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ᗰOᑎᔕTEᖇ	By : Sessakag Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female > Naruto/Hinata Views: 44706 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Nineteen
Otsutsuki

November 15, 2009

Naruto stretched, the cool sheets sliding against his skin as he shifted. The softness of the pillows, the comfort of his mattress coaxed him to sleep a minute later, to allow his tired muscles a longer rest. He resisted the temptation. Weary cerulean orbs opened, roving around his dimly lit bedroom. Naruto blinked once, then again to clear his bleary gaze. He looked over at the clock to check the time then rolled in the opposite direction, reaching for the warm body that was usually nestled close to his own.
His seeking hand met cold sheets.
Naruto sighed, more than a little disappointed, though he couldn’t say he was surprised.
Hinata was busy most days, working long day and nights along side other members of the Hyuuga Clan. The Byakugan wielders were tasked with assisting the intelligence department in unraveling the mysterious text left behind by a deceased Otsutsuki. Naruto was still astonished by the information briefing he’d received months ago.
A meeting in which the intel being shared had been gathered by none other than Sasuke.
The fairly early pardon and subsequent release his best friend had been granted had began to make more sense once he’d learned what the Uchiha had been up to since leaving.
Naruto’s testimony on his friend’s behalf hadn’t been the only factor in swaying those in charge to show the former rogue mercy. Sasuke’s journey was serving several purposes, both personal and governmental. At the time, and with everything going on around him, Naruto hadn’t questioned the circumstances that led to Sasuke’s quick release and small amount of time spent in jail. Had only been glad for the expedient liberation of the contrite Uchiha and the avoidance of execution.
Before he’d made the decision to leave, the two teens had had engaged in a heart to heart. At the conclusion of their talk, Sasuke had brought up the idea of travelling. The former rogue had genuine feelings of regret and grief in the actions he’d taken and thought that using his time away to reflect and discover who he truly was would help in easing his guilt and emptiness.
Naruto ran a hand over his eyes, recalling the conversation he’d had before Sasuke’s departure.
Remembering the agony on his friend’s face as he admitted the painful truth that he didn’t know who he was inside. That he’d gotten buried beneath the hatred and pain and angst of the Uchiha legacy at an early age and had never gotten a chance to create his own inner self.
To form his own identity uninfluenced by the namesake of the Uchiha and all the baggage it entailed.
Without the distraction of revenge, the single minded perusal of retribution that had been so synonymous with his identity growing up, he’d felt bereft, and shockingly empty, lost and uncertain of himself in a way that had scared him, going so far as to say his life had become purposeless after their final fight. He’d had no goals to speak of. No desire for the social norms people his age were expected to have. Didn’t even know what those norms were. For years, and from an early age, the things he’d told himself he wanted, needed, were no longer viable, no longer something he wanted. So now, in the yawning void left behind by his rejection of his reckless, blood soaked childhood ideals of vengeance, Sasuke hadn’t known what to replace it with, how to fill that emptiness in his soul. Questioning what good could come of his life in the wake of the things he’d done, the things he’d lost.
“What should I live for now, Naruto?”
The sorrowful question had come from ocean of hurt and a heavy heart.
Naruto hadn’t had answer at the time.
Still didn’t.
He couldn’t will his friend to be happy, couldn’t fight the demons plaguing the young Uchiha’s soul with anything but his words and unwavering support. He’d fought, bled and taken on many in his effort to bring Sasuke back home but even he knew there were limits as to what he could do.
Everyone’s idea of happiness was different.
Naruto couldn’t find contentment for Sasuke anymore than he could Lee or Sakura, that was something his long time rival would have to define for himself.
Sasuke had laughed at that, wondering aloud how his blonde, often goofy friend had grown so philosophical. Naruto had gloated that he’d always been philosophical, neglecting to mention at the time that he hadn’t even known the meaning of the word. Sasuke hadn’t believed the boast in the first place, well aware Naruto hadn’t had a scholarly bone in his body and most likely didn’t know what the word meant. The two teens had shared a laugh at his limited vocabulary.
It had been a teasing moment, one so reminiscent of the past Naruto had half expected to see thirteen year old Sasuke seated next to him, to wake up and realize everything they’d been through had been nothing more than the elaborate dream of the hyperactive Uzumaki. That the two were still on Team 7, that they’d traveled back in time to a place before the pain and woes of life had revealed themselves. Back when the two had laughed and fought without heat, needled each other as children their age were wont to do.
But as he’d glanced over at the hard, pensive expression on Sasuke’s face the childish notion had been banished mercilessly. The person next him had long since foregone any claim to childhood, his dark eyes were world weary, old and infinitely wounded. It had hurt Naruto’s heart to see the small ray of light hearted banter disappear so soon.
Sasuke had steered them back to painful conversation, bringing his desire for atonement to the forefront, expressing a burning need to find a way to repent and in the process, fill his aching heart with something other than crushing sadness and suffocating guilt.
It turned out the contrite Uchiha was paying penitence in the form of intel gathering, border security and neutralizing immediate threats to the Leaf.
Naruto had mixed feelings about it.
He was glad that his friend had found a way to heal, that he was putting action to words and trying his best to help the village he’d shunned, but he couldn’t stop the worry that churned in his gut as he learned about the dangers the lone, one armed shinobi faced so far from home.
Naruto sat up in bed, anxiety twisting his inside in knots.
The past few months had been a steady stream of revelations. The looming danger, Sasuke’s part in keeping them abreast of the situation with the intelligence he gathered and sent back. Sasuke’s latest report had been shared with the people of the Leaf, though the level of details varied depending on station. Civilians had received a broad explanation of a new threat looming and been advised of what to expect in the coming months while jonin such as himself had been spared little detail.
The Otsutsuki had show up.
One sighting confirmed by Sasuke, while more were suspected to have already been here before the sighting, their locations and motives currently unknown. The date and time of Sasuke’s sighting had corroborated with the abnormal shock wave that had woken him, Hinata and Kurama in the dead of the night. Naruto had learned that the surge of energy that night had been the Otsutsuki tearing into their dimension and then dying shortly after. He’d been as stunned as the rest of the nin inside the meeting room. When the worried chatter had die down enough for the briefing to continue, Shikamaru and had begun reading a laundry list of observations made by Sasuke, other intelligence groups of Konoha and the surrounding nations.
Portals.
Rifts.
Weather abnormalities.
Corrosive rains on a sunny day.
Hail storms with ice the size of grapefruits.
Crashing lightening and booming thunder without a cloud in sight.
Though it’d only been observed once to date, a shower of meteors had wiped out an entire village in Suna.
The weather disasters stemmed from portals that were invisible to the naked eye, the ripping of one reality into the next, a feat attributed to the Otsutsuki though these tears differed from the ones the alien Clan used. The entryways the Otsutsuki opened were geometrical in shape, organized, almost as though they’d removed blocks from the barrier between one world and the next, in contrast, the portals of the abnormal weather looked torn, ripped open, the edges jagged and uneven.
The different shapes weren’t the only factor. Sasuke’s probing of the communication device the Otsutsuki had left posthumous had revealed the pale aliens were fleeing from their own enemy.
Cyilo.
Who or what Cyilo was remained unclear but the images Sasuke witness in the messages and the context of the communications pointed to the checkered weather patterns being a symptom of Cyilo drawing closer to their own planet. The revelation had rocked the group of nin, and as they digested the information, Shikamaru revealed even more troublesome threats brewing, describing the invisible creatures slipping from the smaller tears. Horned, wrinkle skinned, emaciated beast that existed in a separate space of reality entwined with their own. Just as was the case with the portals, the creatures were unseen with the naked eye but were capable of interacting with the physical world.
These beasts also spoke of Cyilo and his approach.
As it stood, they were still in the dark as to the culprits behind the jubokko.
Cyilo.
The hidden Otsutsuki.
Or some other threat they were currently unaware of.
With little to information at their disposal, the nature of their origin would remain an open query.
Subsequently, the Hokage had spent an hour answering questions to the best of his ability, then began delegating missions. Several Hyuuga, Hinata included, were tasked with assisting the intel department in working with the new piece of technology recovered from Sasuke. The Uchiha’s haunch that the device could be activated with the Byakugan had proven correct, and the information it contained could only be gleaned with the Hyuuga dojutsu. Breaking the coded language would take the eyes of the Clan and the intelligence of the intel department. Meanwhile, Naruto and other active duty nin had been sent to various locations to provide assistance where needed and deliver scrolls that would provide aide in staving off the worst of the disastrous effects of the weather fluctuation in villages that needed it the most.
Scrolls that contained single use, insulating barriers that, once activated, would protect the surrounding area and those within for several hours. It would give civilian cities some protection from the volatile rifts until they could figure out who or what was causing the tears in the first place, and how it could be stopped. Sasuke was able to close portals with his Rinnegan, but the process required a substantial amount of chakra and control. His ability to “stitch” the rifts closed had its limits. Two, perhaps three, human sized rifts was all the Rinnegan wielder could handle. Sasuke couldn’t contemplate, let alone try to seal portals as wide as an entire village.
Defense, fortification was the quickest, viable option.
The scrolls were to be delivered and set up for easy civilian access and use, starting in remote areas furthest from aide and working their way back to the villages closest to Konoha. Naruto had taken on much of the delivery load, producing hundreds of clones at once and sweeping as wide an area as he could. Once reaching his destination, the blonde nin carefully followed the set up instructions while reassuring the villagers and calming their fears as best he could, explaining how and when to use the scrolls.
More than a few of the towns he’d come across had already been ravaged, the buildings smoldering and crumbling, dispirited civilians nursing wounds and burying the dead.
In other pockets of civilization he’d met with resistance and suspicion, the illogical antics that had once amused him no longer funny as he dodged rocks and insults while quickly running through his routine of arranging the chakra infused scrolls and explanation on how and when it should be used.
Some towns had been eerily silent and deserted. Spattered blood, signs of various struggles and pieces of left over body parts raised the hair at his nape and made his gut churn with anger and sorrow. Reminding him that the latest weather threats didn’t negate the jubokko murders continuing throughout the country.
Pushing aside the dark and gloomy events of the last few months plaguing his mind, Naruto rolled out of bed, shuffling to the bathroom with a yawn. The reflection that stared back at him looked slightly worn and worried.
He splashed his face with water and took a breath.
He didn’t have time for worries, not when he had things he could do to turn the tides of misfortune. There were people depending on him, depending on others like him for help.
Slapping his hands to his cheeks, he took a brisk shower, grabbed some toast and boiled eggs, dressed and was out the door just as the sun began to rise. Naruto headed in the direction of the southern gates to pick up his team. The three genin were beginning to bloom beneath his tutelage and the high tension situation plaguing the country was facing, proving themselves competent and efficient where it counted.
He was strolling past Konoha Central Park when a familiar form caught his attention. Lee was standing beneath one of the towering trees of the park, his back to the blonde jonin. Happy to see the green bodysuit wearing taijutsu practitioner, he raised a hand, intending to shout a greeting when he stopped, blue eyes wide with surprise.
His busy browed friend wasn’t alone.
In the dim rays of morning, he could make out a second form pressed against his.
The two moved in a way that made it quite obvious they were engaged in a heated lip lock. They parted a second later, the female’s face shifting into the light. Tenten smiled up at her teammate, spoke a few words before jogging away with a wave. Naruto walked over to the lone nin, curiosity getting the better of him.
“How long have you two been an item?” Naruto asked.
Lee’s body jerked. He turned, cheeks alight, mouth gaping.
“Na-Na-Naruto-kun!”
Naruto’s lips curled in amusement.
“So this is what you mean when you say you have to meet someone or that you have other plans, huh?”
His bright flush intensified, but rather than the simple embarrassment of being caught in a public display of affection, the older male looked rather uncomfortable, guilty almost. Blonde brows crinkled in concern.
“Hey, if you don’t want other people to know, I won’t say anything, ‘ttebayo,” he assured the other male, “you don’t have to tell anyone anything about your love life if you don’t want to.”
Naruto couldn’t fathom why the pair would want to hide their relationship, but he would respect their privacy despite his questions. Just as he was about to convey that sentiment to his friend, Lee spoke again.
“I-It’s not that I don’t want anyone to know…and we’re not ashamed of it or anything like that its just that, me and Tenten…this isn’t like you and Hinata or Ino and Sai or Kiba and Tamaki. This is just…” dull heat crept into his cheeks “…sex.”
Naruto blinked, more than a little surprised. Tenten didn’t seem the overly romantic type, though he’d assumed all girls wanted a relationship in the more traditional sense. Lee was a pretty sensitive guy, even more so than the blonde jonin. Lee was the last person Naruto thought would ever enter into a no strings attached sexual relationship.
“I don’t want anyone to think badly of us because of our…arrangement. Tenten more so than me. Girls aren’t looked at as kindly as the guy in these types of situations, and while I may not be in love with her, I still want to protect her,” Lee explained, “Tenten says she doesn’t care, that it doesn’t matter to her what other people think but we’ve been teammates a long time and I know it’d hurt her if other people thought ill of her.”
“I wouldn’t think badly of either of you guys, and neither would our friends,” Naruto declared, “If you guys are happy then that’s all that matter, dattebayo.”
The blush and worry left Lee’s face, his tense shoulders loosening in the face of acceptance.
“Thanks, Naruto-kun. We both thought about it, talked about, and we’re both okay with satisfying our needs for right now but even so, neither of us are giving up on love.”
Naruto nodded.
“Go for it Lee.” he encouraged.
The two fell in step together, turning the conversation to a more serious topic.
“Are you headed out too?” Naruto asked.
The two men moved purposefully through the empty streets of Konoha. Lee nodded, thick brows lowering, transitioning from bashfully awkward to deadly serious instantly.
“It’s getting really bad in the Land of Rivers,” Lee began, “so I volunteered my off days to help out. Suna is trying their best to maintain the region but they’re in the middle of their own crisis. The droughts are getting worse and the Kazekage has his hands full with the injured. Tsunade-sama has done a lot to slow the number of deaths but its like trying to hold back a tidal wave. They’ve got limited resources, and the other nations aren’t in a position to help. They’re just as bad off as we are.”
Naruto frowned.
He was more than a little worried for the Wind country. The harsh living conditions of the desert land worsened the response time to jubokko attacks. Intense heat, sandstorms and great distances between villages across unforgiving sandy plains added to their inability to render aide to the fallen and defend vulnerable areas with so few shinobi left over from the war.
He wanted to go and help, but his own hands were full. Ping ponging between areas in Fire Country at the current grueling pace, was taxing even his normally boundless energy.
xxxxxx
February 2, 2010
Naruto monitored Tani as she moved a small patch of land. Crouched low, palms to the ground, the young doton user filled the corrosive body of water with dirt, soaking up the dangers liquid with chakra manipulated soil. It was the last pit to fill in the damaged town. After turning over the scroll and explaining its function, the jonin leader had directed his squad to help make the village a bit safer for the injured townsfolk.
Acidic rains had pelted the unprotected and unsuspecting town several times, the burning precipitation accompanied by large sinkholes, forming a deadly hazard for unwary individuals. Tani had been assigned to filling the many holes in and around the village.
He’d left Seinosuke a moment ago.
The silver haired genin, along with a few of Naruto’s clones, had just finished repairing the bridge connecting the village to the road to Konoha and had directed him to meet back in the center of town.
“Good job, Tani,” Naruto praised as she finished, walking over to the teenager, “Let’s meet up with the others. We have one more stop before we can head back home, ‘ttebayo.”
Tani smiled, dusted her hands and walked over to him.
“Alright, Sensei.”
The two headed back into the village, Seinosuke falling in step along the way. They moved through the town, Tani and Seinosuke chatting quietly, Naruto taking note of the condition of various structures and homes for his report. Men and women in various degrees of health were hard at work patching roofs, boarding up windows and continuing the cleaning effort. Only a small portion of the town was without power and the buildings without were mostly non-consequential, businesses such as restaurants and clothing shops. Hospitals, food stores and other necessities were fully or partially functional.
Better off than the last village they’d left.
Other than the weather abnormalities and whispers of “vampire” attacks in neighboring cities, the civilians hadn’t reported a single sighting of pale, horned, Byakugan wielders here or elsewhere. He was glad the alien Clan wasn’t lurking around but was also unnerved by the lack of information on the movements of the Otsutsuki.
The trio found their last teammate in the arms of an old woman. He’d left Sanzo in charge of assisting the able bodied men in clearing debris from the streets and rooftops. Clearly his pupil had gained the admiration of at least one appreciative townie. The little old lady hugged him, pulled back and beamed up at him.
“Thank you, young man.” she said in a voice wobbly with age.
The adolescent looked more than a little embarrassed in the crowd of people.
Naruto grinned, amused as he watched the exchange.
Sanzo winced, his cheek pinched between shaky wrinkled fingers. The thin, gray haired elder was one of the more affectionate villagers in a long line of grateful townsfolk. Naruto waited patiently as the frail woman expressed her gratitude to his reluctantly indulgent student. The fourteen year old was unable and unwilling to snub the show of appreciation. It was recurring theme among the more ravaged areas of the country. Taking in the freshly repaired rooftops of homes and shops, the broken and charred trees of the surrounding forest, his amusement dimmed. Concerned blue orbs shifted over the large, haggard group of people. The expressions of sadness, pain and even fear on their faces was hard for him to stomach. His small smile vanished in the face of stark reality, the needling feeling that what they’d accomplished in this small, struggling village wasn’t enough.
It was a familiar sentiment that twisted his gut at the conclusion of these fortifying missions.
It made him feel guilty that he couldn’t stay longer or do more to protect the people that needed it most. He tamped down on the uncomfortable emotions, reminding himself that the little they had done would go a long way in giving the civilian village a better chance of minimizing injuries and casualties, that as bad off as this town was, there were others that were worse. Bigger villages with a higher number of wounded and deceased than this town and the last one put together.
He couldn’t afford to get weighed down by the suffering here, couldn’t prioritize one village over another.
They all needed help.
It’d be hypocritical of him to lecture his pupils about creating emotional distance when interacting with victims during their mission when he himself was wading through a pool of sorrow. He wanted to lead by example. To show his young team what it meant to be a shinobi. What it meant to endure.
Compassion, understanding, empathy.
All legitimate feelings Naruto felt were vital in the composition of a ninja. Too little emotion spawned a shinobi lacking morals and self restraint. A nin willing and able to stain their hands for benefit of only themselves, a ninja unconcerned with the potential pain they could cause to those around them in the course of mission completion. Callousness wouldn’t serve anyone.
Analyzing dire situations, making snap decision, these were duties that occurred naturally and unexpectedly in the line of duty, inappropriate emotional attachments clouded judgement, resulting in irrational, inefficient actions and fatal mistakes for the nin and those they protected.
It was a balancing act that many, himself included, struggled to maintain.
Naruto didn’t regret a single person he’d saved, but upon reflection and the mental capacity of an adult in charge of the lives of others, even he could admit that some of the reckless actions he’d taken had caused angst for others when a simple step back may have produced the same results without the added detriment to others.
He’d like to think that he had gained better control of his own habit of jumping in the heat of battle with his heart on his sleeve and viewing every situation thorough a lens of emotion.
Better.
But not completely.
There were situations, conditions where he fell back on raw emotions and while he continued to strive to make clear minded, rational choices, he knew a part of him would always trust his gut over the cold hard logic of his brain when it came to certain issues.
“Come back any time,” the old woman invited, releasing Sanzo’s cheek in favor of patting his partially shaved head.
Tani giggled at his side. Naruto glanced down at her. The chortling teen was dressed in her normal mission gear, consisting of a short sleeved bright pink shirt atop a mid forearm long sleeved shirt, a blue skirt accompanied by white shorts, dark knee highs and black nin sandals. She’d ditched the bob and wore her shoulder length green hair in a thick braid down her spine.
He was glad she hadn’t let the state of the people drag her into gloomy thoughts. He’d been worried that their back to back missions responding to one disaster after another would prove burdensome for his genin team, but he was beginning to think they’d be okay, at least for a while longer.
With that thought in mind, he looked left at the subdued adolescent on his other side.
Garbed in neatly pressed black pants, short sleeved gray shirt and black sleeveless hoodie, Seinosuke gave off an aura of intense contemplation. His sharp golden eyes moved over the crowd with sympathy and resignation. The mocha nin was well aware of the short comings of the aide they offered, but he also understood the limits in which the team could operate.
“Mother, I’m sure these nice shinobi have other villages the need to help too,” a battered young woman gently rebuked, “let’s not keep them any longer than we have to.”
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry,” the gray haired woman bumbled with a dry chuckle, waving her wrinkled hands in a shooing motion, “Don’t mind this old woman. I didn’t mean to hold you all.”
“It’s no problem, ‘ttebayo,” Naruto assured with a smile before sobering “If you find yourselves in need of more help don’t hesitate to send for aide. We’ll get here as fast as we can.”
After another round of gratitude, Naruto lead his team in the direction of the next distressed village. Sanzo walked at his side, adjusting the tool bag attached to his waist. The teen made of show of straightening his mission gear after his encounter with the elderly woman, tugging at his close-fitted long sleeved blue shirt and dusting his dark three quarter pants. Still embarrassed to have been coddled by the geriatric in front of his team.
“Jeez, why am I always the one that gets pinched and poked by old ladies?” the genin complained.
“Because they think you’re cute,” Tani shrugged behind him, “how they make that mistake I’ll never know.”
Sanzo turned, preparing to respond to the dig. Naruto was having none of it.
“Hey you two, remember what I said before we left the village,” Naruto admonished, nipping the brewing back and forth before it began, “out in the field, we keep our guard up and distractions at a minimum. Save the bickering until we’re in a safe spot.”
The reminder was more than enough to quiet the pair. His genin squad settled into heightened vigilance, eyes in constant motion, ears straining for the slight sound of a disturbance as they trekked through the increasingly dangerous woodland of Fire Country.
xxxxxx
February 9, 2010
“Oh, Naruto, there you are.”
Naruto stopped and turned. The tired Uzumaki had just dismissed his team and given his report was making a beeline for home. He was desperate for a shower, some grub, and a quick nap before he had to go out again. He wasn’t holding out much hope Hinata was at the apartment, but if she was he wanted a few minutes with her at least.
Sakura looked as tired as he felt, and just as stressed. The medical kunoichi had been even more elusive than Hinata and much the same as Sai and Ino, Sakura’s additional duties were time consuming and shrouded in secrecy.
“Sakura-chan,” he greeted, hoping he didn’t sound impatient, “What’s up?”
He was glad to see her, wanted to catch up with her, but he really needed a moment to recharge.
“I just figured you probably didn’t know yet, but Hinata’s in the hospital and-”
The words were scarcely out of her mouth before he was moving, shooting off in the direction of Konoha medical center. Dread gripped his gut, sweat beading his brow. His mind ran through a list of possible ailments ranging from simple exhaustion to some horrific adverse effect from handling the alien device she’d been working with. Either way, his heart wouldn’t stop its frantic beat until he laid eyes on the dark haired Hyuuga. He slipped into senjutsu, searching and finding her unique chakra signature on the second floor of the towering white building. Snowy curtains blew from the open window of her room, waving in the wind. Naruto leapt to the open window and into the room, blue orbs wide with concern.
“Hinata!” he fairly shouted as he landed “you okay?”
Two sets of Hyuuga eyes swung his way as he cleared the windowsill. The worried Uzumaki barely noticed the pair seated in chairs across the room as he moved to the bed. Hinata lay against the plush pillows of the bed, dressed in a hospital gown, bright white bandages wrapped around her eyes. She turned blindly in the direction of his voice.
“Naruto-kun?”
He shuffled over, his heart slowing seeing that she was up and alert. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, taking her hands in his. He was pretty sure he knew what was wrong but wanted to make sure for his own piece of mind.
“What happened to your eyes?” he asked.
“Just a little eye strain,” she confirmed, “I’ll be okay in a few days.”
The tension left his shoulders and opened his mouth to say more when a squeal cut through the air.
“Awww, how cute!” Hanabi gushed, “Naruto-onii-san rushing to the rescue!”
He turned, blinking in surprise to see Hanabi and Hiashi standing at the foot of the bed. Hinata’s little sister had a dreamy expression on her young face, while her father maintained his normal stern facade. The youngest Hyuuga placed her fists on her hips with a bit of a huff.
“You guys are always so lovey dovey and Hinata’s been after you since as long as I can remember so what gives? How come we haven’t heard an engagement announcement yet?”
“H-H-Hanabi!” Hinata admonished, her face beat red beneath the bandages.
The teasing young woman grinned, leaning over the bed with merriment in her eyes.
“Ahhh, come on,” she poked, “you two are crazy about each other. Why not? Even dad here is-”
“Hanabi.” the oldest Hyuuga warned, giving his daughter a pointed look.
Naruto sent a cautious glanced at the stoic Hyuuga male. The two had spoken months ago about his intentions to marry his daughter, had even received the Clan head’s blessing. He didn’t want Hiashi to think he’d back out or changed his mind about marrying Hinata, but the with country in upheaval and the threat of the Otsutsuki hanging over their heads, Naruto doubted the two could find the time or energy to plan and attend a wedding any time soon.
“Hinata,” the elder said, “Why don’t you let Naruto take you out for air.”
Hinata nodded, flush fading while Hanabi pouted at losing her source of entertainment for the day.
xxxxxx
Naruto sighed contentedly.
He hadn’t gotten his shower, his belly was rumbling but he could find little to complain about. He’d taken them to a fairly quiet part of Central Park, nestling them at the foot of a towering tree. Sensing his exhaustion or perhaps hearing it in his voice, Hinata had taken a seat on folded knees and tugged him down, depositing his head on her lap. She’d displaced his headband and was running her fingers soothingly through his hair. He stared up at her face, noting the lines of stress between her raven brows, the tension humming through her body. Naruto couldn’t see her eyes but he could sense the distress beneath her facade of quiet serenity. They were both in a place of strain and he could only guess hers had to do with her work in the intel department. His was a lot less complex. Underneath the shade of gently swaying leaves, he couldn’t help but compare the tranquil moment to the panic of earlier. Blind as she was, gentle fingers moved unerringly to his pouting lips, smoothing the turned down corners into a smile.
“Don’t pout Naruto-kun,” she giggled, “I’m alright. You’ve seen me with eye strain before. It only lasts a little while. I would have recovered back at home but I was really tired too, so they sent me to the hospital as a precaution.”
His show of petulance grew.
“Nearly gave me a heart attack, ‘ttebayo,” he mumbled, “I thought something really terrible had happened to you.”
She brushed back his blonde spikes.
“I’m safer than you are, Naruto-kun,” she pointed out with a small smile, “I doubt I can get more than eye strain tucked away in the village.”
After the devastation Pain had left behind and with Otsutsuki lurking, nowhere was safe to his mind. Not even the walls of Konoha. In the increasingly dangerous time they lived in, nothing was outside the realm of impossibility.
“I’m serious,” Naruto murmured, his blue orbs shimmering with emotion, “I’d lose my mind if anything ever happened to you, ‘ttebayo.”
Her smile vanished. Her plush lips turning down, trembling in a way that often signaled waterworks. Confused by the display of upset, he waited for her to speak.
“Do you think I’d be in my right mind if something happened to you either?” she asked, “Naruto, you’re out in the field more than I am. More than anyone in the village. I know you can handle it. I know you’re strong, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying that you might not come back.”
Her calm demeanor slipped further, and he watched her face with intense blue orbs, trying to glean the core of her distress without the benefit of reading the emotion in her eyes. She bent, laying her forehead against his, trembling as she struggled to form words.
“I’m worried,” she confessed softly, “I’m worried about you, I’m worried about our friends, I’m worried about everything.”
Stress radiated from her slight form, her dark brows creasing above the bandages.
“It seems like every day there’s a new crisis. The jubokko are becoming harder to pin down, their devouring villages before anyone can raise the alarm for help. Ino is having a tough time wading through their minds for information that makes sense, Sakura is wracking her brain trying to find a way to cure tsuchi and the information we’re learning about Cyilo…”
Naruto tensed, wanting to hear what she’d learned but dreading it all the same. From the shakiness of her voice, he was more than certain that her undercurrent of disquiet was about to be revealed. He braced himself. Anything to do with the Otsutsuki would spell bad news for them.
“From what we can gather, Cyilo is described as the first Otsutsuki born…or created…we’re not sure which yet. Its confusing, but the text refers to him as the originator of life.”
Surprise and unease swept through his body.
“In the time that he lived, he claimed to have seen the beginning and end of time during his…awakening. That he is the beginning and end. The Otsutsuki believe Cyilo ‘sowed the seeds of existence into the vacuum of void in which he spawned’.”
“They believe he’s God?” Naruto asked.
“Maybe,” she replied, “It’s not clear yet, we only have a few pages interpreted as of now, but he may have been viewed as a deity, or at least the longest lived Otsutsuki on record, a powerful one at that.”
A God.
The oldest Otsutsuki in existence.
It was hard for him to imagine. One Otsutsuki alone welded immense power and had driven the ninja world to its knees. Kaguya’s defeat had taken countless lives and every bit of their strength, along with Hagoromo’s, leaving the world ravaged in the aftermath. The havoc an Otsutsuki stronger than Kaguya could wreak was potentially catastrophic.
“Naruto.”
The way she spoke his name instantly gained his attention. His eyes jerked up to see her lips trembling and the bandages wet with tears. Her hands felt cold and clammy on his face. There were only a few situations where she dropped the “kun” from his name; in throes of passion and when she was really upset about something.
“I love who you are. I’ve always loved who you are but this time…please, just this once…please don’t do anything reckless…If Cyilo is alive, if he has enough power to make even the Otsutsuki run…don’t try to save the world by yourself,” she whispered, voice shaky, “I know you’re strong, you’re the strongest person I’ve ever met, but if anything ever happened to you…”
Naruto sat up, wrapping her in his arms.
“Now you’re just being silly, ‘ttebayo.” he admonished gently, “You honestly think I’d run off and die? I’ll admit I have a habit of jumping in fists first and questions later, but I’ve changed a lot since then. I have people I want to protect and I can’t do that if I’m six feet in the ground, ya know?”
He stroked the soft strands of midnight hair.
“I’m not saying I won’t do anything that might be reckless, if this Cyilo guy is alive and on his way here, I might not have a choice, but if you think for a second I’m gonna run in without any thoughts of staying alive you’re nuts,” he said, “I have too much too live for now, too many things I still need to do. Don’t cry, okay? I know things are bad but we just have to keep it together. Take it one step at a time.”
xxxxxx
March 1, 2010
Takahiro glanced over the green words flashing on the computer screen, unbothered by the shattering screams ringing in his ears while he worked. His fingers tapped over the keyboard, adjusting levels and increasing chakra flow. He stopped to observe the the room on the small television to the left of his computer. The live video feed recorded and displayed the containment area several feet away from his work station. The screen was divided into four panels, each viewpoint from a different angle. The room itself was large, made up of thick concrete walls, and a white tile floor interrupted by a wide patch of blood soaked dirt situated in the center of the room. Four humans lay on wheeled gurneys within the square of earth, their skin leeching of color, pruning beneath their hospital gowns. The figures were arranged in a circle around a tall fleshy tree, feeding the plant with their life’s blood and chakra. The four men were conscious, screaming in agony, held in place by the inky black viscid roots worming beneath their skin.
The wide trunk of the tree was made up of quivering, pulsating chunks of pink flesh and internal organs, tightly held together by thick ropes of black sticky veins. The pink flab was shiny, coated in a viscous liquid composed of blood, tsuchi and a clear toxic fluid Takahiro had yet to identify. Branches, both thick and skinny curved out, stretching, straining towards its human meals.
Takahiro watched dispassionately, finger moving to another button on his computer, releasing more chakra into the room while amplifying the chakra already locked within its four corners.
Gut wrenching howls, from the room and beyond its walls erupted. Vibrations brought stinging pain to his eardrums. The white haired male didn’t bother to cover his ears, having grown used to the sounds long ago, numb to the noise, desensitized to the raving hell his world had become.
Dull orbs moved back and forth as he read through the new data on his screen. It was a routine he’d normally perform on autopilot, but not today.
He didn’t have the luxury of checking out.
Not when today’s readout looked as promising as it did.
Making quick calculations, he brought up a separate program running in the background and typed a few numbers before hitting the enter key. High pitched screams, agonized wails reached a fevered pitch, the frequency inhumane, drilling into his head.
The blessed detachment he’d cloaked himself in began to fade.
Sweat beaded his forehead, his hands grew shaky while his stomach lurched with anxiety.
It wasn’t the noise that caused his disquiet, but rather the suffocating aura seeping through the concrete walls and plexiglass, a sensation he’d never felt before. The fine hairs at his nape stood on end as a voiceless call slid over his skin, burrowing beneath his flesh, whispering over his tenketsu, coaxing the tiny points to open. Takahiro fought its lulling, beguiling pull, focusing instead on the rapidly expanding circle on his computer screen, the device beeping rhythmically as it tracked the tree’s range of influence. He panted softly, eyes widening behind the circular lenses of his glasses. Its reach was wider than he’d anticipated, stronger than he was comfortable with. Unable to fight the urge, he looked over at the plexiglass feet away from his desk, even while knowing he wouldn’t be able to see into the room below the observation window. He’d have to move closer to the and looked down into the pit to see with his own eyes what was taking place.
He swallowed, fear lacing up his spine as another surge of pure, unadulterated hatred, aching bloodlust and the seductive whisper of paradise washed over him.
The legless scientist refused to go anywhere near it.
The conflicting sensations were throwing his mind into chaos. He gripped the hand rests of his wheelchair, battling the urge to tear his eyes from their sockets and present them to the baying tree.
A burst of laughter filled the room.
He jumped, hands moving to the wheels of his chair. He spun, trembling as one of the embodiments of his worst nightmare strutted into the room.
Takahiro’s fingers gripped the wheels, pain crashing through his chest. It was hard to breathe, hard to think.
His eyes burned, moist dark orbs moving over the familiar face, now pale as a sheet and his once bulky build, now painfully thin, dressed in a snowy white top and loose fitted pants. His eyes were what pained Takahiro the most. The warm brown orbs that had once looked at him with love, affection and acceptance were gone. These eyes were hallow, tinged with madness and merciless.
Soul piercing and without pity.
Eyes he recognized and abhorred.
Kohei’s mouth moved, but the voice that came from his lips belonged to another.
“Don’t get caught in her warm-up,” Toriyama grinned with Kohei’s lips, “You’ll miss the song.”
Hatred gripped his gut, the ugly melding of terror, heartache and rage settling heavily over his skin. He trembled in his chair, hating the useless nubs that were his legs even more with his amputater in the room with him. Breathing the same airs as him. Inhabiting the body of someone near and dear to his heart. Takahiro’s hateful glare followed the male’s approach, watching as the body snatcher wandered to the glass. The twisted bastard pressed his face and hands to the plexiglass, seeming enraptured by the mess below.
Takahiro turned away, taking several breaths to calm himself.
Lashing out, letting anger consume him would result in naught but more physical torture or even the violent removal of another part of his body. Something inside him would shatter to have his foster brother stand before him, blade in hand, intending to cause him unspeakable agony.
He swiveled back to his desk, gaze moving to the video feed. The brief exchange had left him full of ire, but also more in control of himself, able to tolerate and resist the tree’s beckoning. Something new was unfolding on camera. He peered closer at the screen watching the bodies strapped to the metal gurneys twist and writhe, pieces of their pruned skin slowly sloshing off and over the side of their metal bed, dripping into the blood soaked earth below. Lines of heat rose from the exposed bone.
Takahiro clenched his teeth, viewing the process with muted horror.
Sickened to his core.
As grotesque as it was, these were the results he’d been working to produce. The fleshy branches waved like skeletal fingers, the pulsation of the tree quickening.
Sticky veins unfurled from the trunk of the tree, reaching for the screaming, mushy mess of the human beneath camera three. Black vessels dug into the melting figure, hooking onto the flesh beneath the skin. Takahiro held back bile as the veins pulled, snatching the man clear of his binds and toppling the gurney. A meaty smack and a screech of pain filled the air as the man slammed into the wet adhesive coating the trunk. Gooey fluid slipped over the victim, turning the screams into low groans of untold agony.
“She’s responding,” Toriyama crooned, “Look how she waves.”
Horrified.
Fascinated.
Takahiro waited, barely breathing as he strained his ears, sifting through the distant wails of the jubokko and the wrenching screams of the humans. Shock raced through his body as a new sound cut through the clash of sounds. Dread twisted his gut, curiosity filled his mind. He gripped his chair, muscles clenching as he was torn between the urge to run and the overwhelming desire to launch himself into the flesh pit and make himself the next victim.
“It’s singing,” Toriyama breathed, nose pressed against the plexiglass, “I haven’t heard that sound in so long.”
The pale male sounded reverent, awestruck, emotions Takahiro found disturbing coming from his merciless tormentor. A testament to the rampant madness infecting the creature’s brain. Sweat slipped down his back, his hands trembling.
“Ahhh,” Toriyama sighed in bliss, “It’s been so long. Do you hear it? Can you hear its whisper? The beckoning call of salvation and nirvana? The lure of insanity and heartbreak.”
Takahiro swallowed, struggling to keep his chair still, to force his hands away from the wheels.
He could hear it.
The lure of deliverance and everlasting damnation.
He could hear it.
Feel it.
He could feel it with every fiber of his being. With parts of himself he wasn’t sure existed.
Something inside him was reaching out for the baying creature.
xxxxxx
That’s it for now! Hope you all enjoyed. Next chapter gonna be some shiz as part two of Monster finally begins. I apologize for the wait time. This holiday got me all the way messed up, lol. My nieces have been all over the place and I’m finding it hard to get my laptop in my possession long enough to get in the swing of writing, so if it seems a little off I apologize, I was really distracted, lol. Anyway, this chapter is to showcase the rapid decline of the world at large. The stressfulness of the situation, the dire conditions reaching far and wide and bits and pieces of information. Next chapter we’ll get to see what Ino has learned, how far Sakura has come in her quest for a cure and some more of Toneri and his crew.
The next chapter for Secrets of the Hidden Leaf should be out in about two days if I can keep family members out of the way long enough to finish it, lol.
Thank you all for your continued support and kind, motivating comments, appreciate every single one of them!
NIV- Thank you! I’m glad you gave this one a try too! Always happy to see an Inuyasha fan too! I’m going to get back to those fanfic once I finish these and hopefully complete Angel once and for all XD Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and you’re encouraging words! I really hope you continue to enjoy all my fic and I look forward to hearing from you again!
Thanks again for reading.
Laters
~Sessakag
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