Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > Helping Out
Helping Out
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Tsunade went through Naruto's pockets. They had changed his clothes at the hospital, but the Hokage was just now getting the time to see if he had gathered any information on the grass nin. His pockets were empty, and his shuriken holder only had one of the stars left.
He must have went all out...Tsunade thought, setting his pants down and picking up his vest. She remembered (with a twinge of ironic amusement) when he became a Chuunin. He was basically throwing a temper tantrum because he didn't like the vest with his outfit. In the end, he somehow managed to spray paint it orange. She had gotten mad, telling him that it was green for a reason. Naruto, being the stubborn ass he was, insisted on the fact that it had to match with his outfit. She told him that ninjas didn't wear orange jumpsuits to begin with, that he should get a new outfit anyway. He replied with a snotty 'The only way I'd change my signature outfit is if I became an ANBU!'. Tsunade might've regretted her decision in the beginning, but he proved to be a worthy asset, in his own way, to the squad.
He was undoubtedly old and strong enough, but his hyperactive ninja had barely toned down. And that small change was due to Hinata. Tsunade paired them up for as many missions as she could afford, hoping that she might be able to help his attitude more as time progressed. But now...the blonde Sannin sighed, continuing to go through the vest. His 'foxy ANBU mask', as he called it himself, was lying on the table beside her. She glanced at it, wondering if she let her temper get the best of her. Sighing again, Tsunade continued her search.
In the first pocket she checked on the vest, she found a little black box. Curious, the blonde opened it, staring at its contents.
"Shit. This just got a whole lot more complicated..." Tsunade groaned, closing the lid to the box.
"Tsunade, Naruto has just regained consciousness!" A nurse skidded by the door, panting slightly.
"How's his mood?"
"We...haven't told him yet. But we suspect he knows..." The nurse said, biting her bottom lip. "You might want to hurry."
Tsunade sighed. "Alright."
The pair hurried to Naruto's room, breaking into a run as they heard hoarse shouting and several dull thuds. Tsunade arrived just in time to see a poor nurse trying to pull him back from the window, where he was apparently trying to jump.
"A fall from this height won't kill you." Tsunade said simply, as she strode calmly into the room. Naruto turned to glare at her, narrowing his eyes.
"I just want to get out of here." He growled. "And...where's Hinata...? These stupid nurses won't tell me a thing!"
It would've almost been easier if he had guessed. Tsunade sighed, looking away, pretending to be interested in a small painting that was in his room. It was a mix of blues, purples and reds. It would've looked like a sunset, but whoever the artist was had to add just enough black at the bottom to throw it off.
"Hey, old hag, I asked you a question." Naruto said loudly. He repeated his question, this time a bit more forcefully. The blonde woman sighed, looking down at her feet.
"Would you all please leave us? I'd like to talk to him in private for a moment." she said softly. Naruto, although no matter how dim-witted he seemed sometimes, knew this was a bad sign.
"...What happened on that mission, Naruto?" Tsunade asked, raising her eyes to look at him.
"I, uh...well, we were ambushed. We came upon their camp, but they must've used some sort of genjutsu or something...because they managed to sneak up on us instead." His expression darkened. "Where is Hinata? Is she hurt? How badly? Is she going to be alright?"
"How's your leg?" the blonde Hokage asked, glancing at the bandage.
"It's fine. Where is Hinata?!" He insisted on not letting the subject stray from what he wanted to know.
"Naruto...Come walk with me." she said softly, turning to leave. She heard the nin jump down from the windowsill, trotting after her. She led him upstairs, onto the next floor up. He looked around, expecting to be led into his girlfriend's room, but the Sannin kept going. Up another floor, they came to the door leading to the roof.
"Where the hell are we going, you old hag?" Naruto demanded, jumping between her and the door. He glared at her, as if daring her to try to get past. He wanted his question answered, and he wanted it answered now, dammit!
"We're going onto the roof, idiot." She shot back, pushing past time. "Come on."
"I know we're going onto the roof! WHY are we going up there?! I WANT TO SEE HINATA!" He howled. Ignoring him, Tsunade pushed open the door and walked out onto the roof. It was a bright, clear day, a small breeze ruffling her hair. "WHERE IS SHE? What happened to her?!"
"She was captured, alright?!" Tsunade wheeled around, glowering at him. Great, he had made her lose her temper. "She was captured, taken away. Those bastards sent us this note, holding that necklace you gave her, saying she was dead, okay? HINATA IS GONE, NARUTO!"
Uh oh. She had overdone it. Tsunade blinked, taken aback at his silence. He was looking like a little boy again, lip trembling and tears flooding his azure eyes. Ah, crap. She looked down at her feet, ashamed at the fact that she had lost her temper, and told him the news like that. It definitely didn't make him feel any better.
"She's...gone?" He asked in a small voice. Still looking away, the Hokage nodded.
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Neji wandered around the forest, seemingly aimlessly. He wasn't surprised when he heard someone alight on a branch behind him. It was either Naruto or Lee, most probably. No one else would want to come to talk to him and know where.
"Yes?" The Hyuuga asked emotionlessly without turning around. He traced a tree's bark designs, running his hand over the rough texture. It seemed somehow comforting.
"Hokage-sama is gathering a group to pursue the villainous murderers." He heard Lee's voice. "Did you...want to come?"
Neji looked back at the taijutsu master, ashen eyes glittering coldly. "I don't want to go anywhere near those murderers, even if it is to kill them." He answered icily.
"I...alright, then." Lee stood up on the branch, slightly taken aback at his answer. He would've figured that Neji would've been more than ready to take the rogues down, like Naruto. The blonde Kitsune was vibrating with bloodlust and energy. He had only agreed to wait long enough to see if Neji wanted to come. The others agreed, not wanting to upset him even more. His eyes were already turning reddish. "We'll be heading west-northwest from here, if you want to catch up, Neji."
"I won't. Go on your mission already." the Hyuuga replied, still a frosty note in his voice. He heard Lee disappear, back to the mission group, no doubt.
Truth was, Neji couldn't bear to hunt down his cousin's murderers. He wouldn't be able to stand it if he somehow failed. If that group could take down Lee, Naruto, and both of the people he ever cared about, they weren't something to joke about. For one of the first times in his life, he was doubting his strength and intelligence.
He found himself walking through the forest again, running his hands along each of the trunks close enough. He welcomed the slight pain of the rough bark grinding over his hands.
If he couldn't defeat them, he wouldn't find any reason to live. If he did defeat them, the same thing would happen. TenTen wouldn't want him to throw his life away, neither would Hinata. If he failed to kill every single one of them in that group, he would never be able to forgive himself.
So why didn't he go on that mission?
He had heard the rest of the conversation after he left. Shino said, rather logically, that someone might be after Neji. If that were true, then those murdering bastards would come to him. All he would have to do is wait.
And, having a bit more confidence in his intelligence and abilities again, he was sure he was right.
The black-haired ninja found himself in a large clearing. A small, mirrored pond was beside it, perfectly calm. In front of the water, two crosses stood, sticking up out of the ground. A single, smooth tree stump was before the pair of crosses, and Neji crossed the clearing to sit on it.
One of the crosses, the one on his left, a hitai-ate was wrapped around it at an angle. A pink sash, a decorative kunai hanging on each end, was wrapped around at a different angle, underneath the Leaf headband. The sash had been TenTen's favorite kimono sash, and the kunai were detachable for a quick attack if need be. She had demonstrated this to her teammates and sensei, when Gai-sensei had instructed them all, in the earlier days of their training, to bring in something important to them. (He said that it was to strengthen their teamwork and 'friendship', although, at the time, each student thought it was a waste of an afternoon. In retrospect, Neji now thought that she had looked beautiful in it.)
The second cross only had one decoration on it so far. Neji hadn't been able to get Hinata's hitai-ate yet, but he would try. He would honor his cousin if he died trying. The sole decoration on the wooden stake was Hinata's mother's bracelet, passed down to her when his aunt died. She was very young at the time, and she only wore it on extremely special occasions, but she understood how important it was. It was a simple band of silver, polished until it shone and inlaid with light blue diamonds. Neji had smuggled it out of the Hyuuga house, with the help of Hanabi, explaining to her that it was for Hinata's grave. The younger girl eagerly agreed, wanting to help her cousin.
And he would get Hinata's hitai-ate if it was the last thing he did.
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"Why didn't Neji want to come?" Kiba asked quietly. Lee only shrugged in response. Their group was relatively small, since many other ninjas and ANBU squad members were busy with other missions. Although this was an important mission, Tsunade couldn't spare too many ninjas.
Kiba, Lee, Shino, Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru were the only ones who could. Shikamaru was the leader of them, and Ino actually stayed quiet when he issued orders. Tsunade hadn't wanted to put them together, since they were married and it might interfere, but their jutsus just worked so well together.
Akamaru bounded on ahead, sniffing the air. No strange scents yet. But there was sure to be some coming up soon. You can't hide scents forever.
"We should stop soon." Ino said, glancing around uneasily. Naruto snorted angrily behind her. That was enough for her, and she kept walking. At least for awhile longer.
Akamaru barked softly, tail wagging. Kiba ran forward to meet his canine. "Akamaru has sniffed something. Ninjas. Grass ninjas."
"We're close, then. Everyone, get ready." Shikamaru whispered tensely. They continued on silently, hopping from branch to branch. Soon enough, Ino spotted a campsite. They all gathered around it, far enough away from each other that they covered about half of the camp's perimeter. It was large, with numerous tents, and a fire still smoldering. Suddenly, Lee started waving his arms frantically. Naruto started looking around as well.
"What is it?" Shino asked one of his chakra bugs to go over to Lee and find out what was wrong. Lee, somewhat weirded out by talking to a bug, quickly and quietly spoke. The insect fluttered back over to Shino, buzzing on his finger. "Oh. Damn it."
Apparently, this was the same situation that Naruto and Lee came upon before, when they were ambushed themselves. Naruto had managed to convey this to Ino as well, and she had possessed Shikamaru, scratching the word 'genjutsu' into the bark on his tree. She released him, and he knew as well. Now Kiba and Akamaru were the only unknowing ones.
Shikamaru ran over the choices in his head. This was a genjutsu, and they hadn't recognized Naruto or Lee, using the same technique. Or, they were stupid and still used the same technique. There was no genjutsu and this was exactly what it seemed: a campsite potentially full of grass ninjas. This was a trap, and the grass nins, knowing exactly what to expect, expected them to all turn around wildly and look for ambushers. The first or the last seemed the most probable.
The shadow user silently ordered a retreat, having his soldiers drop back a ways. The canines had, by now, figured out what Naruto and Lee were so frantic about as well, so everyone knew their situation.
"It's a trap." Naruto said immediately. "They would recognize one of us, and they're watching us right now."
"I agree." Lee nodded. "We should get a plan ready for different situations, though."
The sun had just set, so now it was a dark dusk. Shikamaru's technique would be perfect, as would Ino's. Also, with less light to see by, Kiba and Akamaru's sharp noses would also be a great advantage. Rather than wait, the odds seemed in their favor of attacking now.
"Let's go." Shikamaru whispered, looking back in the direction of the camp. Naruto's eyes flashed red as the group bounded silently forward, happy for the chance to avenge a friend's death.
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Tsunade went through Naruto's pockets. They had changed his clothes at the hospital, but the Hokage was just now getting the time to see if he had gathered any information on the grass nin. His pockets were empty, and his shuriken holder only had one of the stars left.
He must have went all out...Tsunade thought, setting his pants down and picking up his vest. She remembered (with a twinge of ironic amusement) when he became a Chuunin. He was basically throwing a temper tantrum because he didn't like the vest with his outfit. In the end, he somehow managed to spray paint it orange. She had gotten mad, telling him that it was green for a reason. Naruto, being the stubborn ass he was, insisted on the fact that it had to match with his outfit. She told him that ninjas didn't wear orange jumpsuits to begin with, that he should get a new outfit anyway. He replied with a snotty 'The only way I'd change my signature outfit is if I became an ANBU!'. Tsunade might've regretted her decision in the beginning, but he proved to be a worthy asset, in his own way, to the squad.
He was undoubtedly old and strong enough, but his hyperactive ninja had barely toned down. And that small change was due to Hinata. Tsunade paired them up for as many missions as she could afford, hoping that she might be able to help his attitude more as time progressed. But now...the blonde Sannin sighed, continuing to go through the vest. His 'foxy ANBU mask', as he called it himself, was lying on the table beside her. She glanced at it, wondering if she let her temper get the best of her. Sighing again, Tsunade continued her search.
In the first pocket she checked on the vest, she found a little black box. Curious, the blonde opened it, staring at its contents.
"Shit. This just got a whole lot more complicated..." Tsunade groaned, closing the lid to the box.
"Tsunade, Naruto has just regained consciousness!" A nurse skidded by the door, panting slightly.
"How's his mood?"
"We...haven't told him yet. But we suspect he knows..." The nurse said, biting her bottom lip. "You might want to hurry."
Tsunade sighed. "Alright."
The pair hurried to Naruto's room, breaking into a run as they heard hoarse shouting and several dull thuds. Tsunade arrived just in time to see a poor nurse trying to pull him back from the window, where he was apparently trying to jump.
"A fall from this height won't kill you." Tsunade said simply, as she strode calmly into the room. Naruto turned to glare at her, narrowing his eyes.
"I just want to get out of here." He growled. "And...where's Hinata...? These stupid nurses won't tell me a thing!"
It would've almost been easier if he had guessed. Tsunade sighed, looking away, pretending to be interested in a small painting that was in his room. It was a mix of blues, purples and reds. It would've looked like a sunset, but whoever the artist was had to add just enough black at the bottom to throw it off.
"Hey, old hag, I asked you a question." Naruto said loudly. He repeated his question, this time a bit more forcefully. The blonde woman sighed, looking down at her feet.
"Would you all please leave us? I'd like to talk to him in private for a moment." she said softly. Naruto, although no matter how dim-witted he seemed sometimes, knew this was a bad sign.
"...What happened on that mission, Naruto?" Tsunade asked, raising her eyes to look at him.
"I, uh...well, we were ambushed. We came upon their camp, but they must've used some sort of genjutsu or something...because they managed to sneak up on us instead." His expression darkened. "Where is Hinata? Is she hurt? How badly? Is she going to be alright?"
"How's your leg?" the blonde Hokage asked, glancing at the bandage.
"It's fine. Where is Hinata?!" He insisted on not letting the subject stray from what he wanted to know.
"Naruto...Come walk with me." she said softly, turning to leave. She heard the nin jump down from the windowsill, trotting after her. She led him upstairs, onto the next floor up. He looked around, expecting to be led into his girlfriend's room, but the Sannin kept going. Up another floor, they came to the door leading to the roof.
"Where the hell are we going, you old hag?" Naruto demanded, jumping between her and the door. He glared at her, as if daring her to try to get past. He wanted his question answered, and he wanted it answered now, dammit!
"We're going onto the roof, idiot." She shot back, pushing past time. "Come on."
"I know we're going onto the roof! WHY are we going up there?! I WANT TO SEE HINATA!" He howled. Ignoring him, Tsunade pushed open the door and walked out onto the roof. It was a bright, clear day, a small breeze ruffling her hair. "WHERE IS SHE? What happened to her?!"
"She was captured, alright?!" Tsunade wheeled around, glowering at him. Great, he had made her lose her temper. "She was captured, taken away. Those bastards sent us this note, holding that necklace you gave her, saying she was dead, okay? HINATA IS GONE, NARUTO!"
Uh oh. She had overdone it. Tsunade blinked, taken aback at his silence. He was looking like a little boy again, lip trembling and tears flooding his azure eyes. Ah, crap. She looked down at her feet, ashamed at the fact that she had lost her temper, and told him the news like that. It definitely didn't make him feel any better.
"She's...gone?" He asked in a small voice. Still looking away, the Hokage nodded.
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Neji wandered around the forest, seemingly aimlessly. He wasn't surprised when he heard someone alight on a branch behind him. It was either Naruto or Lee, most probably. No one else would want to come to talk to him and know where.
"Yes?" The Hyuuga asked emotionlessly without turning around. He traced a tree's bark designs, running his hand over the rough texture. It seemed somehow comforting.
"Hokage-sama is gathering a group to pursue the villainous murderers." He heard Lee's voice. "Did you...want to come?"
Neji looked back at the taijutsu master, ashen eyes glittering coldly. "I don't want to go anywhere near those murderers, even if it is to kill them." He answered icily.
"I...alright, then." Lee stood up on the branch, slightly taken aback at his answer. He would've figured that Neji would've been more than ready to take the rogues down, like Naruto. The blonde Kitsune was vibrating with bloodlust and energy. He had only agreed to wait long enough to see if Neji wanted to come. The others agreed, not wanting to upset him even more. His eyes were already turning reddish. "We'll be heading west-northwest from here, if you want to catch up, Neji."
"I won't. Go on your mission already." the Hyuuga replied, still a frosty note in his voice. He heard Lee disappear, back to the mission group, no doubt.
Truth was, Neji couldn't bear to hunt down his cousin's murderers. He wouldn't be able to stand it if he somehow failed. If that group could take down Lee, Naruto, and both of the people he ever cared about, they weren't something to joke about. For one of the first times in his life, he was doubting his strength and intelligence.
He found himself walking through the forest again, running his hands along each of the trunks close enough. He welcomed the slight pain of the rough bark grinding over his hands.
If he couldn't defeat them, he wouldn't find any reason to live. If he did defeat them, the same thing would happen. TenTen wouldn't want him to throw his life away, neither would Hinata. If he failed to kill every single one of them in that group, he would never be able to forgive himself.
So why didn't he go on that mission?
He had heard the rest of the conversation after he left. Shino said, rather logically, that someone might be after Neji. If that were true, then those murdering bastards would come to him. All he would have to do is wait.
And, having a bit more confidence in his intelligence and abilities again, he was sure he was right.
The black-haired ninja found himself in a large clearing. A small, mirrored pond was beside it, perfectly calm. In front of the water, two crosses stood, sticking up out of the ground. A single, smooth tree stump was before the pair of crosses, and Neji crossed the clearing to sit on it.
One of the crosses, the one on his left, a hitai-ate was wrapped around it at an angle. A pink sash, a decorative kunai hanging on each end, was wrapped around at a different angle, underneath the Leaf headband. The sash had been TenTen's favorite kimono sash, and the kunai were detachable for a quick attack if need be. She had demonstrated this to her teammates and sensei, when Gai-sensei had instructed them all, in the earlier days of their training, to bring in something important to them. (He said that it was to strengthen their teamwork and 'friendship', although, at the time, each student thought it was a waste of an afternoon. In retrospect, Neji now thought that she had looked beautiful in it.)
The second cross only had one decoration on it so far. Neji hadn't been able to get Hinata's hitai-ate yet, but he would try. He would honor his cousin if he died trying. The sole decoration on the wooden stake was Hinata's mother's bracelet, passed down to her when his aunt died. She was very young at the time, and she only wore it on extremely special occasions, but she understood how important it was. It was a simple band of silver, polished until it shone and inlaid with light blue diamonds. Neji had smuggled it out of the Hyuuga house, with the help of Hanabi, explaining to her that it was for Hinata's grave. The younger girl eagerly agreed, wanting to help her cousin.
And he would get Hinata's hitai-ate if it was the last thing he did.
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"Why didn't Neji want to come?" Kiba asked quietly. Lee only shrugged in response. Their group was relatively small, since many other ninjas and ANBU squad members were busy with other missions. Although this was an important mission, Tsunade couldn't spare too many ninjas.
Kiba, Lee, Shino, Naruto, Ino and Shikamaru were the only ones who could. Shikamaru was the leader of them, and Ino actually stayed quiet when he issued orders. Tsunade hadn't wanted to put them together, since they were married and it might interfere, but their jutsus just worked so well together.
Akamaru bounded on ahead, sniffing the air. No strange scents yet. But there was sure to be some coming up soon. You can't hide scents forever.
"We should stop soon." Ino said, glancing around uneasily. Naruto snorted angrily behind her. That was enough for her, and she kept walking. At least for awhile longer.
Akamaru barked softly, tail wagging. Kiba ran forward to meet his canine. "Akamaru has sniffed something. Ninjas. Grass ninjas."
"We're close, then. Everyone, get ready." Shikamaru whispered tensely. They continued on silently, hopping from branch to branch. Soon enough, Ino spotted a campsite. They all gathered around it, far enough away from each other that they covered about half of the camp's perimeter. It was large, with numerous tents, and a fire still smoldering. Suddenly, Lee started waving his arms frantically. Naruto started looking around as well.
"What is it?" Shino asked one of his chakra bugs to go over to Lee and find out what was wrong. Lee, somewhat weirded out by talking to a bug, quickly and quietly spoke. The insect fluttered back over to Shino, buzzing on his finger. "Oh. Damn it."
Apparently, this was the same situation that Naruto and Lee came upon before, when they were ambushed themselves. Naruto had managed to convey this to Ino as well, and she had possessed Shikamaru, scratching the word 'genjutsu' into the bark on his tree. She released him, and he knew as well. Now Kiba and Akamaru were the only unknowing ones.
Shikamaru ran over the choices in his head. This was a genjutsu, and they hadn't recognized Naruto or Lee, using the same technique. Or, they were stupid and still used the same technique. There was no genjutsu and this was exactly what it seemed: a campsite potentially full of grass ninjas. This was a trap, and the grass nins, knowing exactly what to expect, expected them to all turn around wildly and look for ambushers. The first or the last seemed the most probable.
The shadow user silently ordered a retreat, having his soldiers drop back a ways. The canines had, by now, figured out what Naruto and Lee were so frantic about as well, so everyone knew their situation.
"It's a trap." Naruto said immediately. "They would recognize one of us, and they're watching us right now."
"I agree." Lee nodded. "We should get a plan ready for different situations, though."
The sun had just set, so now it was a dark dusk. Shikamaru's technique would be perfect, as would Ino's. Also, with less light to see by, Kiba and Akamaru's sharp noses would also be a great advantage. Rather than wait, the odds seemed in their favor of attacking now.
"Let's go." Shikamaru whispered, looking back in the direction of the camp. Naruto's eyes flashed red as the group bounded silently forward, happy for the chance to avenge a friend's death.
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