Naruto: Tornado of Souls

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or RWBY

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

My writing has been a real mess lately and I decided to try something new and (hopefully) different to get the juices flowing again. The pairing for this story is Naruto & a VERY different Cinder Fall/Hyūga Hinata & Pyrrha Nikos. That is all explained here in the opening chapter. This is an AU in the Naruto Universe starting with Volume 9 chapter 80 of Naruto "Crossing the Limit…" and Volume 3 chapter 12 of RWBY "End of the Beginning." As for continuing this it's a plot idea I've played with for a long time. I've had many people suggest a Naruto/RWBY crossover to me on several occasions but there are so many crossovers of these two titles that I couldn't think of anything original. If someone else has used this idea before then I apologize in advance as I have not seen it. I'm treating this as a prologue/one shot for now with the option of continuing it if it goes over. I really should be concentrating on my other stuff.

Chapter 1

Fire Country, Chunin Exams Preliminaries

Hyūga Neji vs. Hyūga Hinata

The Hyūga Heiress Hinata felt herself faltering against the rage of her cousin Neji's angry assault. He had lost all sense of reason and was trying with all his might to kill her after she rebuked his blind obsession with fate. The jonin ninjas there stopped Neji before he could deliver the final blow but the damage was done. Hinata collapsed as the damage to her organs was so severe that her life was on the line. As she lost consciousness she saw Naruto checking on her. '….Naruto-kun….I wonder if I've changed at all….' were her last thoughts before the medical ninjas rushed Hinata away for emergency medical treatment.

….

Remnant

Pyrrha Nikos was dead and Cinder Fall was now the Fall Maiden….Ruby Rose watched in horror as her friend Pyrrha's body turned to dust. Ruby screamed and a blinding white light emanated from her silver eyes. Cinder Fall was enveloped in light from the unexpected attack from Ruby and felt her body disintegrating. 'What….what has that silver eyed little witch done to me? I'm….I'm the Fall Maiden….NO DAMN IT! I have too much to accomplish here! I….WILL….NOT…DIE!' An unholy roar emerged from Cinder as she felt her body turn to dust….and she ceased to exist.

….

Fire Country, Konoha Hospital

Hyūga Hinata awoke in the Konoha hospital. Her body was a complete wreck. She blearily faded in and out of consciousness and saw her body in the bed below her. All she was now was a fading spirit….Hinata knew she was dying as the heart monitor flat lined. Hinata's eyes focused upwards on a beautiful black haired woman with amber eyes that seemed to be made of flame. Cinder Fall stared downwards at a pretty girl with pearl like lavender eyes and porcelain skin. They both floated there feeling desperate, angry and betrayed. 'It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I refuse to give up!' They both thought as they touched each other's ethereal hands and their souls began to surge violently and unwillingly. Their energy clashed and dissimilar powers arced between them. In the strange vortex both young women felt fear and a rush of excitement as their souls became one….The last thought they had as individuals was, 'Yes…with this power….I will live!' After that all went black.

….

The heart monitors steadied out and Hyūga Hinata's temperature had fallen back to normal. The Doctor on hand said, "….The gods must have been on her side the last two hours. I've never seen anything like this. Hinata-sama's temperature and blood pressure was so high that she should have died from that alone. All the other readings have me completely baffled. We can only hope she didn't suffer any sort of brain damage. All the other changes have returned to normal."

A medic reported, "All of our medical scans show that everything is normal but we'll have to watch for lingering effects. If these scans are accurate her body is actually healing at an accelerated rate!"

"She also now has that black symbol on her back with a heart shape in the middle." said another nurse. "I'd mistake it for a tattoo but it appeared on its own."

Doctor Kansai nodded. "Keep her carefully monitored; especially that enzyme reaction that seems tied to her healing. I'm going to inform the Hokage about that tribal emblem on her back. It's not something we can deal with medically. Have we heard anything from the Hyūga Clan? Hinata-sama is their clan heiress after all."

One of the other nurses shook her head sadly. "Hiashi-sama is too busy with Clan matters and is unavailable. What a cold man."

The Doctor Kansai growled, "He can't be bothered when his own daughter's life is on the line? That son of a bitch!"

….

Hyūga Hinata's (?) mindscape….

A young woman with porcelain skin and indigo hair was staring into a pool of water. Her pearl like eyes held an edge; a spark of anger and determination quite unlike Hyūga Hinata. The reflection in the water faded back and forth between the image of Hyūga Hinata and that of Cinder Fall. "It seems that I'm both Hyūga Hinata and Cinder Fall now." said the young woman clinically. She smiled coldly as her byakugan eyes turned to flame and her hands became aglow with fire. "Yes….this will do quite nicely. Dust….Who needs it? I have chakra now. My aura is sharp as a razor. I underestimated Neji's vile hatred of me. I'll have to punish him severely for that." She cupped her well developed bosom for her age and grinned. "To think that Hyūga Hinata had this all along is quite impressive. Cinder Fall had a lot of growing to do at this age before she got the likes of these. I'm sure Naruto-kun will like them very much."

Spinning around and admiring her body the young woman giggled. "It seems that I look like Hinata with some changes; particularly around my eyes. I need to grow this hair out and get some clothes that show off my figure instead of hiding it. I can't call myself Cinder Fall….but I can't really go by Hyūga Hinata either. I'm not either of them. I'm much more." She sighed and then nodded to herself. "I have to keep up the pretence I'm Hinata for now; or at least the old Hinata. Once I'm ready I'll make the Hyūga Clan dance to the tune of my flames. They will learn their place is firmly under my foot. The foot of the Fall Maiden."

….

In the next room in Konoha Hospital….

ANBU Tiger was looking over a sleeping red haired young woman. She was a teenager and rather beautiful with fair skin and green eyes. "So what's the story on this one?" he asked the two chunins present.

The male chunin said, "We mistook her for dead when we found her in the Forest of Death and she's in a coma. She was wearing the clothing of a Taki ninja but her uniform was torn apart and bloodied. Her two teammates were dead as well. It seems that giant tigers got all of them."

"She looks plenty alive to me." said Tiger dubiously.

The female chunin said irritably, "Look, we told you we mistook her for dead. She had entrails and blood all over her but physically she's unharmed."

The first chunin added, "If that wasn't mysterious enough; here is her ninja I.D."

Tiger looked at a picture of a heavy set male ninja in the photo. "Ise Kato, height 6 foot 6 inches, weight 270 pounds."

The woman said, "The clothing was the correct size for someone of Ise Kato's build and weight. It's like someone dragged Ise's dead body off and put this girl in his place clothes, entrails and all -but there were no sign the body was tampered with at all."

"Then we have no idea who she is." said Tiger.

"Precisely." said the two chunins as one.

Tiger shook his head. "I guess we'll have to wait for her to wake up then….if she wakes up."

Pyrrha Nikos' (?) mindscape….

Pyrrha was sitting and staring at herself in a mirror like wall. "Okay, so I look a couple of years younger and I'm speaking a different language like it's my own. Also, I have chakra instead of just my aura. I have something called magnet release….and I know 'jutsus.' It's like someone poured all their knowledge of this world in my head and just vanished. I know he was a male but….the guy was too weak to carry on and disappeared. He just gave up. All I remember him saying is; 'I leave it to you.' Before that I remember losing to Cinder Fall. I was sure I felt my body turn to dust. She killed me. Now I'm in this dream like world."

The redhead sighed. "I feel like I'm asleep. I know my body just isn't ready to wake up yet. I guess I'll have to hurry up and wait."

….

"Doctor Kansai, we've got a match. The same odd enzyme reactions in the Hyūga Heiress are in the unnamed red haired girl from the Forest of Death." said one of the nurses. "Both of their bodies are healing, changing and mutating rapidly. Hyūga Hinata's chakra coils are growing and thickening at an exponential rate. We have no previous records on the redhead to compare to but her chakra coils are growing at an unnaturally rapid rate as well."

The Doctor shook his head. "This is unbelievable. Perhaps they picked up the condition in the forest itself. I'm ordering them quarantined together until further notice. I want everyone that was in the Chunin Examinations in that Forest screened. If it's some kind of unknown contagion we need to clamp down on it fast."

"Have we found out more about the redhead's identity sir?" asked another medic.

"No, the Taki ninjas won't claim her." said Doctor Kansai shaking his head in disappointment. "We have no idea who the young woman is. She's as alone as the Hyūga Heiress is."

Uzumaki Naruto's apartment

The next morning Naruto was grouching as he, Sasuke and Sakura were being marched to the hospital at virtual kunai point by their Jonin sensei, Hatake Kakashi.

"I don't think any of us need to be stabbed with needles after the Forest of Death Kakashi-sensei." said Naruto as he led them down the rickety stairs from his apartment. "I hate needles!"

"Stop whining Naruto-baka!" screeched Sakura. "There was some kind of disease out there in Training Ground 44 and we need to be screened for it. I don't want to be sick even if you do!"

"Hnnnn…." muttered Sasuke. "I wonder why it wasn't known about before."

Kakashi just eye smiled. "You all are being checked for it just in case. I'm being checked too. It may be something as mild as the flu. Just stay calm."

Most of the Chunin Exams participants had already been checked over by the time Team Seven arrived at the Hospital.

Konoha Hospital, Intensive Care

Various medical tests were being conducted on the still comatose Hinata and Pyrrha. "These chakra patterns in their coils are consistent with someone using jutsus of various types." said an ANBU sensor codenamed Hawk. "The Hyūga Heiress is showing patterns of fire and lightning elements. Have her affinities ever been tested? Hyūgas tend to be earth types."

"The information we have from her Jonin Sensei Yuuhi Kurenai is Hinata-sama has never been tested but that doesn't mean the Hyūgas themselves have never checked." answered a medic nin.

"Find out from the Hyūga Clan by ANBU authority." Hawk turned to her comrade Deer. "Better yet, can you see the Hyūga Clan head, Deer? Hiashi-sama is stubborn but if he won't bend to ANBU's authority then threaten to escalate it to the Hokage's attention."

Deer nodded to her comrade. "I'm on it Hawk. The Hyūgas have their own clan doctors so they probably have records we don't." Deer vanished in a body flicker.

Hawk shook her head, "Using chakra and basically performing jutsus while in a coma? This is unprecedented…."

Hinata's mindscape….

The Fall Maiden was moving about combining all her knowledge of the martial arts, shooting and swordplay of Remnant with the incomparable juken and the byakugan of the Hyūga Clan. Carefully adding flames to her juken strikes the 'new' Hinata gracefully danced about on the top of a lake in her mindscape. As she moved about she tried to extend her flexibility more so she could do the same with her physical body. Something inside of her psyche instinctually knew that the training she was doing inside her mind was having an effect on her still changing physical body. Deciding to push herself harder she went into the motions of an Eight trigrams: thirty two flame palms followed by a Flame kaiten.

Hinata sat down on the water huffing and puffing from the exertion. "I….I'm still not powerful enough to pull off a sixty-four palms yet. I won't be able to perfect it before I awake. Damn; I have to grow stronger. I can manipulate my flames as well as Cinder could but combining them with Hinata's juken takes effort. It's difficult to believe how much Hinata held back because she didn't like hurting others. Of course I don't have that issue….There won't be any doubts in Hiashi or the Elder's heads as to who the true heiress is…." Opening her eyes her byakugan ignited into golden flame and sent pillars of fire dancing about her with complete precision. Maneuvering the firestorm around her in complex patterns like a conductor over an orchestra, the Fall Maiden built the fire up into a crescendo before she flashed her right hand outwards in a cutting motion and conflagration vanished….

"I want to be strong. I want to be feared. I want to be powerful. I will never give up…." said the Fall Maiden in a mantra to herself.

….

Pyrrha's Mindscape….

"I no longer have my javelin or shield but with the control over magnetism I now have there is absolutely no reason I can't make one at will." Pyrrha knew she had died and the very thought haunted her. "Where am I now? I'm training myself in this dream world but I have no idea why I'm so driven to do so." The red haired teen remembered a phrase passed down to her from the past: "For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul, and by my shoulder, protect thee."

"Is this what that old proverb meant?" she wondered as she formed an exact replica of her shield that she carried in her first life. Pyrrha formed a fist with her right hand and the metal around her conformed to her will. "My control over magnetism is exponentially greater than it was when I was alive. When I wake up I will be stronger than I ever was before…." The redhead went through her combat stances with various weapons before nodding to herself. "I will use this new power to protect those in need of my strength. I will never falter before my enemies again."

….

"What about the red haired kunoichi?" asked Doctor Kansai as Hawk monitored both comatose girls.

Hawk answered, "The redhead is also displaying chakra usage patterns. Her patterns are consistent with wind and earth patterns. As I've watched both young women seem to go through patterns of building up the stronger and more chakra intensive exercises and then go through rest patterns. It's as if I was sensing someone go through a workout and a cool down period only to repeat the pattern after some rest. Have we had any luck identifying the redheaded kunoichi yet Doctor?"

Kansai shook his head. "No. DNA tests show no noticeable genetic markers to affiliate her with any known ninja clan in our records. Of course there are lots of clans out there were don't know of. It's safe to say we can't trace her lineage to anyone in Konoha anyway."

"What about Taki?" asked Hawk.

"No records there either." said Doctor Kansai. "Taki is allied with us so we have records of most of their clans. This girl is a total mystery."

With Naruto….

Naruto put his jacket back on having gone through the tests for the 'mystery disease' from the Forest of Death. "You are clean genin Uzumaki." said the nurse. It was obvious to Naruto that this woman held a great deal of disdain for him. She had been intentionally rough with the needle.

The orange loving ninja said to her, "Thanks for nothing hag. It's damned obvious you tried extra hard to hurt me with that needle. I'm sure the Hokage would love to hear about that."

"Just get out you little monster." growled the nurse. Naruto hopped up and gave her the finger on the way out the door. He smiled meanly at her look of anger and constipation as he left.

'Old bitch….' Naruto growled mentally. He saw Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba sitting on a bench in the hall. "Hey Shino; hey Kiba! Are you here to get checked too?"

Kiba turned to Naruto with a flat look on his face. "I still can't believe I lost to you in the preliminaries…."

Naruto frowned. "You're still upset about that? My chakra is still a mess thanks to that snake creep in the Forest of Death. It was a miracle I beat you at all. That's beside the point. Did you both get screened?"

Shino nodded. "We're both fine Naruto. We were among the first tested because of Hinata."

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean because of Hinata? Is Hinata okay? I wanted to visit her after that fight against Neji."

Kiba said in a worried tone, "Hinata is one of those that are sick from it. She's in a coma. We're really worried."

"WHAT?!" asked Naruto. "Hinata is in a coma? We need to see her right now!"

Shino grabbed Naruto's shoulder and pulled him down to sit with him and Kiba. The bug user said quietly, "Naruto-san. They won't even let our sensei Kurenai in to see Hinata. She is quarantined. That is why we are sitting out here waiting."

"Hinata is such a nice girl though." said Naruto sadly. "She doesn't deserve this."

Kurenai came around the corner and saw Naruto sitting with her students. "Hello Uzumaki; shouldn't you be training with Kakashi?"

Naruto said seriously, "Hinata's health is more important right now. I just found out she is sick….Besides, Kakashi-sensei ditched me to train Sasuke. He said to practice with chakra control with Ebisu but my chakra is all messed up."

Kurenai smiled slightly. "I'm sure Hinata will be glad to hear you have been worried for her Uzumaki. What do you mean about your chakra being messed up?"

Naruto explained, "The snake creep Orochimaru knocked me out in the Forest of Death when he hit me in the stomach with a 'Five Elements Seal' or something like that. I haven't been able to mold my chakra properly since."

The red eyed jonin got a shocked look on her face. "You beat Kiba even though you had a Five Element Seal on you? That's unbelievable!"

"What's unbelievable sensei?" asked Kiba.

"Uzumaki's chakra flow is completely out of whack Kiba." explained Kurenai. She turned to Naruto. "The only person I can think of that can fix that is Hokage-sama or Jiraiya-sama."

"Who is this Jiraiya person Kurenai-sensei?" asked Kiba.

Shino shook his head. "Jiraiya-sama is one of the three Legendary Sanins; also known as the Toad Sage."

Kurenai added in a cold tone, "He's also a legendary pervert." All three boys suddenly got a sinking feeling. Kurenai turned back to Naruto. "At any rate, you need to see Hokage-sama straightaway Uzumaki. We'll keep an eye on Hinata-chan while you get that taken care of." Naruto nodded and shot away to see the Hokage.

Kiba sat there stewing and said, "Kurenai-sensei, are you saying that Naruto beat me even though I had a huge advantage?"

Kurenai nodded. "It seems I underestimated Uzumaki Naruto. He had a tremendous handicap when he fought you. I guess I owe him an apology for not taking him seriously."

Hokage Tower

Naruto came trotting in, avoided the Hokage's angry secretary (as usual) and let himself into the Hokage's Office without knocking (also as usual). "Hokage Jiji; we have a problem!"

The Hokage peered around his paperwork and said, "I'm surprised you aren't training for the Chunin Exam Finals Naruto-kun. What brings you here? I assure you that Kakashi is quite capable of training you."

Naruto face faulted. "Kakashi-sensei is training Sasuke and Kurenai-sensei sent me to see you. Orochimaru slapped a Five Element Seal on me and Kurenai-sensei says you can get rid of it Jiji."

The Third Hokage got a shocked look and stood up. "Take off your jacket and show me your stomach Naruto-kun." Naruto tossed his beat up orange jacket aside and lifted up his black tee shirt exposing his seal. "Now channel some chakra my boy." instructed Sarutobi. Examining the pattern the Third Hokage said, "Brace yourself Naruto." Seeing Naruto nod Hiruzen said, "Five Elements Unseal!" and hit Naruto in the stomach with enough force to knock the wind out of the young genin.

Naruto fell on his duff and said, "Damn Jiji! Was that really necessary?"

Hiruzen smiled and nodded. "Rather than complaining try to channel some chakra."

"Okay Jiji." said Naruto as he stood back up. "Here I go!" Naruto made a ram seal and focused his chakra. Any explosion of blue chakra flared around him like a blazing flame. Hiruzen was shocked but weathered it well enough. The three ANBU is the office were bowled over and became visible in an instant. "Wow Jiji; this is awesome!" said the excited blonde. I'm not even going full blast either."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. 'I'm probably going to regret this….' "Then show me full blast Naruto-kun."

….The shockwave nearly blew the door off the Hokage's Office and the windows were blown to smithereens. Naruto's voice was heard outside. "Whoa! This is so cool Jiji!"

The Third Hokage looked at his demolished office and thought, '….Yes, I'm definitely regretting this….' "Okay Naruto, stop focusing chakra for now. There is never a dull moment when you are around is there?"

One of the ANBU sat there gaping and pointed to a pile of confetti on the corner of the Hokage's wrecked desk. "Ummm….Hokage-sama; wasn't that a full ream of very expensive chakra paper?"

Hiruzen gawked at the shredded remnants of what was once hundreds of sheets of chakra paper. Picking up a tiny piece Hiruzen said, "Naruto-kun, channel a bit of chakra through this little bit of paper."

Naruto took the small piece of chakra paper from Hiruzen and said, "Okay Hokage Jiji." The paper seemed to explode into hair like pieces in a second. "That was weird." said the orange loving ninja. "I wish written tests would do that."

The elderly Hokage snatched one of the tiny pieces out of the air and saw it was sliced cleanly as a surgeon would. "Do you know what this means Naruto-kun?"

"Paper hates me?" asked Naruto totally clueless.

The ANBU face faulted and Hiruzen sweat dropped. "It means you have one of the strongest wind affinities I have ever seen Naruto. This affinity is on par with Tobirama-sensei's water affinity!"

"This is some party you're holding here Sarutobi-sensei." said a man with long white hair as he slipped into the office through the blown out window. "Did someone set off a bomb? I felt the chakra wave all the way over in the Hot Springs district."

"Who is this old dude Jiji?" asked Naruto as he pointed his thumb at Jiraiya.

The Third Hokage sweat dropped again and said, "Naruto, this is my old student Jiraiya. Jiraiya, this is Uzumaki Naruto whose wind affinity did this to a sheet of chakra paper." he said as he motioned to the tiny fragments of paper still floating around in the air.

Jiraiya's eyes bulged as he grabbed a couple of strings of paper out of the air. "How long has he trained on this affinity sensei?" asked Jiraiya.

"He hasn't trained with it at all Jiraiya." deadpanned Hiruzen.

As Jiraiya's eyes grew even larger he looked Naruto over. "Looks like I've got my work cut out for me. Kid, I'm Jiraiya the great Toad Sage and I'm officially going to train you as my pupil." 'I had NO idea about this. Naruto is a ball of potential.'

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Kurenai-sensei says you are some kind of pervert; no thanks."

Now Hiruzen face faulted. "Naruto-kun; Jiraiya trained your hero the Fourth Hokage. Trust me when I say he is a very good teacher. You could learn a lot from him. Jiraiya; no playing around. Train him seriously."

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto, threw him over one shoulder and said, "Consider it done sensei." The Toad Sannin then left through the broken window and dashed off with Naruto screaming about child abduction the whole way….

The Third Hokage looked around his demolished office and said, "Who is going to clean up this mess?"

Konoha Hospital, Intensive Care

The next morning, the Fall Maiden opened her eyes. Looking around she realized she was in the hospital with numerous monitors hooked up to her. 'How long have I been asleep?' she wondered. Raising her delicate hand she made a fist and felt her power surge. 'This is good….I feel fine. My body is overflowing with energy.'

About that time a nurse came rushing in. Hinata's heart monitors had jumped up when she awoke and the staff was afraid that that she was going to have another attack. The nurse saw Hinata's pearl like byakugan eyes looking at her intensely as if Hinata was judging her. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Hinata smiled in a cold way and the heiress said, "Well hello there nurse-san. How long was I out? The last I remember I lost my fight to my cousin."

The nurse answered, "Hinata-sama, I'm so glad you've awakened. You were in a comatose state for three days. How do you feel?"

"I feel….strong." said Hinata. Her eyes flickered with a hidden flame. "I'll be happy to get up and around. I'm hungry as well."

"A healthy appetite is a good sign." said the nurse. "I'll alert the staff you've awakened. Please don't move as you are in quarantine with another young kunoichi. You both picked up a contagion in the Forest of Death from what we can tell. We feared the worst but it seems you are all right after all." The nurse excused herself to get the Doctor.

Doctor Kansai came in along with ANBU Hawk a few moments later. "Hyūga Hinata-sama, welcome back to the world of the living." said the Doctor with a smile. "I'm Doctor Kansai, your physician. It was very touch and go there for a while. We're going to need to check you over thoroughly before we release you to make sure you are completely well."

Hinata nodded. "The nurse said I had had some sort of affliction along with another kunoichi."

"Yes, ANBU Hawk and I have been monitoring both of you for days." said Kansai.

"Do I know this other kunoichi?" asked Hinata as she sat up.

Hawk spoke up. "You shouldn't move around too much Hinata-sama. The other kunoichi isn't from Konoha. We don't even know her name." Hawk pulled the curtain separating the two girls and the Fall Maiden's eyes widened when she saw the sleeping form of Pyrrha Nikos lying there peacefully. "Do you recognize her?" asked Hawk.

Hinata pondered back and forth. 'It seems Ruby Rose somehow sent Pyrrha Nikos and Cinder Fall into another realm of existence. I'd murder Pyrrha but I may need her. Besides, she may know things I don't.' Hinata turned back to Hawk. "I think her name is Pyrrha but I'm not one hundred percent sure. I met her during the second stage of the chunin exams at some point. I don't really recall who she was even affiliated with. It's a bit blurry I'm afraid." 'There, that gives Pyrrha an identity but she will be monitored by the ANBU. I suspect she must have combined with someone else as well though I can't be sure. The main thing is she can't interfere with my plans for now….once I come up with some that is….'

….

After Hinata was moved to another room and checked over physically; ANBU Hawk asked Hinata many questions and gave her a psyche test to make sure the Hyūga Heiress was mentally intact. Hinata feigned ignorance of any knowledge between Neji trying to kill her and waking up in the hospital. The Fall Maiden knew whoever Hawk was that she was from the Yamanaka Clan. After hours of endless questions ANBU Hawk thanked Hinata for her time and left to submit her ANBU report….

….

ANBU Headquarters

ANBU Hawk was speaking to the Hokage and Morino Ibiki. "Subject Hyūga Hinata shows all signs of her mental facilities being perfectly intact but her behavior isn't exactly a match compared to her previous psychiatric evaluation when she first became a genin."

"Explain your observations Hawk." said the Third Hokage.

"Our previous psyche profiles showed Hyūga Hinata as a very shy and introverted person who lacked confidence. She was socially awkward and spoke with a stutter." explained Hawk. "The Hyūga Hinata I spoke with today seemed to be confident and commanding. There were no signs of shyness or speech issues. In our discussion I felt that I was talking to a veteran kunoichi rather than a wet behind the ears genin. It is difficult to reconcile the two Hokage-sama."

"Perhaps the harrowing experiences she had during the Chunin Exams forced her to adapt." said Hiruzen. "It wouldn't be the first time I've seen a youngster grow up quickly in warlike situations."

"Should we have ANBU monitor her as a precaution?" asked Ibiki.

The Third Hokage shook his head. "She is very close to her sensei Yuuhi Kurenai. I'll leave her in Kurenai's capable hands. Besides, young Hinata belongs to the most observant clan in Konoha. If something is amiss I have no doubts they will notice."

….

Konoha Hospital

'I'm just not capable of acting as meek as Hinata was!' growled the Fall Maiden to herself mentally. 'Still, I have many goals to achieve. I want Naruto-kun to be my boyfriend. I want to crush Neji. I want to bring Hiashi and the rest of the clan to heel. I have to protect Hanabi-chan….(sigh). I have so much to do. I guess the first thing to do is get stronger. Actually getting to know Naruto-kun should take precedence. Now that I think about it getting out of this damn hospital should be my primary goal; that and Naruto-kun….EEEP! My face is heating up! Give me a break!'

Poor girl; so much to do and so little time….

….

Hyūga Kō was at the hospital to escort Hinata-sama home. He'd been sent with some fresh clothing since her kunoichi uniform was battered and bloodied. 'I have to bolster Hinata-sama's confidence. Losing to Neji-san is bad enough but when she finds out Hiashi-sama never bothered to visit her in the hospital she'll be crushed. On the positive side Hanabi-sama wanted to visit though it wasn't allowed.' When Kō arrived he knocked and Hinata told him to enter. "I've brought you some fresh clothing Hinata-sama."

Hinata turned to him and her eyes seemed to blaze for a split second before she smiled. "Thank you for bringing me some clothing Kō. I'll change if you'll wait outside."

"Of course Hinata-sama." said Kō as he bowed before exiting.

Hinata got on her baggy clothes and thought to herself. (Sigh) 'No wonder Naruto-kun never noticed Hinata. I suppose a shopping spree is in order. I may not be able to physically beat Hiashi at this point but putting a dent in his finances will certainly teach him a lesson about giving me the cold shoulder. This will be a nice little present for dear old Daddy.' Exiting the room where she changed Hinata said to Kō, "Unless you have orders otherwise from Hiashi-sama I believe I'm in need of some new gear. It's been a long time since I overhauled my wardrobe."

Kō said, "I don't believe that would be an issue Hinata-sama." 'Poor girl, she never treats herself to anything. Perhaps this will cheer her up a bit.'

….Three hours later….

Hinata was polishing of her fifth cinnamon bun and was erotically licking her fingers clean of the frosting. "I have to say Kō; these cinnamon buns are so good it's positively sinful. Are you sure you don't want any?"

Kō looked like he was ready to faint. He had a pile of heavy boxes with him full of women's clothing from formalwear all the way down to the raciest intimates. 'Oh. My. Gawd. Hiashi-sama is going to have an aneurism when he sees all this….I had no idea Hinata-sama had….developed so much.' he thought embarrassed. Kō had no idea why Hinata-sama decided she should grow her hair out or why she suddenly favored dark red, gold and black (like Cinder Fall wore). Hinata had always dressed very conservatively. 'Perhaps it's just a phase. I do wonder why she got a dress made of chakra conductive fabric though. All she said is it might get too hot otherwise….whatever that means.'

Hinata smiled rather evilly. "Let's go home Kō. I do believe I've spent enough money for today." 'Just you wait and see my Naruto-kun. I just can't wait for you to see some of these outfits.' Giggling evilly, Hinata led her poor guardian Kō back to the Hyūga Clan Compound.

Training ground 53

Jiraiya was sitting on top of a hill spying on some girls swimming in a nearby waterfall while giggling perversely. He had a couple of shadow clones beating up/training Naruto and the boy's own clones while he 'researched.' About that time the original Naruto emerged from a nearby pit of mud courtesy of Jiraiya's Swamp of the Underworld jutsu. Naruto quietly split out a glob of mud and his blue eyes blazed with the depravity of one possessed. Grinning madly the mud covered boy leaped upon his new sensei Jiraiya with a full body tackle that sent them both tumbling down the hill into the pool with all the girls. Mud flew everywhere as they splashed into the water. Jiraiya emerged from the pool gasping for breath as the small swamp monster/Naruto gripped the sannin's neck only to pull him down again while growling "Welcome to HELL Ero-sennin! It's time to DIE!"

Jiraiya screeched as Naruto bit him and yelled, "That hurt you orange wearing brat!" The young ladies screamed and ran as Jiraiya pleaded for them to come back….before he got pulled under the water again….

Naruto and Jiraiya were already bonding it seemed….

Konoha Hospital

Pyrrha Nikos opened her green eyes and saw she was in a hospital. 'Where am I? Is this that Konoha place? I must be in a hospital of some type. Last I remember I was in the Forest of Death.'

A nurse came in a few minutes later as Pyrrha's elevated heartbeat indicated she might be waking up like Hinata did that morning. "Are you awake young lady? Can you tell me your name?" asked the nurse.

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos." answered the redhead. "I remember tigers and….and where am I now? I thought I died…."

"By some miracle you are alive Pyrrha-san." said the nurse. "You were found near your dead teammates."

Pyrrha's green eyes widened in confusion. "Teammates….I had teammates? Who were they?"

'The poor girl is in mental shock.' thought the nurse. 'Not that I particularly blame her.' "You just stay put Pyrrha-san. You've been in a coma for days. I'm going to get a doctor okay?"

Pyrrha nodded. "Okay….Can I have some food?"

"Certainly you can Pyrrha-san. Just sit tight." said the nurse as she went to get a doctor.

(Sigh) 'This is going to be a bumpy ride.' thought Pyrrha tiredly. 'I'll just stick with what little memories I have that belonged to the dead ninja….My life in Remnant has no bearing here…. '

POSTSCRIPT:

Okay, so in a nutshell Hinata and Cinder Fall are now one person that refers to herself as the Fall Maiden. She isn't quite as bad as Cinder but she's certainly not pure like Hinata either. She doesn't like Hiashi. She does like Naruto though. Will she go for Naruto or Total World Domination first? (Probably both; she seems like that kind of girl). Pyrrha is temporarily stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Will the Fall Maiden help her out or throw Pyrrha to the proverbial dogs? Lastly I've tweaked Naruto a bit. I always felt that Jiraiya could teach Naruto if they both took it seriously. The wind affinity would make them both realize Naruto has a lot of potential provided they don't kill each other first. Naruto learned the Rasengan in mere days during the search for Tsunade. Who's to say he couldn't learn more than Toad Summoning and more in a whole month? Blue out. 5/13/16