3/ Drastic Seals : where Aunty Exposition makes a last appearance before being definitely booted out of the story, Naruto thinks, Jiraiya experiments, and Hinata is a wee bit lost, again. (Also, spoilers up to 478. I'm whisking Sasuke out of that Danzou fight.)
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Dynamic Entry! -kicks the disclaimer-
Dedicated to Shadowkeepre, because I said so; and to SoulFire for constructive criticism.
Many thanks to Ken, for betaing this heavy mofo ( 12 000 words or so), and to each and every person who took the time to leave a review.
My most heartfelt apologies to all readers for the hiatus (RL happened). Here's the long awaited third chapter: I'm cranking up the pace, things get darker, I'll be throwing sex talk and bloody fights in the mix, and characters might get hurt. This fic is rated M, remember.
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Drastic Holiday
Chapter Three : Drastic Sealing
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Takibana Inn, Bathing premises, 11:30 am
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Naruto sank in the warm water, careful to not let it reach the singed skin on his arms. One of the many drawbacks of exploding soap was that the burns it created managed to turn an otherwise pleasurable activity like basking in hot water into sheer torture. Naruto healed quickly thanks to the Kyuubi, but such wounds would remain sensitive for another good couple of hours at least.
He tried to find a comfortable position without immersing his arms in the hot water, and ended awkwardly propping his elbows on the pool border.
Closing his eyes, Naruto leaned back and smiled. He refused to let that old hag of a Hokage ruin a perfect day. Hinata joining his team was as if a bit of Konoha had travelled toward him. And not just any part at that, but Hyuuga Hinata herself! She had been with him during his academy years, and since she was one of the Rookie 12.
Was it only three years since he had left his village? It seemed more like five or six to him. One thing was sure, he missed it like crazy. The Leaf was not just his village, it was his roots, a part of himself.
But then again, the situation had been so messed up, three years ago, that leaving might have been one of the lesser evils.
Things had been a bit hectic at the time, to put it mildly, between Sasuke going from mere missing-nin to internationally wanted criminal in a couple of days, Sakura's half-assed confession to him before deciding to leave to kill Sasuke herself, and the Rookie 12 officially deciding to take down the last Uchiha with their own hands.
After the Kage's summit, Naruto, Kakashi and Yamato had caught up with Sakura just as she stumbled on Sasuke fighting with Danzou. Kakashi had tried to take a hold of Sasuke while Yamato and Sai took care of Danzou, but Madara had decided to conveniently teleport Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto himself to some godforsaken field in the middle of nowhere. The Akatsuki leader had then tried to pit Sasuke against Naruto by using Sakura as bait, ranting all along about destiny and bitter brotherhood.
To Naruto, Madara's tendency to fuck with people's head could not be excused just because the man had had a shitty life, and had told him so. Madara had not been too happy about it, and messed with the Kyuubi in retaliation. That was approximately when Sasuke had decided to get involved, and had tried to pull a chidori on the man. Sakura had happily jumped in too, and had pulled a huge-ass battle axe out of nowhere. From then on, things had gone hazy.
Naruto's recollections of the fight were fuzzy at best. Had it lasted one hour, a day, a week? He could not tell, not even now. He just remembered the final attack, that stupid combo that should not have worked, no way, not even against a chuunin. But in a sheer bout of incredible luck, it had. Teamwork had been Madara's downfall.
When Naruto had woken up in the white hospital room in Konoha, he had immediately felt that something was wrong with him. He should have been overjoyed when Jiraiya told him that Sakura and Sasuke would make it, because that meant that Team 7 was whole again, right? But something, deep in his stomach, had felt wrong. He had felt like retching, and suddenly he could not stand the brightness of the white room. Back to Team 7, really? Was that even possible?
"What now?" was the question that had plagued his mind at the time. The emptiness he had felt and the lack of foreseeable solution had scared him shitless. Naruto could not help but wonder: had he been so blind all these years? Was there still something to work with? Had it all been a childish dream? Everyone and their brother had been telling Naruto to grow up, and he felt as if it had suddenly been happening to him. Was it that, growing up? Giving up on his what he held dear? Not giving a damn anymore?
He should have been bursting with happiness at the thought that Sasuke was finally back and that Team 7 was complete again, but he was just plagued by doubts. Things had not been that simple. To begin with, there had been the fact that Sasuke had not exactly decided to come back. It was more like Naruto and Sakura had dragged his knocked-out self back to Konoha without taking the time to ask him how he felt about it. Speaking of Sakura, her half-assed confession had not helped either.
Naruto had always wanted Sakura because she was fiery and because she, like him, had always wanted to be acknowledged. But when he had been standing in the middle of the falling snow, listening to the words he had waited for so long, he had only felt hurt and emptiness. Sakura had clearly been lying, trying to convince herself that she no longer loved Sasuke. Everything, from her body language to her hesitant tone, had been crying out bloody lies. That was not what he had wanted, not a confession laden with guilt, with the bitter after-taste of pity lingering in her voice. He'd always dreamed she would confess to him. But not that way. Not out of pity and cold logic.
That confession, which should have been a victory, had been his biggest defeat ever.
The next time he had seen her was during the fight against Madara, along with Sasuke, and after that they had been busy saving their strength going back to Konoha carrying a very unconscious Sasuke. Sakura had not mentioned the confession on the way back to Konoha, which had been perfectly fine by Naruto since he had not planned to address it either.
When Tsunade had ordered him to leave the village to go training with Jiraiya for a few years, a very, very small part of him had actually felt relieved. Leaving Konoha meant avoiding Sakura, which would actually give her some time to cool down and to reflect about her feelings, now that Sasuke was back. Naruto realized that somewhere along the way, his romantic feelings for Sakura had faded slowly, and disappeared. He still liked her very much, she was his teammate, and he had loved her for years, he could not just get rid of feelings like that. But there was nothing romantic in his feelings for her.
Still, leaving Konoha and Sasuke, who had just came back, without even saying goodbye had left Naruto feeling like shit. He had barely left Konoha's walls before he began to regret his decision
To try to alleviate the emptiness eating him, Naruto had started writing to Sasuke. Naruto had written clumsy letters, full of nonsense and smudged ink. He had never been good at writing, much to Jiraiya's dismay, but he kept on writing letters to his teammate nonetheless, one every week or so. In his letters, he talked about everything and nothing at the same time, raving about new toad jutsu and complaining about Jiraiya's snoring.
Nearly six months passed and nothing happened. But Naruto did not let that stop him, and he kept on sending a letter every week.
Then one day, as Jiraiya and Naruto were trying to work on the Kyuubi's chakra with Killer Bee and Hachibi, a hawk had appeared out of nowhere, with a small note tied to its leg. Two short sentences, hastily scribbled down in Sasuke's neat, bastardly handwriting:
'I spent the last six months in a hospital room with Sakura constantly hounding me, and now that I'm finally back home, I find a mountain of letters from my OTHER teammate. What's with you both and your fucking mother-hen attitude?'
Naruto had been so happy he could have bounced from walls to walls. He did, in fact. Killer Bee had even offered to write a Kabuki-style declamation to celebrate, but Jiraiya and Hachibi had managed to convince him not to.
From that day on, Sasuke had kept answering to Naruto's letters, and lately Sakura had taken to adding a couple of sentences in Sasuke's letters. Naruto had felt genuinely happy at it, to him it was the most tangible proof that Team 7 was finally back on tracks.
The only problem was that he was nowhere near Konoha now. So having Hinata join his and Jiraiya's team was like a gift from fate really. His link to Konoha was strengthening again.
Naruto had to admit he was fond of Hinata. Ever since the chuunin exams, Hinata had been one of Naruto's precious friends. He had been truly happy to share a few drinks with her the day before, she truly was nice to hang out with. It was going to be so fun to have someone his age in the team.
And she was so damn sweet! Now, in a way, he could understand Kiba's protectiveness when it came to his female teammate. Even though Kiba's reactions had always seemed a bit over the top to Naruto. The Inuzuka boy had always had a short fuse, but defiling Hinata in front of him was like throwing a matchstick at a pile of explosive kunai.
Like that time where the boy had punched the living snot out of a civilian man who had had the bad taste to make lewd jokes about Hinata within Kiba hearing range. Sai had then added to the mayhem by stubbornly asking what that "doggy style" thing was, as if it was an Inuzuka secret jutsu. Naruto let out a short bark of laughter, remembering Sakura's face at the time.
"Cackling by yourself is a bad habit, brat," said Jiraiya, sitting down in the pool beside him.
"Old toad, don't surprise me like that!" retorted Naruto dryly, splashing some water at his mentor. After thinking a bit, a sudden realization struck him: "You knew about the soap! That's why you decided to wait a bit before bathing!"
"Might be so," conceded the hermit
"You could have told me!" fumed Naruto.
"Hey, you should have suspected it. It's not like she was being very original. It's what, the fifth time she's done this?"
"Sixth," admitted Naruto grudgingly.
"Sixth, really? Did I miss something?"
"This is not the point. I mean, why is she so bitchy?
"Hm. I have absolutely no clue. Not at all. This surely has nothing to do with the fact that she was in an important meeting with the Mizukage when you told her to get milked."
"Oh. Was she now?" asked Naruto in a detached tone.
"Indeed," drawled Jiraiya, dipping his small towel in the hot water.
"Hm. Old Toad?" asked Naruto, deciding that a swift change of subject was needed.
"Yes, stupid brat?" answered the old man with a smirk.
"How did your pep-talk with Hinata go?"
Jiraiya arched an eyebrow at him, before answering slowly. "It went well. She doesn't look like it, but she's a fiery one."
Naruto smiled and nodded enthusiastically. He was glad Jiraiya approved of her. After all, the old man was the closest thing to a father-figure Naruto had, even though he did not like to admit it openly.
He had slipped only a couple of times in his life. The first time had been when he had gone four-tails and nearly killed the old man. The other time had been after Jiraiya's fight against Pain, one of Akatsuki members. Jiraiya and Tsunade had fought together against that man, but they had paid a huge price. Tsunade had ended up in a coma for two months, and Jiraiya had gone M.I.A. for a whole week after the fight. The village had been in an uproar, the vacant Hokage position being everyone's main priority. No one had cared much about the remaining Sannin, and to be honest, no one thought the old man could have survived. The worst part had been that none of the frogs had answered Naruto's summoning during that week. It was as if he had never had a summoning contract to begin with.
One week later, Naruto had seriously been starting to lose hope when Jiraiya had appeared in front of Konoha's gate, unconscious and his right arm badly mangled. It had taken nearly a month for Konoha's medics to set the old man right. He stayed delirious for a long time, raving about a 'destined child' and stuff like that. Naruto did not care, had been beside himself with happiness when he had learned that his teacher had been alive, and had spent many evenings talking to his unconscious mentor.
That said, he'd rather eat flies than admit it openly to the old man.
"Hey boy! Daydreaming again," chided the hermit.
"You know what? I'm getting out of this bath, you're just ruining the mood. That, and I absolutely don't want to hear you complain again about what soaking in hot water for too long does to some parts of your anatomy," replied Naruto in a clipped tone.
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Fire Country, Konoha, Hyuuga Estate
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Neji sat down in front of his chabudai table, and opened his ink set. He slowly rubbed the ink stick on the ink grinding stone, carefully adding some water. He focused on his work, trying to block-out the yells filtering through the wooden walls. One particularly loud outburst coming from his uncle made him flinch, which had him nearly spilling the black ink over his wooden table.
Hyuuga Hiashi was a very collected man, most of the time.
Hinata's sudden decision to leave Konoha for a two-year mission seemed to have been the last straw, though. Neji had never seen his uncle have such a fit. After coming back from the Hokage's tower the day before, Hiashi had spent the whole night in the dojo, which was now closed for 'rebuilding purposes'.
Things were not looking any better now. The man was sitting in the middle of the Iris room, and lashed out verbally at anyone who was foolish enough to come near him. Since the Iris room was literally in the middle of the estate, this had people trekking through the moss garden to go from one wing to another. Even the elders were not spared, and Neji was pretty sure Hinomaru-sama had never been called a "nosy old baboon" before today.
After checking that the ink was sufficiently thick, Neji dipped a brush in it and started writing.
Dear cousin,
I hope this letter will find you in the most exquisite health, and that the weather is not too hot to bear.
I am writing you this short note to let you know that trying to establish contact with Hiashi-ojisama right now is not recommended. You will find that leaving him a few days, or weeks, to come to terms with your reassignment to Jiraiya-sama's team might be highly profitable.
Please give my best wishes to Naruto, and be sure that Hanabi, Himawari and Nisseki join their warmest regards to mine.
Do let us have your news from time to time.
Your loving cousin,
Hyuuga Neji.
PS: Also, pay no heed to mentions of elopement. It is merely a passing fad.
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Waterfall Country, Takibana Inn, 12:14 am
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Jiraiya tightened his sash and stepped out of the changing room into the corridor, where he nearly bumped into his pupil and Aiko, the youngest lady of leisure of the Takibana inn. The young woman was toying with bangs of her long hair, smiling her sweetest smile at his blond pupil.
"Tell me, Naruto-sama, can I visit you tonight?"
"Of course Aiko-chan! I'd be happy to oblige!" replied Naruto cheerfully at the petite woman, who smiled radiantly and whirled around after bowing sprightly.
Jiraiya watched her leave and groaned. She had not even spared a glance at him. Hanging out with Naruto was bad for his self-esteem.
It had all started a year ago, when Jiraiya had decided to drag a very reluctant, kicking and screaming Naruto to a brothel to have him initiated to the joys of sex. Having a pupil who was still a virgin at 18 was not something the hermit's pride could cope with.
The old man had strategically waited for the right time: one day, when Naruto's hormones had been playing merry hell with his focusing during training, Jiraiya had taken the boy to the nearest brothel. Naruto had been reluctant at first, calling Jiraiya names all the way there, but he had finally complied.
The following day, without saying a word, Naruto had followed Jiraiya back to the brothel. And the day after that too.
At first, Jiraiya had congratulated himself for dealing masterfully with his student's introduction to the world of physical rapture, but on the fourth day something strange happened.
When they arrived at the brothel, the women all but ran toward them, each begging Naruto to spend the night with her. When Naruto finally picked one, the gleam of triumph in her eyes had been impossible to miss, as well as the clear disappointment of the remaining women's faces.
Jiraiya had been livid with jealously at the time. He had always prided himself in his great love skills, and could proudly say that he had never left a woman wanting. It was on his top motto list, along with 'there's no such thing as an easy lay' and 'cheap sake is not the answer, always go for top stuff'. Generally, the ladies were happy to see him arrive, and often smiled coyly at him. But they had never fought over him!
Yet that student of him, still wet behind the ears, was so popular in the red lantern district that it was nearly ridiculous.
That insanity went on for nearly one week before Jiraiya finally decided to put his foot down after a particularly unsettling event.
One evening, all the women had been waiting in line as usual, but they had been dead silent, with none of the usual 'He's here!' shrieks and subsequent catfights. They had just shoved a young girl, almost a child really, no older than 15 toward Naruto. The girl had been like a frightened little mouse, hiding behind her kimono sleeves, tears streaking her cheeks and smearing her make-up. The women had unanimously begged Naruto to 'take care' of that young girl.
Naruto had nodded gravely, before disappearing with the girl, only to show up two hours later, with the girl clutching at his arm glowing with happiness.
The whole room had erupted in cheers, and Jiraiya had been crestfallen at everyone's obvious lack of common sense. It was like Minato's sex appeal thing was happening all over again.
Enough being enough, Jiraiya decided to spy on Naruto the following night.
After all, the hermit had told himself to ease the guilt and scruples, it was data gathering too. If the brat was indeed using some special technique, well, it could be useful for the Icha-Icha books. So the old man sat in the roof, a few inches from Naruto's room window and waited for the things to heat up, his pen poised over a notebook. Except that things did not heat up at all.
Naruto and the woman did nothing remotely sexual. They did not even kiss. They were just sitting on the bed, sipping tea, and chatting. They talked about many things, but mainly about the girl's life. Her hopes, her dreams, herself. Naruto listened politely all the time. After a while, the hermit realized that Naruto was not just listening, but that he was seriously taking interest in the girl's story.
Jiraiya stayed there and listened for a good couple of hours. He finally left when the girl started talking tearfully about her family in Kusa, because that was clearly not meant for his ears.
He went back to his room and started grilling the girls about Naruto. First they hesitated, but soon they started talking, all at once.
"Well, you know, he's the only one who listens to us!"; "He doesn't judge, and he's genuinely interested,"; "Yes! That's the thing, he's not just pretending, he's really taking interest!"; "He even remembers my little brother's name!"; "He actually listens to us, to him we're not just lumps of meat, here only to satisfy his libido. No offense meant there Jiraiya-sama, but you know what I mean, right?"… The list went on and on. Jiraiya cringed every time a woman said 'no offense meant, but'.
He had to admit it, this ability of his pupil to put everyone at ease, the way he managed to understand everyone's plight was one of Naruto's best qualities. It was just slightly disturbing that he used it on brothel girls instead of sleeping with them.
If Jiraiya wanted to be truly honest with himself, it was more saddening than disturbing. Naruto as a kid had been deprived of human warmth, so to him, just talking with someone was satiating. He did not have to go all the way to be satisfied as a simple conniving smile was enough to appease his craving for human warmth. The boy coped with his needs by spending the night talking with a girl, showing understanding. Surely because he himself knew how harsh it was when no one tried to understand you, when everyone thought you were no more than what you appeared to be. Jiraiya wondered if it was because Naruto had drawn parallels between himself and the prostitutes: as they had not chosen to be sold by their parents to escape poverty, he had not chosen to receive a sealed monster in his body to save a village either.
That kind of thinking triggered some unwanted emotions in Jiraiya's psyche, like guilt over running away instead of being there for Minato's kid, so he never pried. He never confronted Naruto about this. He went on with his salty quips, and never let it show that he knew the truth.
Well, Jiraiya could not really complain. After all, word of mouth travelled fast in the red lantern world, and from then on, Naruto's fake identity (Kinoshita Makito) had always granted them the right of entry in the best houses of any restricted districts.
"Old man, who's daydreaming now?"
"What?"
"I said," said Naruto in an exaggeratedly slow voice, "what do you want to eat?"
"Karaage will be fine," answered Jiraiya, half-annoyed, half-amused.
"Again?"
"Yep, again. Don't forget to take something for Hinata too."
"As if!"
As Jiraiya entered his room, he was surprised to see the Hyuuga girl already there, sitting straight in front of the chabudai, her legs neatly tucked under herself.
"Already here Hinata?" he asked, sitting down on the other side of the low table. "Then you can tell me about your arm! We'll start by the beginning if you want."
"Yes Jiraiya-sensei. Six months ago, as I was coming back from Sand Country I decided to cut by Mt. Takao and…"
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As Naruto did his best to balance the three trays of food he was carrying, he kept wondering if he had picked the right thing for Hinata. He had no clue what the girl liked to eat, and since the inn kitchen did not serve that universally acclaimed and loved food that ramen was, he had been at a loss. So he had just picked randomly some food instead. As he arrived in front of Jiraiya's room, he used his foot to slide the door open, and called out: "Hinata-chan, I hope you like oyako-don!"
"I do like it, Naruto-kun," said Hinata with a smile, taking the tray from his right arm. She sat down and inhaled deeply. She looked ravenous. Naruto noted that she had reverted to adding the 'kun' after his name. He briefly wondered if it meant he had been too pushy the day before.
"Naruto," pested Jiraiya, "we were in the middle of something you know. Do you always have to barge in and yell the house down?"
"Shut up, or I'll eat your chicken karaage," chided Naruto.
"Sit down already, the food will get cold," said the hermit before turning back to Hinata and resuming their conversation:
"So, what was I saying before this idiot interrupted us? Ah yes, we were discussing Tengu categories. From the size, and the fact that you can still use your arm freely, I'd say it was used for a Karasu Tengu. With a Yamabushi Tengu, or a Dai Tengu, you'd have lost the use of your arm. Am I right?"
"Tengu? What's that Tengu stuff? 'name rings a bell," said Naruto before shoveling a large spoonful of deep-fried pork curry in his mouth.
Jiraiya made a point of ignoring him, and kept looking interrogatively at Hinata. She had been about the dig in her plate, but as the hermit addressed her, she gingerly put her chopsticks down and shook her head.
"I'm afraid I don't know at all, Jiraiya-sensei. I'm sorry."
"Alright," said the old man, before chewing thoughtfully at a piece of fried chicken. Naruto watched as Hinata waited for a moment before tentatively reaching for her chopsticks again. As her fingers were about to touch the wooden sticks, Jiraiya asked her yet another question: "You said you got that on the mount Takao, right?"
"Yes, Jiraiya sensei," answered Hinata, looking forlornly at her rapidly cooling meal.
"Then I'm pretty sure it's a Karasu Tengu," mused Jiraiya before eating another chicken piece.
Naruto gulped some cold barley tea to help down a barely chewed piece of pork before pointing an accusing spoon at the white-haired man, "Hey, do you mind? You talk way too much, Hinata-chan can't even eat in peace!"
Hinata's cheeks colored as she shook her hands hastily: "No, no, don't worry Naruto-kun, it's my fault! See, I'm eating!" she said in a rushed voice, picking her chopsticks in one hand and the earthenware bowl in the other one.
"I'll keep him busy! Take your time, Hinata-chan," whispered Naruto out of the corner of his mouth.
"So Ero-jiji, what the fuck is that Tenku thing you were babbling about?"
"Tengu, Naruto, Tengu. Karasu Tengu in particular. These are forest sprites with the body of a man and the head of a crow. They are capable of many vile things, from creating illusions to kidnapping and mental maiming. One of their favorite tricks is the Tengu Kakushi: they abduct human beings, mostly kids, and mess with their head a bit before living off of the kid energy, sucking them dry. Hinata here came across a kid who had in all likelihood been abducted by a Tengu. She then stupidly volunteered to serve as bait in a purification ceremony, and ended up with her chakra ducts completely fouled up."
"But Jiraiya-sensei," protested Hinata, "it was the only solution! The Tengu was possessing the boy, it would have killed him."
"That was totally immature, point. Being a hero is not all what's it's hyped to be. People forget about heroes quite quickly, trust me!" Jiraiya sighed before adding under his breath, "now I have two stupid, immature and hot headed students. Yay me."
"Well," scoffed Naruto, "she saved a kid's life and we both know you can't wait to set her right to show off your sealing mumbo-jumbo skills. So stop grunting like the old bear you are."
"It's not that easy boy," said Jiraiya offhandedly while scratching his chin, "I think the Tengu is still in her arm."
Sudden choking noises coming from Hinata made Naruto turn around. The girl was looking at the old man with her eyes as wide as saucers.
"What? But the medicine woman told me that without access to my mind, the Tengu would just die!"
"Yeah, well, that old hag kept some things from you. Like the fact that to Tengu and other parasites, like a certain furry animal with nine tails I will not mention, chakra is as good as mental energy. So I'm pretty sure that thing is still alive in there," said Jiraiya pointing at the girl's arm.
Hinata's face turned ashen, and she pushed the bowl away from herself and put down her chopsticks.
"I think I'm going to be sick" she said, in a strangled whisper.
"No you won't girl, it's just the shock, you'll feel right as rain in a minute. Plus, keep in mind that if you puke on the tatami, the cleaning bill will be on you."
"Old toad!" yelled Naruto indignantly.
"What? I'm not paying for tatami cleaning! Minawa is always absurdly overcharging us."
Naruto kept glaring daggers at Jiraiya, but the old man did not seem to notice at all, as he was focusing on polishing the plate off the last fried chicken bits. When he was finished, he rubbed his stomach contently.
"Alright, time to get serious. Naruto, you bring the food trays back to Minawa, and Hinata, dear? I'll have a look at that arm."
When Naruto returned five minutes later, Hinata was lying on her back in the middle of the room, her left arm bared to the shoulder, spread over one of Jiraiya's giant sealing scrolls.
The old man had already started writing on the scroll, black ink tracing intricate sealing designs on the white paper.
As Jiraiya tied his yukata sleeves to keep them from hindering him, he glanced thoughtfully at the girl.
"Tell me Hinata, did your arm bleed a lot the first time the seals were performed?"
Hinata thought for a second before nodding, "Yes, quite a lot."
Naruto watched like a hawk as the old man then performed and unknown series of hand seals before slamming both his hands on the floor. Nothing seemed to happen. Catching Naruto's questioning glance, Jiraiya shook his head: "Nothing important brat. I just want to make sure the tatami will stay blood-free."
Turning toward Hinata, Jiraiya asked her: "Did it hurt a lot?"
"It was painful," admitted the girl.
"Right, okay then. I'll try to be quick my dear, but I think it's better if we make sure you stay still. I'll use a binding jutsu to keep you from moving your arm. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes, Jiraiya-sensei," answered Hinata meekly.
"Good girl," said Jiraiya, patting her shoulder.
"Naruto, you sit there and you don't move," ordered Jiraiya while pointing at a zabuton.
"Okay, okay," grunted Naruto. Seeing as Jiraiya was still staring intently at him, he bristled: "What? I said I wouldn't move! You think I will?"
"That's a very asinine question, my boy. As a matter of fact, I know you will. It's just a question of 'when'."
Naruto huffed and the old man went back to his fumbling with his brushes without another word.
"Alright, Hinata, we're doing this now. You're ready?"
"I am, Jiraiya-sensei."
"Good."
With an intent look on his face, the old man set to work diligently. His brush was running over the white paper, splashing black ink. Then he positioned his left hand over Hinata's wrist, and his right one on her elbow. His fingers, overflowing with chakra, connected to the girl's skin at the same time.
Hinata gasped and bit her lower lip, squeezing her eyes shut.
"It's alright girl, hang in there. I've just slightly modified the old seals, and now the new ones are going to merge in. It'll be finished soon."
Hinata nodded feebly, and Naruto's eyes grew wide as he saw the skin starting to crack around her wrist and her elbow, blood welling up slowly, running down her hand in steady trickles.
Naruto watched anxiously as his teacher activated the first circle of seals on the scrolls. He watched to signs glow red before sliding quickly toward Hinata's wrist. As the ink was about to leave the paper to land on her skin, it suddenly stopped progressing and recoiled, like tiny little black snakes, falling back listlessly on the scroll paper.
"Shit!" hissed Jiraiya.
"What's happening?" asked Naruto in an urgent voice.
"That kind of seal doesn't work, I need to try another kind," explained the hermit in a rushed voice, fumbling for another brush.
Hinata's arm was now bleeding profusely, and to Naruto it looked almost as if something was moving under her skin. He glanced at Hinata, and was startled to see how ghostly white her face was. She was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood, and tears were running down her scrunched up eyelids.
Suddenly, a spasm racked her body and she let out a small whimper as blood mixed with dark chakra spurted from her wounds.
"What the…?" whispered Naruto, hypnotized by what was happening to his friend's arm. Dark chakra waves were now pouring out of her arm, and blood was covering the whole scroll.
"Hinata hold on!" yelled Naruto, almost frantic, "Jiraiya! Do something! She's hurting!"
"What do you think I'm doing? Shut up!" snarled the old man before wiping the blood smudging the scroll and scribbling furiously.
"I'm okay, don't worry, I'm okay," hissed Hinata through gritted teeth. She twisted her legs and writhed a bit on the floor, as if trying to alleviate the pain that was coursing through her body. Her left arm's state was steadily worsening, and now something was clearly moving in there. Suddenly, the skin on her upper arm started breaking too.
"Hell, it's destroying the other seal!" Jiraiya uttered in a blanch voice.
At that precise moment, Hinata's eyes flew open and she wailed, her body twisting under the assault of pain. She started kicking furiously at the tatami mats, before rolling over, her eyes wild. She tried to get up, but her left arm was stuck to the scroll and she could not move. The pain was driving her crazy, Naruto realized as she started punching at her left upper arm, as if trying to stop the pain's progression.
"Oh no you don't girl," grunted Jiraiya, battling her hand away with the haft of his brush, "cutting the chakra flow won't help!"
Naruto watched, helpless, as Hinata brought her right hand abruptly to her mouth, biting into the fleshy part of her hand to stifle her cries.
Watching the blood run down her right arm too, Naruto panicked and without thinking, he reached out to her, wanting to get a hold of her to keep her from injuring herself further.
"No! Don't touch her!"
Naruto just had the time to hear Jiraiya's desperate yell before everything went black.
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.o0O0o.
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Naruto did not need light to know where he was, the familiar sinking feeling in his stomach accompanying the slight change of gravity was enough to let him know what had happened. Turning around, the boy glanced at the monstrous silhouette behind the red torii portal. The Kyuubi was sound asleep.
Two years ago, Jiraiya and Killer Bee had modified the seal, with the help of Naruto's father leftover chakra. At the time, Killer Bee had insisted on 'revamping' the whole thing, as he had put it. The Kumo-nin proposed to use the same sealing he had for Hachibi, delimiting the Kyuubi's place with a red torii and shimenawa, holy rope. Since the Kyuubi was a spirit, these were as effective as a cage, and 'much less depressing', according to Bee.
"Wathever," grunted Naruto as he remembered the other Jinchuuriki's eccentric tastes.
Naruto stared at the sleeping youkai. Well, he had to admit that their relationship was a bit less strained now, thanks to the shitload of 'symbiotic training' hours Bee had forced on him. Naruto and the Kyuubi were almost down to cordial insults now and the youkai had not peed on him in ages.
Drowning in a pool of piss was definitely not Naruto's idea of fun.
Naruto walked over to the torii and clapped in his hands a couple of time to rouse the sleeping youkai.
"Hey, ShitFox, why the fuck am I here this time?"
Kyuubi opened an eye, lazily.
'NICE OF YOU TO BRING VISITORS AGAIN, RUNT. WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS PLACE IS? YOUKAI EXHIBITION? FUCKING HUMANS.'
"What are you babbling about?" asked Naruto skeptically, "I did not bring anyone-"
"Naruto-kun! Where are we?"
Naruto whirled around, only to discover Hinata standing behind him, carrying a bird cage containing a black crow in her left hand. Tied to the cage, a black rope was tightly weaved around Hinata's arm and it ran all the way up to her shoulder.
"Hinata-chan?" spluttered Naruto, "how did you come here? It's dangerous, you need to go back!"
The girl's eyes were wide open, and her ragged breath was coming in short puffs. She looked completely panicked.
"I don't know how I came here Naruto-kun! It all went black and then I was standing here! My hand is tied to this, and I can't let go," she blurted out, tugging at the strands of rope covering her left arm, "this rope feels like it's getting tighter and the cage feels heavier by the second," she added in a quivering voice, "Naruto-kun, what's this place? Why am I here?"
Naruto did not answer, as his eyes were riveted to the cage Hinata was carrying.
"Hinata-chan, isn't that crow getting bigger?"he asked, pointing a shaky finger at it.
"What?" asked Hinata in a strangled voice. She tried to lift the cage in front of her eyes to look at the crow, but it seemed to be too heavy for her to do so.
That was when the cage dissolved into a black sludge, merging with the rope. The black mass, thick as molasses, started fastening over Hinata's arm, quickly progressing toward her shoulder. Out of this black mass, a silhouette started to form. First, a crow-like head emerged, then a human torso and arms started to take form.
"What the fuck is that?" yelled Naruto, pointing at it.
"Ten…gu," gasped Hinata, her voice coming out in panicked hiccups. Her arm was now completely covered by the black goo, and the torso of the Tengu was fully formed. The sprite's head whipped around, and it cawed at Hinata. In the blink of an eye, it fastened its hands around Hinata's throat and started strangling her.
"Hinata!"
Without hesitating, Naruto jumped in, battling the hands away, trying to wipe Hinata's arm clean of the black stuff, but it had already started spreading around her upper-body too. Naruto was almost sure he could hear her thoracic bones crack under the pressure.
Hinata coughed and blood landed on Naruto's cheeks. He could feel it, warm and sticky, running down the side of his neck. He gritted his teeth and went on trying to push the sludge off of Hinata's body.
"Let go of her, you fucking bastard!" snarled Naruto, tugging helplessly at the thing's slimy fingers, but Hinata was already starting to choke.
"Hinata! Hold on!"
He could feel her body being sucked away, deeper into the black mass that was now covering her entirely. Naruto plunged in and snaked an arm around her waist, trying to pull her back toward him, but almost immediately he started feeling the pull too. He realized he was going to get absorbed if he stayed there, but he just could not give up on Hinata. Baring his teeth, Naruto hold fast on her slim body and pulled again, using all his strength.
Where it had come in contact with his skin, the black sludge started spreading slowly, burning his skin away. The pain was excruciating.
A split second later, Naruto felt the Kyuubi's chakra envelop him and the pain stopped abruptly.
"YOU FILTH, YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY HOST! HE IS MINE! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw the Tengu's head turn toward the Kyuubi, as it started cawing angrily and hissing at the much larger youkai.
Naruto felt the Kyuubi's chakra surrounding them, pressuring the Tengu back into its cage. In no time, the black goo covering them dissolved into smoke and the cage reappeared, with the Tengu in it, back in its crow form. Naruto caught Hinata's limp body before she could fall, and laid her gently on the ground.
Na..u..o
He tried to wipe the blood smearing her chin with his yukata's sleeve.
Na…to…
Naruto stilled, his ears strained. He could have sworn he had just heard someone calling his name, but nothing happened. Glancing back at Hinata's still form, he tried to devise the best course of action. He needed to go back to the real world, but she was obviously unconscious, in his mind. How did that work? Was it safe to wake up now? Or did he-
Naruto…
Naruto abruptly stood up. Someone was really calling him!
Naruto!
Actually, thought Naruto, that sounded an awful lot like the old lecher's voice.
"NARUTO! Wake up you moron!"
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.o0O0o.
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Naruto woke up back in the Takibana inn. He was half-lying on the chabudai, staring at the painted ceiling and Jiraiya was shaking him like a ragdoll. He tried to focus blearily, but he just had time to see Jiraiya's arm draw a large arch in the air and the hermit's hand rushing toward his face. The strength of the blow made his head whip around and bounce painfully on the wooden table.
"Ow," howled Naruto, "what the hell was that for! I was awake, for fuck's sake!"
"You were awake? Well then, consider this as payback for touching her when I repeatedly warned you not to! Thank goodness, you snapped out of it!"
Dropping Naruto unceremoniously, the old man rushed back toward an unconscious Hinata, and unfurling another scroll, he set to work again.
Naruto crawled toward the two of them, and arrived just in time to see the black ink settle on Hinata's skin. Jiraiya wiped his damp brow and let out a sigh.
"Well," the old man said in a strained voice, "I don't know what the hell happened, but it gave me enough time to seal that thing."
"Oh, that?" mumbled Naruto sitting up slowly, "Kyuubi went territorial on its ass. He was a bit grouchy today," he groaned, rubbing his sore jaw.
"A bit grouchy?" asked Jiraiya, an eyebrow cocked. "Do I want to know?"
"No," answered Naruto flatly.
"Yeah, I thought so," quipped the hermit, checking Hinata's pulse.
"Is she going to be fine?"
"Yes, she'll stay out for a while though. Go get some wet towels and clean the blood off her arm, will you?"
Naruto, still groggy from Jiraiya's punch, stumbled to the bathroom and soaked a couple of hand towels in hot water. After wringing most of the water out of his, he trudged back to Hinata and started carefully wiping her arm. He was surprised to find almost no traces of the wounds.
"How come the wounds are already closing up?"
"These are not normal wounds," answered the hermit, busy sorting out his brushes and scrolls, "they are kind of like seals wounds. Remember the time your seal almost cracked? You had blood gushing out of it."
"Yeah, but it didn't hurt that much," protested Naruto.
"That's because it was just the seal acting up. Here, the Tengu chakra in her arm was trying to burst out. So it caused her real pain."
"I see," said Naruto, who in fact did not see at all. Sealing stuff had never been his forte anyway.
Jiraiya got up and looked down at him for a moment.
"Don't worry, she'll be fine. You can bandage her arm if you want, but I think she'll be completely healed in less than an hour."
"Yeah, I'll bandage her," said Naruto after thinking a bit, "just to be sure."
The old man walked to the bathroom and chucked a roll of bandages across the room at Naruto, who deftly caught it and dressed Hinata's fading wounds.
"Give me that scroll," asked Jiraiya a few moments later, pointing at the scroll still under Hinata's arm.
Naruto nodded distractedly and tugged at the hem of Hinata's yukata, which was bunched up high around her thighs. Her wild moves earlier had sent the pans of her yukata flying, revealing two shapely white legs.
"Naruto, I need that scroll sometime today, so stop ogling her legs and get down to work, will you?"
"I'm not ogling!"retorted Naruto in angrily.
"You're not? Well, you're missing out on something my boy."
"Shut up!"
Naruto pushed Hinata carefully off the scroll, which was still stiff with her blood.
He was not too sure about how he felt about her having seen the Kyuubi inside of him. Sure, she was not the first one to witness it, but Killer Bee was a Jinchuuriki too, and one who had a very warped idea of what sealed beasts were, at that.
Sasuke was Sasuke. He had lived with Orochimaru's seal for years, so he could understand Naruto without judging him, but... Meeting with the Kyuubi must have been quite a shock for Hinata. Between that and being attacked by that weird Tengu thing, he could not blame the girl for being out cold.
"Naruto! The scroll!"
"Yeah, yeah, keep your fundoshi on," mumbled Naruto.
After Jiraiya left with the scroll to try to clean it, Naruto sat down beside Hinata with his kunai pouch and a sharpening stone and set down to work. He was so absorbed in his task that he did not notice right away when Hinata woke up and sat up silently.
"Was I unconscious for long?"
Her sudden question startled Naruto so much he yelped and nearly sent the kunai flying in shock. "Wow, Hinata-chan! Don't surprise me like that!"
"I'm sorry," apologized Hinata.
"No, no, it's okay, it's just, I was thinking you know and- Anyway, how do you feel? You're okay? You're not hurting?"
"No, I feel fine, really," she said softly, inspecting her arm. She tugged lightly at the bandage and peeked at the white skin underneath, only marred by the black ink of the seal. Hinata sighed and brought her hand to her neck for a few seconds.
"Naruto-kun, thank you for helping me back there."
"What? Oh that was nothing! As a matter of fact, Kyuubi did most of the work. Well. Huh," asked Naruto nervously, "you, huh, remember what happened?"
"Yes."
"Ah. Well. Sorry you had to witness that. Kyuubi is not exactly the chummiest youkai around, and he tends to be a bit grumpy in the morning, heh heh heh!" laughed Naruto, rubbing the back of his head forcefully.
"It's okay," Hinata assured him. "How old were you the first time you met it?"
"Kyuubi? Huh, I dunno, 11 or 12? I don't really remember. It was before the chuunin exam, though. Why?"
"When we were kids, I always had the feeling you were very strong, but I could never put my finger on why exactly. Now I understand better."
"Ha, well it's true that I used his chakra from times to times! Well spotted!"
Hinata gave him a puzzled look before shaking her head and smiling shyly.
"Oh, no, I did not mean strong as in physically strong. What I meant was, I always had the feeling you were incredibly strong, mentally speaking, and I admired you for it, but I did not realize at the time where that strength came from. Now I realize how much I underestimated what you had to go through. In a way, I'm glad I met it. Because now I'm not so afraid of the Tengu anymore. When you've seen the Kyuubi, you have seen everything!"
As Naruto stood speechless, gaping at her, Hinata paled slightly.
"I'm sorry! I did not mean to make fun of you, or to say that the Kyuubi is a good thing! You said you were eleven when you met it? I can't even begin to understand how much strength it must have required, to deal with something like the Kyuubi and not to turn insane or give up. I know for sure I would have. But you never give up, right Naruto-kun? That's your nindou, right?" said Hinata, offering him a tentative smile.
Naruto blinked a couple of times, before grinning at her.
"Hey Hinata-chan, how come you always come up with the right words?"
"How so?"
"I don't think you remember, but we met, just before the chuunin exam. I was feeling so low at that time, but you talked to me for like, five minutes, and what you said had me completely fired up!" seeing Hinata's face redden, Naruto shook his hands reassuringly, "no, no, don't worry, it's perfectly fine if you don't remember! It's just that well, talking to you on that day really helped me!"
"I… I remember that day," said Hinata in a whisper.
"You do? Wow, that's great! I thought you'd have forgotten! Did you watch the fight afterward? I remember looking out for you, just after winning, but that arena was so damn big, I couldn't spot you."
"I was there, but-"
"Ah, it's okay if you cheered for Neji you know! After all, he is family!"
"No, I really wanted Naruto-kun to win!" said Hinata in an earnest tone.
"Really? Thanks Hinata-chan! I'm glad to know you were watching after all!"
"Come on kids, enough chit-chat," said Jiraiya as he entered the room, "we need to work on tomorrow's mission now if you don't mind."
"Don't you think Hinata should rest?" asked Naruto doubtfully. "I mean, after today's events-"
"Actually," Hinata chimed in, "I feel fine. I'd like to take part to the mission, if possible."
"Really?"
"Really," said Hinata with a serious look on her face.
"Well then," said Naruto, scratching his scalp, "let me debrief you on the basic facts. It's a simple mission really, Wham, Bam, Thank you ma'am stuff-" Naruto caught himself, seeing Hinata's puzzled look, and blurted out instead "err, I mean, in-and-out stuff!"
Jiraiya looked at him and raised an amused eyebrow, before mouthing "Smooth, Lover boy, smooth."
"So, hm," Naruto went on, "it's basic infiltration and assassination stuff. Our target name's Murata, there's a bounty on his head for war crimes in the Cotton Country, but he's been holing himself in Taki for three years now. Apparently, the Cotton Lord has had enough of it, so he transmitted an assassination order to the Fire Lord, who asked Tsunade-baachan, who in turn dropped it on us. Tomorrow is the foundation day of Taki, and it's a holiday, meaning that half of Murata's guard will be off duty, watching the fireworks. The old toad here will take care of the killing bit, I'll be the decoy, and you will be our eyes, literally. Jiraiya managed to lay his grubby hands on the estate's plans, so it's a going to be a piece of cake."
Naruto unrolled a large sheet of paper and started pointing things out to Hinata.
"You see, the main entrance is here, but we'll get in by the northern gate. If we play it nice, we can reach Murata's room in a couple of minutes. The garden is not that huge, but there might be some traps lying around so we'll have to be on our toes. We'll attack during the fireworks, and regroup there, just behind the west gate. Now, what can I tell you about Murata's personal guard? First, there's Iwasaki, you've got to look out for him, and…"
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.o0O0o.
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Takibana Inn, Room 19, four hours later
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"… and then I used a bunshin to grab hold of his kusari-gama, and wham! I had him down in less than…"
As Naruto was bragging about yet another of his extraordinary feats, Jiraiya watched the girl rub her left arm absentmindedly. Paying no heed to Naruto's ranting, he walked over and squatted beside her.
"Mind if I have a look at your arm, Hinata dear?"
"No problem at all Jiraiya-sensei, go ahead."
Jiraiya tugged at the bandages and was proud to see that his seal was flawless. Sitting in the middle of Hinata's forearm, the round seal was perfectly stable.
"Well, it looks like it healed nicely," he said with a smile.
Hinata marveled at her scar free skin. "It's as if nothing ever happened!"
"Nice, huh? You see, Naruto? Someone's appreciating the measure of my skills."
"Stop praising yourself like that, it's disgusting," spat Naruto.
"So, the Tengu is still in me, but it can't break free?" asked Hinata tentatively.
"That's right," said Jiraiya with a nod, "if it was a Dai Tengu or a Yamabushi Tengu, yeah, maybe it could break free, but it's just a Karasu Tengu, they're not that strong. They just have an awful temper. Plus, this is not just a seal. The simple seals did not work, so I had to come up with something else. It's halfway between a seal and a summoning tattoo."
"So she can summon it?" asked Naruto, his eyebrows rising.
"No, because there's no summoning contract between Hinata and the Tengu. That kind of seal just happened to be convenient, because it creates a delimited area, which was perfect for trapping the Tengu in Hinata's arm. Still talking hypothetically, I think there's a possibility to use the Tengu abilities. In theory. It's a bit like what you can do with the Kyuubi. Only, the Tengu being 1 on the strength scale, and the Kyuubi being, I don't know, 10 000? 100 000?"
"And how helpful would a Tengu be?"
"Using Tengu abilities, huh? Pretty useless I'd say. Well, to be honest, there are a lot of rumors running around. Personally, I don't believe them"
"Hey!" said Naruto, snapping his fingers, "now I remember where I heard that Tengu thing before! Sasuke told me that his brother used a Tengu. He saw it with his own eyes, that was no rumor!"
"Wrong, boy. From the reports I read, Itachi's Yamabushi Tengu was merely the shape his susanoo-o took, and not a summoning. That's a whole different kettle of fish. We don't know much about Tengu summoning. The only thing we have is a scroll by a man named Hattori Hanzou, which goes back a long time ago, even before the great nations were founded. Allegedly, he was able to sign a summoning pact with a Tengu clan. He wrote that it later allowed him to perform Tengu-Kakushi, and granted him lightning-fast speed. He mentioned things about mastering their illusions and telepathy too, but frankly, I'm not sure about the last one."
"You mean that Hinata will be able to use these abilities?" asked Naruto eagerly.
Jiraiya recoiled, as if burned. He looked at the boy's eyes shining with hope. The boundless enthusiasm, the rabid 'teach me!' waves coming from both of the youngsters made the hermit's blood run cold: the kids were starting to behave like pupils! Quick, he needed to dash their hopes before they asked him to teach them stuff!
"Ha, well," he said in a rushed voice, holding one finger up in the air, "the truth is, I don't know anything about it myself. I always thought the man had gotten over-enthusiastic, or had written this after having a drink too much because really, most of what he wrote sounds insane. Hinata, if you want to, I'll lend you the scrolls when I find them, but that's all I can do for you. I modified your seal to give you a better chakra flow and to make sure the Tengu would never harm you. My job stops here."
"I see," said Hinata in a small voice.
Naruto let out a short bark of laughter and shook his head.
"Yeah, I should have known!" he said, throwing his arm over the girl's shoulders before going on in a mock-serious voice, "Hinata-chan, I forgot to tell you, but the thing is? Don't ever except that old man to teach you something. I mean, I find myself lucky if I manage to force him to teach me a jutsu a year.
"You liar!" sputtered Jiraiya indignantly, "why, only last month I taught you how to use Underworld Swamp, and-"
"Wrong!" yelled Naruto, "You just chucked the scrolls at me and I studied by myself while you were off gallivanting around! Hinata-chan, never ask him to teach you something, there's no knowing what horrible things could happen to you. He's the sink-or-swim type, he once threw me off a cliff to force me to summon a decent frog!"
"Well, that worked, didn't it?"asked Jiraiya.
"Whatever", grunted Naruto. His hand still fastened over the girl's shoulders, he leaned closer and whispered in the girl's ear, "don't listen to him, Hinata-chan. He's not bad when it comes to ranting about the meaning of life and such, but he plainly sucks at teaching jutsu. Trust me!"
With a smirk at his mentor and a last squeeze at the girl's shoulder, Naruto stood up.
Jiraiya noted the faint pink hue dusting the girl's cheeks and narrowed his eyes. Was she… flustered? Great, he thought. Romance, that just what he needed right now, with shitty missions piling up, his spying network being infiltrated and the boy pining for Konoha. Love between teammates was a time-bomb, and one way or another, it always ended badly. But hell, who am I to lecture her? he thought.
"This said, folks," piped Naruto, "it's 6 pm and duty calls."
"Duty? Don't make me laugh," snorted Jiraiya contemptuously, "Aiko is the sweetest girl ever. Don't make her wait, or Takiko will blame me again."
"Oh come on, you'll sweet-talk yourself out of it, like the last time. Good evening Hinata-chan, rest well!"
"Good riddance, brat"
Naruto stuck his tongue out at him and winked at Hinata before leaving, whistling loudly in the hallway.
Jiraiya had watched Hinata carefully during the exchange, and he now had his answer: the girl face had clearly fallen when he had mentioned Aiko's name and made it clear that Naruto had been off to meet a prostitute.
Well, Jiraiya reflected, if the girl thought that Naruto was having hot, sweaty sex right now, this was none of his business. He was too old to comfort heartbroken damsels.
Right.
Except that he had always been a sucker for women fighting back tears. He could not resist the way their cheeks and nose suddenly colored, the fluttering eyelashes and the whole lower-lip biting business. That, and the fact that Jiraiya knew his limits: while he was pretty sure he could deal with lovesick puppy-eyes, angst snuffles were definitely not his cuppa. So he mentally kicked himself in the backside for what he was about to do, but went on nonetheless.
The girl was not looking at him, she was still staring at the door, her mouth set in a straight line. Jiraiya cleared his throat.
"Hinata my dear, I must share a terrible secret with you, but you must never tell Naruto what I'm about to tell you. As you heard, Naruto is now visiting a prostitute."
The girl's face turned greyer.
"Jiraiya-sensei, I think this is none of my-"
"It's so shameful," added Jiraiya in a rushed voice, "I kept it to myself, all these months, but I can't anymore! You see, when Naruto goes to visit a lady, he just," Jiraiya paused dramatically to increase the tension, before saying in a dead voice, "he just talks."
"I-… Pardon me?"
"He just talks to them! It's like he doesn't know what they're there for! Gods only know what he can talk about for so long, he must bore them to death with small talk. 'So, how is the trade, lately?' 'The weather is lovely, isn't it?'", yapped Jiraiya, mimicking Naruto's voice, waiting anxiously for the girl reaction. As her expression slowly turned from chagrin and shock to bewilderment, the old man decided to lay it even thicker, and whined in a high-pitched voice: " 'I say, these sesame dumplings are simply scrumptious!'"
Hinata tried to hide her smile behind her yukata sleeve, but the old man could see the amused glint in her eyes. Jiraiya just loved to have an audience, so he went on, unabashed.
"This is no laughing matter, woman! Do you realize what this means? Naruto is 19 and he still doesn't know how to properly satisfy a woman! Worse, he doesn't even see the point! Allow me to explain myself: yesterday you were completely drunk. Very adorable and all, of course, but still, you were commode-hugging drunk. Now, what would a proper man have done? I'll tell you, he would have ravished your lovely drunk self again and again, shagging you senseless 'til dawn. Now, what did Wonder boy do? Nothing. He slept like the drunk skunk he was, and drooled on the pillow to boot. He's hopeless."
"Jiraiya-sensei," stammered the girl, her face so red Jiraiya got afraid he had gone too far, "don't be too harsh! Naruto-kun is a really nice and reliable person."
"Nice? Reliable? I don't care about reliable! Hinata, I am a self-proclaimed super-pervert, how can I have a pupil who doesn't peek at naked women, who doesn't even sleep with prostitutes? It's so embarrassing! Oh, Hinata," Jiraiya moaned, letting some despair show in his broken voice, "I failed."
"What did you fail, Jiraiya-sensei?"
"Everything! I was not able to teach my pupil the importance of life's most pleasurable activity, and joy of using his body to enjoy life's greatest present. I'm so ashamed! I have failed my predecessors! My pupil is asexual!" Jiraiya wailed, pulling at his hair. He went on moaning pathetically, "Naruto is 19 and he has the sex drive of a newt! Oh gods, why do you try me so?"
The hermit slid dramatically in a heap on the floor, sobbing loudly and pounding at the tatami mats with his balled fists. He discreetly cracked an eye open to survey the girl's reaction.
"Jiraiya-sensei, you should not be so harsh on yourself," the girl whispered, hesitating, clearly not knowing whether he was serious or not. As she tentatively tried to pat his shoulder, she added: "I'm sure everything will be all right in the end!"
Jiraiya rolled over swiftly and grabbed her hands before gushing in a pleading voice: "Yes! Yes! You are right! Hope is not lost after all, since I have a new pupil now! All my hopes are now resting on your shoulders, woman! The Lust must go on!"
Hinata's mouth fell open, her pink lips forming a perfect O.
"I… I'm afraid I can't, Jiraiya-sensei," she said feebly, trying to wring her hands out of his grasp.
Jiraiya released her hands and huffed dejectedly:
"What, you too? No one understands my plight."
The Hermit watched as the girl hid another smile behind her hand. That was better, he decided. Moping was so overrated.
"Ah well," said Jiraiya sitting up and deciding that jumping from one subject to another was the best wayto keep the girl from thinking too much, "if you're not interested in the joys of sex, young lady, we might as well work on tomorrow's mission, then. Tell me a bit more about your abilities, we'll see how we can improve our success rate."
Jiraiya ordered some yakitori and kushiyaki to nibble on while discussing of the best attack angle. He tried to convince Hinata to drink some beer with him, but she politely declined, saying that she wanted to keep a clear head. Jiraiya questioned her about her techniques, and was surprised to discover that the girl had not limited herself to Hyuuga jutsu.
After two hours of haggling over what the best formation would be, Hinata being deceptively stubborn, Jiraiya finally folded all his maps, and after a last pat on the girl's shoulder, he sent her back to her room, telling her to rest well, for the next day would be trying.
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.o0O0o.
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Takibana Inn, Room 8, 01:23 am
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Hinata could not sleep.
She hugged her pillow tighter and huffed in exasperation. With her first mission in her new team coming up, she needed to be at her best. Without mentioning that today's events had positively drained her. She still did not know how to feel about Tengu episode, so she carefully ignored it altogether. She would deal with that particular problem later.
And a new team! She was not sure it was a good thing either. Her first and only team experience had been so great she was afraid to be disappointed this time. How she missed working with Shino and Kiba. Hinata knew she was not cut out for teamwork, that was true enough, but the Team 8 had been so much more than just teamwork. It had been her first family, in a way. That was another reason behind her refusal to be reassigned in another tracking team: nothing could be as good as what Team 8 had been.
Tomorrow, a new part of her life began. She needed to be at her best.
'Hinata!'
But she could not sleep.
'You're fun, Hinata-chan!'
She shut her eyes tighter, trying to block out the memories.
"Hey Hinata-chan, how come you always come up with the right words?"
Naruto.
Hinata wanted to spend every single minute of her time with him. It had been so fun, the night before! She wanted every day of her life to be like that. For the first time in years, she had felt alive. Her crush was definitely not dead, and her mind was happily feeding it memories, effectively bring the old flame back to its former glory.
She was craving for Naruto's presence. She could still feel the warmth of his touch on her skin. It was the first time since she could remember she had been that physically close to someone. Sure, there had been the occasional hug from Kurenai-sensei, and Kiba's rough and enthusiastic nudging.
But she had slept on Naruto! She could still feel his warmth; feel his arms tightening around her this morning when Jiraiya had entered the room, and-
"Agn," Hinata grunted, rolling on her stomach, squishing the pillow over her head in a desperate attempt to block out the thoughts.
A shiver ran down her spine. The heat in the room was stifling, but she had never felt so cold in her life.
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.o0O0o.
End of
Drastic Holiday, Chapter Three: Drastic Seals
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TBC in: Drastic Holiday, Chapter Four: Drastic Decision (a.k.a. : Hurt, comfort, and peonies)
Where :
Moles
Jiraiya falls for it
Naruto draws the first blood
Hinata hesitates, but does the right thing
Hinata is not so sure she did the right thing, after all
We learn what Naruto's hobby is, and what exactly it means to him.
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.o0O0o.
The whole Kiba/civilian/doggy-style/Sai reading IchaIcha incident? It's all explained in Bumpy Rumpy Tumpty (one-shot, 4000 words).
Kinoshita: under the tree, Makito : whirl, man
Weaboo time: Tengu : There are many sorts of Tengu, the weakest being the 'crow Tengu' (Karasu Tengu, the one Hinata has in her), and others being Dai Tengu, Konoha Tengu, Yamabushi Tengu (the strongest ones, Itachi's Susanoo). All Tengu are not bad, they just have a really bad rep, especially the weakest ones. Tengu are heavily associated with fighting techniques, bladesmithing crafts and ninja.
If you have the time to push the fav' button, you have the time to leave a review. 8D
Thank you for your time.
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ETA : I'm so not giving up on this baby! I'm just really busy right now, I'm moving so I need to pack my whole house, find a new one abroad, find a new job and don't forget to take the cat and the hubby along. Actually, it's very much a period I'd like to call 'The Crazies' 8S
But as soon as the Crazies are over, which should be around April, I'll be back to working regularly on this baby! I'll try to upload the next chapter before that tho, seeing as I already have a draft typed down.
In the meantime, go read some great fics by authors like Lisse, The Sh33p, Nugar, Emmy Kay, Inuyatta, Mistress of Sarcasm and iamzull (all in my faves) ^^