A/N: Okay, so the last chapter had quite a bit going on and may be a little confusing. Keep in mind that Hinata was first overcome by the Kyuubi's chakra when she released it while in Naruto's bedroom.
Hiashi's past hasn't been completely revealed, but will be before he returns to Konoha.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Opportune Circumstance
Chapter 11: Temptation
Tsunade's body bristled with the energy that she radiated as she paced in front of the crowd gathered before her. She assembled the ANBU Research and Development team to help determine the cause of Hinata's disappearance, if and how the pillars of white chakra tie into it, and what the object from the patrol's report was. If there is a link between any two of these, it could help determine just what is happening to Konoha.
"First, let's go over Hinata Hyuuga's disappearance. These are the facts as we know them: First, Hinata told a servant that she would be going to a friend's house. Having an infatuation with Naruto, she made her way to his apartment. She got into his apartment and fell asleep. Now, from Kakashi's reports, visitors to Naruto's apartment have gone down dramatically. The Third had him scout his apartment for those who would inflict harm on the boy, and his absence would go unnoticed by the general populace. I figured having this information would help to determine if there's any lingering hostility towards him. Nonetheless, Kakashi's report claims that the door was locked. How did Hinata get in? Suggestions?"
A woman with very thick glasses in the back of the crowd stood up and flipped through some papers on a clipboard she had brought with her. Tsunade nodded at her to speak. "There are reports that indicate that Hinata has been following Naruto around for quite some time. It is possible that she knew where he put his key, though there was little to no evidence indicating that she actually entered the apartment until the date under consideration."
"Fair enough, let's say she knew where the key was and unlocked the door. Neji's further report indicated that she fell asleep in his bedroom for a fair length of time. After she awoke, she realized that some time had passed and started to make her way back home. At that point she encountered Shino, Kiba, and Neji, who were out searching for her under Hiashi's orders. At that point, Neji, Shino, and Kiba's reports match that her hair color changed and Neji's elaborated that she had an odd chakra about her."
A few people in the room shifted their seats nervously at this. The majority of those gathered were around for the Kyuubi's attack and knew very well what chakra it could be, but the standards set before the R&D division indicated that everything must be proven by a scientific process that shows undeniable proof before an assumption, particularly of that magnitude and the repercussions of it are made real.
"After Neji, Shino, and Kiba found her, Hinata made her way to Sakura's house where Sakura reported that Hinata was nearly in hysterics about seeing Naruto badly injured, despite Naruto, having been in training with Jiraiya for some time now, has been outside the village quite a distance for his training. Neji advised Hinata to go to Sakura's residence, knowing Sakura has been training in the hospital and as my apprentice, and knew things about medical ninjutsu. He claimed that it was out of concern for her and the fact he saw abnormal chakra about her person."
"Hiashi also knows more about this than he's let on. After the white pillars appeared, it seemed he knew something that could help our investigation, but he hasn't revealed anything yet. He was a close friend with the Fourth before and through the war, and after the untimely deaths of the Fourth, Kushina, and Hinome, he's kept his distance from the Hokage or any politics concerning the ninja of the village since then, but if someone could go ask the Hyuuga council what they may know would be helpful."
"Ever since Hiashi's wife Hitome died, he was known to be extremely strict to the point of seeming violent towards his children at times, especially Hinata. According to his report, Neji wanted to spare her Hiashi's reaction, especially considering Hiashi's attitude towards Naruto."
A man from the front stood up and Tsunade nodded, indicating she recognized him, allowing him permission to speak. "Hokage-sama, if the letter Hinata wrote before she left has truth to it, couldn't she have left voluntarily? If she has fallen into an obsession over Naruto, a kidnapper could have shown her a picture showing Naruto injured. Depending on how strong of a connection she may have, that may have led to her leaving the village, or she could have simply imagined it herself."
"I considered that, but her harsh training in the Hyuuga house would have hardened her resolve in that respect. I realize that the respect Hinata gets from her clan isn't very high, but she has shown remarkable improvement lately in her training and missions. Also, I believe that the event reported by the patrol unit on the northeastern border is related to this as well. The unit reported a light purple object moving at incredible speed. They even mentioned it could be humanoid. We know that Hinata's outfit usually consists of the Hyuuga white and some light purple jacket."
The man spoke up again, "But that would mean that Hinata would have this speed and power? Ninjas can go quite fast under trained circumstances, and being part of a recon team does give her some believability, but even Lee, training for as long as he has, without any restrictions would not be able to move at such speeds. There would be tremendous strain on the body itself as well. If that was Hinata, she'd be dead moving at speeds that fast."
"That's where the problem lies. It couldn't have just been Hinata under her own power, she simply isn't that fast, nor, as you say, could her body take the strain moving at such speeds would incur. If it was a jutsu that was in effect, there would be residual traces of the chakra along her path. Lastly, this could be a distraction. Either the object the patrol saw could be a distraction from finding and rescuing Hinata, or both events could be a distraction to leave the village vulnerable to attack."
"Now, onto the pillars of light. Does anyone have a report on this yet?"
Another man in the back of the crowd raised his hand and spoke in a nasal voice, "So far we have determined that the beams of light are resistant to any sort of standard ninjutsu, regardless if it is affiliated with a particular energy or not. We have determined it to be a barrier consisting of nothing but chakra. Because these pillars emit light, we're unable to see what's happening within these pillars, but there is suspicion that each ninja that has come into contact with Hinata since the date she supposedly broke in to Naruto's apartment is now trapped within a pillar. Also, Kakashi is known to visit Naruto's apartment frequently, so he may have simply just missed Hinata, and gotten trapped as well."
"Very well. We need to get to the bottom of this sooner rather than later. I don't want to send out more ninjas than I have to outside the village, in case this truly is a distraction to attack Konoha. Dismissed."
'It seems that my power has been restored somewhat. I'm free to move and I've been gifted with this woman to manipulate once again. This can only mean that SHE plans to rid me of them once and for all. I simply cannot let that happen.'
"Who- Who are you? Why are you hurting me?" Hinata was torn, 'Why does he look like Naruto?'
"Oh, you know who I am, if not now you will know soon enough. I suppose I should give your feeble mind a little more information to allow you to make the connection. I'm Naruto, and I am something much more. I can end your life here and now, if I wish, or I can allow you to live, if you're willing to do something for me."
"I don't know who you are! I know you're hurting me, and that's something Naruto would never do… stop it." Hinata started to break down in tears. 'Naruto, where are you? I need you here with me now.'
In the house where Naruto and Hinata's bodies lay next to each other, Hinata's unconscious mind was not aware that she held Naruto's hand. In her unconscious need for Naruto, her sheer willpower to have him near her forced her external body to tighten the hold on Naruto's hand. Their connection became stronger.
The Naruto imposter let Hinata's hand go and began to pace around her. "Hehe, Naruto can't save you here. This is my place. This is my realm and that puny brat couldn't so much as save one person of his without my help. Even now, he clings to hope where he knows against me that there is none. I can help you, you know. I can make sure that you are the only one he sees. I can make it so that you two remain together for the rest of your lives, for a price."
Hinata looked down at her hand, massaging her wrist and hand while a frown fell upon her face. "Naruto's stronger than you think. He's done a lot to help everyone in the village. You obviously don't know him too well, or you would have known he has defeated some very powerful ninjas. Besides, even if he does fail, he always gets back up and tries again. I still don't know who you are, how can I trust anything you say?"
"You think those ninjas were powerful? It was my power Naruto needed to fight your cousin, or he would have even died from that battle. I wouldn't say Naruto is powerful at all, he is weak… nothing without me. The only reason he tries so much is so that he looks good at putting effort into things. It's his dream to become Hokage? Psh, without me, he wouldn't even be a match for his teammates. And you, you think he cares about you? He only heard you calling his name while you were dreaming. He would never have noticed you if you hadn't fallen into his lap like you did. If other women push advances on him, you'll lose him easily. Besides, you're not even sure if he loves you. How long do you think your relationship with Naruto can last? How much of him do you really know?"
That was the last straw, pain or no, she slapped him as hard as she could. "I know who you are. I know that you may think you're all-powerful, but Naruto is more than what you make him out to be. He is kind, reasonable, and just. He wouldn't think of other women like he would me. He's already said he loves me and he never goes back on his word as long as it doesn't become impossible, 'and even then he sometimes keeps at it.' He would never betray me. A demon like you could never grasp the concept of love."
"Ooh, was that supposed to hurt? Love is just a word humans use to facilitate their acts of reproduction. There is nothing real behind it. Some humans say that love is the most important and the most powerful thing a human has. Some confuse it by saying that love is an emotion. Is that truly a separate emotion than what lust is? There is no power behind the word 'love.' I can show you power."
The Naruto look-alike took a deep breath and exhaled. When he did this, the black and purple cloud-like smoke began to fade away. Hinata noticed, now that she could see farther, that she was in an extremely large room with a water-like substance on the floor about two inches high. The floor and the walls were made of concrete, and the ceiling, also concrete, had pipes that ran along it. As the space became larger and larger, as her sight went farther, a light was glowing on one side of the room behind the cloud-like material.
Just before the light broke through, there was a flash, and the white light disappeared. Dim illumination came from a couple of light sources through bars into the room she was in.
- Hinata, I'll find you, don't worry. I love you. -
Hinata smiles as she hears Naruto's voice in her head. It was crystal clear and sounded as if he was right next to her. 'I know that he's here… I just have to find some way to tell him where I am here.' Hinata looked up at the still-pacing form of Naruto, who was not Naruto. "You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune, sealed in this cage by the Fourth Hokage, prisoner of Naruto. You only have as much power over him as he allows you to have. Besides, I'm confident that Naruto knows I'm here somewhere, and he'll come for me, I'm sure of it."
"Psh, spoken like the broken record Kenchi wants you to be. You don't even realize the past between your own clan and the rules she put upon it, do you? And prisoner? Ha! Hardly! Next time, I'll be too strong for anyone to seal me back here again. Come look and see for yourself."
The Kyuubi walked to the cage's entrance and gestured outside the cage. "Out there is Naruto's subconscious mind. If I were to leave this cage, I can freely take over his body and manifest in my natural form. Already, I can walk out of here if I wanted to." It takes a leg and quite calmly straddles the lower bar of the cage with seemingly no resistance. "Now, the drawback to being in my natural form is that I'll continually lose chakra just to maintain my shape. Why spend that power if I don't need to? If I remain here, I don't lose chakra, and don't have to worry about getting places without such a high profile. Being in this cage is a win-win situation for me."
"I've already gotten to the point where he's very nearly completely given his body over to me. It's only a matter of time before he gives over to my will completely. Then I'll be unstoppable. Oh, and if you think love is all that great and grand? Let's take a look into what Naruto's doing now, shall we?"
'Heh, this'll be great. I can use Naruto's trials with Kenchi's ritual process to win Hinata over to my side. Once she submits to my will, Naruto won't be able to resist her at the last test, and then, both of them will be mine. I'll be free to go between the both of them, and my residual chakra between the two will prevent me from ever being sealed again! Kenchi doesn't realize the mistake she's done in setting me free with the ritual, hehehe.'
While the Kyuubi was entertaining Hinata…
Naruto knew exactly where he was when he awoke in the sewer corridor of his subconscious. Just like the other times he'd been here, there was a bit of watery liquid on the ground. Unlike the other times, however, there was an abnormal white light coming from the direction of the Kyuubi's cage.
'Hinata may be in trouble… I need to find her.' With this in mind, Naruto started running towards the light. He ran at a comfortable pace, making tremendous noise as the splashes created by his footsteps resounded through the corridor. Although he wanted to get to Hinata fast, he also didn't want to tire himself out, to find the situation dire and be out of breath to do anything about it. Still, the pressing need to find Hinata kept him going.
Eventually he got to the Kyuubi's cage room. What he found he definitely didn't expect. Within the cage was a tremendous amount of black and purple smoke that covered the inside of the cage from top to bottom. The Kyuubi itself was nowhere to be seen, though the fact that the seal was still on the bars of the cage gave Naruto some relief that the Kyuubi hadn't gone anywhere.
In addition to the mystery substance in the cage itself, a woman stood outside the cage. This was no ordinary woman, as she seemed to be holding a bright white sphere in the palms of her hands. Her hair reflected some of the light itself, so was either light blond or white, but very silky. It accented the cloak she wore: a pure white cloak and robe, similar to the garb that the priest-like men and women from the hamlet wore.
She didn't seem to notice him, but by the way he came, nobody who would have been listening would have missed his coming. Her face was completely focused on the orb in her hands: her bright green eyes shone with the reflection of the orb. She looked directly into it without flinching, but it was too bright for Naruto to directly look at it.
"Who are you and why are you here? What's happened to the Kyuubi, and do you know where I can find the person I'm looking for?" Naruto didn't care who she was, but if she could help him, great. If not, he wouldn't bother with her. He seemed to be unfazed by her unnatural beauty, his need to find Hinata overwhelming anything else. 'I have to find her. I can't leave her here. The Kyuubi's doing something and I must stop it.'
"Oh? So you've been here before, have you? Tell me, what do you know of this place, Naruto?"
Naruto was taken aback… he didn't remember sharing his name, especially not with this person… he would have remembered meeting a person like this before. "I- I don't know… if I'm in trouble, there are times when I've found myself here. Then I defeat whoever was trying to hurt my friends."
'Why did I say that? She's the one that's not supposed to be here… I should be the one asking questions.'
"I see. What do you know about the Kyuubi?"
"Hey, I'm the one with the questions here. I'd rather not talk about it. What I want to know is where I can find Hinata. If you know who I am, you probably know that I'm looking for her. I need to find her."
"You seem quite adamant that that is the path you must take. Are you sure that you'll be satisfied when you find her? I can lead you to her, but first you must pass my tests. I do not deal with people who show weakness in their integrity or honor, nor do I help those who would succumb to the darker forces of human nature. If you pass my tests, I will bestow upon you some of my power, and if everything goes well, you'll find Hinata unharmed."
"Unharmed?! What do you mean? What have you done with her? If you harm her-"
"Oh I have no intentions of harming her. I happen to know where she is, and will share this at least, if you can pass the first test."
"Fine. I suppose that information that is valued should be exchanged for other information. What is it you want to know? I'm not all that smart at times, so forgive me if I ask for clarification."
'I suppose there are times that I don't get things… yeah I'm not smart… there's something going on here though. I only just met this person. Why do I feel like I've known this person for a long time?'
Kenchi chuckles at this, "I see that you are modest and show wisdom and honesty. These are good values in your character. You pass the first test. Hyuuga Hinata, the person you seek, lies behind this cage with the Kyuubi. However, you can't simply go to her-"
As soon as he heard Hinata was behind the cage, he rushed as fast as he could towards it. He didn't care if he had to wrestle with the Kyuubi to get to her, he wanted to find her and keep her safe. 'I can't let another person that's important to me get hurt because I was unable to do anything about it.'
- Naruto, where are you? I need you here with me now. -
He was about to hit the smokey substance when Kenchi caught him by the collar of his tunic. "As I was saying, you can't simply rush in there and get her. This smoke you see here is made from the human essence that the Kyuubi has absorbed while sealed within you. If you should enter this now, you'll be directly under the Kyuubi's control."
'human essence?'
"There is a barrier around my hamlet that nullified the Kyuubi's powers, but the ritual that has just started has lifted the barrier for the meantime. If all goes well, you may not have to worry about the barrier or the seal of yours anymore. However, you should know that not just Hinata is in danger here. Among the human essence the Kyuubi has absorbed, it has claimed the names of those called Hinata, Sakura, Kakashi, Shino, Kiba, and Neji. I'm sure you recognize all these names. If you wish to see them all unharmed, we must proceed with the tests."
'Why must there be tests? I hate tests. If she can help me, why doesn't she just help me now?' Naruto crossed his arms and turned back to face Kenchi, "Well, I don't know what the first test was, and passed it easily, apparently. I don't think that I fit anything you described as people you don't deal with, so I can't see how it would hurt to proceed. Can I at least get your name?"
"Ah, that is right! You don't even know who I am, yet you seem unfazed by my presence thus far. I shall grant you your second piece of information. My name is Kenchi. Know that each test is significantly harder than the last, and you won't know what the test is about until it's been determined that you've passed or failed it."
"Wait… what happens if I fail?"
"Oh, nothing much. Whoever hasn't been freed from the Kyuubi's control will become it's slave, and as the chakra seeds implanted in the person or people grow after the main vessel of the Kyuubi has been destroyed, eventually multiple smaller and weaker versions of the Kyuubi will replace those individuals, but I've put some special preparations in place if that were to happen. Let's just say that if you fail, you'll die, along with the Kyuubi and all under his control."
"What!?" Naruto didn't have much time to contemplate because Kenchi activated the orb in her palms and in a brilliantly bright light, she and Naruto were transported into a different mindscape, one Naruto would have to face his next test. 'Why do I get a bad feeling about this? Hinata, I'll find you, don't worry. I love you.'
Hinata had a dizzy sensation as the room around them seemed to swirl around into a chaotic mix of colors and she lost track of everything around her aside from the Naruto-Kyuubi figure next to her. "What are you doing?"
"I just told you, let's look and see what Naruto's thinking about right now, shall we? We'll just see how far this 'love' goes." Now that his cover has been discovered, the Kyuubi decided to speak regularly since the disguised voice now held no purpose. He kept the disguise though, it would be easier for her to accept him like this.
The colors began to change and the spinning slowed to a stop and Hinata realized they were just outside a training ground in Konoha. This training area was heavily wooded, and was used from time to time for obstacle courses when teams would learn how to maneuver while jumping from tree to tree. At first, Hinata didn't see anything, but then she heard someone moan nearby.
Going closer to the source, Hinata was completely shocked to find Sakura sleeping at the base of one of the trees, her medical and supplies packs nearby. Sakura's makeshift bed consisted of a portable pallet, a small pillow, and a blanket. Sakura seemed to have been twisting and turning, however, as the blanket showed more of Sakura's figure than Hinata would normally expect, and what's more, she gasped and nearly fell on the spot when she realized that Sakura was moaning Naruto's name.
'No… Naruto likes me… why would he think of this? Sure he likes Sakura a little, but this is a bit much, isn't it?'
"See? Isn't this the girl Naruto has been asking out since he was at the academy? Do you really hope to match up against her when he's been wanting her since that time?"
'Heh, now to enhance this a little further.'
Hinata stood up defiantly, "Naruto wouldn't do this. This is a trick of yours and will not work on me." She walked away, not wanting to see the sight any more, though that didn't stop her from hearing the moans that escaped Sakura's lips. With Hinata not paying attention, the Kyuubi channeled some of his chakra into the sleeping form of Sakura.
'There. Now when Naruto comes, he'll find who he thinks is Hinata, but the real Hinata will only hear Sakura's name being called out. Ingenious if I do say so myself.'
"Hinata, you really should keep a lookout. If this truly is Naruto's dream, he'll show up sooner or later."
Sure enough, Naruto came running from another part of the training field looking for someone, "Hinata! Hinata, where are you?!" The look of worry on his face was one out of clear and pure concern and worry for Hinata. Hinata was confused a little, though, since she could hear Naruto shouting both aloud and in her thoughts. 'This must be the real Naruto. It's like when we were in his dreams before.'
The Kyuubi overheard Hinata's thoughts and began to get worried, 'They've already communicated at this level? Something must have happened that I'm not aware of. She shouldn't be able to hear his thoughts.' The Kyuubi decided to let the test play itself out and see what reactions would take place.
The real Hinata watched as this other Naruto came closer, and sure enough he stumbled upon the sleeping form of Sakura. Naruto stopped yelling when he saw her lying there and slowed down, oblivious to Hinata's presence. He walked to Sakura and sat down beside her with a smile on his face.
"So this is where you've been, Sakura." Hinata was confused. In her head, Naruto's voice said 'Hinata,' but she heard him say 'Sakura.'
'He thinks that Sakura's me!' Hinata understood what was happening now and decided to do something about it. She approached Naruto and Sakura, but Naruto didn't seem to notice.
"Naruto." Hinata was calm, though slightly irritated that Naruto's eyes never left Sakura, but he still didn't respond. Her frustration building up along with her irritation that Naruto was completely focused on Sakura and apparently ignoring her, she came up to him and slapped him, "Naruto!" However, the slap never connected, it went right through Naruto.
"Beautiful, isn't it? He thinks she's you and yet imagines her as Sakura. Maybe Naruto really wishes you were Sakura. Maybe that's why he would be dreaming this."
"Hmm," Naruto seemed a little confused as he concentrated on the Hinata-disguised Sakura. "Something here isn't right. Why would Sakura have both a ninja supply pack and a medical pack? Besides, if I'm right-" Naruto was about to check the supply sack to see if he could see something that would confirm his suspicions.
'No good… he'll discover it too soon this way.' The Kyuubi waved his hand over in Sakura's direction and the sleeping Sakura began to wake up. Hinata saw this action and this confirmed her suspicions that the Kyuubi was behind this façade. 'I was right. Naruto wouldn't imagine this. This is all a trick to make him think I was Sakura, making me distrust him. The Kyuubi doesn't know that we've already gotten as far as we have though. Sakura and I have very different personalities.'
As Sakura started to stretch and yawn, Naruto realized she was waking up. "So, you're awake now, eh? How was your sleep?"
Sakura blushed at this and not so shyly got up and wrapped her arms around his waist from behind gently, "It was energizing…" She smiled sweetly as she pecked his neck with a kiss.
"Naruto…" Even though she was invisible, Hinata began to worry for him. "Don't give in. That's not me… the Kyuubi's trying to trick you into thinking that she's me."
It was as if she'd said the magic words, as Naruto quickly took Sakura's hands and lifted them above his head while turning around. This forced Sakura to turn around as well, except now he had both her hands and arms restrained behind her back. The blanket that dragged with Sakura on her way over completely fell off at this point, and Naruto realized that the Hinata-illusion didn't have anything on below the nightshirt that barely covered her below her breasts.
Naruto very audibly gulped at this and Hinata gasped. Sakura blushed deeply and innocently looked back to see Naruto's shocked expression, "So this is how you want it?"
Naruto's mind was close to it's breaking point… so he just rejected the whole of it… In further shock of realizing the new position he found himself in, along with unwanted recollections of some of the excerpts of Jiraiya's books his teacher had him 'proofread,' he promptly dropped her hands and backed away, standing up as he did so. "You're not Hinata. Who are you? How did you get here?"
"Naruto, don't you recognize me?" The Hinata-illusion turned around and looked hurt and offended, but submissive. "Isn't this what you want?"
"Yes! I- I mean no! You're not Hinata! Drop the illusion, I know you're not her." Naruto began to get upset, "The Kyuubi's behind this. He has Hinata too, I can't just stand here, I need to help her." He began to get up and simply walk away. 'She looks like her, but something in my mind is telling me that she most definitely is not Hinata.'
"Wait. Don't leave me here, not like this. Don't you want to finish what we started in the dream?" The Kyuubi realized that the only reason Hinata would remain this confident, or have as close a connection as she did with Naruto, is if something happened that went further than the dream.
'I suppose my influence on her could have allowed her to communicate with Naruto while both of them were sleeping. I remember those images floating through his head while we were on our way to the next spot of training. The brat must have intentionally been headed to Kenchi's place. That's the only reason they would have this strong of a connection so quickly.'
Naruto realized at that point that this indeed was a façade. Most definitely if it were the real Hinata, she'd realize that they already had gone further than just the dream.
- You have passed the second test. You have realized the illusion the Kyuubi has placed. I have given a portion of my power to you. To use it, you must give her a chaste kiss. This will bring the two of you outside the Kyuubi's illusion. -
Only Naruto heard Kenchi's voice, so nearly everyone was confused when Naruto approached Sakura. Sakura was relieved and reached out to hold him. "I knew you'd realize that this is just how you would have wanted it." She wrapped her arms around his back and put her head against his chest and relaxed.
"Naruto, no…" Hinata couldn't believe it. Naruto bent down and kissed Sakura on her forehead. Turning away, she couldn't stand to see and watch Naruto go any further. It was at that point the tears began to build up again.
A/N: So, basically the trials or tests are situations where Naruto will have to prove the values of his character in different situations. Of course, the Kyuubi will try to do anything it can to stop him from succeeding. Also, the more Naruto passes the tests, the more the Kyuubi will be in danger.