"Lady Hokage."

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork to see who had come into her office. She smiled.

"Takuma. Glad to see you're doing well," She paused, noticing the Hyuga's troubled expression, "What's wrong?"

"We just received word that your deliveryman, Shuji Watanabe, was assaulted in a bar in the Land of Drink."

Tsunade frowned. She often ordered her more expensive saké from the Land of Drink, which was renown across the Five Nations as one of the best producers of alcohol. It was on the other side of the country though, but Shuji often made successful deliveries.

"That is unfortunate, Takuma," replied Tsunade, "but I fail to see how this concerns me."

"There's more," answered Takuma, "The person who assaulted him wanted information regarding Lady Hinata and her lion gauntlets."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "What? But how would Shuji have-"

She stopped mid sentence. Of course! Shuji had delivered some saké a while ago, when she was updating Hinata's recent mission and profile. She had left the file on her desk, gone out for a moment, and instructed that Shuji wait in her office. When she had returned, those files had slightly shifted location…

"Damn it," she muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?" said Takuma.

Tsunade looked up, "Shuji must have read Hinata's files on my desk. How did the assailant know that Shuji knew?"

"He was discussing it with a friend at the time," answered Takuma, "The attacker must have heard."

"What did the assailant find out?"

"Hinata's name, her possession of the lion heads, and the fact that she lives in the Hidden Leaf Village."

"Does the assailant know where the Hidden Leaf Village is located?"

"Shuji told him it was 'a great distance to the East.' That must have been good enough because the man left after hearing it."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. She already knew that since this had happened in the far West, then it would have taken a long time for this information to reach the Hidden Leaf. The person who had attacked Shuji could have made it across country if he had hurried.

"Is Lady Hinata still out on her mission?" asked Takuma.

"Yes," answered Tsunade. It had been a few days since Hinata, Naruto, and Neji had left the Hidden Leaf Village. There mission had taken them West, and if the person who attacked Shuji reached Hinata…

"Takuma, assemble a four-man and head out to the mountains where Hinata and her team were going," ordered Tsunade, "Once you find them, bring them back to the Village."

"Yes, Lady Hokage."

Tsunade suddenly realized she had forgotten one crucial detail.

"Takuma, what did the assailant look like?"

Takuma's eyes widened, "I forgot! There was a colored sketch based on the witness's sightings. I have it with me!"

He pulled out a sheet and handed it to Tsunade, who took the paper and studied the drawing. She frowned.

"This is what he looked like?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"To the exact detail?"

"Everyone at the scene agreed that the drawing was precise."

"Then what's wrong with his skin? He looks paler than Orochimaru."

Hinata paused and looked up at the towering mountain.

"Alright, we're here."

"So, this is where people have been disappearing?" asked Naruto as he looked around, "What would people even be doing at this mountain?"

"It's a popular hiking trail around these parts," answered Neji, "Though the recent disappearances have made the trail less and less popular."

"What do you think could be the cause this time?" asked Naruto.

"Hopefully, it won't be another monster," answered Neji, "but we should still be careful."

Hinata nodded. She had been doing a good job in leading the mission so far, but they had only had been travelling, and had just arrived at the mountain. The real mission had just begun.

"It's getting late," she said, "Let's cover a bit more ground, and then set up camp somewhere, but have someone keep watch. If it is another monster, we don't want it to surprise us."

They hiked up a little further before finding a cave to set up camp. It had gotten dark by then, so they set up a fire. Neji helped pitch Hinata's tent. The high altitude of the mountain was cold, so Hinata sat near the fire while Naruto kept watch. As Hinata settled down, Neji came up to her.

"Do you mind if I sit down, Lady Hinata?"

"Of course you can, Neji," answered Hinata, and Neji sat down across from her around the fire. It had been a while since Neji had started treating her so formally, but that was to be expected from a servant of the Hyuga Clan, even if that servant was a genius. Though Hinata felt slightly bad that Neji insisted on being so formal, she had to admit that it was better than the cold glares that he used to give to her. But ever since his fight with Naruto, he had stopped resenting her so much. Hinata could tell that he still felt bad.

He truly regrets hurting me in the Chuunin Exams, just as I regret activating his seal. thought Hinata.

She thought back to her tearful apology after her talk with Naruto, to how Neji so willingly forgave her, even insisting that he was partly to blame for not leaving her be.

I hope one day he can find it in him to forgive himself, just as he so willingly forgave me.

After a short moment, Neji spoke.

"Lady Hinata, if I may ask, why did you choose a mission that bore such close resemblance to your previous one, which left you in quite a state?"

Hinata looked up from the fire to her cousin.

"To be honest, Neji, I felt like I could have handled myself better during that last mission," she glanced at her cesti, which took up a whole side of the campfire, "I felt like I could have wielded these lion heads better."

"Personally, I think you did a great job," said Naruto as he came up to the fire.

Hinata blushed, "Thank you, Naruto."

"Naruto, why aren't you keeping guard?" demanded Neji.

"It's okay," said Naruto. He pointed behind him, "I have a shadow clone keeping watch at the entrance."

Hinata and Neji glanced at the clone, who waved at them. Naruto waved back.

"You see? He's got us covered."

Ignoring Neji's sigh, Naruto sat down near the fire, where he studied Hinata's cesti.

"Have they still not found a way to remove those things?" he asked.

"They haven't," answered Hinata, gazing at the lion heads as they reflected the bright flames, "I've worn these things for so long, that I can barely remember what it's like to hold something. Sometimes, I rub my fingers together, just to remind myself that I still have hands."

"We'll find a way to get them off," assured Neji.

"I hope so," said Hinata.

"But when you do, you should still keep them around," said Naruto, "Those lions pack quite a punch. Literally!"

Hinata smiled softly at that.

"By the way," continued Naruto, "What made you think that you could have done a better job at killing that capricorn?"

"Manticore."

"Whatever, Neji."

Hinata looked at Naruto, touched by his concern.

"Well, Naruto," she explained, "I was able to kill the manticore, but I believe things could have gone smoother. None of us were prepared for the beast, Kiba and Akamaru got wounded, and Shino lost many of his beetles. Things got out of hand."

"But you all survived," said Naruto, "I mean, everyone except Shino's bugs, but he can always make more. You also succeeded in your mission."

"But I nearly lost myself in the carnage," said Hinata.

"And you came back," countered Naruto, "The point that I'm trying to make, Hinata, is that nothing rarely goes according to plan. You and your team went up against a completely unpredictable force, and you still triumphed. That shows how strong you are Hinata: Staring into the unknown and then kicking its ass!"

Neji didn't think he would have put it in such a term, but he had to admit that Naruto had made a point. And he could tell that what Naruto was saying made Hinata feel better by the way she blushed and smiled. Naruto had his idiotic moments, but he gave good pep talks.

Amazing, thought Neji, that someone can be so dumb and yet so wise.

The next morning, the group got up and continued on there way, hiking further up the mountain. Eventually, Naruto got the idea to send out some shadow clones, which Hinata approved. Afterwards, Naruto got bored and began telling Hinata and Neji about his last mission.

"And so, we find this temple on the outskirts of the town, where people were delivering their offerings," stated Naruto as Neji and Hinata listened, "We go in, and we find this guy, but on his chest was this-"

Hinata turned to Naruto, who had stopped mid-speech, "Naruto? What's wrong?"

Naruto glanced over at Hinata and Neji.

"Uh, one of my shadow clones just saw something," he said, "Does this mountain get any ice caps?"

"No," answered Neji, "It's altitude isn't high enough. Why? Did your Shadow Clone find any ice?"

"That wasn't all he found," said Naruto before turning and racing up the trail, "Follow me!"

Hinata and Neji followed Naruto towards the location of where the clone had vanished, stopping only when they had reached the destination. There they stopped and stared in silent horror.

What they saw was a man frozen in a chunk of ice, with only his limp hand sticking out. The man was clearly dead, as his hand had decayed, which looked completely mismatched with his more preserved body. But what was more terrifying was the man's expression of sheer terror. His eyes were wide, his mouth was open mid scream, even the tiny hairs on the back of his neck were frozen up. The man had literally been frozen in fear.

"Who could have done this?" whispered Hinata.

"I'm more curious as to what could have done this," replied Naruto.

"Relax," said Neji, "This must be some sort of ice jutsu. Someone must be practicing their ninjutsu on unwary hikers."

"I don't know, Neji," said Naruto as he gave the frozen cadaver another uneasy gaze, "Something doesn't feel right about this."

"Whatever it is," said Hinata, "It wasn't just ice. Look at his leg; it's been burned."

"Hey, you're right," said Naruto, "but why is it bent out like that?"

"It looks like he was dragging it," said Neji, "Which is strange, because the burns don't look that severe."

"So, this man got taken down by fire and ice?" asked Naruto.

"This wasn't fire," said Hinata, "These are chemical burns."

"You can tell the difference?" exclaimed Naruto, "That's pretty sharp, Hinata."

Hinata blushed.

"But since when do shinobis use acid?" asked Naruto, "And why was he dragging his leg if it wasn't that burnt?"

"Let's find who did this," said Hinata, "And then we'll know."

Naruto suddenly looked up.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" asked Hinata.

"My other shadow clone just vanished," answered Naruto, "It was attacked!"

"Where was it?" asked Neji.

"It was on the other side of the frozen-"

"HISSSSSSS!"

From the other side of the ice chunk slithered a gigantic, hissing, teal snake with glowing eyes. The group had barely registered it before it opened its mouth wide and lunged at Hinata. Hinata raised her cestus in front of and the snake bit down on the lion head, breaking its fangs off on the metal.

"Eight Trigrams, Air Palm!" yelled Neji, and the blast of wind sent the snake hurtling back to the other side of the ice.

"You alright, Hinata?" asked Naruto.

"I'm okay," said Hinata as she glanced down at the giant, broken fangs, "Just a bit shaken."

Her cestus remained undamaged from the bite.

Hearing a gasp, Hinata and Naruto turned towards Neji, who had activated his Byakugan. He looked shocked by what he saw.

"What do you see, Neji?" asked Naruto.

Before Neji could speak, the ice shattered, and then Naruto had his question answered for him.

It was about as big as the manticore, and just as sinister. That first thing that Hinata noticed were the heads. Both of them, one on top of the other. The top one looked like a goat's, but it was a far more savage goat head than Hinata had ever seen. It had fangs for teeth, and its eyes were two glowing orbs of malice. Four horns stuck out from its head. The one in the very front was as long as a mans hand, which, when compared to the size of the beast, was not very large. But the other three that stretched out behind the goats head were massive, about as long as an average human.

Beneath the goat's head was the head of a lion, and though its eyes didn't glow, they were still filled with malice. It's body also seemed to resemble a lions more or less, but its legs, which were covered in blue scales, were unusual. The front legs vaguely resembled an eagles, but had five talons shaped into human-like hands. The back two were hooves, like a goats, only with scales. And Hinata definitely saw the snake, which she now realized was actually the tail of the beast. Strangely, the snake's eyes were no longer glowing.

The beast snarled, but before it could attack, Naruto charged, thrusting a ball of chakra at it.

"Rasengan!" he yelled, and the blast sent the beast over the mountain's edge.

Coming out of her shock, Hinata looked up at Naruto.

"Did you kill it?" she asked. Naruto glanced over the ledge.

"No," he breathed, "It's starting to climb back up. Man, what is this thing?"

Neji walked up and stared down at the beast.

"A chimera," he replied.

"A what?" asked Naruto.

"A chimera," repeated Neji, "My father once told me about it, although he told me it was but a legend."

"Well," said Naruto, "I guess fact and fiction have to merge at some point."

"That's not the issue at hand," said Neji. He turned to Hinata, "Lady Hinata, how do you suggest we handle this threat?"

Coming out of her shock of nearly being killed by a three-headed beast, looked up at Naruto and Neji. They expected her to have a plan, to figure out a way to beat this chimera. She couldn't let them down. Even if it she was unsure, she couldn't show it.

"We can't fight it here," she said, "The path is too narrow."

Naruto glanced down.

"There's a small circular area down below us," he said, "If we can force the chimera down, then we can have more room to fight it."

"Okay," said Hinata, "But how do we get it down?"

"We need to strategize," said Neji, "If we stay patient and lay out a proper tactic, then we can-"

"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" yelled Naruto, and a couple dozen shadow clones appeared.

"CHARGE!" they yelled, and they leaped over the edge like a group of lemmings.

Neji sighed.

"I just told Naruto Uzumaki to be patient," he muttered, "What is wrong with me?"

"Let's help him," said Hinata, and she dropped over the edge and ran down the side of the mountain, her chakra'd soles preventing her from falling.

Naruto's shadow clones were all over the chimera by the time Hinata and Neji arrived, and it seemed like they were winning. But suddenly, the chimera opened its mouth and let loose with an icy blast. Giant icicles appeared from wherever its breath hit, and several shadow clones vanished from the blast.

"Dang!" yelled Naruto, "Hey, Neji! Did your Dad forget to tell you that this thing breathes ice?"

"Actually, he said it breathed fire," answered Neji, "But either way, I don't think we can get near it."

"I've got this," said Hinata, and she sent her cestus shooting out from her forearm, where it successfully landed a blow on the chimera and sent it falling to the ground below. The chain reeled the lion head back onto her forearm.

"Woah," said Naruto as he stared at Hinata's cestus in surprise, "I, um, forgot they could do that."

"Come on," said Neji, "now that it's grounded, we have a better chance of beating it."

The group ran down the rest of the mountainside to fight the chimera.

"Lady Hinata, what's your plan?"

"My plan," said Hinata as she struggled to think, "Um, Neji try to attack it from the left side. Naruto, use your shadow clones to try and flank it from the right. I'll take it head on."

"More like heads on," said Naruto as he glanced uneasily at the beast's three heads.

"Not now, Naruto!" snapped Neji as he started to circle the chimera.

"Be careful, Hinata!" yelled Naruto as he and his clones headed out to the right.

Bracing herself, Hinata charged at the chimaera, which snarled at the assault. Looking around at its opponents, its gaze focused on Naruto and his clones. Opening its mouth, the chimaera let loose with an icy blast that enveloped most of the Narutos Hinata didn't expect this, and she barely had time to react when the chimaera turned its blast toward her. Darting to the side, Hinata felt a freezing cold sensation sweep through her legs. Looking behind her, she saw that her legs had been frozen solid by the chimaera's blast. She couldn't move them.

"Hinata, you okay?" called out Naruto.

Looking up, Hinata saw that the chimaera had created an icy arc that was about eight feet tall and six feet wide when it had turned its heads toward her, and she was stuck on one end. On the other end was Naruto and his shadow clones, most of which had vanished when they were frozen solid. All that remained were hollow Naruto-shaped bubbles that were filled with smoke. As for Naruto, he too had been frozen, except for his head and right arm, which stuck out from the other side of the curve.

"Neji, I hope you're doing better," called out Naruto.

Neji gritted his teeth in frustration. In a few minutes, this beast had managed to incapacitate Naruto and Hinata. He had to keep it focused on him before the chimera finished them off.

I have to keep all three heads distracted, he thought, But how do I thaw out Hinata and Naruto?

The chimera bared its fangs and charged. Thinking fast, Neji dove aside, but the snake tails eyes began to glow, and it struck, biting down on his leg.

"Neji!" cried Hinata.

"It's alright," answered Neji, "Its fangs are broken. It can't bite me-"

The snake tail jerked back pulling Neji up from his feet, then whipped forward and let go, throwing him hard into the ground. Before Hinata could yell Neji's name again, the snake tail opened its mouth and sprayed Neji with a green, bubbling venom. Neji yelled in pain.

"NO!" screamed Hinata. Drawing back her arms, she slammed against the ice, which shattered, freeing her legs. Scrambling to her feet, Hinata ran at the chimaera, which only had enough time to look up from Neji before several cesti-powered punches sent it flying into the side of the mountain. Running over to Neji's side, Hinata dragged him out from the bubbling puddle of venom before examining her cousin. Neji didn't look good. Most of his body had been burned by the chimaeras venom, and there was another problem.

"I...can't move," grunted Neji, "The venom, it paralyzed me."

"Hinata!" yelled Naruto, "The chimera is getting back up!"

"I'll be fine, Lady Hinata," said Neji, "Just keep the chimera occupied."

Hinata wanted to say something, but the chimaeras roar forced her attention away from her cousin. The chimaera was back on its feet, but this time, the lion's eyes were glowing. It snarled, then stood up on its hind feet.

The head that's in control has glowing eyes, realized Hinata, When its on four legs, the goats in control, when it uses its tail, it's the snake, and when it's the lion, it's bipedal.

She gazed up at the chimera, which stood taller than Hercules.

And now, it's bipedal.

The chimaera, roared, then ran at Hinata, slashing its claws. Amazed by its speed, Hinata darted back, leading the beast away from her fallen cousin. The chimaera sent out a few more ice blasts, forming giant icicles wherever they struck. Hinata darted around these, all while struggling to come up with a plan.

Watching Hinata's fight, Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration.

I should be out there helping her, he thought as he struggled, But I can't...freaking...move!

Noticing something out of the corner of his eye, he turned his head and saw a shadow clone that hadn't been frozen. This gave him an idea.

"Hey!" said Naruto, "I need to get out of here!"

He held out his right arm towards the clone, "Give me some chakra!"

"Got it," said the clone, and he began channeling chakra to Naruto's hand, molding a ball of energy. Once done, the clone vanished.

"Rasengan!" yelled Naruto, and he slammed the ball of chakra down onto the ice that was over his body. Shards of ice went flying everywhere as the Rasengan began to drill into it, and Naruto had to turn his head away to avoid getting cut by the splintered ice.

"Hinata!" he yelled over the surprisingly loud sound of breaking ice, "I'm getting out! Just hold on!"

Seeing Naruto breaking out lifted Hinata's spirit, but she was still on her own until Naruto fully broke free. If she could just hold out long enough…

The chimaera sent out another blast of ice, and Hinata could feel the chill as she narrowly avoided it. She fought back, and even managed to successfully land in a few volleys, but found it extremely difficult to fight the chimaera when it was on its hind legs.

At this rate, I'm going to lose, thought Hinata, I need to get it back down on all fours, so I better take out the lion head. Hopefully, that will force it down on all of its legs.

To make matters worse, Naruto ran into a problem.

"Dang it!" he yelled, "Hinata! My Rasengan vanished! I must have used up all of the chakra!"

Glancing over, Hinata saw that Naruto had managed to drill deep enough to expose his chest and arm, but his left hand and knees were still encased in ice.

I need his help to beat this thing, thought Hinata, But I can't back down from the chimaera, or it'll attack Neji. What if…

An idea began to form in Hinata's head. It was a huge risk, and Naruto might get hurt, but she had to give it a try.

As she fought the manticore, she slowly began to back up towards Naruto, drawing the chimaera towards his direction. Once the chimaera was as near to him as Hinata felt comfortable with, she sent her cesti out from her wrist in a sweep, where it hit the chimaera's legs and sent it sprawling. Rushing up to the chimaera's front, she used the mouths of her cesti to dig into the chimaeras head, turned around toward the ice, and then, with a strength that only could have come from the cesti and sheer will, flipped the giant beast over her shoulder and sent it smashing down onto the ice right next to Naruto, which shattered against the force of the flip and freed his hand and knees.

Before the chimaera could even get up, Hinata raised her cestus and smashed it against the chimaera's lion head. She did this once, twice, three times, until the serpent tail began to whip around, and she was forced to retreat.

As she backed away from the chimera, Naruto ran up to her side.

"Naruto, are you alright?" asked Hinata.

"Yeah, I'm fine," panted Naruto, "I think my heart may have stopped when you smashed that chimaera against the ice right next to me, but other then that, I'm alright."

"I'm sorry," said Hinata, "But I couldn't break away from the chimera to free you."

"I understand," said Naruto, "But now what?"

They gazed at the chimaera as it regained its feet. Its lion head was completely caved in by Hinata's cesti, and as she had hoped, the glowing-eyed goat head was back in control. Now that it was back on all four legs, it would be easier to take on.

"Naruto, we need to force the chimera back against the mountain side," said Hinata.

"Why? What's over there?" asked Naruto.

Hinata pointed upward, and Naruto's gaze followed her direction. Apprehension dawned on his face as he realized what Hinata had planned.

"You can do that?" he asked.

"I think so," answered Hinata.

"Then let's do it!"

As the chimaera prepared to charge, Naruto created a shadow clone, which began generating a rasengan in his palm. Together, he and Hinata charged toward the chimaera, who let out an icy blast. It aimed toward the ground, causing giant, pointed icicles to burst from the ground, but Hinata and Naruto darted to either side of the icy spikes and converged upon the chimaera. Before the beast could respond, the two shinobi attacked, and both the cesti and the rasengan connected with the chimaera.

The force sent it flying back with blinding speed, where it smashed into the mountain wall. Before it could get up, Hinata sent her cesti out by the chain, where it went above the chimaera and hit its target right beneath the giant overhang that hung over the chimaera. Cracks formed around the base of the rock, and the overhang broke off from the cliff and fell right onto the chimaera, crushing it beneath the stone.

Hinata and Naruto hesitated. The Chimaera's front paws stuck out from the overhang, as did the snaketail. The rest had been crushed.

As Hinata and Naruto made their way towards the crushed chimaera, Neji struggled to turn his head. While Hinata and Naruto had been fighting the chimaera, he had been lying on the ground, burnt and paralyzed, facing away from the fight and being unable to move, which annoyed him to no end.

Lady Hinata and Naruto are fighting while I'm just lying here, he angrily thought, Never have I felt so useless!

His train of thought broke when he heard footsteps coming toward him.

"Lady Hinata, is that you?" he called out, "Or is it Naruto?"

The footsteps stopped right next to him, on the other side of his gaze. Silence.

"Did you defeat the chimera? Answer me!"

Nothing.

"Byakugan!" said Neji, activating his jutsu to see what was wrong. Through the all seeing eye, he looked behind him and up at the person. He gasped.

This person wasn't Hinata.

This person wasn't Naruto.

Neji opened his mouth to warn his team, but before he could yell, the figure swooped down and jammed a rock into Neji's mouth, gagging him.

"Mmmm!" said Neji.

"Quiet, boy," said the person in a deep voice.

The stranger turned and quietly headed towards Hinata and Naruto, leaving Neji behind.

"Mmmm hmnmhm! MMMM HMNMHM!" yelled Neji, but to no avail.

Hinata and Naruto carefully approached the crushed chimaera. There they stopped and stared at what they had done.

"I think it's dead," said Hinata

"I guess you're right," said Naruto. He turned toward Hinata. "I gotta say, Hinata, that was a pretty awesome plan! Get it under the overhang, and then break it off to crush this beast to death. Awesome!"

Hinata blushed, "Th-thank you, Naruto."

Naruto glanced at Hinata curiously.

"Hinata," he said, "I've been meaning to ask, why does your face always get so red when I'm around? Do I make you uncomfortable?"

"What?" gasped Hinata as her face went even redder, "N-No! Not at all!"

"Then what is it?" asked Naruto.

Hinata struggled for an answer as her brain began to overload, "It's...It's…"

"HISSSS!"

The snake tail suddenly shot forward, its eyes glowing savagely. Before Hinata and Naruto could react, the serpent had sprayed them both with burning venom. unable to move, they both fell to the ground, and Hinata could only watch as Naruto smashed his head against a rock.

"UUUUUH!" yelled Hinata, but her mouth had been open when she had been sprayed, and she could no longer move her tongue.

Naruto didn't speak. His head was bleeding.

Hearing a hiss, Hinata managed to turn her eyes up to see the giant snake hovering above her. Despite the rest of the chimaera being crushed to death by the stone, the snake tail was still alive, all because it had not been crushed. She should have been more careful.

The snake opened its mouth wide. It had no teeth, but could still swallow her whole. Tears began streaming down Hinata's face as she stared one more time at the boy beside her.

Goodbye, Naruto.

SCHLOCK!

Looking up, Hinata had just enough time to register the snake's severed head before it landed hard on her own, and she blacked out.

"So you are Hinata Hyuga."

The deep voice caused Hinata to slowly regain focus. The snake's head was to her side, as if someone had moved it off of her. Glancing around, she saw a figure standing just out of her view. A tall, muscular male that was red and white, with something on his back that looked like blades. He was also holding something large in each hand. That was all she could see, not even his face. She tried activating her Byakugan, but the veins on her temples were also paralyzed. She couldn't move anything except her hands.

Her hands!

Glancing at her forearms, she could see her own hands, moving aimlessly.

Her cesti had been removed!

Hinata glanced up at the man, who nodded solemnly.

"Yes," said the man in that same rough, deep voice, "I have removed the Nemean Cesti."

It was then that Hinata realized what the man was holding: Her cesti!

"I watched you and your comrades battle the chimaera," continued the man, "I had thought that it would kill you all, but you held out longer than I thought. I am somewhat impressed, Hinata Hyuga."

He looked at the cesti in his hands.

"I have traveled far and wide in search of these cesti. My quest has taken me into lands that lay beyond the influence of the Gods. My brother Hercules did go far."

Hinata's eyes widened. Hercules? Brother?

"I was surprised when I found out that he had been killed. You saved me a great deal of effort in defeating him for me, Hinata Hyuga. Now I can bring these cesti to my master Ares, as he instructed me."

He paused for a moment, and when he continued speaking, his voice was filled with barely concealed rage.

"But you know what, Hinata Hyuga? I loathe Ares for what he made me do! It is because of him that my wife and daughter are dead, and their ashes forever cling to my skin!"

Hinata suddenly realized why the man's skin was so white. A shiver ran down her spine.

"I despise Ares, and though I may serve him, I will wait for the chance to extract my revenge! Athena may already have an idea. If I can open Pandora's Box, then just maybe I can find peace..."

His voice temporarily trailed off into thought, then he stared back down at Hinata.

"I do not know why I tell you all this," he sniffed, "It is not like me to be sentimental, but I will tell you one more thing, Hinata Hyuga. In the time you've had them, you have wielded these cesti like a true warrior. You were able to defeat my brother, a chimaera, and from what I hear, a manticore as well."

Hinata had no idea how this man knew all of this, but she was too busy listening to wonder.

"Lord Ares instructed me to bring to him the Nemean Cesti," continued the man, "And bring it I will, but I have transferred its power unto you, Hinata Hyuga. Use it well."

Hinata would have been stunned by this mans words if the venom wasn't already doing the job. She had the cesti's power? What did he mean?

The man got down on one knee and leaned in towards her.

"Once you have healed," he said, "Discover the power of the Twin Lion Fists."

The man suddenly stood up, and he looked past Hinata.

"People are coming," he said, "I must leave. Farewell, Hinata Hyuga."

With that, the man turned and ran off with the cesti. Hinata tried once more to move, but to no avail. Her head began to pound, and she felt herself beginning to blackout again. She thought she could hear voices calling her name, but then there was only darkness.

Much later, Hinata woke up in a hospital bed. Looking around, she saw that her burns had been bandaged and that she was not alone. To her left were Naruto and Neji, both bandaged and in bed like her.

"Hinata!" said Naruto happily, "You're finally awake!"

"Are you alright, Lady Hinata?" asked Neji.

"I'm fine," answered Hinata, "What about you two?"

Naruto grinned. "I'm alright," he said, "I cracked my skull, but I'll pull through."

"And you Neji?"

"I'm alright, Lady Hinata," answered Neji, "The chimaera's venom only had a temporary effect."

Hinata looked around her room. "Are we back in the Hidden Leaf Village?"

"Yes," said Neji, "The Hokage sent some Takuma and some other shinobi to retrieve us."

"Hey, Hinata," piped up Naruto, "What happened to your lion heads?"

Hinata glanced at her arms and her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened, "My lion heads! He took them!"

"Who took them?" asked Naruto.

"It was this man," said Hinata, "He must have snuck up on us."

"I would have warned you," said Neji, "But the man gagged me before I could shout. Forgive me, Lady Hinata."

"It's alright," said Hinata, "You don't need to blame yourself."

The door opened and Tsunade walked in.

"Good," she said as she looked at the three of them, "You're all awake. Maybe now you can tell me what the hell happened out there."

"Good to see you, too, Grandma-Tsunade," said Naruto.

"Can it!" snapped Tsunade, "When my retrieval team found you, they reported that two of you had been knocked out, one of you had been gagged, a monster had been crushed beneath rocks, and somehow, there was ice on a lower part of a mountain. And to top it off, Hinata, your lion heads, which had been stuck on you for months, are now gone, presumably stolen! Do any of you know how much paperwork you have caused?!"

"Uh...well," said Naruto, "Was that one of those questions that we're not supposed to answer?"

Tsunade sighed. "Nevermind," she said, "Just tell me what happened."

They explained what happened. When they reached Hinata's confrontation with the mysterious man, Tsunade took out a drawing.

"This man that took your cesti, did he look like this?" asked Tsunade as she showed Hinata the drawing."

"Well, I couldn't see his face," answered Hinata, "But that does look like him."

"Where did you get that picture?" asked Neji.

"It was a drawing of a man who assaulted someone in the Land of Drink some time ago," said Tsunade, "This man was a courier who saw Hinata's file, and the fool was talking about it with a friend. The assailant heard him and was able to gain information about Hinata, which led him to you all. By the time I received this information, you all were off on your mission. The best I could do was send some shinobi after you to safely retrieve you."

She turned to Hinata, "What did this man say?"

Hinata recounted the strangers words to her.

Tsunade let out another sigh, "In addition to this Hercules character having a brother, this brother of his is some sort of conflicted zealot. Well, I guess that's all I need to know. We'll see what we can find on this brother and his gods, though I doubt we'll find much. For now, the three of you stay here and rest."

As she left, Hinata rested her head against her pillow. It had been quite a mission.

The burns healed quickly, but Hinata had yet to move on from her mission. It took a while to get used to having her hands back. Her arms felt so small without the large, cumbersome cesti, and at first she had a hard time carrying things, but in time, she was able to get a grip.

What made her think the most was that strange man and his words. Discover the power of the Twin Lions Fist. What had he meant? She was wondering about in the Hyuga Clan's courtyard, while practicing her Gentle Step against a wooden post. She paused from her punching and gazed down at her fists, deep in thought, when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Hinata!"

It was Naruto, with that same cocky grin that she always loved.

"N-Naruto!" exclaimed Hinata as she blushed lightly.

"I hope I'm not interrupting your training," said Naruto as he strolled up to her.

"Oh, it's alright," said Hinata, "I was finishing up, anyway."

"Great," said Naruto, "Hinata, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you. This guy who took the lion heads, you said that he said something about giving you the power of those lion heads. Did you ever find out what that power was?"

"Not yet," said Hinata, "Though I may have an idea."

"Well then try it out," said Naruto.

Staring at the wooden post, Hinata took up an offensive pose that was part of the Gentle Fist. If this idea worked, then it could go along great with the Gentle Fist and activated her Byakugan. She remembered what the man had said.

"Twin Lion Fists!"

Hinata gasped.

Naruto fell back in surprise.

Shrouds of energy had appeared, covering her forearms. They were shaped like her cesti, both in size and in appearance, and their glowed the same blue that her cesti used to glow whenever she wielded them. It was as if she was channeling the spirit of the cesti.

Coming out of her daze, she glanced at the training post, and then thrusted one of her fists forward. The lion head moved with it, and Hinata let out a cry of surprise when the wooden post burst into splinters from the single punch. She turned to Naruto, who was still on the ground, and held out one her lion heads towards him. She concentrated, and and the glowing lion heads vanished from her arms as quickly as they had formed, leaving her hand free to help Naruto up. Never again would the power of the cesti be inconvenient to her. Grinning, Naruto took Hinata's hand and pulled himself up onto his feet.

Naruto was too awed for words, so he just looked at Hinata and grinned. Hinata found herself grinning, too.

"And that is how I learned the Gentle Step, Twin Lion Fists," finished Hinata many years later in her house. She looked down at her children. Himawari stared up at her mother in silent awe. Boruto looked slightly disappointed.

"So, because that power was given to you by some guy, you're unable to teach it to me?" he asked.

Hinata nodded. "Sorry, Boruto."

"Man, that sucks!" whined Boruto, "First I don't have Byakugan, and now you can't teach me the Twin Lion Fists? How am I supposed to get strong if I don't know any good techniques?"

"Well, Boruto," said Naruto as he walked by, reapplying his bandages on his right hand, "Maybe if you quit pulling all those pranks, I'll show you how to create the Rasengan."

He opened his palm, creating a swirling ball of chakra with expertise.

"Woah," said Boruto, captivated by the ball of energy.

Grinning, Naruto left the room, his son in pursuit.

Himawari glanced back up at Hinata.

"Mama?" she asked.

"Yes, Himawari?"

"Whatever happened to the man who gave you the Twin Lion Fists? Did you ever see him again?"

Hinata looked out the window in deep thought.

"I never did," she said, "I guess he went off on his own adventures."

It had been a long time since that stranger had given Hinata the power of the cesti, and so much had happened since then. But every once in a while, she would think about that man who had saved her life, as well as Naruto's. She wondered if he had ever managed to open Pandora's Box, whatever that was. She remembered the rage in that man's voice and wondered if he had ever found the peace that he was looking for.

I know how it was looking: Yet another fanfiction that would be left unfinished. (No offense to those of you who have unfinished fanfiction.) But guess what? I FREAKIN' DID IT! WOO-HOO! Over 28,000 words! (And to think how much I drag my feet when writing a two-page outline for college.) Sorry if I'm coming off as a blowhard, but this is such an accomplishment for me. Thank you all for being so darn patient with my work. I'm sure many of you were expecting Hinata and the "mysterious stranger" to duke it out, and to those who did, I hope it wasn't too hard of a letdown. But I feel that conflict resolution doesn't always have to be resolved through conflict. At any rate, I hope you all enjoyed my story. Please leave a review if you're up to it. Thank you and good night!