wThe sound of the explosion temporary deafened the five ninjas that anxiously scattered in retreat from the near fatal blast. Just as Hinata had planned, the small window of silence left each of the invading ninjas open and defenseless. She spotted one of them beginning to form seals with his hands. He would be her first priority.
Hinata kept her pace quick and silent as she closed the distance between herself and her first target. The unsuspecting ninja hadn't even finished his technique before Hinata's kunai tore through his left hamstring. The shock from his injury and the fear of another unseen attack caused the ninja to flail his arm backwards in a wild, defensive swing. He hit nothing but air, and Hinata capitalized with a quick stab into the soft tissue underneath his right shoulder blade. The deafening effect wore off just in time for the other four ninjas to hear the screams of their fallen comrade. One down, four to go.
Byakugan active, Hinata observed the tactical formation of the four remaining ninjas. Two teams of two. One ninja set traps the other made clones. After they were done all four ninja hid themselves close to their clone counterparts. Standard jounin tactics; set traps and wait for the other guys to make a mistake. Hinata thought about her next move. Perhaps if she could signal Sasuke in some way then he and Kakashi could coordinate some sort of simultaneous attack. She was sure those two had already begun setting up something to help her take out the rest of the enemies. She looked over towards the entrance of the cave and Hinata's jaw just dropped. Sasuke and Kakashi hadn't moved an inch. They were just standing there arms crossed, watching as she impossibly tried to eliminate four jounins on her own.
Sasuke's heart was racing. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been so tense. He studied Hinata's every move. She took down the first of the five man cell with relative ease, rolling his eyes when his screams filled the air. She didn't kill him. She still wouldn't kill unless she had to. He silently reprimanded her for that, even though he had shown the same mercy during his training with Orochimaru. His fingernails dug deeply into the sides of his arm. He unconsciously tensed and relaxed the muscles in his legs, alert and more than prepared to intervene should the situation called for it
The nails digging into his skin went unnoticed, but the subtle way Sasuke inched forward with every second both intrigued and amused Kakashi. Why was he so worried? Kakashi pondered as he casually watched the new and vastly improved Hinata dismantled the five highly trained ANBU ninjas.
"Sasuke I didn't know you were giving training lessons. Maybe later you could show an old man so new tricks?" Kakashi taunted.
"Not interested in teaching the elderly," Kakashi's words activated Sasuke internal reset button. His hands went slack, falling down to his sides and his legs relaxed. For the first time since the explosion Sasuke took his eyes off of Hinata and over to Kakashi.
"Why are you here?" Sasuke bluntly asked his former sensei.
"Hm, this might not be the best time. Hinata seems to have progressed quite well in her time with you." Kakashi deflected, turning the conversation back to Hinata which forced Sasuke to sneak to look at how well she was doing. Even though his mouth was covered Kakashi still fought hard against his jaw muscles to hold back the large grin that was begging to be shown.
Sasuke was tense and apprehensive, even though he fought hard to hide it. The hints were subtle, but they were there. Even more fun, Sasuke was protective of Hinata. Naruto's death must have really affected him. Sasuke must see his best friend in Hinata. It was a different side of Sasuke that Kakashi didn't even know existed.
Hinata dodged to the left, avoiding a kunai that instead found a target in the tree that was behind her. She had only taken out one of the five ANBU intruders and now she was surrounded by three of the remaining four. Hinata frantically scanned area. There was an ANBU at her twelve, three, and six o'clock, and at her back there was a tree. She sighed, there weren't a lot of options, but she figured she could get one more before she needed to retreat.
At least now she had an exit strategy. The tree behind her provided an interesting distraction, if she could pull it off. Hinata stepped back from the three ninjas. She circled the tree that was behind her, feigning a retreat. As expected, the three ninjas choose that as the perfect time to strike, and when the first ninja moved to attack, Hinata surprised him, cutting the tenketsus in his attacking arm. It was a small victory that came with a nearly lethal price. Now the other two ninja's were in position to finish the job that the first had started. Again Hinata was surrounded. It was time to escape to Kakashi and Sasuke's location. Hinata tossed two kunai at the ninjas. They blocked the half hearted attack but their defense left enough time for Hinata to begin spinning.
Hakkeshou Kaiten. The divination whirl sent all three of the ninjas jumping back in retreat, but the ninjas were never Hinata's target. The sharp crack as the base of the tree trunk snapped under the pressure of Hinata's Hakkeshou Kaiten echoed through the rest of the forest. The large tree clumsily crashed down to the ground below. In the calamity Hinata made a break for the tree line. The disadvantage to such a large distraction was that she lost sight of her three pursuers while she was escaping. A few moments of running as fast as Hinata's legs would take her and she was out of the clearing, making a beeline straight for Sasuke and Kakashi who were still just standing around.
"Ah-Ah-A-choo!" Kakashi sneezed. He nonchalantly scanned the area. His eyes pausing momentarily; once on a spot in the woods to his right and the other at the falling tree that was straight ahead of him. Crouching low, Kakashi began doodling in the dirt in front of his feet.
Sasuke just ignored Kakashi, only glancing down once to take notice of the idiotic illustration that Kakashi decided to doodle to pass the time in the middle of a battle. Sasuke turned back to the battle just in time to see Hinata break past the forest edge, heading for the two of them. She must have done all that she could and the impromptu lumberjacking must have been her escaping. He would wait until she got to them and briefed them on who was left. That familiar approving smile threatened his lips, but the urge was short live as he caught a glimpse of the sun reflecting off of the projectile that was speeding towards Hinata.
"Shit," Sasuke muttered, quickly bending down to grab the kunai that Kakashi was using to draw in the ground and throw it.
The clang of metal to Hinata's left side caught her attention in time to see the two kunai collide with each other. Suddenly, Sasuke appeared, his arm knocking away the ANBU ninja's follow up attack. If the ANBU was surprised, his lifeless mask hid it well. The ninja reached for the ninjato, preparing to strike, but Sasuke was faster. I swift knee to the solar plexus immobilized the ninja, and Sasuke followed up by kicking the ANBU ninja away, sending him flying backwards.
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu. Outmatched and completely overpowered, the flying ANBU ninja was engulfed by Sasuke's fireball.
"Thank you Sasuke," Hinata began.
"Next time pay more attention to who is attacking." Sasuke reprimanded curtly, "I'm not here to protect you. I'd rather-"
"I don't need your protection." Hinata cut Sasuke off, not bothering to turn around a return the icy glare she was sure he was giving to her.
Two of his men were down. There was only he and two others left in their squad. Hyo admitted to himself that this mission was not going as well as he'd planned. He hadn't expected Kakashi to be so perceptive. He wouldn't have imagined that the last Uchiha would interfere with Konoha business. Most of all he never dreamed that a Hyuga, a member of one of the most prominent families in the Leaf to attack a member of the ANBU squad. Hell, wasn't her cousin ANBU?
The battle seemed to be sliding downhill, he was already down two men and even worse he lost Kakashi's whereabouts a few moments ago. With an unpredictable element like the Copy Cat ninja running about Hyo didn't really see too many battle options available for him. He needed to do something about Hinata and Sasuke. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to admit that these three ninjas were more than he could handle without using that jutsu. Rolling his eyes behind the veil of the ANBU mask, Hyo swallowed his pride and finished the seals that he'd spent his entire time in hiding preparing.
Hyo was now down to one other man and himself. Another of Hyo's men fell after receiving a brutal Hakke Rokujuyon Sho. The last remaining ANBU ninja was not a fool. He stood in front of the Uchiha and the Hyuga ready to surrender. With Hyo no where in sight the ANBU ninja dropped his hands.
"I surrender." He said falling down to his knees. Danzo was going to kill him anyway. Or have him killed. It was no matter. Hell, Hyo probably ran too. If Hyo was smart enough to just run away then there was no harm in him trying to preserve his own life too. Besides it's not like they were an enemy village. They were all from the same-
Sasuke knocked out the surrendering ninja. There was still one left and last thing they needed was for the Root ninja to get some courage in the middle the fight. Sasuke activated the Sharingan. He had no idea where Kakashi went, but he and Hinata were standing out in the open. They were far from being defenseless, but Sasuke was careful, he needed to be ready just in case the leader was a lot more skilled than his subordinates.
"He's coming." Kakashi whispered. Suddenly appearing in between Hinata and Sasuke. Rather than ask questions, the three just waited silently.
A few moments passed before Hyo appeared in front of Hinata. As far as he knew she was the weakest, and would be the easiest to pick off first. His sudden presence surprised her and Hyo used that shock to his advantage, swiping horizontally across her midsection with his ninjato. But Hinata parried, redirecting the blade in a wipe arc that missed her completely.
Hyo choose another target, choosing to fight Sasuke next. He vanished from in front of Hinata and reappeared in front of Sasuke's position, but Sasuke wasn't there.
"You Root ninjas are pathetic." Sasuke's voice came from behind Hyo. He was dead. He knew it before he heard the sound of Sasuke's katana as it was unsheathed. He knew before the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of the blade as it sped towards his neck. He thought he would last longer than this. Long enough for his ultimate jutsu to take effect. He had calculated the time wrong and now he would pay for his mistake with his life. He could feel the blade as it came in contact with his skin. But instead of slicing across his jugular, the sword just rested against there. Hyo quickly turned to see Sasuke frozen in place. He frantically looked over to the Hyuga and Kakashi who were also frozen in place. Hyo let out a sigh of relief. His ultimate technique had work.
Tenkuu Dokuyaku Ninjutsu. Just in the nick of time. Hyo carefully slide past Sasuke's katana blade. He was safe. His enemy trapped by his infamous poison air technique. Hyo just stood there for a moment drinking in the sight of the three petrified ninjas that were mere moments away from ending his life.
"I bet you didn't see that one coming Kakashi." Hyo gloated. He circled his rooted prey. Rage and vindication washed over his logical ninja training. Surely, Danzo wouldn't mind if Hyo eliminated a threat like Uchiha Sasuke for the sake of the village. The Hyuga would be just collateral damage, slain in the midst of battle but not before attacking two ANBU officers sent here to bring her back home.
Hyo pulled out his ninjato, raising it high in air. Its tip was pointed directly in front of Hinata. Hyo brought the blade down as hard as he could, but the sharp metal never reached its intended target.
"I thought your orders were to kill me, not her?" Kakashi asked.
Hyo was completely frozen in disbelief. Kakashi stood behind Hyo, holding his arms back, and preventing Hyo from finishing Hinata.
"H-How did you-?" Hyo began to ask. His voice quivered, stuttering over the seriousness of his current predicament. He had wasted too much charka on his poison air technique in order to cover the entire clearing. Hyo knew there was no way he could last in a battle against Kakashi. This time he really was dead.
"It doesn't matter," Kakashi cut him off. The 'whys' and the 'hows' of Kakashi's escape were irrelevant. Hyo was going to kill Hinata, which in Kakashi's eye made him no different from the Rain ninjas that killed his students.
"Chidori..." His headband may have had the Leaf symbol, but they were far from comrades, in fact to Kakashi, Danzo and every member of Root were his enemies.
In the last few moments before lightening seared through his chest Hyo's arms went slack. He stopped struggling against his inevitable death He would have rather died in battle anyway. Failure was not an option in Root.
–
The effects of Hyo's technique wore off in after a minutes. Sasuke and Hinata woke up to Kakashi standing over them, his face buried in words of his favorite novel.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked as he looked around the clearing. All the ninjas were gone.
"It's a long story. For now, is there anything to eat?" Kakashi asked clutching his empty stomach.
The delicious smell of food preparation pervaded thought the hideout once again, as Hinata hustled to put something together for the three of them to eat. Only moments after Kakashi declared his hunger, Sasuke and Hinata's stomach demanded food as well.
"Mmm. Hinata I can see why Naruto never ran out of energy. He must have always been full."
Kakashi complemented his former student's fiancée, his words turning her entire face pink.
"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." Hinata responded with a deep bow.
Sasuke said nothing, instead choosing to eat quietly and listen as Hinata and Kakashi idly chit-chatted throughout what was now dinner. Hinata talked about her training with Sasuke, the reason why they were in Orochimaru's hideout, even about the men that had attacked them in the port town. Kakashi in turn gave her what little news he had on Konoha in his short visit. All in all, the dinner kind of reminded Kakashi of back home, eating take out at Sakura's apartment with her and Naruto. Kakashi had almost forgotten why he'd came. Luckly, Hinata returned the conversation to something more serious.
"Kakashi-sensei, what happened to the Root ninjas?" Hinata finally asked.
Kakashi didn't even bat an eye, "I killed them. All of them." Although he had proclaimed the deaths of the intruding ANBU members with a homely smile on his face, the malice in Kakashi's voice temporarily cut Hinata and Sasuke's ability to speak.
"B-B-But how did you escape from that jutsu that froze Sasuke and I?" Hinata stuttered on her question. She quickly glanced over to Sasuke, both checking to make sure that he wasn't staring at her angrily for stuttering and to confirm that he hadn't left her alone.
"Oh that, I was never there in the first place," Kakashi said lightheartedly, "Hyo must have been an earth element type. He dispersed tiny particles of poison throughout the air with his chakra. Luckily, the canine contract not only makes me really sensitive to smell, but I can tell when the air around me changes. After that I just made produced a clone and waited the effects kick in."
"You could have told me." Sasuke chimed in for the first time in the conversation.
"I did." Kakashi noted, "The message on the ground."
Come to think of it, his doodling did look like a dog choking himself.
"You call that a message?" Sasuke snorted back.
"Next time maybe you shouldn't focus so much on Hinata." Kakashi counted, effectively winning the exchange as Hinata turned around quickly to hide the pink tinge on her cheeks and Sasuke immediately changed the subject.
"Why are you here?" Sasuke demanded.
"Oh right," The worry-free feeling in the dinner room vanished as Kakashi learned close to Sasuke. "I have some information on what happened."
Sasuke and Hinata listened as Kakashi filled them in on everything that he knew.
–
Years of rigorous ninja training, countless undercover, covert missions and Neji still hadn't mastered the art of sneaking out of bed from under Shizune's arm. The single tap at his bedroom windows meant that there was something ANBU related that required his attention, but the moment he laid a finger on Shizune's arm, "Don't get it." she responded from her half sleep state.
"You know I have to." Neji attempted to appeal to her logic.
"No you don't. I haven't seen you in three days. There is nothing more important-" Shizune began but the sound of two taps on the window stopped her cold.
One tap meant urgent, two taps meant immediate danger. Both she and Neji jumped up from the bed. Shizune began to get dressed while Neji was briefed. When Neji returned he was wide-eyed and alert, scrambling to get his things and throwing Shizune her shoes, "We need to get to the Hokage now."
Tsunade mulled over the information she was just given, "Are you sure about this?" She asked Neji.
"Yes, I set four squads to serveil Danzo like you ordered. He lost most of them, but two of our men tracked him all the way to the hidden Rain village." Neji reported.
"So Danzo is working with the Akatsuki?" Tsunade contained her anger. Although Danzo was committing treason, she would need a lot more than the word of two ANBU members to turn the village elders against him. She needed a plan, something to-
"There is one more thing Hokage-sama..."
The village was in a state of uproar. Tsunade had called for an emergency meeting from the entire village. The meeting wasn't such a bad thing. Most of the villagers had been through this kind of thing before. What made this particular meeting so cumbersome was the time at which it was held. It had already been midnight when Neji received the taps to his window. After receiving a full debriefing from Neji, Tsunade had ordered that every ninja in the village attend the emergency meeting that had to take place right now and she made it crystal clear that this was not a request.
Nearly an hour passed by before the doors of the meeting room finally closed, signifying that everyone was there and it was time to begin. Tsunade scanned over the crowd, letting the sleep, weariness and alcohol pass from everyone's system. Now that she was sure everyone was alert enough to listen to what she had to say she began.
"I'm declaring war against Amegakure."
–
"So she was targeted, by someone in Konoha?" Sasuke asked. His voice was calm and distant. He stared past Kakashi. Focusing his vision on a single point with such intensity Hinata was sure he would bore a hole through it.
"Sasuke you need to be-" Kakashi didn't even finish his sentence. Sasuke got up from the dinner table and left the room. Hinata went after him, but Kakashi held her arm back.
"He needs some time to himself." he advised, but it was more than just that. It was a warning. Sasuke blinded with rage was too dangerous to be around. When he's like this, he would not distinguish between friend or foe.
After the somber dinner, Hinata directed Kakashi to the library where they both searched for the book for a few hours until Hinata declared that she was going to bed.
"Good night Kakashi-sensei" Hinata bid Kakashi as she left the library.
The hours passed, but Hinata found it impossible to sleep. She was riddled with mixed feelings of guilt, sadness, and betrayal. She knew that Sasuke wanted revenge for Sakura's death, but up until tonight her death was more like collateral damage. The knowledge that she had been Pein's target all along derailed their hatred. They had been hunting Sakura's killer for all the wrong reasons and that knowledge left the pain she was feeling hollow. Hinata felt like she had been mourning a person who was not yet dead while ignoring the actual deceased. The feeling left her sick and uneasy. Why was Sakura the target? What did Akatsuki hope to gain from this?
Restless, Hinata began to pace around her room. It wasn't long before she found herself out pacing the halls. She was completely lost in thought, so much so that the sound of something breaking startled her more than it should have. The sound came from Sasuke's room.
"Is everything alright Sasuke?" Hinata called out, but there was no answer.
Resisting the urge to sneak a peek with her Baykugan, Hinata called out to Sasuke again, but she got nothing back. She turned the handle. It was unlocked so she cracked it just enough to whisper into the pitch black room.
"Sasuke?" Hinata called out.
"I heard you the first time." Sasuke finally answered back. Hinata mistook his calmness for an invitation and she slid into the dark room closing the door behind her.
"Listen, Sasuke," Hinata started to say, but Sasuke cut her off. He had moved from the far side of the room. Now he was standing in front of her, his voice down to barely a whisper.
"I'm going to kill Danzo." Sasuke began.
"I know." Hinata admitted both to herself and to Sasuke. She looked up to where his voice was coming from. The darkness in the room was as thick as oil, all either of them had was the sounds of their voices.
"I'm going to kill him, and everyone else that tries to stop me." Sasuke continued. His voice was closer than it had been a moment ago.
"I-I know." Again Sasuke voiced her fears. She knew that he was going to come after Danzo next and she knew what that would mean to the both of them.
"You are a ninja of Konoha. You need to go back home with Kakashi." Sasuke concluded.
"No." Hinata had spent the last few hours tossing, turning and pacing around trying to figure out just what she was going to say when Sasuke turned her away. If she left now, the next time they saw each other they would be enemies. Sasuke would have killed Pien and moved on to his next target, making him an enemy of the entire village. He was going to toss her aside simply to keep her out of trouble. Hinata realized it was that uncharacteristic protectiveness that Hinata disliked the most about Sasuke.
"I don't need your…" Hinata's voice trailed off.
Somewhere in the midst of their short conversation the distance between Hinata and Sasuke disappeared. Neither of them said a word, and the silence amplified the sounds of their deep, steady breathing. Sasuke's fingers laced into hers as Hinata's other hand landed softly against his back. She couldn't see his movements. The pitch blackness masked the way his eyes searched for some surety in her face. Instead there was only the warm tickle of his breath against her shoulders and the caress of his fingers as the grazed along her palm. His other hand glided across the side of her stomach, underneath her shirt and around to the smalls of her back. Gently he pulled Hinata closer, taking in the scent of her skin as his lips brushed past her neck and rested on the side of her jaw.
Hinata breathed out a soft moan. For the first time ever she yearned for Sasuke's lips to find hers. Sasuke just held her for a moment just letting Hinata chest press against his as her breathing grew deeper.
Just as soon as it began, it ended. Sasuke pulled himself off of Hinata.
"Good night Hinata." He whispered.
Hinata said nothing, just standing there in the dark room trying to hide the confusion, guilt and pain from her face. It didn't matter that the room was pitch black. She knew Sasuke was standing there. Close enough that if she reached out she could pull him back to her, but far enough to convey his desire to be left alone. Saying nothing Hinata simply left the room.
–
"Hokage-sama you cannot be serious? War? With Amegakure? With Akatsuki?" One of the village elders questioned.
The meeting had been going on for over half an hour. Most of which was spent listening to all the reasons why war was simply not an option. Tsunade listened, waiting for her chance to speak as each of the village's clan heads gave their opinions.
"Hokage-sama, perhaps if you could tell us more about this decision then we can understand your reasoning behind it." The room fell silent. The shock of Danzo speaking in agreement with the Hokage left many mouths too far on the ground to speak. Danzo gave a quick apathetic scan to the room before turning his eyes back to Tsunade.
"Thank you Danzo-sama." Tsunade said with as much sweetness as she could muster. She knew Danzo had his reasons for going along with war, but she had no idea why. Did he know that Naruto wasn't dead? Or perhaps he was planning some kind of takeover. Nevertheless, Tsunade had other things to worry about. She stood from her chair, clearing her throat before she began.
"We have reason to believe that the ninja of the Rain village has something to do with the deaths of Naruto and Sakura." The room remained quiet as Tsunade took in a deep breath, "More specifically, Pien the leader of the Rain village is who killed Naruto and Sakura."
The room burst into whispers. There were some ninjas who had heard, others who hadn't. Either way everyone in the room knew now, but the proclamation did little to sway the village clan leaders, most of which already knew the news.
"What happened to the Jinchuriki and Mrs. Haruno was tragic, we all lost two of our most valuable jounins. However, I cannot condemn this entire village simply because you cannot bury the dead Tsunade." This time it was Hiashi who spoke. His daughter had lost the most of all this and now she has gone missing. His worry gave conviction to his words. "I cannot—"
"I will not bury someone who is not dead." Tsunade cut into Hiashi's words. Now the room was silent. So silent Tsunade was sure she could her Danzo's knuckles tighten around the handle of his cane.
"Naruto is alive and he is in Amegakure. I'm going to get Naruto. Who's with me?" Tsunade concluded.
In the end no one said a word of protest. Ninja after ninja rose to their feet until there wasn't a filled chair in the entire room. That settled things, in two days time Konoha would officially be at war.
A\N: Sorry for this release taking so long. School, work, and stuff. Well I hope you all enjoy it!