Author Note :

Greetings beloved reader ! This is another of those oneshots that wouldn't leave my mind, forcing me to write it if I wanted to go anywhere with my two main stories. I hope however that you like it.

Hyuga Hinata, heiress of the Hyuga clan, 11 year-old academy student …. Failure. She opened her eyes, gazing at the white ceiling of the hospital room, and tried to remember how she ended up in here. Ah, yes. She tried to commit suicide. But she failed, once again. How could she fail at such a simple task? With a sigh, she reminisced the circumstances that had led her to the situation she was in.

At age 9, after a spar with her sister, she had seen the disappointment in her father's eyes, and it had proven too much. Through will power alone, she had risen to her feet, and beaten her sister. Her father had looked interested, but not much more. After that, she had trained herself into the ground, trying desperately to earn her father's approval. She sometimes trained all night long, took to wearing weights, studied for hours on end. All she ever got were a few nods. If she was doing right, why did she only receive a nod of acknowledgment? Where was she wrong? She began to get depressed, and to hate herself. In her self loathing, she began to harm herself, wearing increasingly heavy weights, ignoring the risk of stunting her growth, and began self mutilations, all in an effort to toughen up and be able to endure more training. But after so many years of disapproval, and barely any recognition of her improvements, she collapsed. She could only be a failure to receive so few marks of approval, no compliment at all. She did what she thought was best for the clan. She took a rope, and once it was bedtime, hung herself. It seemed her efforts had been in vain.

The door opened, two Hyuga elders walked into the room. Hinata looked at them through empty eyes. They were incensed, enraged, but they were Hyuga, and their voice didn't rise past the level of a conversation while they gave her a tongue-lashing, blaming her for any loss of image for the clan that may suffer due to this … incident. It was the last proof Hinata needed, the clan did not care for her, its image was more important, she truly was a failure. The door opened again, a blond man with a ponytail this time. He asked the elders to leave, they answered harshly and refused. The blonde man snapped his fingers; two ANBU appeared and forced the elders out of the room … quite roughly. Hinata looked at the man as he came closer, sat at her bed-side and smiled.

"Hello Hinata-chan, my name is Yamanaka Inoichi. I'm Ino's father, you remember her, right? She's in your class."

Hinata nodded. Of course she remembered Ino, who wouldn't? That girl was one of the loudest ever.

"Well Hinata-chan, do you think you could answer a few questions?"

Hinata nodded again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the psychological report with a heavy heart. He had seen one similar, 5 years earlier. The decision that had followed was one of the most painful he had ever made. This one, while less painful, was difficult too. He looked up, and at Hiashi, who was discovering the report. He looked pale. Sarutobi understood why. Hyuga Hinata had been victim of massive emotional neglect, her sense of self-worth was all but destroyed, she was in a long lasting depression, at least one year old, and to top it off she had heavy suicidal tendencies. And no one had noticed a thing. Hiruzen couldn't find it in him to pity the man, he had been the one to neglect his daughter like that, it was his fault she was so destroyed. He had it coming, it was just sad that the poor girl had to suffer because of it. With a heavy sigh, Sarutobi closed the file. Hiashi looked up from his, looking haggard.

"Is … Is this accurate?"

"Written by Inoichi. I think it is quite accurate."

"I … Have I really failed that much?"

"Yes. Right now your daughter is too broken to be part of the regular shinobi forces. Because of this we … will have to induct her in a special program. ANBU."

Hiashi nodded, his eyes downcast. He rose from his seat, bowed, and left the office. He looked broken, But Hiruzen felt no sympathy for him. With a heavy sigh, he called for an ANBU.

"When Yoru(night) comes back from his mission, bring him to me. I have a recruit for him."

Yoru, age 11, ANBU's most feared, yet unknown, agent. After only 3 years of active service in ANBU, he had already an impressive reputation. He had specialized in the most dangerous and powerful field of competence a shinobi could: stealth. His stealth wasn't on par with the run-of-the-mill Jonin, no, it was far more advanced, allowing him to remain unseen even during the day and in plain sight, and that without using any chakra. Additionally, should he be discovered, something that had yet to happen, he had a ninjutsu repertoire large enough to ensure escape.

Silently, he made his way through the tower, sticking to the shadows, moving like a wraith, even when he brushed against people he wasn't noticed. His small frame was encased in black, the black of his bandanna hiding his hair, the black of his porcelain mask, the black of his armour, the black of his cloak. He was a piece of the night given life. Finally, he reached the desk of the Hokage's secretary.

"I was called by Hokage-sama." He said, looking impassively at the man as he jumped in surprise. The man nodded and signalled to go through the door, Yoru could feel his eyes on him the whole time. He ignored it. He went into the office, and stood in front of the aged leader's desk. "Hokage-sama, what do you need me to do?"

"Ah, Naruto-kun, please have a seat."

Yoru, known to the civilians as Uzumaki Naruto, ninja of unspecified rank, sighed in irritation, but sat nonetheless. "I already told you, Hokage-sama, Yoru is who I am now."

The aged leader waved his hand dismissively. It irritated Yoru. When he was 6, he had been attacked by a man that couldn't get over his losses during the Kyubi attack and wanted revenge. Naruto was told everything as he was stabbed to death, he was told time and time again that he took too many lives, that no one would ever love him, that he wasn't even human. When he had woken up in the hospital, his mind was broken, and he only wanted a way to atone for his supposed crimes. Two years of gruelling training in ANBU later, he knew he wasn't to blame, but he still saw duty as his only reason to live. Yoru was born. But the Old Man wouldn't stop trying to bring Naruto back, no matter how pointless it was. It annoyed Yoru, but he knew the old Kage meant well.

"Anyway." Said Sarutobi. "I have a recruit for you. Here's her file. She hasn't been told yet that she'll be inducted."

Yoru picked the file, and quickly read the important parts. A Hyuga, these guys usually made piss-poor recruits for ANBU, they were way to prideful. This one seemed interesting. Maybe he could make her a decent ANBU if he could motivate her, but this kind of profile usually was hard to motivate, they tended to feel that the effort wasn't worth making, because they would fail anyway. He'd have to improvise. He could live with that.

"I see. Any other parameter in the mission, sir?"

"Yes. You'll pick her up at the Academy as soon as you can. She will know you as Uzumaki Naruto, Jonin of our village." Said the leader while tossing him a scroll. "Give this to her teacher, Umino Iruka."

Yoru grunted in displeasure. He disliked that name, but it was part of the mission. He'd deal with it. At least, now he had an official rank. "Is she out of the hospital?" Sarutobi nodded. "Very well, I will pick her up at once."

Yoru got up, and left the office, sending a shadow clone to HQ with the specifications of the recruit's outfit, and quickly made his way to his home to change into his flak jacket before dashing for the Academy. He felt exposed without his mask, he realised he had gotten too used to it. He needed to change that. At least, he had kept the black bandanna bearing his headband on. Once near the Academy, he dropped into the streets, moving with cat-like grace, avoiding the passer-bys that didn't even notice him. Once his prospective pupil was with him, he'd have to make himself more noticeable. Quickly, he entered the Academy and followed his ears. He had heard the girl's teacher, Iruka, a few times already; he could recognize and isolate his voice, and did so, quickly following the voice and reaching a classroom. He knocked three times, and slid the door open, adopting a slightly disgruntled expression.

"Umino Iruka?"

"Yes? How may I help you?"

Naruto tossed him the scroll, and waited for the chunin to open and read it a bit.

"Oi, Hyuga, grab your shit and get down here, you're moved to another program."

He looked discreetly at the young girl as she gathered her things, an empty expression on her face. In a way, it was disturbingly familiar, but he shook off his unease. Then all hell broke loose. It seems shock can only last so long.

"Hey, why does that bitch get to be moved to a better program and not Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun is better than her!"

"That blond kid looks like a loser anyway."

The fangirls were going to town, it annoyed him. A lot. He released a pulse of killing intent, and as it slammed into the kids, the class fell into a deafening silence. Even their teacher was white as a sheet. He looked at his quarry, and noted with some satisfaction that she was closing her bag, if a bit shakily. She walked down the stairs and stood before him before bowing low.

"I am ready Jonin-sama, please forgive my slowness."

"Nothing to be forgiven, you were efficient and quite fast. That's good." Yoru noticed the shock and disbelief on Hinata's face, he wondered how long had passed since she got her last compliment, but shrugged the thought off. He felt a pair of eyes spying on him, and looking in the direction, saw that it was one Uchiha Sasuke.

"Whaddya want Uchiha?" He asked. "You can stare as hard as you want, I won't kiss ya. Find someone else to be your boyfriend." He left the room without paying attention to the Uchiha and his reaction, though he heard the male part of the class laughing and the female part bellowing in anger. Interestingly, he heard his student stifle a giggle. Looks like all was not lost with this one.

They walked through the streets for a few minutes before reaching his house. It was a house designed in a traditional style, placed in one of the forests enclosed by the village's walls. It was quiet, peaceful. Everything he wanted. She'd stay with him for the duration of her formation, which could take from one to four years. Hopefully, she'd become a good ANBU, and help the village plenty. He led her past the yard, and into the house, signalling her to sit on the couch while he went deeper into the house to get a few things. He went to his office, and noticed that the HQ had dropped off the recruit's mask, outfit and codename. Good. Hyuga Hinata was, officially, on an apprenticeship, and wouldn't be very seen in the village, now he had to train Sougyou(Dawn). He grabbed the equipment and made his way back to the living room. He saw the girl, sitting there, staring at space with an empty gaze, and he felt sorry for her. He sat in front of her, on another couch, a coffee table between them. Immediately, she snapped back to attention, and it pleased him. She would be relatively easy to train.

"Hyuga Hinata, I will be direct. You are removed from the Academy, and will be inducted in ANBU. Due to your psychological profile, you are incompatible with the regular forces, but you have potential, and because of this, Hokage-sama decided to place you in my care. I'll train you into the ground, and make you strong, you'll live to serve the village, and you'll die for it if need be. Understood?"

She nodded, and he noticed she seemed to have some hope in her. It made him curious. "You look happy, any reason why?"

"I-it is because … n-now m-my death c-can have a meaning." She said, quietly but happily. Naruto now knew what his teachers felt like when he sprouted this kind of nonsense. It was unnerving. But he had to let it pass for now. He motioned for her to follow him into the backyard, and once there, began the training.

Nearly a year since he had taken the girl under his tutelage, her class had graduated six months ago, and the few who passed the true genin exams were all entered in the chunin exams. When she had asked him if she would be entered, he had answered with an absolute no.

"There is no way I'll let you go in this travesty of a shinobi test, it is nothing more than a freak show for the civilians to feel a thrill without cost. You're worth more than that. You'll earn your promotions the old fashioned way, through skill and effort, not by making a public of idiots wild."

She had accepted the answer, and even smiled when he had told her she had worth. She was getting better. Her skills had progressed by leaps and bounds. He didn't care for the Hyuga and their traditions, he had her remodel the Jyuken to suit her. He also trained her for extended periods of time, but her time of self harm had prepared her, and she could go through his training very well from the start. In fact, she went through the ANBU training better than some Chunin that had been inducted during his service. When he told her that, she accepted the statement quietly, but he knew she didn't believe him. She still thought she was a failure. He was making headways, but there was still much to do.

Right now, he was sitting cross-legged near a training ground while his student ran laps. He heard two sets of feet coming closer at a reasonable pace. From hearing alone, he determined that it was Inu-taicho and some kid. He didn't care about him. Hinata should reach him soon, and it was her last lap.

"Oh, Naruto, it's been a while." Said Taicho's merry voice. He could hear the undertone of sadness.

"Taicho. Am I to understand you finally passed a team?"

"Yes. They show a lot of prom…."

"You! You're that blond kid from a year ago!"

"Yes I am. You should teach Uchiha-san some manners Taicho, he is most unpleasant."

"Shut up and fight me! I'll teach you to disrespect an Uchiha!"

"Sasuke, that isn't a good idea."

"He insulted me! I can not let it slide!"

Naruto sighed deeply. "One minute please." He channelled chakra to his ears, and listened. She was coming closer, and by the sound of it, she was tired. No surprise. Hinata ran into the clearing, at a very good pace, and stopped near her teacher before falling to her knees, breathing heavily.

Naruto ignored him. "Good, you've finished your 50 laps. Take a few minutes to rest."

"50 Laps around a training ground and she's that tired? She really is a failure." Said Sasuke, intent on provoking a fight.

"Sasuke that is enough!" Exclaimed Kakashi. Only to be interrupted by Naruto's laugh.

"Around the training ground? What kind of lousy teacher do you think I am? She ran 50 laps around the village! Hinata, remove your harness."

She was dressed in a black training suite, with a green jacket zipped around her torso. She unzipped her jacket, and removed it, before giving it to her teacher, her arm shaking; only causing Sasuke to look at her in contempt. Naruto took the jacket, and held it out to Sasuke.

"Try it out; you won't laugh at her so much." Sasuke snatched the jacket … only to be pulled to the ground by its weight as soon as Naruto let go of it. The last Uchiha looked at the garment in shock, trying stubbornly to lift it and failing miserably. He simply couldn't comprehend how someone could run at Hinata's pace with something so heavy on them. "Now, you wanted a fight I believe?"

"Naruto, stop!" Interrupted Kakashi. "Sasuke is in the finals in one month, I know you enough to know that you'll send him to the hospital with the current gap between your skills. Sorry but I can't let that happen."

"As you wish Taicho, but keep that brat in check, I don't like it when my student is insulted."

Naruto got up and began to walk away, Hinata quickly falling in step after retrieving the jacket.

"Who … Who was that?" Asked Sasuke while looking at the retreating teens.

"Uzumaki Naruto." Answered Kakashi. "One of the Leaf's most powerful ninja. He isn't at my level, but quite close. You would do well not to annoy him. When I said he would put you in the hospital, I was completely serious. Now, let's begin training."

One month later, and they were in deep. An invasion, there was an F-ing invasion. Yoru and Sougyou were sticking together while fighting the Suna and Oto ninja. The Sound shinobi were no real problem, they were arrogant and irregularly trained. The Suna guys on the other hand were tough, well trained, and determined. They were a real challenge. Sougyou was easily chunin level and above, she could face groups of opponents quite easily, but she found herself at a disadvantage against such numbers, and Yoru knew he would be targeted by Jonin as soon as he showed up. So they did what they were trained for, they stuck to the shades, ambushing enemy groups, assassinating officers, killing field medics, they did everything to stall their advance. They did quite a good job. Their numbers were falling, without officers to coordinate them, the groups were clumsier, and easily fell in ambushes and traps. It didn't help that Yoru sometimes left a transformed Shadow clone behind to impersonate the officer for as long as possible and send the troops of enemies into traps.

Sougyou was performing admirably, jumping nimbly between the invaders, killing with a simple touch, before diving back into the shadows. He had trained her well. On top of the Kage booth, Yoru could see a purple barrier, and there was movement inside, he could only guess that the enemy leader had engaged the Hokage, and leave it at that. He had a village to defend, dwelling on something he couldn't change would be useless, and extremely dangerous in this situation. Suddenly, the Ichibi arose from the forest.

"Shit. Sougyou, keep fighting this way, I'll go take care of the Bijuu."

Naruto gazed at the grave with empty eyes, he hadn't considered the possibility that the Old Man would die. He idly noted that he had used the old nickname he had for the aged Kage. It had been a long time since he had last used it. He looked at his right, Hinata looked miserable, the Old Man had been nice to her and had helped increase her confidence. He looked at his left, there was Sarutobi Asuma, he looked stony but Naruto was well trained, he could detect the signs of despair in his eyes. Looking at the genin and younger, he could see Sarutobi Konohamaru, crying his heart out. He'd give the boy a visit later tonight, give him a couple of scrolls to begin his training smoothly, but nohing that'd put his life at risk. He sighed discreetly and looked at the grave once again. The Old Man wanted him to go back to a human life instead of drowning in duty. He'd try that, for him.

Naruto looked at the two men in front of him with a blank face. He had told Hinata to take to the trees and stay out of harm's way. He had been quite pleased when she simply hadn't reacted to the revelation of his status as a jinchuriki, she used her brain, that was good. In front of him were Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi, sent by the Akastuki to capture him. He knew Itachi a bit.

"It's been a while sensei. I find it quite rude that the first thing you say when we meet again is revealing my status to my student. You should know how sensitive that information is."

"I do know. It is nothing personnal, I have a mission to accomplish. I am sure you understand."

"I do."

"Hey, will you two stop talking like I'm not there?" Said Kisame irritably. "What am I?"

"Chopped salmon." Interrupted Naruto, a smirk on his face. He heard a muffled snort from Hinata and saw a small smile on Itachi's lips. Kisame, didn't look so pleased.

"You little brat, I'll …" Before he could finish his phrase, Naruto disappeared and reappeared in front of him, sword already mid-swing. Kisame's reflexes caused him to jump back, saving his life narrowly.

"As I said, chopped salmon." Said Naruto, his face now cold.

"Ah, so this is the specialty you chose." Said Itachi. "Speed, and you are quite proficient at it, a wise choice. But a useless one against me."

"Oh but I still remember your lessons, sensei. 'Overspecialization means death.' I believe that is what you said." Answered Naruto calmly.

Itachi felt a sense of foreboding wash over him. Then, darkness seemed to flow out of Naruto, consuming the landscape in a blanket of night, depriving them of any sight.

"So, sensei, what do you think?" Asked Naruto's distorted and demonic voice. "I devised it specifically to fight off sensors and dojutsu wielding shinobi."

Itachi activated his sharingan, but was blinded by the ambient chakra. There was only one solution. "Kisame, run!" He screamed, turning back and running to where he estimated he came from. Quickly, the sound of his partner's footsteps was heard behind his. Naruto's haunting laugh travelled in the sea of black, pursuing them, invoking their deepest and most primal fears. The sound of flesh being cut, a body falling to the ground, Kisame's footsteps falling quiet. Itachi accelerated to his full speed, actually managing to reach the border of the blackened tide as it ran after him. They were reaching the streets of Konoha, but he knew he wouldn't stop, Naruto had been quite the student, brutal and efficient, scaring a few civilians wouldn't stop him. He dived in the crowed, weaving around civilians and ninja alike, trying to keep up his speed, to cover as much ground as possible while avoiding looking back at the frightening entity chasing him. He could hear the panic of the crowd, the frightened screams, and always that haunting and demoniac laugh.

"RUN LITTLE WEASEL! RUN! SAVE YOUR LIFE!" Came Naruto's demented taunt amongst the ominous cackling. Finally, he saw the gates of Konoha and accelerated into a full out sprint, pouring chakra into his legs to run faster than ever, everything to escape the one pursuing him. He didn't care if his muscles tore or if his bones broke, all that mattered was escaping. He didn't notice the tide of darkness stop and dissipate at the gate, nor did he see his brother, looking at him gobsmacked as he ran past him, all his fear plastered on his face. He kept hearing that haunting laugh, and even while his rational mind was telling him the chase had certainly stopped already, he kept running, his fear was pushing him.

Back at the gate, Naruto looked at the empty horizon with satisfaction. He had done quite well, even though he had been forced to use a bit of Kyubi's chakra to keep both the Sea of Darkness up and run fast enough. At least, Hoshigaki Kisame was down, and his sword would be an excellent bargaining chip with Kiri. Hinata landed next to him, awe evident on her face. "And that, my student, is what you do when facing a superior opponent. You turn the field to your advantage, play with their minds, and negate their advantages." She nodded and tried to inscribe this in her heart. Then, Sasuke planted himself in front of him, anger on his face.

"How did you do it?" He asked.

"I think I heard wrong, what did you say?" Asked Naruto irritably. He was beginning to have enough with the Uchiha.

"HOW DID YOU DO IT? How did you make Itachi flee while I cannot? How could YOU do something an UCHIHA couldn't? How …."

"ENOUGH!" Bellowed Naruto pouring raw killing intent into the area, sending many, including Sasuke, to their knees. He was pleased to see Hinata still standing, even if she was shaking like a leaf. Before his KI could lead to any suicide, he lifted it, letting everyone breathe freely, but he kept his steely glare on the Uchiha. "You will show respect to your superiors, Uchiha. While I cannot punish you directly, I can, and will, report your behaviour. Congratulations, you destroyed your chances to become a chunin." With that, Naruto turned his back and left with Hinata, returning to his house to further their training. As he walked through the streets, he heard the frightened chattering of the civilians. He knew it would cause some chaos, but he'd just have to say it was for the safety of the village, and everything would just calm down. Heck, killing Hoshigaki was bound to get him the support of the whole shinobi council, all of the jonin, and even old Shimura. Speaking of which, the old hawk was on the site of Kisame's death when Naruto arrived.

"Ah, Naruto. I guess this is your work?" He asked politely.

"Yeah, the guy tried to get me to come with him and his partner, Itachi. The Uchiha is running for the hills now."

"Good. You might want to know that Jiraya asked for your presence, he wants your help and that of your student to help find Senju Tsunade. The council wishes for her to be the Godaime."

"I see. I'll send a clone to the hotsprings then." Naruto summoned a clone and the doppelganger left without a word. Naruto and Hinata resumed their trek home.

Yoru watched in satisfaction as his blade pierced through the chest of Yakushi, and his satisfaction grew when he saw Sougyou's own blade erupt from the traitor's chest. Two blades through the heart, he wouldn't be getting up. It was a good thing they hadn't made their presence known and that Jiraya appeared to be alone, Yakushi had been so completely surprised that he had failed to answer in time. As they pulled their blades out and the body began to fall, they slashed at his neck at the same time, their blades meeting in the middle, and gliding harmlessly over each other, a show of perfection that Yoru appreciated to its full value. It was proof that Sougyou was the one team-mate he'd have by his side until he left ANBU. No one could replace her. He grabbed the head and jumped with her to join the three loyal Konoha ninja present. Orochimaru looked at Kabuto's head in shock; he couldn't believe his right hand man had been taken down so easily, and by two ANBU he thought were only rumours. With a rage filled look, he shunshined away. Yoru turned to Jiraya with a curious look.

"She accepted."

He nodded, and turned to Tsunade. "Hokage-sama, with your allowance we will escort you back to Konoha." He said in his professional voice, bowing low. Tsunade blinked. The journey would be awkward.

Hinata sighed tiredly. Yet another solo mission. She had received quite a few of these since she had been promoted to chunin in the wake of the invasion. She didn't like those missions, she felt more at ease when Naruto-sensei was with her, they had grown quite close during their time together. But she did what she had been trained to do; she dealt with it and got the mission done. As she made her way to the mission room to report the elimination of the bandit camp, she thought back on her first mission of this time, they had killed two dozen bandits that time, she remembered freezing up after the fight, feeling like an awful person for taking a life. Her teacher had had a quite … surprising way of snapping her out of it. She blushed when she remembered the feeling of his lips against hers, it had felt heavenly, and she secretly wished he would do it again. Quickly, she squashed that thought, they were tools for the village, tools weren't supposed to have feelings.

She entered the room, and was surprised to see it a hub of activity. Due to the situation of the village, there were only civilian administrative personnel, but they were running everywhere, indicating a situation of crisis.

"Hyuga! Report!" She snapped to attention at the bark of her hokage.

"Chunin Hyuga Hinata reporting. Mission, elimination of bandit camp. Status success." She presented the mission scroll to her superior, who simply set it aside. Tsunade looked her over, and Hinata saw in her eyes a twinkle that indicated she had been recognized.

"Get your stuff, you have a new mission. Genin Uchiha Sasuke defected, a retrieval team was sent, you must catch up to them and support them in anyway you can. Several teams of med nin is preparing to leave as we speak, you must locate any wounded and signal them with standard issue flare, secure prisoners if possible, and help retrieve Uchiha Sasuke. You leave as soon as you can, North gate. Go!"

Hinata shunshined to the gate immediately, she didn't have time to take her ANBU equipment, time was of the essence, and she had all her stuff ready. As soon as the shunshin ended, she bolted forward, locating the trail of the pursuing team in no time and following it as fast as she could. After around half an hour of running at top speed, she found Akimichi Choji, lying unconscious with a dead opponent. Quickly, she performed a diagnostic and concluded he would leave long enough for the medics to arrive. Quickly, she unsealed a flare gun, charged it with an orange flare – moderate emergency – and fired it upward.

She resumed her tree jumping, her Byakugan activated to locate anything unusual easily. And find she did. After some more time, she bolted into a battlefield between Neji and a six armed man. As she closed in on him as silently as she could, she noticed a layer of golden solid falling off him and determined now was the time to intervene. With a powerful dash, she closed in, shocking both of the fighters, and dealt a devastating 64 palms of Hakke to the sound nin, leaving him unconscious. She quickly pulled out her flare gun and charged it with a yellow flare – prisonner – before firing it. She turned to Neji and before he could talk, barked an order. "Guard the prisoner!"

With another dash, she left her confused cousin behind and dashed into the forest. By now, she had a fairly good idea of where they were headed, they planned on crossing the border at the valley of the end, a wise choice considering that the region was often subjected to rains, thus decreasing the chances of their trail being picked. After some time she picked a familiar chakra signature in a ravine, Inuzuka Kiba. Her mission was to help the capture group, so she immediately went to his aid, running down the wall of the ravine. As she reached the bottom, she immediately attacked the sound nin with a flurry of projectiles, forcing him to parry and giving Kiba an opening that he, thankfully, took to nail the man with a Gatsuga, sending him crashing into a wall. However, he was made of tougher stuff and simply got up. Hinata didn't like it, she preferred to have the element of surprise, she was a stealth/speed type, upfront assault was not her forte.

"Ugh, another insect comes to play it seems. Fine." He closed the distance as fast as he could, Hinata preparing to fight him in taijutsu and hopefully disable him for interrogation. The exchange was short, and to Hinata's puzzlement, he seemed to be more intent on keeping some form of physical contact for a few seconds. He achieved his objective after a few seconds, despite Kiba's help, and pulled back quickly.

"Heh, now you're doomed." He said.

Hinata simply rose an eyebrow, she didn't see why. Then a jolt of pain coursed through her, making her wince. A voice, exactly identical to that of her opponent spoke next ot her ear. "Not bad, most would be on their knees from such pain." She turned her head to look at a head, exactly the same as her opponent, protruding from the fabric of her flack jacket. It was unsettling.

"You can't beat me, we're one right now." That annoyed Hinata greatly.

"I was saving myself for someone special, you know?" She said. As she expected, it threw her opponents off balance, seeing them gape at her and blush slightly. Cockblocked it seemed. "You really are stupid, aren't you?" She continued, looking at the head on her shoulder.

"What?" He asked with narrowed eyes.

"I'm a Hyuga, I was trained from birth to make my chakra lethal." She saw his eyes widen in shock, just before she unleashed her pulse of chakra. Her cells were untouched, it was HER chakra after all and even charged with intent to harm, it wouldn't hurt her. The parasite? Not so lucky. He was ejected from her body, blood flowing from his eyes, ears and mouth, before collapsing dead at her feet. That caused the other one to freeze, probably shocked at his twin's death. Kiba took the occasion to punch him in the side of his head with devastating force, knocking him out. She quickly made her way to the unconscious shinobi and closed a few key tenketsu to avoid any chakra usage before firing another yellow flare. "Guard the prisoner." Then, she dashed for the wall and ran up it at top speed. She was beginning to tire, she didn't have time to rest since her last mission, and she was running non stop for hours now.

As she reached the top, she ran forward in the direction of the trail. Up in the air, she picked an interesting sight, a cloud of sand was flying in the same general direction as her, possibly the Suna jinchuriki. She noticed a traditional Suna battle fan opening in the air and gliding down toward the forest, most probably another battle she hadn't located. From what she knew, the Suna shinobi were allies, but she'd still wait and see. When she finally reached the trail, she picked up speed yet again, she was beginning to feel a serious toll on her body, but she couldn't stop, she had a mission. As she reached the border of a clearing, she stopped to catch her breath and study the situation. She saw two of the children of the late Kazekage, the jinchuriki and the puppeteer, fighting next to a Konoha genin, Rock Lee, to take down an unmarked but obviously hostile shinobi that looked more like a dinosaur than a human at the moment. From the 'sword' he used and the protruding bones, she guessed he could control his bones at will and fashion them into weapons on the battlefield. Which also meant he could extract them from his body without harming himself, thus indicating he had a superior regenerative factor. He would be a tough nut to crack.

She noticed he was about to skewer the puppeteer and kill him, she couldn't allow that. With a burst of speed, she flew through the air, unsealing her sword and bringing it down on his with force, sending the bone spike into the ground, before nailing him in the face with a Jyuken enhanced kick. It wasn't quite as efficient as a palm strike, due to both the difficulty of chaneling chakra to the soles of one's feet and to the sandals, but enough to give him some headache and reduce his fighting capabilities some. With a roll, she righted herself and locked her eyes on her target. She'd have to act fast, the longer this fight drew out, the more chance the Uchiha had to escape.

"Another insect joins the fray I see." Said the white haired man. "No matter, for Orochimaru-sama, I will kill you all." That indicated his allegiance.

"Hmm, the other white haired one said the same thing. He'll regret that when he wakes up. His twin won't have the occasion to." She said calmly, in a detached voice. It seemed to pick the man's interest.

"Oh? You fought them? Killed Ukon and disabled Sakon? Interesting. Konoha will only hold you back, Orochimaru-sama could give you power, you wouldn't …"

"Keep your breath, dying man. My loyalty goes to my sensei, my village, and my clan. A traitor such as your master cannot hope to compare to them." She said, her eyes going cold. "Yes, I know you are dying, your chakra is going awry, your lungs are degenerating, and your brain is beginning to show signs of necrosis. I would give you …. A dozen minutes at most. You three, go. I will stall him until his disease kills him. Capture the Uchiha."

The redhead quickly gathered his sand into a platform, his brother hoping on it quickly. However Lee seemed reluctant. "Lee-san this was not a suggestion it was an order from a commanding officer." Finally, Lee relented. However, once all three were on the sand, the enemy charged, intent on killing them now that they were gathered. Hinata dived in front of him, channelling chakra to her blade and slashing at his torso. He rolled forward, retracting his bone spikes to do so, but was repelled by a chakra enhanced kick that sent him flying. A quick look showed Hinata that the sand cloud was flying away at high speed.

The man rose to his feet with deliberate slowness, trying to bait her into attacking no doubt, and looked at her with a mildly irritated expression, whether because she had stopped him or hadn't taken the bait, she couldn't say. Suddenly, he sprung forward, bringing his sword down while coiling his other hand back. Hinata guessed he was preparing to send a spike of bone out of his palm and stab her with it, so she jumped to the side, avoiding both attack. What she hadn't expected was for the bone spike to shoot out of his palm. With a last second dodge, she managed to only get a gash in her side. She winced at the pain, but kept her eyes on her opponent.

"I commend your determination and sense of duty, but it is useless, you will die here."

"Most probably. I lied to them; I have no idea of the exact time you have left. And I am pretty sure I'm going to die today. That is what I must do, I am a tool for my village. But that's okay, I love Konoha." She said, a serene smile on her face. She had met someone who didn't belittle her, who supported her every step of the way, she could die happy now. The man looked at her for a moment, and she saw understanding passing through his eyes. Understanding and respect.

"May I know your name?" He asked softly.

"Hyuga Hinata. May I know yours?"

"Kaguya Kimimaro. It is an honour to have my last fight with someone such as you, Hinata-san." He said, and even though he didn't bow, the motion was in his eyes. Hinata returned the feeling, acknowledging her possible last opponent as a worthy fighter. With that, they charged.

Hinata thrust her sword forward, causing Kimimaro to sidestep and try to puncture her chest with his sword. Using her flexibility, Hinata bent out of the way and brought her sword horizontally to push him back, allowing her enough room to roll back and spring to her feet just in time to jump back and avoid another assault. They watched each other for a moment and charged again, Hinata performing a combo of fast swipes, and managing to cut his leg a bit, causing him to jump back. Just as she suspected, the wound sealed itself quickly. They circled each other, looking intently at each other, looking for a weakness to exploit. Hinata could see that nearly everything in this man was superior to her. His form was better, he had more muscle, an impressive flexibility, complete control over his movements, more experience. But she had speed on her side. Speed, and cunning.

She dug into her pouch, pulling out three little balls that she threw at him. They looked like smoke bombs, so he did what every experienced swordsman did, he cut them in half to stop the chemicals from mixing, a disappointed look on his face. However, that turned to shock when a purple cloud burst from the sliced open spheres and slammed into his face. He jumped back, coughing a bit.

"Now I have an idea of how long you'll last." Said Hinata softly.

He looked at her and rose an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Poison. It will slowly numb you, until you simply lose consciousness and slip peacefully into death. It is a quite quick process. A few minutes at most." She knew he still had enough time to kill her, she had to stall as much as she could. She was ready to accept death if it came for her, but she didn't particularly want to die. Kimimaro looked at her with respect.

"Few ninja think of using underhanded tactics like that in battle. You are an odd one. It seemed I underestimated you. If you survive this fight, you will undoubtedly become strong and renowned."

"No, I will not. I do not walk the path of light; I am one that usually dwell in shadows. Such is my way."

"Ah, I see. Interesting. Few walk this path." He said, looking a peace, he had apparently accepted his impending death. He bent over, coughing in his hand. Hinata could guess there was now a crimson stain in his hand, but she couldn't let this opening pass, so she sent a small flat blade sailing through the air silently, piercing his shoulder and eliciting a grunt from him. "You truly are a shadow walker." He said, pulling the blade out. "Striking at every opening, every time your opponent turns his head."

"I was trained by the best of this art." Was her answer. She charged forward again, exploiting an opening her opponent's sluggish movement gave her and slashed his side, not much of a wound, but it was a start. She jumped back before he could answer, and took a moment to assess her situation. She was putting up a tough front, and the only reason she wasn't panting was because she was actively controlling her breathing. Her brow, and the rest of her body, was drenched in sweat, her side was still bleeding, her chakra was dangerously low, which is why she didn't have her Byakugan active and didn't use Jyuken. She had to make a difference, and soon. She let go of her sword and dashed to her opponent, pulling out two kunai as she went, and stabbed them in his legs, piercing the femoral arteries on both legs, before jumping back and retaking her blade. The poison was acting, Kimimaro had barely felt the stabs, and with the knives still in the wound, the blood kept flowing. He fell to his knees, he was mostly harmless, but he could still kill her. He looked at her, and she saw gratitude in his gaze.

"Thank you, I at least know peace in my last moments, peace away from the pain." His sword slipped from his grip, falling to the reddening grass. "Finish me off, make it clean."

Hinata nodded, and with a dash she was on him, her sword tearing through his neck at high speed, her chakra reinforced steel cutting through his bones like paper and separating his head from his shoulders. To avoid any deadman-switch type of trap, she jumped back immediately, using what little chakra she had left to reach safety. Once she had determined it was safe, she fell to her knees, exhaustion engulfing her. She pulled the flare gun with difficulty, and charged it with a purple flare – incapacitated ally, no life threatening injury. She fired the flare, and collapsed.

Her eyes fluttered open before closing back immediately. She suppressed a groan at the blinding light. She was in a Hospital it seemed, hopefully that of the Leaf. She heard a hushed conversation, recognizing the voice of her sensei.

"… You'll see, it'll help."

"I never considered taking a student of my own; perhaps it is indeed a good idea."

"Trust me Gaara, it is. I was all about duty before meeting Hinata, she's made me more human, and I am convinced you can find a student that will help you on this matter too."

"… You are right. I will try to get a student when I return to Suna. It seems your student is awake."

"Oh really? Well Hinata-chan, isn't it rude to eavesdrop?" Asked Naruto amusedly.

"You're the one that told me to *cough* get intel when I could and by any means." Said Hinata, her voice hoarse. She could almost feel Naruto's grin. It felt good.

"That I did."

Hinata managed to right herself more or less with his help, resting her back against the headboard. She truly felt like shit. Naruto grabbed the glass of water on the nightstand and helped her to drink a bit. Once it was done, she looked at her sensei, secretly relishing his proximity.

"Sensei, what of the mission?"

"Success." Answered Naruto with a smile. "The traitor was put under arrest. You did well. Hokage-sama requested a full report from you as soon as you can write it, but it is already quite clear that your presence was instrumental in the success of the mission."

However, it was at this moment that several Hyuga elders came into the room, looking positively angry. Hinata looked at them defiantly, she wouldn't back down, not anymore.

"Why is it that every time we hear of you it is for another stain on our clan's honour?" Asked the lead elder, a slight scowl on his face. "You will be branded with the Caged Bird Seal as soon as you exit the hospital. Your crimes are the use of dishonourable tactics, use of inferior shinobi practices, disres…"

"Hyuga-san, she did what I taught her to do, and what I teach my student is my business. If you don't like it take it to the Hokage. Now, you should leave this room before I report you for tr…"

"Be quiet child, do not interrupt your betters." Snapped the elder back. "And do not pretend to be the failure's teacher. Stand aside and you will not incur the wrath of the Hyuga."

Hinata looked at her sensei, and only thought one thing. 'This ought to be interesting.' Naruto stood there, looking at the elder with an impassive face, then blood red chakra began bubbling out of him. Hinata noticed the widening of the elder's eyes, ad maybe a twinge of fear. Immediately, a dozen ANBU appeared in the room, surrounding the elders.

"W-what are you doing? He is losing control of the demon! Disable him!" Said one of the elders. The answer he got made them all pale.

"Sempai is completely in control, and if he decided to use the fox's chakra, it means you did something really stupid, treason perhaps?" Answered the cat faced, long purple-haired ANBU that apparently led the group. "Sempai? What is the reason?"

"They decided to brand Hinata with the Caged Bird Seal."

"High treason then. Very well, we shall escort them to T&I." The elder's eyes widened incredibly, they knew that the only reason they could be accused of high treason for wanting to brand Hinata was because they had, unknowingly, tried to exert control on a member of the Hokage's personal forces, the ANBU. There was no way out of this. The last thing they saw before being taken away was Hinata's satisfied smirk.

Hinata felt relieved to finally be able to leave the hospital, it felt great to be able to walk around instead of lying in a bed. It was tiring in a very unique way. She made her way through the streets of the village, not looking for anything in particular. Her sensei had given her the day off and told her she'd have more free time since the training would lessen in quantity but increase in quality. He had told her to go socialize, and before she could point his own faults on the matter, he had told her that he would try to socialize himself. Preferably with people their age. Hinata was jolted out of her train of thoughts when she heard a familiar voice.

"Hinata-chan!" Looking in the direction of the shout, she saw her kenjutsu teacher, Uzuki Yugao, waving at her. With a smile, she went to greet her, noting the bun-haired genin that was looking at her in awe.

"Yugao-sensei?" She greeted with a smile and a nod. "You look cheerful today." She said, relieved. Yugao had been gloomy since her lover had been attacked and sent into a coma.

"Of course I am." She answered with a bright smile. "Hayate-kun woke up two days ago! And the first thing he said was to ask me to marry him! Ah, but later with that, Hinata, meet Tenten, Tenten, meet Hyuga Hinata."

Hinata smiled to the girl. "It is a pleasure to meet you." She said with a small bow.

"The pleasure's mine." Said the girl enthusiastically. Hinata smiled. It seemed she had found the perfect occasion to make a friend.

Two and a half year of training, they were now 15. Naruto sighed wearily. They had become too close, far closer than a teacher and his student should be. The fact that they regularly faced death by assassinating Akatsuki members one by one certainly didn't help. They had just returned from another of those missions, they had killed Kakuzu of Taki and Hidan of Yuu. With Hinata's Byakugan, they had been able to quickly determine their apparent weaknesses. Kakuzu had been easy to kill, they had moved at umatched speed and lopped his head off before burning the body quickly. For Hidan, the decapitation had failed to kill him, shocking them quite a bit, but it was nothing a dozen or so explosive tags shoved in his mouth couldn't solve. Just to be sure, they had sent the remains, both head and boy, in the lava of a volcano on the way. They had also eliminated Sasori of Suna, Deidara of Iwa, and the paper using woman during an incursion in Ame. The next mission would be a raid on Ame to execute Pain, the leader of the organization.

Their closeness could be a problem, but at the same time it allowed for perfect team-work. He sighed. He felt attracted to her, and he was positive she was attracted to him. He could only hope it was only lust, and that his … plan … if you could call it that, would get rid of it. He went to the living room, and found himself struggling with himself. She only wore tight shorts and an undershirt, and lay on the couch, reading a book, her lengthening hair played around her. Did she do it on purpose? Because she looked sexy like that, and his hormones were telling him to just take her here and there. Those god dammed hormones had been bothering him for a while now, and he could only last so long without snapping and ravaging her. It was for the best. He hoped.

"Hinata." He said, gaining her attention. "We'll begin a new training tonight." He saw her eyebrows shoot up, not a surprise, it had been a while since they had trained at night.

"What training?" She asked, not realizing that even her voice was arousing Naruto.

"Seduction."

Six more months. It had all gone so wrong. Seduction training? Bullshit. She was a Hyuga, thus ineligible for these missions, and she knew it, but she had taken the training without complaint, eagerly even. He thought that satisfying his lust would allow him to take enough distance, but it had done the opposite, pulling them closer together. The increased intimacy had completely destroyed any hope of returning to a teacher-student relationship. Now, they slept in the same bed every night, used pet names without even thinking about it, kissed outside of 'training hours' quite frequently … it was the kind of behaviour he had only seen in couples. If he was honest, he'd admit he quite enjoyed these interactions, after his harsh life it was an enjoyable change.

He looked down at the mop of blue hair resting on his chest and smiled affectionately. She needed her rest. They had returned yesterday from a daunting mission, the elimination of Uchiha Obito, the true leader of the Akatsuki, and they had celebrated until quite late. First, they had prepared a dinner, a big one, and while the main dish was cooking, they had made love on the counter of the kitchen. Then, during the meal proper, they had made love three times before concluding the night with two more rounds. Well, between the fact they were high ranking ninja and the increase in libido caused by surviving life or death situations …. Naruto had heard a few of Anko's stories, and what they had done was quite tame in comparison. Admittedly, few things weren't when compared with a two day long sex marathon/orgy. But Anko was Anko, she went over the top with nearly everything. A small sigh of contentment drew his attention back to Hinata, just as her eyes fluttered open, a smile forming on her lips.

"Hello Naru-kun." She said sleepily.

"Hello my hime." He said with a smile before kissing her softly. "How do you feel?"

"Sore. But happy." She buried her face in his neck, smiling happily. "How long can we stay home?" Looks like she was getting lazy again.

"We have to give our full report at the latest around 11AM. It's …" He looked at the clock. "… Barely 7. We still have some time."

"Hmm. Well, if we get rid of this now, we can enjoy the rest of the day." She said with a smile. Naruto knew, then and there, that he'd probably spend most of his day relaxing and cuddling with Hinata. He may have the mind of a twenty-some years old, but he was still a teen, and that meant he had teen urges, like lazing around and making out with his girlfriend/student. Speaking of which ….

"Hime-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we a couple?" Naruto felt the urge to smack himself. Why was it that his tact left him at the most crucial of moment? "I mean, we act like one, and all, so …"

"It depends." Said Hinata carefully, blushing slightly. "Do you want us to be one?"

"I … I'd like that." Answered Naruto.

She smiled brightly. "Then we are." She kissed him tenderly. When she pulled back, she looked in his eyes lovingly. "Come on, we should go prepare, the sooner we give our report, the sooner we can relax and enjoy ourselves." She murmured.

Two years since their last mission. They had both retired, on grounds that stealth specialists that were known throughout the world were inefficient. But how could they have remained in the shadows? The report they had given, along with photos of the plant army of the Akatsuki, had revealed to the five Kage the exact size of the kunai they dodged. And in their gratefulness, the five had made their name known worldwide, along with their exploit. They now had a special spot in the history books, but they honestly didn't care. What mattered now was that they lived in peace, just the two of them, in their house, a little out of the way, in one of the most peaceful parts of the Leaf. Hinata looked at her sleeping fiancé, he had proposed to her a couple months ago, the wedding would be a joyous one. Se kissed him tenderly, bringing him back into the waking world.

"Hello Naru-kun." She murmured.

"Hello my hime." He answered with a small smile.

Author Note :

And done! I hope you have enjoyed your stay, and that I'll see you soon in the review section of Rise of the Skulk and Born of Wickedness, hell maybe even in Crack collection, since I have a few chapies I'm almost done with :D

'Till then, have fun !