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Hummingbird	By : Onileo Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 2119 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto; that honor belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. My fanfiction is for entertainment only and is not intended for financial gain.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
Chapter 17
          Hinata glanced at her reflection in the mirror one last time, pale eyes staring back. Adjusting her new cloak, she smiled. It fit well and was quite comfortable, even if it was a little bulky. She tied her headband in its customary place around her neck. Last of all, she pulled on her new black boots. Konan had given them to her, saying that they were part of her new uniform. They were open-toed with a small heel and came up to her thighs.
          Blushing lightly, she thought about what lay beneath her cloak. She felt more than a little under dressed. She wore only a mesh top over her bindings and a pair of flexible shorts. Kisame had insisted she wear the lightest thing she owned, since her cloak would get quite warm in the summer heat, and she wouldn't be able to take it off while she was on the mission.
          Turning around, she smiled shyly at Kisame, who was once again lounging on her bed. "H-how do I l-look?" she asked him.
          "Terrible." he replied, grinning at her. Hinata gave him a perplexed look, and started to fidget. Did she really look that bad? She started to turn back to the mirror to see what was wrong when his voice halted her. "I'm just kidding. You look great." he said, placating her. She just shook her head at him.
          "I guess I-I'm ready. It's t-time to go." she said, nervousness coming into her voice.
          Climbing off the bed, Kisame walked over to Hinata and wrapped his arms around her. Burying his face in her neck, he tickled the skin there with his warm breath. Kissing her pulse point, he whispered in her ear. "I have a little gift for you when you get back."
          Hinata turned her head to look him in the face. "W-what is it?" she asked.
          "It's a surprise. You'll see it when you return."
          Hinata smiled at him. Turning around in his arms, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her soft lips to his. Pulling her flush against him, Kisame deepened the kiss, pouring all of his feelings for her into it. Remembering that she needed to breathe, Hinata broke away first. He released her and, checking the room one last time to see if she forgot anything, she headed for the door.
          Kisame followed her downstairs and outside, where Kisho stood, waiting for her. He was also wearing his new cloak, his crimson and black hair matching it perfectly. Beside him stood two of his stone lions. Their sightless eyes roamed over her and they shook their heads, waiting for their creator's commands. Hinata looked at them, then back at Kisho, shaking her own head as well.
          "Kisho, you shouldn't w-waste your chakra like t-that. You m-might need it." she chided.
          He gave her an unrepentant grin. "This is nothing. Besides, if we run into trouble, I can always borrow yours. And it sure beats running the whole way. Now climb aboard, and let's go."
          Hinata turned and gave Kisame one last parting kiss before she climbed onto the back of the nearest lion. She had a feeling that before the day was out, her bottom would regret not forcing them to walk. Placing one hand on the lion's shoulder for balance, she turned and looked at Kisame, who had an amused look on his face. She gave him a wave and a smile as the lions started moving. Kisho moved up to her side on his lion and they headed out of the village.
          Once they were on the edge of the village, Kisho increased speed. The lions bounded forward, forcing Hinata to hold on with both hands. As they ran, the ground trembled slightly from the force of the lions' weight. Hinata was a little surprised. Even though the lions were made of stone and very heavy, the ride wasn't bumpy at all. Kisho was pretty talented when it came to mimicking the grace and fluidity of the real thing. She might not regret accepting the transportation after all.
          Finding herself relaxing, Hinata watched the countryside as they traveled. It was pretty here, in a rugged sort of way. There were plenty of mountains and grassy meadows, but very few trees. Late summer wildflowers bloomed all over the place. It was raining, of course, and Hinata turned her face up to let the light droplets hit her face. She looked over at Kisho and found him watching her. That made her nervous. Resisting the urge to fidget, she gave him a shy smile. He looked away, but not before Hinata noticed the blush that covered his cheeks. What was that about?
          Turning her attention back to the road, she measured up how long it would take to reach their destination. Two and a half days at their current rate of speed. Kisho wouldn't be able to hold the jutsu for that long, however, so she estimated that they would actually get there in about three days. She frowned a little at that. That meant she wouldn't get to see Kisame for almost a whole week. And she was starting to miss him already.
          By the time dusk came, they had reached the border of the Land of Waves. Coming to a stop, Kisho and Hinata climbed down and Kisho dispelled his jutsu. His breathing was a little labored and he was starting to look tired. 'It's no wonder' Hinata thought. 'He must have some exceptional stamina to hold a jutsu all day. Even if it is a minor one.' "Let's stop for the night. It's getting dark and you need to recover some of your chakra." she said.
          Kisho agreed. They searched for nearly a half hour before they found a suitable place to camp for the night. It was a small grove of stunted trees and scrub brush. The middle was nice and flat and relatively free of rocks. Hinata lay out a protective jutsu while Kisho built them a small fire. They shared a quick meal in companionable silence, then turned in for the night.

          Kisho strained to see in the darkness, but it was no use. Everything was black. There was no light, no sound, nothing. Nothing except that terrifying pair of blood red eyes. He tried to run, but he was frozen to the spot. They bore into his soul, getting larger and larger until they engulfed him completely. A strangled cry emerged from his lips before he sat up, wide awake, in a cold sweat.
          Looking around, Kisho breathed a sigh of relief. He was still at the campsite. It was just another nightmare. He hadn't had one in over a month now, so he wasn't expecting it at all. Wiping the moisture from his brow, he turned to where Hinata was sleeping peacefully beside him. A slow smile found its way onto his face as his breathing steadied and his heart rate slowed down.
          If it weren't for her, he would surely be insane by now. He had hated her at first. Hated her and Kisame for their part in taking him away from his village and all the people he knew and loved. But as the days went by, her quiet manner and kindness drove the hatred away. Until Itachi came along with his damned Sharingan.
          Kisho shivered as he re-lived that night in his head. The hours of torture, of pain. It was brutal. Itachi had broken him in a way that Kisame never could with his fists and sword. His soul had very nearly shattered, leaving him frightened and bitter. He never, ever, wanted to go through that again. And once more, Hinata had saved him. Her concern and steadfast support had slowly drained the bitterness away. She even helped him to accept his new circumstances in life. His mind was still frayed a little around the edges, but he was there.
          He sighed softly. She seemed to agree with the sentiment, sighing as well and rolling over in her sleep. His golden eyes glowed softly as he watched her slumber. He so very much wanted to reach over and touch her. His savior. Just run her raven hair through his fingers. But he already knew the folly of it. She was in love with Kisame. And the shark ninja would kill anyone who even thought about messing with her. A hint of jealousy rose to the front of his emotions. He pushed it down quickly. If he couldn't have her love, he was more than content to have her friendship.
          Pushing his obsidian tipped hair out of his eyes, he stared off into the darkness. The stillness was oppressive. No birds or frogs or cricket songs. It set him on edge, reminding him of his nightmare. Trying his best to ignore the feelings of dread, he lay down again and turned toward his partner. Concentrating on her steady breathing, he was soon entranced by the rhythm of it and fell into a dreamless sleep.

          "Do you feel t-that?" Hinata whispered.
          "Yeah." Kisho replied softly.
          Coming to a sudden halt, Hinata silently activated her Byakugan. Searching the surrounding area, she located the source of the chakra spike. It was a lone ninja. He was several yards ahead of them. From what she could tell, he was fairly strong, but not anything they couldn't handle. And he was aware of them. She could see the kunai he had gripped behind his back. He also carried a rather large bundle slung over his shoulder. Sure enough, after a moment of debate, his gravelly voice rang across the terrain.
          "You might as well come out and face me. I already know you are there." he said. Hinata furrowed her brow. Even though she was sure she didn't know him, there was something about his accent that was familiar. Glancing at Kisho, she nodded. Sliding kunai from their weapons pouches, they jumped down from the tree they had halted in and faced the newcomer.
          As soon as they had landed, the ninja immediately dropped into a defensive stance and brought his kunai to the front. His green eyes narrowed in anger and he glared at them. "Akatsuki." he stated, his voice dripping with menace.
          Kisho smirked. Hinata frowned and appraised the man. He was tall, heavily tanned and had short sandy brown hair. She noted from his slashed headband that he was a rogue ninja from Suna. So that's where the accent had come from. She recognized it from the time she had spent with the Sand siblings during and after the Chunnin Exams. A thought suddenly occurred to her. If he had abandoned Suna, why would he be angry with the Akatsuki?
          "You seem to know of us, but who are you?" Kisho said, his low, rumbling voice tense but confident.
          "My name is Matsu. Remember it well. It is the name of the man sending you both to Hell." he said angrily.
          "W-wait." Hinata said. "If you are a m-missing nin from S-suna, why do you w-want to fight us? W-we are n-not enemies."
          "Oh, we're enemies alright, kunoichi." he said, sneering at her. "If it weren't for the Akatsuki, I wouldn't have had to leave the village. But because the poisons used by Sasori on Kankuro-san, Elder Chiyo and that pink haired kunoichi from Konoha were so deadly, the Kazekage decided to regulate which ones the puppet masters could use and which ones were to be banned.
          All my research, my studies, everything was for nothing. And they watched me constantly. One of their most loyal shinobi, watched like a rabid dog. I had finally had enough and left. But that doesn't mean I forgot what you criminals did, nearly blowing up the village and killing everyone. Now it's my turn to return the favor. Only I won’t fail." Matsu said, grinning maniacally.
          Setting his bundle on the ground, Matsu held his kunai between his teeth and performed a few quick hand seals. The bundle began to quiver and the wrappings fell away to reveal a puppet. It was shaped like a man, with long, dark hair. Its eyes were painted red and it held a katana in its jointed fingers, dripping with a dark purple substance. Raising his hands, Matsu had the puppet rise, and Hinata heard the faint rattling sound of wood on wood.
          Kisho froze in terror. He couldn't think, couldn't move. Red eyes. Eyes that bore into his soul, tearing him apart. And they came closer. He tried to do something, anything. His body wouldn't respond. His brain wouldn't work. He was held transfixed as the evil red eyes of death came closer and closer.
          "K-kisho?" Hinata asked worriedly as she looked over at him when she felt his chakra flare unsteadily. He didn't respond, just stared blankly ahead. "Kisho-kun, s-snap out of it!" she said desperately. Something was wrong with him. He was lost in another place, frozen to the spot. She had to find a way to get him back or they would both be in trouble. Looking back at Matsu, she watched as he made his first move.
          This was bad. She had to do something, and fast. If she managed to get to Matsu, maybe she could shut down his chakra and disable the puppet. Then she would be able to defeat him. Since he was a puppet master and therefore a ranged fighter, she would have a big advantage if she engaged him in hand to hand combat.
          "Die!" Matsu shouted as the puppet flew forward. Hinata charged and met the puppet, blocking it's sword with her kunai. Knocking it to the side, she kept running, straight for Matsu. Just before she reached him, she glanced back to see if Kisho was dealing with the puppet. He still wasn't moving, except for a slight trembling in his hands. The puppet was almost to him, sword raised, ready to strike.
          Hinata's eyes widened. If she kept going, she could take out Matsu, but by the time that happened, the puppet would strike Kisho. And its blade was definitely poisoned. He would most likely die. If she went back to defend Kisho, she would have to take out the puppet and Matsu by herself. And since he was so strong, there was a good chance she would die instead. But there wasn't really a choice to be made. She couldn't let her partner die. Taking a deep breath, she skidded to a halt and turned back.
          The eyes kept coming closer. Getting larger. Just like his nightmares, only this time, they were terrifyingly real. He started trembling. Just when they were ready to engulf him, a blur of bluish black swept across his vision. Then he heard Hinata's painful scream. Crashing back to reality, he saw her in front of him, kunai shakily blocking the sword of the puppet. If she made it in time, the why did she scream?
          Coming around to her side, he saw it. The free hand of the puppet was buried in her stomach. Poison oozed from tiny senbon sticking out of its fingers. Finally free of his fear, he knocked the puppet back, away from Hinata. She fell to her knees, holding her stomach, as blood started to seep through the torn edges of her cloak. She was breathing heavily and sweat started popping out on her forehead.
          "K-kisho." she said in a raspy voice.
          "Don't move or try to talk. It will make the poison spread faster. Just rest while I take care of this guy." Kisho said calmly.
          The puppet was back up and charging again, joints chattering madly. Kisho ran to meet it headlong, crimson hair flying. As soon as they met, he ducked out of the way, spinning around it, and kept going. While he ran, he reached down, grabbing the chakra strings controlling the puppet. Concentrating, he started sucking the chakra out. He heard the puppet collapse behind him, useless without its master's control.
          Matsu raised his kunai and met Kisho. Metal clanged as they parried. Using the momentum to his advantage, Kisho brought his free hand around and punched Matsu in the face, sending him flying. Not stopping there, he followed the enemy ninja to the ground, knocking his kunai away and punching him again, this time in the stomach.
          Rage and guilt consumed him. If he hadn't been afraid, Hinata would never have gotten injured. This was all his fault. And Matsu's. They had nothing to do with the attack on Suna, but the man was blinded by the black cloak with red clouds. Eyes full of hatred, Kisho stood after repeatedly punching the man until his nose and mouth were pouring blood.
          Forming hand seals, he stood over Matsu and glared at him. Matsu's eyes widened as the ground started trembling and the head of a massive stone lion came into his view. Kisho picked him up by the shirt. Sucking the chakra out of him, his eyes glowed a fierce gold.
          "You picked the wrong kunoichi to attack. Now you will rot in Hell for that mistake." he growled. He dropped him back onto the ground and turned away. Walking back over to Hinata, he never even winced when the painful scream behind him was followed by the sickening sound of bone crunching between the stone teeth of his lion. Then everything was silent.
          Careful of her injuries, Kisho picked Hinata up and turned around. His lion trotted over to him, blood dripping from its muzzle. It knelt down before him, and Kisho climbed onto its back, setting Hinata carefully in front of him. The lion rose and bounded off. They had to get back to the base. Now.
          Pouring extra chakra to the lion, Kisho willed it to go faster. Hinata started shivering in his arms. Glancing down at her, he noticed that her pale eyes were dilated with pain. Sweat was pouring off of her now, and the blood continued to seep from the wound on her stomach. Fear made his throat tight. She couldn't die. She just couldn't. He would never forgive himself.

          Kisame tried his best to focus on the television blaring in the common room. But it did little good. He was bored to death, and irritated besides. He wouldn't have another mission until tomorrow, and Hinata wasn't here to keep him company. Hidan was sitting on the couch, watching some nature show with wild animal fights. The occasional 'Hell yeah!' would emerge from his lips when a particularly bloody battle commenced. Demon was curled up beside him, tail twitching constantly.
          Kisame sighed and looked out the window. It wasn't raining for once, and they had the windows thrown open, letting the warm summer air circulate through the room. The sun was setting, and the white walls of the room glowed a soft orange in the dying light. The smell of wet concrete and grass wafted in, mixing with the scent of whatever Konan was making in the kitchen. He had zoned out, thinking of Hinata and how her mission was going, when a light fluttering reached his sensitive ears.
          A small black hummingbird with a pale throat had landed on the open windowsill. It sat there, ruffled feathers shaking off the raindrops that dripped on it from the rooftops. It cocked its head and chirped at Kisame. He smiled, thinking of Hinata. If he could catch it, it would make a great gift for her. Before he could move to do anything, a flash of orange swept by him and onto the window.
          Demon had pounced, trying to catch the small bird. He scored a hit, but before he could get a good hold, the tiny thing had beat him with its wings and flown off, leaving a small whirlwind of broken feathers in its wake. Kisame glared at the cat. Swatting at it with his hand, he sent Demon scurrying back to Hidan's side, hissing the whole way.
          More irritated than ever, Kisame stood and walked out of the common room. Since it was a nice day, he decided a good workout with Samehada was in order. It would help work off his nerves, at any rate. He had just started toward the stairs when a crash at the front door caught his attention. Grabbing a kunai, he started making his way stealthily to it, when two familiar chakra signatures made him pause in surprise.
          It was Kisho and Hinata, and both of their chakra was very weak. His heart started pounding. Something had gone terribly wrong. With his heart in his stomach, he ran to the door and threw it open. There stood Kisho, panting too hard to speak, sweat pouring off of him. The remains of one of his lions were crumbling slowly behind him. In his arms lay Hinata. She was very ill and Kisame saw blood leaking out onto her abdomen.
          "What the hell happened!" he yelled angrily. Taking Hinata from him, he didn't wait for a reply. He turned and ran for the stairs.
          "Oh, fuck." Hidan said from the doorway of the common room. Konan emerged from the kitchen to see what was going on. She watched Kisame run past her, then turned and walked over to Kisho. She started to ask him what happened, when he passed out at her feet. Hidan helped her get him to the couch. She frowned as she watched his unconscious face. What had happened to them?
          "Itachi!" Kisame roared for his partner as he rushed to his room. Throwing open the door, he hurried to his bed and carefully lay Hinata on the covers. Unclasping her cloak, he gently pulled it from her body to examine the wound. Five deep puncture wounds covered her left side. They were swollen and purple. A sticky green substance oozed out, mixing with her blood.
          Itachi came in behind him. He took one look at Hinata and activated his Sharingan. Going over the wound, he turned to Kisame. "She's been poisoned. It's very complex. And it seems to have worked its way through her whole body." he said solemnly.
          Kisame had barely heard him. His attention was focused solely on Hinata. Her breathing was labored, so he removed her headband from around her neck to make it easier for her. Grabbing a corner of the blanket, he wiped the sweat from her face. Taking her hand, he frowned at how cold and clammy it felt. But she slowly opened her eyes and brought them into focus. "Hang in there, Hummingbird." he whispered to her.
          "Kisame." she said with a weak smile. That was all she could manage to get out before she lost consciousness once more. Turning to look at Itachi, Kisame waited to hear the words that would surely make his blood run cold.
          "There is nothing I can do for her, Kisame. She is dying."
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Hummingbird