned in for the night or were gathered around the campfire. Hinata was staring into the campfire, idly listening to some of the stories that were being told. Every few minutes she would briefly activate her Byakugan to check on the other members of the team. Naruto and Tenten were out of her range, presumably to spend some time together in privacy. Hinata was about to return to normal vision when she frowned Quickly she ran a head count on the merchants and family present. She only counted nine heads, four short of what it should be. Quickly she noted who was missing and sighed. It was Muramasa Izumi and her three cohorts. By and large, the combined Team Gai had gotten on well enough with the merchants, but Izumi seemed to be one of those nosy busybodies that were constantly seeking the juiciest gossip and prying into everyone else's business.

Politely excusing herself from the fire she brushed her pants off and went in search of Naruto and Tenten. They came in range of her Byakugan soon after. She sighed again as she saw that the four women were harassing her teammates. Speeding up she landed next to Izumi a minute later.

“What is going on here Muramasa-san?” She asked in a mild tone, as if she didn't know exactly what was going on.

“Hyuuga-san!” Izumi exclaimed in surprise. "How fortunate you showed up just now. I believe you will want to hear what your husband and his girlfriend were doing just now.” The older woman put heavy emphasis on the word "girlfriend." She frowned slightly when she did not get the reaction she was hoping for.

"Maybe you will believe us now when Hinata-chan tells you the same thing that we told you." Izumi's eyes narrowed in what she thought was a menacing manner.

"You were caught cheating on your poor wife with one of your teammates and you have the nerve to call her Hinata-chan?"

"Muramasa-san, I would ask you to be silent." Hinata waited a moment until she was sure that Izumi wouldn't butt in. Slowly she met the eyes of every woman there. "I would request you not involve yourselves in affairs that are not your concern."

Izumi turned to face Hinata completely. "You poor dear. Why don't you come back with us and have a nice cup of hot chocolate. You can leave your husband to us. I promise you, he will come crawling back to you, begging for forgiveness." This was delivered as Izumi put a maternal arm around Hinata's shoulders, shooting Naruto and Tenten venomous glances where appropriate. Hinata smoothly ducked out from underneath Izumi's arm and turned to face her, back to Naruto and Tenten.

"You will do no such thing. I can handle my husband and his roving eye well enough alone." Izumi shot a triumphant smirk to Naruto and Tenten.

"Well then, if you are sure, I leave them to you. Remember, if you need any help, my door is always open." Smirking, she gestured to her cronies and departed.

"So you can 'handle me and my roving eye,' can you?"

"Oh be quiet Naruto-kun. It was obvious that she wasn't going to leave until she was satisfied that I had the situation in hand." She felt her cheeks warm slightly despite her words. "The nosy bitch."

OoOoO

After the incident in the woods Izumi and company left Naruto, Hinata and Tenten alone. Eight days after departing Otafuku Gai the caravan arrived in the trade town of Grass City in the early evening. Grass City was a middling town with a population of about thirty thousand. Grass was a central nation, bordered by four countries, two of them counted among the Great Elementals. Grass City took full advantage of this. It was situated on no less than six major trade routes, and as a result became one of the most important trade hubs in the known world.

Shinji led the merchants and their guard to an inn near the center of town named the Wildfire Inn. It was a sprawling three-story building with a vibrantly red tiled roof. The first floor was constructed of river rock, with the overhanging second and third stories whitewashed thatch. There were several dozen chimneys' sticking up from various points of the building. The wagons were circled in the large yard as Shinji, Anko and Naruto entered the building. The room they entered was large about fifty paces long and twenty wide, about forty trestle tables and benches occupying the greatest portion of the space. There were three large fireplaces, one on each outside wall, constructed of the same river stones that the walls were made of. To the right of the door was a staircase and another door. On the opposite wall that the exterior door was on, roughly in the center, was a small dais, probably for performers.

There were about ten or fifteen men and women scattered around the room eating. A short, fat, balding, greying man approached the trio as soon as they entered the building. "Shinji-san! What a pleasure to see you again! It has been a long six months my friend."

"Indeed it has Yakumo-san," Shinji replied, shaking the fat man's had and smiling warmly. "You seem to be doing well as ever," he continued, gesturing to the other man's girth.

"Business has been good," Yakumo replied. But before he had a chance to say anything further, he was interrupted by a woman that passed through other door that if Naruto's nose smelled correctly was the kitchen. She advanced on the two men, wiping her hands on her white apron. She was slender and taller than Yakumo, maybe a couple inches taller than Anko. She had a matronly face, smile lines at the corners of her eyes and mouth combined with her wrist thick braid of greying hair that extended to her waist giving her a kindly appearance.

"Shinji-san, aren't you going to introduce your companions?"

"Oh, please forgive me Tamaki-chan. These are three ninja from a company that I hired to escort the caravan. This is Mitarashi Anko and her son Hyuuga Naruto."

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Samsara Tamaki and this is my husband, Yakumo. My husband and I are the owners of the Wildfire Inn. We are honored to accommodate such esteemed guests in our inn." Anko just nodded calmly, accepting the accolades without protest. Just then the rest of the caravan entered the large common rooms, most carrying some kind of luggage on them. Marin turned and addressed someone in the kitchen. A moment later five girls emerged, all wiping floury hands on white aprons. The group was split up, each of the five girls and Tamaki guiding the merchants to their rooms.

"Hello Shinobi-sama," one of the girls addressed Naruto and Hinata. "My name is Aoi. If you will be so kind as to follow me, I will show you to your rooms.”

The pair did so, and were back down in the common room five minutes later after inspecting their rooms. Most of the merchants were already back also and seated, either ordering dinner or awaiting their food. Naruto and Hinata saw that Anko and Gai had already arrived and moved to join them at their table. The pair had barely sat down before they were joined by the rest of the ninja. Aoi advanced on the seated ninja, pen and pad in hand to take their orders for dinner. Naruto recognized very little of the menu that she recited.

“What would you recommend Aoi-chan?”

“My mother is famous for her spice soup and gilded fish.”

“Hm... Why don't you get me half a dozen servings of each then?”

“Er... Are you sure that you can eat that much?”

“Trust me, I know what I'm doing.”

“Okay then.” Most of the kitchen staff and other patrons of the inn watched in amazement as Naruto proceeded to devour everything that was set in front of him. Shinji stared on in horror as he could see his bill accumulate with each successive serving Naruto consumed. Eventually Anko took mercy on the man's wallet and tapped Naruto on the shoulder.

“Naruto, why don't you stop eating now. The client is paying for everything that we eat here, and it would not be nice if he had to spend all the money that he made here on your eating.”

Naruto nodded and politely turned down the next dish of the soup that Aoi brought out, saying that he was full.

OoOoO

Hinata was currently hopping from roof to roof, moving aimlessly, changing direction when the buildings started to get spaced farther apart on her second day a week after arriving in Grass City. It was only a little after seven, yet the sun was almost completely set, the nearly full moon establishing its dominance in the sky. The streets were fairly empty, most people still eating dinner, so even though she didn't have her Byakugan activated, she immediately noticed the young girl racing down the street, maybe ten or so, flitting from moon shadow to moon shadow, as if she were trying to avoid the attention of someone. Curiosity piqued, Hinata concentrated, trying to spot the young girl that had caught her attention as she had lost her in the shadows. She found her several streets away, staggering away, panting heavily. Descending from the roofs, she landed in front of the girl, blocking her escape. "Excuse me, little girl, but are you in trouble?"

Hinata revised her opinion of the girl now that she got a good look at her. Her original estimate of her age seemed about right. The girl was wearing a pair of green corduroy overalls, a thin floral print cotton shirt under the overalls. The girl had dark red hair done in stiff pigtails and hazel eyes. Two things was struck Hinata most significantly, one that there was a hexagonal steel plate with a chain-link chain hanging from it and the heart-stopping terror that contorted her face, not horror movie-fear that is felt when one knows that one is still safe, but true and unadulterated terror, the kind of fear that most people would never experience if they lived to be one hundred. The girl's breathless cry of "help me!" was completely unnecessary.

Hinata's feet slid apart as she shifted into fighting mode, feet spread apart, Minazuki in its rapier form flying out of the scabbard with barely a whisper to settle into a high guard. "Who are you fleeing from?" Hinata asked over her shoulder, concentrating at the mouth of alley.

"I don't know," the girl replied, tears in her voice. "Something was chasing me! I don't know why, but I just ran. Can you beat it up?"

"Something? What did it look like?" But the girl was saved from having to answer by the arrival of the something. And 'something' was an oddly appropriate adjective for the thing. It was maybe ten feet tall, vaguely humanoid, as it had two arms, two legs and a head, but that was where the resemblances ended. Its body was a gross parody of the human form, its skin a sickly, mottled grey, joints reversed, possessing at least twice the number of fingers and toes that it should have. There was a large hole in the middle of its chest and a bone-colored mask hid its face. The mask was just as grotesque as the rest of the thing, its nose and ears oversized and misshapen, most closely resembling a young child's attempt at replicating a human face with clay. The teeth of the mask differed in size, and were all crooked, to the point that Hinata wondered that it could even close its mouth.

"Run!" Hinata shouted, lunging forward in an effort to distract the monster from the young child. The creature threw up its right hand to block her attack, getting a deep gash diagonally across its palm. The creature withdrew its wounded hand and let out a deafening roar of pain before going on the offensive. Hinata rapidly retreated out of the alley and into the street where she had originally spied the girl. Twirling to avoid a heavy vertical slap that would have rendered her to paste, her momentum was abruptly halted by the hand that had gripped the back of her jacket. Lifting her up with one arm the monster covered her face with its uninjured left hand. When it removed its hand, the grotesque mask had been replaced by a far more attractive one. The thing had changed its mask to look exactly like her face. Hinata was not given much of a chance to digest that as blood started flowing from her right palm.

Slashing at the already wounded right arm that was holding her up in an awkward upward cut, she severed the tendons in the wrist, forcing the monster to drop her. But her small victory was short lived as her sword dropped from her senseless right hand. Rolling to recover her weapon, she quickly pressed her left hand to her slashed right wrist. Taking a calculated risk, she glanced down to her palm to examine the damage. The cut was deep, nicking bone, exactly like the wound she had inflicted on the monster. Somehow, by changing its mask, it was able to make her take any wound it suffered too. Murmuring the command phrase, her sword shifted into the skintight black gauntlet that was her shikai. Minazuki was able to staunch the blood flow so that she was not in any immediate danger of bleeding out, but the use of her weapon was severely limited. Falling back on her family's techniques, she set herself into the most advanced Jyuuken stance she knew, which was admittedly not terribly advanced.

Ducking and dodging for all she was worth, she quickly discovered that the creature seemed to lack both chakra and internal organs, as none of her one handed Jyuuken strikes were doing anything to hamper the creature's assault. Ducking and twirling around a knife hand thrust, Hinata lashed out with an instinctive side kick that forced the creature's knee to bend perpendicular to the direction it was made to move. Both combatants dropped to their knees as the monster's weird power damaged her knee also. The unexpected pain stunned her long enough to let the creature fling its right arm out and catch Hinata in a back handed slap. She was further stunned when she landed a good twenty feet away, the breath having been ripped from her lungs by the force of the blow. She rolled another ten feet or so, before she was able to gain enough control of her limbs to arrest her roll. She struggled to her feet as the monster slowly limped its way over to her. Judging from how badly it hurt to breathe, she thought she had broken her collarbone and at least one or two ribs, with a couple more probably fractured.

Setting herself as well as she could, Hinata took a calculated risk and resealed Minazuki into its sword form. Fortunately, the blood had coagulated enough that the twin wounds on her right hand were no longer bleeding at a life-threatening rate. Taking her sword in an awkward left-handed grip, she waited for the monster to attack. Using its superior reach, the creature grabbed Hinata about the neck despite her desperate lunge to avoid it. Drawing its arm back, she took her second flight of the night.

OoOoO

Naruto was sitting in the front row of tables arranged before the dais that the performers were situated on when all hell broke loose. One of the windows on the front wall, opposite the dais exploded and something vaguely human-sized came hurtling through the air to crash down on one of the tables. A moment later, a demonic roar sounded from outside the inn, presumably whatever had thrown the thing inside.

Naruto was on his feet immediately, as were the other six ninja, scrambling over panicking patrons to get to whatever had flown through the window. Naruto froze when he stood over the face-down body, unable to believe what he was seeing. Slowly, with incredible care, he rolled her over to look at Hinata's face. She was not looking good, with a long gash over her left eye, sheeting that entire side in blood. No, no, this could not be happening! Not to one of his loved ones, not before she knew that he loved her. This was not fair. This was not right.

“Hinata-chan, you okay?” He snaked his arms under her body, one under her shoulders and the other over her stomach.

“It is a monster, Naruto-kun. Don't hurt it,” she gasped, face contorted in pain. Naruto scrunched his face up in confusion at the apparent effort it took her to speak. Sending his gaze downwards, his breath caught in his throat. There were two pieces of wood, maybe as thick as his thumb, sticking out of her chest and collarbone. Whatever she said next he did not hear as a loud rushing noise filled his ears, vision filming over red. Distantly he knew of the changes that were overtaking his body, but the mind numbing rage that had overcome him the last time he had drawn on the Kyuubi's power was not there, a pale imitation was all that remained.

Setting Hinata dawn again gently, he looked out the window as he heard another roar sound outside. Not hesitating, he crouched down and rocketed out of the inn through the window that Hinata had come in, ignoring Anko's command to stay where he was. He took in the thing's appearance in a single sweep of his gaze, barely reacting. Clenching his empty hands, he growled when he saw that the thing wore Hinata's face. Inhaling deeply, he put his hands together, the seals and exhaled quickly. “Wind Release: Pressure Bullet,” he muttered as the compact globe of air exploded the thing's head. The headless body toppled forward, crashing to the ground, already starting to dissolve.

Turning to reenter the inn, he barely noticed the shards of glass cutting into his hands as he vaulted back inside through the broken window. He floated over to where Hinata lay in the broken remains of the table she had landed on. Ino, Tenten and Anko were all kneeling over Hinata, quickly working to repair what damage she had suffered. Her jacket lay to one side, showing the tight black sports bra she wore under her ninja mesh. He blanched, seeing the two holes in her chest and the dent in her side from some obviously broken ribs.

Ino was kneeling over Hinata applying first aid. Two thick gauze pads were put on the two puncture wounds after being cleaned, followed by a roll of bandaged being wound around her torso. Ino followed Neji and Lee as they carried the unconscious woman up to her room to rest. Naruto started after them, but Gai's hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing so.

“Hold on Naruto-kun, I have a few questions for you before you can see your teammate.” Naruto glared at the abnormally serious man, but dropped it after a few seconds, turning to face him. “First of all, are you okay Naruto-kun?”

“Yeah, I was able to off the thing pretty quickly. It didn't even touch me.”

“That is good. You said `thing,' can you clarify what you mean by that?”

“Just go look at the body.” Nodding, Gai led the group outside to where the creature had fallen. But the headless corpse that Naruto created was no longer there, no sign that it ever was.

“I don't see the body. Are you sure you killed it?”

“I blew up its head, so yeah. I am sure.”

“What did the thing look like?”

“It would be impossible to miss. It was about ten or twelve feet tall, with reversed joints and a mask that looked like Hinata over its face.”

Alright, we have to find this thing now, before it hurts anyone else. If it could wound Hinata-chan so badly, it will make mincemeat of a civilian. Anko-san, Tenten-chan, take the east and north parts of the town. Naruto and I will cover the south and east. If you find the thing, do not engage. Radio in and track it until we get there.”

Anko and Tenten nodded, but Naruto clenched his fists and got a muley look on his face. “Naruto-kun, I understand your worry about your teammate, but she is safe for the moment and in good hands. Meanwhile, there are civilians out there completely unaware of the threat. If this thing is as strong as we might think, the best way to keep Hinata-chan safe is to eliminate the threat now.”

“I know, but she is my wife. I am supposed to protect her. I don't like seeing her in pain.”

“Well, let us hunt down this creature and kill it, so we know that the thing cannot harm anyone else.” Grudgingly, Naruto acquiesced, and the two groups split up. But despite spending several hours combing the town, neither pair caught hide or hair of the beast. The moon had risen and was well on its way to the zenith of its nightly passage before Gai called off the search.

Naruto was up the stairs and in Hinata's room while Gai spoke to the innkeeper. Neji and Lee were not present, but Ino had pulled up a chair and was keeping watch over the sleeping Hinata.

“Hello Ino-san. How is she?”

“Eh, I am not too sure. I am no medic-nin, so she will need to see a healer as soon as possible though. I applied basic first aid, bandaging the two puncture wounds in her chest and wrapping her ribs, but it is not a sure fix. I gave her some painkillers, but those will not last long. She will be somewhat mobile, but nowhere near fighting condition when she wakes.”

“I see. Could I have some time alone with her?”

“Sure, but try not to wake her. She need as much rest as she can manage.”

Hinata heard Ino get up from her seat and exit the room, Naruto occupying the chair and dragging it to her bedside. She remained motionless, feigning sleep. The painkillers Ino had given her were doing their thing, and Hinata barely reacted when she felt Naruto's breath on her face.

“I know you can't hear me, but I need to you to know something. She was caught totally unaware when Naruto leaned over her, stabilizing himself by placing his hands on the edge of the bed. Her thought processes were completely halted as Naruto's face neared her. When his lips contacted hers, it was as if she was stuck by a bolt of lightning. 'HE'S KISSING ME! Naruto-kun is KISSING ME!' His lips were so soft, tongue as incredibly pebbly as it brushed across her lips. Her hands rose to his shoulders of their own accord, squeezing them, before shoving him away back into his chair. W-what was t-that?" Hinata's eyes were bugging out, breaths coming in ragged gasps, from the pain in her chest or the burning of her lips she was not sure.

"I was kissing you, Hinata-chan."

"I k-know that! W-why were you k-k-kissing me? I thought you l-loved Tenten?"

"I do love her, Hinata-chan." He slowly leaned forward, closing the distance between them that little bit. "But over the last couple of months, I have come to realize that I love you too."

"What?" she croaked.

"I love you Hinata-chan, and I love Tenten-chan." He leaned forward a bit more.

"Y-y-you l-love b-both of u-us?" she stuttered as he leaned lower yet again.

"Yes. You are one of the most beautiful, strongest, kindest, gentlest people I know. I would have to be a fool not to love you Hinata-chan." With that, he took one final bow and she was inside his arms again. This time it was all she could do to remain conscious as she almost literally melted in his arms. He pulled her close with an arm around her waist and shoulders and held her close to him.

Hinata could feel a rapid thumping against, but she could not tell whether it was her heart or his. Her body molded to his in the perfect fashion, as if they were two halves of the same being, and was only now complete. Random thoughts sparked in her mind and her eyes fluttered so close to his. Her muscles were replaced with jelly and twitched randomly as Naruto kissed her within an inch of her life.

The sun rose and fell, mountains rose and were worn away, oceans surged and retreated. An eon later, Naruto released her, and she collapsed back into the bed that she had been placed in in a previous lifetime. "That-that-that-that..."

"That was a kiss."

"You kissed me..." she repeated yet agaain.

"Yes I did." He leaned in and gave her a peck on the lips. "And I just did it again." he repeated the motion again. "And again, and again," he repeated as he showered her with pecks. "Better get used to it, because I will be doing it a lot more often. By this time, Hinata was blushing full steam, as she used to before being assigned to Team Nine. At the thought of kissing Naruto every day, her brain went into critical meltdown and that was all she knew. Naruto caught her, and gave her one last peck on the lips. "Maybe I overdid it," he muttered as he released his blacked out bride into the warm embrace of her bed.

OoOoO

It took Hinata a moment to recognize where she was. Naruto's admission and his kisses all came flooding back. Instantly her cheeks flamed scarlet. "Yeah, I used to do that too." Hinata "eep"ed and sat up quickly before flopping back as her wounds lit up in pain. Tenten was sitting on the chair that Ino and Naruto had previously occupied backwards, facing Hinata.

"He didn't use to be, but Naruto-kun is a great kisser." At Hinata's panicked expression she continued. "Don't worry. Naruto-kun told me everything."

"Everything?"

"Yeah. He told me that he had fallen in love with you also. It took me a while but I realized that I want Naruto-kun to be happy. And he would never be truly content without being able to have you."

"And what about you?"

"He still loves be, it is just that I am no the only woman he loves."

"And what about us?"

Tenten sighed. I do not see why we still can't be friends. At least I hope we can. It is just our bad luck that we both fell in love with the same man."

Both girls were silent for a few long minutes. "About the rules that I gave you when you first married Naruto-kun, forget them. I was distraught and overly emotional at the time and was not thinking that clearly. Truthfully, I had no right to impose any rules on you at all."

"Don't worry," Hinata muttered. "It's okay."

Tenten shook her head. "No it wasn't. I was being a bitch to you when you did nothing to deserve it."

"Well, then, I forgive you if you are that adamant that you were in the wrong."

"Thank you." Tenten and Hinata were silent, neither really knowing what to say.

"So how long was I out?" Hinata asked eventually.

"Only a day. Anko talked to the inkeeper and he said he knew of an herb woman who could help you. The lady made some poultices and stuff to help you heal faster. She said that she was no substitue for a real doctor or medic-nin, but she prevented your wounds from becoming infected and supperating."

"I see," Hinata groaned, slowly sitting up, back resting against the headboard. "How is everyone else doing?"

Tenten rolled her eyes. Just like Hinata to ask after everyone else almost as soon as she regained consciousness. "Completely unharmed. Naruto-kun said he killed the monster, but we never found any trace of it, dead or alive." Hinata nodded absently to this. As she did, her stomach gurgled loudly. Whatever Hinata was about to say was forgotten ash she turned a respectable shade of crimson. Tenten giggled. "C'mon Hinata-chan. Let us go see if we can't find you some grub." HInata was too embaressed to reply with anything other than a quick nod.

The two women slowly made their way down to the common room, giving Hinata plenty of time to accustomate herself to the stress movement put on her injuries. The two punctures were two glowing embers, and her broken and fractured ribs were tight rubber bands constricting her chest. Fotunately the common room was accupied by less than a dozen patrons, being the middle of the day, so Hinata was able to eat in peace. After she had eaten her fill, she returned to her room. As she was sitting back down on the edge of her bed, something occurred to her, something that she couldn't believe that she had missed, no matter how out of it she was supposed to be.

"Tenten-san, where is Minazuki?" Looking around her small room, she could not see her sword/spirit companion.

"Ah, unfortunately, you must have dropped it at some point during you fight. Everyone looked, but we couldn't find it."

"Wh-what? What do you me-mean?"

"Sorry Hinata-chan, but we had everyone scouring the mearby area, but no one claims to have found Minazuki." Hinata sat back, strangely numb. She, Naruto and Tenten ahd been the first and only people to ever manifest the power that they had displayed, so there was no one she could go to to talk about this. Ever since the mission to Kiri, Minazuki had been a friend and confidante with which she held nothing back from. She had never said anything of the sort to another person, but much of her recent gain in confidence and self-esteem had been because of Minazuki. Closing her eyes, she retreated into her inner world, where the spirit resided. But no matter how loud she shouted, no matter how far she ran, Minazuki never appeared. Reluctantly she reentered the real world, a previously almost unnoticable emptyness opening up. It was like she would turn to speak to a person standing next to her, only to realize there was nobody there. It was an extremely discomfiting feeling, one that ould not be banished, no matter what the others tried. Even Naruto was unable to banish the emptimess, and he tried his damndest to do so.

Hinata gradually acclimated to the emptiness by virtue of continual exposure. Everyone kept looking at her oddly, as if they expected her to break down sobbing any minute. But she didn't, and so the glances askance eventually stopped. So she was glad when the contract ended and everyone returned home to Konoha. Of course, she still got odd looks, mostly from the people who were most closely asscociated with her and her team, as she had never been seen without her rapier once she found it. Still, it wasn't that bad, until her father confronted her about it.

 

Next time on Shifted Reality: An old acquaintance assists an young woman.