Note: Because I had fun writing my last KibaHina story, I wanted to write another one. However, this one might be a multiple-chapter story. I don't know because the idea is still pretty sketchy (I thought of it while I was half asleep/reading 'The Host' and only scribbled a few notes down), but I'll see where it goes. Also, this one will be another love-triangle type story because I just love the situation the three of them are in. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. What a shame :(
Body and Soul
Chapter One: Mission
Smoke.
There was nothing but a thick, gray fog surrounding them for what seemed like miles. Even with her heightened senses and extra powerful eyes, it was hard to tell what this enemy's next move was going to be. She had never encountered anything like him before.
"Hinata!" Her teammate cried from somewhere nearby.
Hinata whirled around, her black hair whipping around her body. She peered through the smog and could barely make out three figures in the distance. Two of the figures were about the same height, both sporting spiked up hair styles. The third figure was much smaller and more slender then the other two. The two similar figures charged at the smaller one, colliding with him at the same time. Their was a huge clap, it reminded Hinata of thunder. Dust was scattered because of the collision making it harder for her to see.
When she didn't hear anything after the dust began to clear, a sinking feeling started to overcome her. Hinata tentatively stepped towards where her friends had stood a moment ago, "Hello...?"
The closer she got, the better she could see. Hinata squinted through the remaining dust and fog . A tiny gasp escaped her pale lips. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears. She could feel her whole body beginning to tremble.
Just a second ago, three figures had been standing in the clearing. Now there was only one.
Hinata awoke to the sound of her alarm clock blaring from beside her bed. Her violet eyes blinked opened. She groaned and leaned over to shut the annoying alarm off. It was 7:00 AM, meaning if she didn't get up now, she would be late.
She tossed the covers off of her body and threw her legs over the side of her bed. Hinata rubbed the last bit of sleep from her eyes before setting her feet and the floor and walking over to her closet. She slid the doors of her walk-in closet open, frowning like she always did when she entered. She hated how her father had felt the need to give her this much space for just clothes. It was too much.
Hinata grabbed the first two things she saw: a lavender colored t-shirt and a pair of navy capri pants. She tugged them on, grabbed her ninja supplies, and headed downstairs. She gulped down her breakfast without even tasting it, said goodbye to her little sister, and was out the door.
She raced through the familiar streets of the leaf village, smiling at any familiar faces she passed along the way. She pumped more chakra into her legs when Tsunade's tower came into view. The glass, double-doors opened the minute she was in inches from them and she darted through. Hinata paused to catch her breath in front of the secretary's desk, smiling weakly. The secretary returned her smile, "Tsunade-same is waiting for you, Hinata-chan."
"T-thank you," She spoke in between breaths.
Once she had caught her breath, Hinata straightened up and proceeded through the double-doors and into Tsunade's office. Tsunade was sitting at her desk, using her two hands to rest her chin on. Two other figures turned around when Hinata entered the room, both of them grinning at her.
Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka both wore identical expressions as she slowly made her way across the room to stand in between the two of them. Akamaru, who was seated on the other side of his master, yipped excitedly. Hinata could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage. I didn't think Naruto-kun would be here...
"Well, now that all of you are here..." Tsunade began and Hinata squeaked out an apology for being late."I want to go over the details of your new assignment."
"Sweet!" Naruto's left hand curled into a fist while Kiba simply smirked.
Tsunade glared at him from under her lashes but continued anyway, "There have been reports of some kind of strange energy coming from right outside the village. Last night Etsuko Cho was reported missing. I don't know if this has any connection to the strange energy, but, just to be on the safe side, I'd like the three of you to check it out."
Kiba groaned at the thought of having to work with Naruto, "Ugh. Why us?"
"Because, you and Hinata can track this... thing and since Shino is away on a mission with Sakura, I figured Naruto should go with you two."
"Great," Kiba muttered sarcastically.
Naruto ignored him, "When do we leave?"
"Right now," Tsunade replied, her full lips curving up into a smile.
"WOO-HOO!" Naruto cheered, racing out the door.
"Hey! Hold on, Naruto!" Kiba growled, following his temporary teammate out the door, Akamaru at his heels.
Hinata quickly bowed and thanked the hokage, before scampering after the two boys. She flew through the doors and caught up with them outside the building. Naruto and Kiba already looked like they were arguing over something.
"You can't just run off like that!" Kiba snarled.
"Jeez. Sorry." Naruto mumbled, folding his arms across his chest.
Hinata grabbed Kiba's sleeve, "It's not a big deal, Kiba-kun. W-we caught up to him didn't we?"
Kiba gawked at her for a moment, his cheeks beginning to match the color of his tattoos, "Y-yeah."
Naruto sighed, "Are we leaving or what?"
"If it'll shut you up," Kiba muttered under his breath.
"You're telling me to shut up?" Naruto muttered back.
Hinata stood in the middle of them, "P-please don't fight. We're supposed to be on the same side..."
"Whatever," The two of them scoffed in unison before beginning to walk towards the village gates.
Hinata followed them quietly, staring at the back of Kiba's head. She focused on the back of her teammates head because she knew if she looked at Naruto, she wouldn't be able to think straight. I don't understand why the two of them can't get along. Maybe because they're personalities are so similar?
Despite the fact that the two of them would probably argue the whole way there, Hinata was still excited. She rarely got to go on missions with Naruto. This gave her another excuse to be around him, even thought she didn't think she could say something to him without turning bright red. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, just to see what he was doing, but quickly looked away so he couldn't catch her staring.
Kiba, on the other hand, was not excited at all about the new addition to their team. He hated it when Tsunade made Naruto go with him and Hinata. Why couldn't she have just let the two of us go? Gah. No. I don't think I could handle that, but still... why the hell did it have to be HIM?
His idea of a good time wasn't exactly watching the girl he'd loved for the past two years fawn over someone else. And if THAT wasn't bad enough, the guy that she was drooling over didn't even notice her. So, he had to watch her be crushed time and time again, which only made him angrier.
The whole thing baffled him. He didn't understand how Naruto could be so oblivious. Hinata was cute and smart. Why wouldn't Naruto want to be with her? How could he not notice the way she smiled at him?
Pff. I wish she'd smile at ME like that. Just the thought of one of her brilliant smiles made him blush.
Hinata and Kiba's thoughts were interrupted when Naruto took off running towards the gates. They both picked up the pace so they could keep up with the energetic blonde. The trio paused at the gates. Now, it was time to put all their emotions aside and get to business.
"Okay, let's talk strategy." Naruto slid his knapsack off his shoulders. He unzipped it and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He unraveled it, revealing a map of the village and the surrounding forest. Tsunade had marked the spot where Etsuko was last seen.
"So... she was last spotted here, right at the edge of the forest." Kiba pointed to the red 'X' on the map.
"What does she look like?" Hinata asked. It would be good to know, in case she spotted the girl with her byakugen.
"Let's seeee..." Naruto pulled out another sheet. This was the missing persons report. "Etsuko Cho: she's 18 years old, brown hair, brown eyes. She was last scene wearing a pink sun dress. There's a picture of her here."
Kiba and Hinata peered over Naruto's shoulder to get a better look. The picture was of a girl, smiling brightly. She looked a bit younger then her 18 years, her brown hair falling past her shoulders and weaving to the middle of her back.
"She's pretty," Hinata murmured quietly.
"I guess," Kiba sniffed, but he could think of someone who he thought was much more beautiful. "But what about this 'strange energy' any ideas as to what it could be?"
"It could be chakra," Hinata suggested, "But maybe it's altered somehow?"
"Or maybe it's a ghost!" Naruto suggested, his blue eyes widened at the idea of fighting a ghost.
"And maybe Akamaru can fly," Kiba sneered. "I guess we'll find out what this thing is when we get out there."
The trio packed up the papers, making one final mental note of what the girl looked like, before heading through the village gates. Before any of them knew it, they were surrounded by trees on all sides. Hinata looked all around her, trying to see if she could feel where this strange energy was coming from.
"Hinata," Naruto spoke, causing her to jump.
"Y-yes?" She replied, teetering back and forth on her heels. Kiba wanted to gag.
"Try using your byakugen. We're getting close to the spot where she disappeared." Naruto instructed, without looking at her.
"O-oh. R-right." She replied, feeling a little foolish for not thinking of the idea herself and for thinking that Naruto was going to say something else. She stopped, closing her eyes a focusing her chakra. She could feel the blood pumping through her veins. Everything around her began to slow down and become more clear. She opened her eyes, and she could see for miles and miles. Every warm-blooded thing that moved glowed an eerie red color. Hinata moved in a slow circle, taking in her new surroundings.
"Anything?" Kiba asked, hovering near her.
Hinata placed both her hands on the sides of her head, trying to focus her energy even harder. She was close to pushing her powers to their limit, when something caught her eye. Far off, there was a human. A girl. Maybe it was the girl they were looking for.
"Over there." She pointed in the direction of the girl.
Without another word, Kiba and Naruto were off, Hinata close behind them. The girl was moving rather slow, so it wouldn't take them long to catch up to her. They were closing in on her when she stopped moving straight and changed course.
"W-wait!" Hinata shouted and the two men in front of her stopped abruptly, causing her to crash in Kiba's back. The dog-ninja quickly turned around and snatched her up, preventing her from falling. He made sure she was steady before he released his hold on her arms, "T-thank you, Kiba-kun."
"S-sure," He scratched the back of his head. "Why'd we stop?"
"Um... the girl changed course." Hinata informed them.
"So?" Naruto asked, his legs itching to run again.
Kiba shook his head, "So she knows we're following her and obviously doesn't want to be caught."
"What the hell?" Naruto muttered.
"Yes... it is strange." Hinata agreed. They were trying to rescue this girl, so why would she run away from them? It didn't make any sense.
"Does any one else feel that strange energy that Tsunade-same was talking about yet?" Kiba asked, trying to relax his body so he could see if he sensed anything.
"Now that you mention it," Naruto said. "I do feel something."
"Me too," Hinata added. "But it doesn't feel like chakra."
"Yeah... it almost feels... evil." Kiba sniffed the air and Hinata shuttered. He was right, whatever it was, it felt wrong. What bothered Hinata more, was that it didn't feel human. Whatever this thing was it certainly wasn't of this world.
"S-should we keep going?" She asked tentatively, glancing at each of her companions.
"Of course," Naruto grinned. "There's three of us and only one of him. We'll be fine."
Without waiting for a reply from Kiba or Hinata, he dashed off in a random direction. Kiba grumbled something incoherent, but took off after him anyway. Hinata shivered one last time, took a deep breath, and followed them.
They whizzed through the trees, eager to get back to finding Etsuko, or whoever it was that was out there. Naruto glanced back at Hinata, "Which way is she going now?"
Hinata activated her byakugen once more, "Um... she's right ahead of us!"
"Excellent!" Naruto beamed. "Etsuko, here we come!"
"I hope that's who it is..." Kiba spoke under his breath.
"She's stopping..." Hinata whispered, once again confused. What on earth is she thinking?
The trio continued forward. They proceeded more cautiously because the closer the got, the bigger the evil feeling became. The mystery girl slowly came into view, and when they could clearly see her, the trio froze.
There was no mistake, this was the missing girl, Etsuko Cho. The face was identical to the picture they were given. She was wearing a pink sun-dress, which was now tattered and torn. Her long, brown hair was matted and dull, a few leaves sticking out of it. But that's not what made them become so paralyzed. Her eyes in the report were a warm, rich brown color. Now, they were blood-red. She stared them down, her unusual colored eyes narrowing.
Hinata tried her best to control her trembling hands, but she wasn't having much luck. "W-what happened to her?"
Kiba didn't answer her, he simply stepped in front of Hinata, trying his best to conceal her. He was certain that the evil energy from before and Etsuko were one in the same, and he would not allow whatever happened to her to happen to Hinata.
Naruto showed no signs of fear. He calmly called out to her, "Etsuko?"
The girl's lips curled into a smirk, "Sorry, but she's not here."
"What the hell are you?" Kiba blurted out, his teeth snapping together. Akamaru whimpered from beside him
"My, my... aren't you a nosy bunch," She chuckled and then her eyes narrowed again. "But you're strong. Good. I can finally ditch this worthless body."
"D-ditch the body?" Hinata stuttered from behind Kiba, her voice cracking.
The girl sighed, "Yes. Ditch it. If you humans must know, I am a demon. I have to use a lot more energy when I'm in my regular form, so it's just easier for me to take control of someone else's body. I was wandering through the woods the other night, when I ran into this girl. Unfortunately, she's very weak. One of you will make for a much better host."
Kiba growled and took a protective stance in front of Hinata. Akamaru growled at the demon.
Before any of them could blink the demon flitted into the air. Naruto tensed, "Get ready!"
She appeared behind Hinata, snatching her up by the wrist. The raven-haired girl yelped, squirming in the demon's grasp. She could feel a slow fire beginning to burn in her arm, spreading to wherever the demon's fingers moved. Her vision began to blur and her arms began to feel limp. She pumped chakra into her free hand and pushed it against the demon's chest, forcing it backwards. Once she was free, Hinata scrambled back to her teammates side, shaking her burning wrist.
"I think it just tried to take over my body..." Hinata huffed weakly.
"I won't let that happen," Kiba snapped. He nodded at Akamaru and then leapt into the air. The two began spinning in the air, forming a wind tunnel. The tornado spun through the air at lightening fast speed and smacked into the demon, knocking it back into a tree. Kiba and Akamaru landed a few feet away.
"Kiba-kun!" Hinata called, "Remember that that's still the girl's body! Be careful!"
"Shit," He cursed under his breath. "I forgot. So how do we fight her?"
"We're going to have to restrain her and then figure out how to get the demon out," Naruto said.
"How are we goi- Kiba-kun, watch out!" Hinata screamed.
"Huh?" Kiba turned around just in time to see the demon launching herself at him. She had gotten up while the trio was conversing and wasn't too happy about being knocked to the ground before. She grabbed both his arms, pinning them to his side.
Kiba writhed around, trying to escape the burning sensation, but her fingers were like a vice. The body may have not been very strong but the demon sure was. It felt as though she was going to snap both his arms, like they were twigs.
"Let... go..." He groaned.
Akamaru sprung up, sinking his teeth into her leg. She let out a yelp, releasing her hold on Kiba so she could smack the big dog. Akamaru skidded across the ground, his body colliding with a tree. Kiba gaped, "Akamaru!"
He dashed over to his best friend, placing one hand on his head. Akamaru lifted his head weakly, leaning into his master's hand and whimpering. Kiba sighed with relief. His dog wasn't hurt too badly. He glanced over his shoulder, glaring at the demon.
She simply leered back at him, her gaze shifting back to Hinata. Kiba's eyes widened in horror when she darted away, realizing that she was going to go after Hinata again. "Hinata, watch out! She's heading back to you!"
Hinata and Naruto went rigid.
"Not this time..."Naruto muttered. He placed both his hands together and muttered something under his breath. In seconds, another Naruto appeared with a 'poof'. The original Naruto held out his hand while his clone began spinning energy into his open palm.
"N-naruto-kun..." Hinata whispered as the demon appeared in front of her.
Naruto and the clone held the ball of chakra in between them and dashed towards the demon's back. The chakra smacked into the middle of her back, making a crackling sound and causing her to cry out in pain.
Naruto fell to one knee, sucking in deep breaths. Hinata was at his side in an instant. She placed a concerned hand on his shoulder, "N-naruto-kun? Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. Just tired." He breathed.
"T-thank you..."
He smiled weakly, "Anything for a friend. I wouldn't let her get you."
They looked over to see the demon huddled on the floor, her skin scorched and shaking. Kiba wobbled over to his two friends, clutching one of his arms. Akamaru limped behind him. Hinata immediately rose, "Kiba-kun, are you hurt?"
"Just my arm. She grabbed it a little too hard. She's strong for such a tiny thing."
"I know," Hinata agreed, rubbing her wrist. "But I think Naruto-kun got her."
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" The demon's weak voice made them look over at where she was laying. Now she was sitting on the ground, her legs folded beneath her, cradling one of her arms.
"How are you even conscious after that?" Naruto marveled, still too weak to get to his feet.
It laughed, sliding its tongue across its bottom lip, "That's an impressive move. It seems like I'll have to take a different route..."
She let go of her arm, pressing both her palms to the ground. A thick, gray fog began to seep up from the ground. It slowly filled the area, surrounding every thing for miles. It was so thick that they couldn't see a thing. They may as well have been blind.
"She's trying to separate us," Kiba's voice cut through the fog. "That way we can't protect each other. We have to take her out now. Human body, or not."
Naruto grunted. Even though he never would want to hurt another human being, he knew it had to be done to stop this thing. Hinata simply nodded. She was too numb to speak. Slowly, she pumped chakra through her veins and up into her eyes, activating her byakugen.
But even with her enhanced vision, it was hard to see anything.
She heard two pairs of feet dashing off, kicking up more smog as they went. Hinata bit down on her lip, feeling very alone. Was she supposed to follow them?
"N-naruto-kun...? Kiba-kun...?" She whispered hoarsely, but there was no reply.
She tried to concentrate on locating them in this heavy smog, or even finding the demon, but it was too hard to make anything out. Not to mention that her heart was pounding so hard that it was hard to focus on anything. But she had to figure out what the demon's next move was, or she would lose her body and soul.
"Hinata!" Someone yelled and she whipped around, her eyes wide with fright.
What if something had happened to Naruto or Kiba? What would she do?
She squinted, trying her hardest to see through the gray smoke. She could barely make out three figures in the distance. They were standing in a triangle formation. Hinata guessed that they all couldn't see one another, because they didn't seem to be aware of another presence. Two of the three figures seemed to be similar in stature and appearance.
Naruto-kun! Kiba-kun! They're okay!
The third figure was smaller, more delicate, but tensed and ready to fight.
The demon's still here too. She seems to be aware of Naruto-kun and Kiba-kun. But I don't think that Naruto-kun can see Kiba-kun. This fog is so thick and it smells funny. Kiba-kun probably can barely smell the anything. They must just be going off instinct. I shou-
But before she could finish her thought, Naruto and Kiba darted towards the demon, their fists raised. They all collided at the same time, stirring up more dust and smog, making it impossible for Hinata to see what was going on. When they crashed into one another, there was a huge clap. It sounded like thunder.
Seconds after the attack, the dust began to clear. Hinata could feel her breath getting caught in her throat as she waited to see what happened. She took a small step towards where her friends were, her heart thumping in her ears.
"N-naruto-kun...? Kiba-kun...?"
There was no answer.
She squinted through the remaining smog and let out a tiny gasp. She covered her lips with one shaking hand.
Just a second ago, three figures were in the clearing. Now there was only one.
((End of Chapter))
End of chapter one! I know that there wasn't too much KibaHina-ness in this chapter, but I'll get that later! I promise! Review and let me know if I should continue. I'd like at least 10 reviews before I put up chapter two! Thank you! :)