Re-Do: Three parts

Disclaimer: not mine

Dedication: to Briony (ohgoditsbriony) who was the person this story is dedicated to.

Re-Do

By: Just Lovely.

...-...

Part III

He didn't see her out of the corner of his eye or anywhere for that matter, it was then that he knew that it had already started and most probably ended all in the span of a few seconds.

Humans were still dancing, were still socializing, talking as if they had something to talk about, something to care about without even having a care in the world – they were so careless and stupid.

Naruto could feel the auras, the power surges, the streams of energy – familiar as they came toward him. The Rookie Twelve gathered around him, faces grim, no contact with the other as they stood rigid still and unnaturally cold.

"He's here and he's already taken her." Sasuke said, his voice hollow and hopeless as if he had failed as his position as leader; but there was nothing he could have done, should have done, would have done that might have changed anything that had happened.

Nobody uttered a word and nobody seemed to move as time went naturally on.

It was as if Hyuuga Hinata's mere existence had been wiped off the face of the Earth, unreal and not there. Not one had inquired, not one had spoken of her, not one cared or knew. She was nothing now.

"What are we going to do?" Naruto asked.

But there was no response, no soothing comfort that anyone could give to the blond to ease him of this burden, this hurt, this lost.

...

He cackled, he laughed, he let out a chuckle or two and all in the mere benefit of watching those stupid little spawns stand helpless and hopelessly in one place without a thing to do or to fix what had happened.

He was a ruler, he was a fighter, he was king. He was, Orochimaru.

...

Naruto trembled, fury gripped him in its tight claws as it went about tearing him apart from the inside out. Sorrow sucked him into oblivion, anguish lashed at his heart and he was in utter impatient torture.

God, he actually wished he could die and be rid of this.

Because Hinata, Hinata was calm. She was innocent, she was pretty, she was nice and she was, she was a lot of things that Naruto liked, a lot of things that made her her without being superficial and hiding behind gallons of make-up and fake.

Hyuuga Hinata was power. Real and raw power, strong and fast, impeccably brilliant and she was, she was lost.

He clenched his fists tight until his nails bit until his flesh and drew blood. He didn't want to be standing here, didn't want to be feeling so helpless and stupid, just doing nothing and waiting for something to come. This wasn't how he did things, he may not analyze his decisions, he may not make the right choices; but Naruto was not one to give up, through and through.

So, he walked away from the group and their frozen, glassy, waiting eyes and into the darkness where screams ricocheted off stone walls, shrill and piercing. And there was chaos.

"Ah, and so, the blond idiotic hero-wannabe comes to the rescue. But as he will soon realize, he is doomed. His race is doomed and he will die because the truth is, is that he cannot and will not, be able to save his damsel in distress." the voice said, so sickly mocking. "But, what are you going to do? What can you do? You will lose, live if you're lucky, and I will win, therefore; little Hinata will stay with me and not ever go with you."

There was easy threat amongst the logic that Orochimaru spewed, so easy to just walk away and live with just that one regret, but Naruto couldn't do that. He just couldn't.

"I won't lose, I won't leave her here with you. I won't let you win."

Orochimaru stepped out from the darkness, disgusting corpse hanging tightly onto a skeletal frame and a twisted smile on the lips. "Too optimistic for your own good, boy. Leave her, she hasn't even been awakened to her true heritage, she knows nothing and therefore, she is easy game. She will be terrified, she will be abhorred by you. She is not worth it."

The blond's teeth ground harshly against each other, anger flashing in his eyes as he clenched and unclenched his fists in an attempt to calm down. "You're wrong. She is worth it and who cares if she doesn't know. She won't act like that because I know her, and she, she's important. I'll do anything to get her back, safe and sound."

The wicked grin that flashed on the lips of the monster made Naruto's insides crawl with uneasiness, he was damn sure about his words.

"Anything you say? How about we make a deal then," Orochimaru suggested, distorted lips and menacing eyes.

...

"Where's the dobe?" Sasuke asked, his obsidian eyes scanning around them in the black darkness that had recently encased them again.

"He's...he's not here." Tenten murmured quietly, cautiously, as she took a quick look around.

"What do you mean he's not here?" the Uchiha repeated, a threatening voice that echoed and struck with a terrifying force. He turned around to face the brunette, tall and towering as he moved swiftly in front of her.

"Exactly what Tenten said Uchiha, he's not here." Neji cut in smoothly as he stepped forward in front of Tenten, ready to deflect any outrage as he enunciated each word with a crystal clear clarity.

"That idiot." was all they heard their leader utter as he walked into the blackness with no backward glance, disappearing until nothing of him seemed to remain.

Sakura sighed tiredly, dejectedly, as she followed after. "C'mon guys, I'd rather not stand here waiting to be struck dead either."

...

Naruto didn't want to regret it. He didn't want to live after and look back at this moment and wish it never happened. He didn't want remorse, he didn't want regret, he didn't want fear. He wanted Hinata, safe, innocent Hinata who would still be alive. He didn't matter in this equation anymore.

To anyone, it wasn't a live or die question, it was always to keep on living to the bitter or sweet end.

But it wasn't like that for Uzumaki Naruto. He saved lives, he didn't sacrifice them. And right then Naruto was forfeiting his.

...

"It's a deal." Naruto accepted, voice even despite the raging fear that rippled inside him. He knew he was treading on jagged glass, sharp and dangerous, but this situation was worth it, she was worth it.

Orochimaru smiled, ruined lips tipping up into something cruel and frightening. "Very good then, boy."

"Hinata first. And then I'll do the Re-Do and then I'll go."

"As you wish, specimen." the Demon obliged, a human fleshed hand reaching up and waving toward the black sky.

The blond looked up, watching as flying creatures – Demons – soared above him, their talons gripping her frail body, unconscious but alive. They dropped her and she spiralled down; falling safely into his arms with a graceless thump.

Her indigo hair was messy, slightly faded from its usual dark colour. Her eyes were closed, as if she was sleeping and as her chest heaved up and down as she breathed in and out; it looked just that. Her face was pale, little red droplets here and there. Fearfully, Naruto sucked in a breath, the familiar smell of coppery blood rushing to him like a tidal wave. He clenched his teeth as he gently moved his hand down her body, her skin was scratched; one long gash that went from the very crook of her right elbow to the soft skin of her wrist. Carefully, he traced his finger over it, the tissue lining up together as it mended, leaving behind a thin crust of scarlet blood.

"I want the vials of blood ya took from 'er." Naruto demanded, his voice layered thickly with ice as he held out a blood smeared hand toward the Demon.

Slitted eyes looked apprehensively at the boy, carefully analyzing the situation as a mismatched hand crept into the front pocket of his dirty trousers. "And what makes you think that I have any?" Orochimaru questioned, an innocent smile plastered on his mouth.

The blond raised an eyebrow, eyes narrowing in disgust. "And what makes you think that I'll believe you? Just hand them over you filthy bastard." he hissed, lips contorted into a grimace.

With a quick toss, the Demon underhandedly threw two clear glass stopper flasks of bright red liquid to Naruto who snatched them quickly out of the air.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, boy." Orochimaru sneered, patience thinning as he waited for the blond boy to perform the Re-Do; his hands itching to experiment and pull apart limb from limb, muscle from flesh, organ from system. It was all so exciting.

There a popping sound as Naruto pulled the stoppers out of the flasks. The thick liquid sloshing around in the glass before he poured it out and into the open slit of Hinata's mouth. There were words whispered quickly under his breath as the blood glowed brighter until it turned a pristine white, he kept pouring until not a drop was left before smashing the glass onto the waxed marble flooring.

It shattered and speckled sharply on the floor, almost threateningly in front of the Demon as Naruto hoisted Hinata up into his arms with ease. Careful with her fragile limbs and crystal frail mind. He set his stance casually and began the Re-Do.

There was an echoing ripping sound that thundered against the blackness, wind blew harshly like a tornado as it sucked up air, colours began to peel away, melting into a white blur as around, time began to move backward.

The blond kept his glowing cerulean eyes opened, intently watching the Demon as it smirked and then everything was gone.

...

Sasuke swore under his breath as the wind picked up around him, whipping his hair into his obsidian eyes as he stared around for his idiot of a best friend who was nowhere to be found.

There was too much at stake, and Naruto being Naruto had tried to solve it all.

The Uchiha clenched his fists to his sides as he trembled with hot fury, frustration stabbing him in the gut as he caught scent of something coppery. Blood, but whose, he wasn't sure.

Around, the Rookie Twelve stood in a large circle, arms held up at their sides, their fingertips barely touching as they waited for two of their members to complete the circle, a safety circle that kept them together and in constant link.

Sakura stumbled after him, her hand catching his arm as she pulled him harshly away. "Get ready!" she shouted at him, voice low and masked with a serious tone. "Naruto's re-starting it."

There was a finality in the pink-haired girl's tone that struck wickedly at Sasuke. Naruto, he's the one starting it, the Uchiha realized with mortifying displeasure; but by then, it was already too late. White blurred into blackness and time went back.

...-...

The Demon was shadowed in the darkest crevice of the ballroom, hidden by thick layers of fuzzy glitches and away from the prying eyes of the Rookie Twelve. But really, what did it matter when they were all too preoccupied with their dearest friend and member giving himself up and sacrificing himself in Hyuuga Hinata's stead.

They were already in an emotional turmoil, clearly, they had not even noticed his presence. He let out a throaty chuckle through the lips of a mortal and observed with gleeful joy as the utter havoc he had wreaked.

...

Uchiha Sasuke stood rigid, still and unmoving as around him, humans danced in a careless manner, unworried, uncaring, and wonderfully in bliss.

He envied them as he leaned back against the cold stone of the wall, arms tightly crossed across his chest and lips in a stern line. Dark eyes stared steadily forward as by his side, Sakura let out a soft whimper. And it was horribly sad and depressing as if he could have expected it, if any of them could have expected it; it would have all turned out different. Things would have been different and the sure thing was that Naruto wouldn't have to be the one losing his life, sacrificing it, forfeiting it for some girl.

A girl that was important to society as a supernatural community, or to his best friend; and Sasuke, despite wanting to, would never have deprived his best friend of his final moments with a girl who was as unknowing about him as everything else.

This was it. Sasuke remembered saying that, he remembered thinking the same thing as his best friend as together, the Rookie Twelve stood defiantly against the Demon, Orochimaru. Sasuke remembered the hope and will that was present, the unwavering strength and loyalty as they all stood by him.

He remembered it, and it was probably going to be the last memory he would ever have of his best friend.

This was it.

...

They were stiff, watching with depth-less eyes and trying hard not to interfere.

Ino was silently crying, transparent tears sliding down her rosy cheeks as she tried to blink them away, her fingers clenched tightly on the fabric of her gown as she watched. Shikamaru stood by her side, fists slightly shaking as he tried to stay strong and in control.

Kiba, Shino, Chouji and Rock Lee were statue-like, anger rolling off them in big waves as they trembled and watched with difficulty because there was no way it could be happening. Except, the unfortunate thing, was that it was, real and irreversible.

Tenten let out a shuddering breath, nails biting deep into her palms as she tightened them over and over again, the skin stretching across her knuckles until they were white. Her hazel eyes were glassy with unshed tears, the fabric of her gown irritably scratching against her skin but she no longer noticed it. Trained eyes observing the blond boy that she hardly knew but was still close to as next to her, Neji was quiet. Silent and unmoving as all the others, no shudders, no anger, no trembles but the eerie faintness of loyalty and thankfulness that came with the courage of someone like Uzumaki Naruto. He wasn't even quite sure what to feel anyway, but he admired that boy.

...

He saw her out of the corner of his cerulean eye, just barely a noticeable presence in his peripheral vision but all worth the second glance. She stood at a table with a group of friends, her pale hands neatly folded on the surface, back straight and head thrown back in laughter; opal eyes sparkling and rose lips smiling.

A calm sensation overtook him as he smiled, pleasantly and happily as he watched. With final free steps, he took his time walking toward her; reminiscing as he blinked away tears.

...

She was slightly bored, aware of everything around her but the low murmurs of conversation happening in front of her. She smoothed down her indigo curls, wary of the thoughts that ran through the minds of the numerous onlookers because she was Hyuuga that came with a reputation. Her hands tingled with an urge to move away, her dancer's feet were stiff in her lavender heels and her body swayed to the soft beat of the music.

Softly, her fine brows crinkled in confusion because some blond guy with cerulean eyes and skinny jeans was walking over to their table, to her, actually. And he looked out of place, with dark wash skinnies, a white t-shirt that was stained with dirt and a substance that looked like blood, a wrinkled tie and pursed lips – as if he was trying not to cry.

With a stiff hand and curious posture, she let him take her hand for what would be the last dance they'd ever have together.

...

"What changed you? You beat me in Calculus – which is, you know odd, but not bad, or anything – you listen more than you used to. What...was it?" Hinata asked, her voice wavering as familiarity caught ahold of her. Curiosity peaked in between the words as her hands involuntarily clenched on his shoulders, a nervous habit as she talked to him.

Naruto peered down at her, his hands on the filmy white satin of her waist. "You."

His smooth warm hand gently brushed her cheek, eyes caught in hers. A gasp caught in her throat and she had that tingling sensation in her body again as if something like this had happened before.

Slowly and softly, he leaned down and kissed her.

Something final and secretive, loving and passionate because when she opened her eyes next, he was gone and she was standing there, cold and alone.

Lots of love to frankdrinkstea for being a wonderful beta and helping make this story grammar/vocabulary perfect.

So, sequel or no sequel? Prequel or no prequel?

Re-vieww!