Chapter Text
Hinata steadied her gaze on the woman before her. She recognized her as the medic nin she had seen in the hospital a few days ago. She couldn’t understand what exactly she was doing in the attic painted in blood, or why she stabbed herself but miraculously survived, but the woman was going to have to answer all her questions in a holding cell
“It’s a pleasure to have you, Hyuuga Hinata”, Mikasa said with a grin on her face.
“That’s Commander Hyuuga Hinata of the homeland defense corps to you” Hinata snapped, raising her hand to point the woman facing her “And I’m placing you under arrest”
Mikasa smiled and took a step backwards, “Just you? You’re a brave one aren’t you? Do you even have a warrant?” she teased.
“I don’t need a warrant to stop whatever it is you’re doing here miss…”
“My name is Mikasa Kurosaki”
“I don’t care what your name is, you’re coming with me” Hinata reaffirmed as she took a step closer.
Mikasa laughed at the Hyuuga as she produced a small vial from her lab coat. She emptied it’s contents down her throat and took off the labcoat.
Hinata’s eyes widened with shock, watching Mikasa’s skin turn black, with white lines forming the outline of a skeleton covered her body. The woman stretched her shoulders and gestured towards Hinata.
“Come get me”
Hinata studied Mikasa carefully, debating if engaging her alone was wise. She was certain she was up to no good, but she really didn’t know what exactly she was doing in the attic. Nevertheless, the medic nin was armed and refusing to cooperate with an officer of the homeland defense corps, which was grounds for arrest. Hinata readied her battle stance and decided taking her in was top priority.
“This is your final warning Miss Kurosaki, drop the weapon and get on the ground with your hands behind your head” Hinata ordered, watching her target carefully.
Mikasa lunged at her, knife in hand. Hinata blocked her attack with a raised elbow but her attacker let the knife drop to her free hand and tried to stab Hinata with it. The Hyuuga was quick enough to parry her attack and the next few slashes she made too, then sent her flying with an air palm. Mikasa threw her knife at her, which she dodged easily but she produced a dagger from her holster before Hinata could regain herself, rushing towards her. Hinata calmly observed her assailant making her way towards her, blade raised in her right hand. She waited for the right moment before spinning around to her right, successfully avoiding the overhead stab from Mikasa. She quickly followed through with a backhanded right fist in Mikasa’s jaw, then swung her left elbow into her face, sending her staggering backwards.
A sudden jolt of pain however, stopped Hinata from continuing her assault. She was sure Mikasa didn’t hit her, but her jaw ached badly and she suspected her nose had started to bleed.
“When did….” She muttered, clasping her jaw in pain. But Mikasa didn’t give her time to think, she was already approaching her again, a wide grin on her face.
“Not bad, very little power behind your strikes but it’s as expected from the Hyuuga failure” she mocked.
Hinata frowned and opted for a fighting style she had learned from Naruto. She raised her clenched fists in front of her face, spreading her feet apart one in front of the other. If her opponent wanted more power, she was going to give her what she wanted.
“Do not resist further, drop your weapon and get on the ground” she ordered Mikasa to no avail.
As the medic nin rushed towards her again, Hinata surprised her with a leap forward, slamming her right knee into her face. Ignoring the massive jolt of pain that shot across her own body, she watched Mikasa stumble backwards and rushed her again. This time, Mikasa was quick to react, lashing out at her head with her dagger. Hinata shifted her head to the right and below the slash, dodging the stabbing attack and sent her right fist forward, sending a powerful blow to Mikasa’s stomach. She could feel the air knocked out of her too, but fought through the pain and sent a left jab at Mikasa’s face, followed by a right hook. Her opponent tried to stab her again but Hinata grabbed her wrist with one hand and struck it with the other, causing the knife to drop to the floor. Strangely, she could feel her wrist weaken too.
“What is this” she thought to herself, dodging a swing from Mikasa and responding with a left jab. Mikasa staggered slightly then lunged at her again, this time with a punch. It posed no real threat to the Hyuuga however, as she simply deflected her fist with her right palm, then sent three blows to her neck and torso, following up with a fierce uppercut that lifted her feet off the ground then sending her flying to the opposite wall with a roundhouse kick straight to her jaw, before she could fall back down to the surface.
Mikasa crashed into a grandfather clock at the edge of the room, coughing up blood. As she raised her head to observe Hinata, she felt a smile spread across her lips.
The Hyuuga was on one knee, coughing up blood and clenching her midsection in pain.
“What did….what did you do to me?” Hinata said through clenched teeth.
Mikasa laughed and got up from the wreckage of the clock, then made her way towards Hinata, hands in the air and gaze fixed on the ceiling.
“I entrusted your soul to a greater purpose, a higher being!”
“Higher being?” Hinata asked, wiping her mouth with her sleeve
Mikasa continued, “Yes, I have brought salvation to many, I’ve granted them the gift of eternal life in a prophet of god. Today I have liberated the soul of a person I admired deeply, she deserved eternal peace in a world free of war and I have given it to her”
A feeling of realization dawned upon Hinata. “So it was….you? You’ve been killing all these people….to serve your god?”
“I have saved their souls!” Mikasa shouted at her. “I’ve blessed them with the gift of true eternal life! They will be alive to enjoy the world our benefactors will establish! They will enjoy it’s gifts for eternity!” Mikasa paused and pointed at Hinata. “Today, your life will be sacrificed to the will of Jashin, Hyuuga Hinata” she paused, and smiled an evil grin at her.
“And I will be your vessel, to bring you closer to god!”
Hinata gingerly carried herself up, fighting through the immense pain that she was somehow engulfed in. “Like hell you will, I’m stopping you right here!”
Mikasa shook her head in refusal. “No one can stop the will of Jashin” Then she picked up a piece of the broken clock and brandished it, a makeshift weapon and continued with a smile, “Not you, not the Hokage, I thought I made that clear by taking the head of the general hospital today, none of you are above liberation”
Hinata felt her mouth dry. “Shizune is…” Clenching her teeth, she inhaled and activated her dojutsu. She had to shut off her chakra points. She guessed her opponents strange reflection ability meant that she would also be disabled, but if it meant immobilizing the killer there long enough for help to arrive then it was a worthy trade-off to her. But a part of her wasn’t as interested in bringing the serial killer in anymore, a part of her just wanted to kill the psychopath right there, but Hinata fought to suppress her more violent tendencies and not lose her cool.
Mikasa came at her once again, swinging the wooden plank erratically. Hinata was finding it harder to dodge with all her injuries, and soon enough her opponent struck her with the plank, causing her to lose her bearings. She felt a blow land across her jaw, and a strong kick sent her to the ground. She rolled to the side, immediately getting back to her feet in time to dodge an overhead strike from Mikasa. Seizing the chance, she grabbed Mikasa’s hair with her hand and sent a knee to the killer’s face, repeating the action until her weapon dropped and a stream of red oozed from her nose. Then she dragged her back to her feet and sent several punches to her face with her free hand. She followed through with a fist to her stomach, ignoring the droplets of Mikasa’s blood that found their way to her own face, and kicked her shin with all her might. Once Mikasa stopped moving, Hinata sent her flying to the wall with a kick. She doubled over in extreme pain once Mikasa hit the wall with a loud thud and raised her gaze to look at her moments later. Surely, there was no way she was coming back from that, she thought as she found the killer’s face.
Mikasa was smiling at her
Brimming with rage, Hinata descended on her opponent still pinned against the wall. She dealt blow after blow, her original intention of taking Mikasa alive forgotten. A fierce cross to Mikasa’s jaw sent teeth clattering on the floor but the taste of blood in her own mouth caused Hinata to doubt who they really belonged to. Then she took a step back and assumed a stance to deliver an attack she was sure would end it for both fighters.
[2 palms]
She went through all the steps she knew, targeting her opponents chakra points.
[4 palms]
[16 palms]
[8 trigrams 64 palms]
Mikasa’s body tumbled to the floor like a bag of rocks and Hinata followed suit, completely overwhelmed with agony and unable to move.
“I win!” Konohamaru declared as he slammed a deck of cards on the table and pumped his fists in joy. His opponent however wasn’t as pleased.
“Come on! This sucks!” Naruto flung his own deck of cards to the table as he got up and angrily flicked some coins in Konohamaru’s general direction
“You are such a sore loser big bro” Konohamaru said, laughing
“And you’re a cheat. I don’t have any evidence now, but I’ll prove it” Naruto replied.
“Whatever, you’re still gonna cough up what you owe me every time we play old man” Konohamaru counted the money as he spoke with a grin on his face. The two were suddenly interrupted by a group of shinobi practically sprinting towards them. The leader of the group, who turned out to be Shikamaru grabbed Naruto’s shoulders and tried to regain his breath before shooting him a question.
“Naruto, where is Hinata?”
Naruto was taken aback by the sense of urgency in his friend’s question. “I met her in town a few hours ago, she was working”
Kiba stepped forward and grabbed Naruto’s collar. “Naruto we need to find her NOW!”
Naruto was a bit irritated by the Inuzuka’s gesture and brushed his hands off him. “Hey take it easy Kiba, don’t be rough with me!”
“Naruto, she could be in danger, we don’t know when but something terrible will happen to her soon if we don’t find her” Naruto’s voice was directed towards Sakura who was standing at the rear of the group with Tenten.
“Danger? What could…. Nevermind I’ll find her right away” Naruto closed his eyes, meditating for a few seconds. When he reopened them, his pupils had taken the form of a narrow slit and his eyes were highlighted by an orange hue. He scanned the village in his sage mode, trying to focus on a certain chakra signature. A few moments later, he found what he was looking for.
Then his eyes shot open, a panicked expression on his face.
He had found Hinata’s chakra signature, or rather what was left of it near the southern part of the village.
She was barely alive.
Without even looking at them, Naruto announced his findings to his friends. “She’s near the southern gate, building four on Akira close. Hinata is…”
His form was suddenly engulfed in a orange glow as he entered his bijuu mode and he took of in a flash, practically disappearing from his teammate’s presence towards Hinata’s fading essence.
Mikasa stood over the motionless young woman on the floor, sneering at her. Her wounds had vanished and her skin faded back to normal as she squatted next to Hinata.
“You…you really are special” Mikasa said with a laugh. “I’ve never seen someone practically beat themselves to death before but wow, your name precedes you, Hyuuga failure. You’re a stupid one”
Hinata tried to say something but her words came out in incoherent mumbles.
“You….stop…..”
Mikasa stood upright and rolled Hinata on her back with her foot. “What’s that? I can’t hear you” she reached for her knife and allowed it to hover over Hinata’s cheek. Hinata winced in pain as the tip of the knife scraped her cheek, drawing blood. Mikasa raised the bloodied edge of the knife to her tongue and her skin regained it’s dark hue and white markings.
“When I consume the blood of those that need salvation, I can retrieve their souls using my own body as a medium”. Mikasa dragged the knife’s edge along her arm, and blood began to flow from a fresh wound that appeared in the same spot on Hinata’s own arm.
“That is my jutsu” Mikasa continued. “You brought this on yourself Hinata. I don’t permit my delivered to suffer, it irks me to see someone writhe in pain by my own hand”
Hinata struggled to speak but all that came out of her mouth was a raspy cough and a few drops of blood. Mikasa knelt before her, brandishing the knife.
“With you, well….I had to defend myself. I never fancied my chances going up against a Hyuuga but I played into it, leading you right into my trap like the clueless girl you are. You did this to yourself, attacking a prophet of god” she said haughtily. Then Mikasa leaned closer to her and whispered. “But you don’t have to suffer anymore, I will relieve you of your pain and grant you eternal life by the power of Jashin”
Hinata cursed herself for her recklessness and inability to think rationally. All she wanted was to protect the village…to protect Sakura but she let her emotions overcome her and cloud her decision-making. She wasn’t sure she was going to make it out alive, even if Mikasa dropped the knife and left the room, her injuries were too severe. She closed her good eye and allowed a single tear to roll down her cheek. Her life flashed before her eyes, all her memories coursing through her mind. She saw herself facing Pain of the Akatsuki again, then she relived the moment of her cousin Neji’s death when he jumped in the path of dangerous shrapnel for her sake while she shielded her love. Both times she listened to her heart on a whim. Both times, she had managed to cheat death.
But now…
When everything went finally dark, Hinata accepted her fate.
I’m sorry everyone, I failed…..again
Mikasa stood upright and raised her knife.
A bright orange flash suddenly lit up the room causing Mikasa to halt her action to get her mind around what just happened. She looked at the source of the orange glow and her eyes widened with surprise as she spotted none other than Naruto standing in front of her. The hero looked down at Hinata and his chakra cloak vanished.
“Hinata!” he cradled her in his hands but she didn’t respond.
Watching the couple, Mikasa couldn’t help but laugh. “Ah, the hero arrives to save his princess. But fret not, Uzumaki. Your partner will be resurrected to a life of eternity”
Naruto turned towards her with a hateful expression. His eyes had taken a red colour with a fox-like slit replacing his pupil.
“What….what did you do to Hinata?” he carefully placed his girlfriend’s motionless body on the ground and faced Mikasa. In his hand, what looked like a rasengan began to form. Mikasa smiled a devilish grin and spread her arms apart invitingly.
“Naruto! Don’t attack her you will only hurt Hinata!” a voice belonging to Shikamaru called out to his friend before he could attack Mikasa. He barged into the attic and knelt on the floor.
[Shadow possession jutsu]
A thin dark line snaked it’s way towards Mikasa from Shikamaru’s shadow and held the woman in place, causing her knife to fall to the ground. Entering the room, Tenten decided to act, summoning a lasso and wrapping it around Mikasa’s waist to yank her out of the room and off the blood markings. Mikasa was sent flying out of the attic and landed at the bottom of the staircase. She got up and scurried for the front door which was blown off it’s hinges. As soon as she ran outside, she came face to face with Sakura
sh*t
“Shanaroo!” Sakura sent a fierce punch to her jaw, sending her flying back into the house. She crashed into the wall and slid to the ground, knocked out cold. Tenten soon arrived to bind and restrain the killer.
Up in the attic, Naruto desperately tried to find a sign of consciousness in Hinata to no avail.
“Sakura!” he screamed for his friend who dashed into the room and immediately went to action.
“Is she okay?” Naruto asked the medic nin in a panicked voice. Sakura ignored him and continued healing Hinata, fighting back her own tears that had started to gather in her eyes at the lack of response from Hinata’s unconscious body.
Shikamaru took his head in his hands and sank to the floor. “This is my fault”
Naruto immediately dragged him to his feet by the collar and yelled at him. “Why did you send her on that mission alone! Wasn’t the rule to move in pairs?!”
“I….. I’m sorry” was all Shikamaru could say as he shifted his gaze to the floor
Kiba tried to calm Naruto down. “Naruto, please let’s not hurt each oth-“
“Get off me!” Naruto barked at him, shoving Shikamaru against the wall and making his way back to Sakura. He saw that Hinata’s wounds had healed and felt a rush of expectation.
“Sakura?” he called to his former teammate, eagerly waiting for a response.
Sakura lifted her gaze to meet his, and her teary expression said it all. She shook her head.
“No”
Naruto felt his heart sink into a bottomless pit of despair. His knees gave way and he collapsed to the floor on them, next to Hinata’s lifeless body. He clenched his fist struggling to hold back the tears that soaked the wooden floor underneath him. His mind went back to their last conversation a few hours prior. How silly he felt when he almost panicked when he found out Hinata was on a secret mission. His mind raced with memories they had created together: Hinata standing by his side as the allied shinobi force faced down the juubi, their first date at Ichiraku, their first kiss on top of the great stone faces monument, her face drenched in the moonlight as held her close to him the first night they spent together in his apartment and the words she spoke to him the last time he saw her at the restaurant…..
I love you
Sakura had switched from healing to perform CPR on her friend. “1,2,3…” she mumbled to her self as she perfectly executed all the steps, but deep down she knew it was pointless. Still, she persisted.
I can’t lose you too
She pinched Hinata’s nose and breathed into her mouth, then returned to repeatedly pressing down on her chest, her dripping tears soaking the front of the green sweater Hinata had on.
Overtime everything seemed like a blur to Naruto, Sakura’s frantic efforts to revive her friend, Shikamaru slumped on the floor with his face covered with his hands, Kiba trying his best to console a sobbing Tenten…he didn’t register it anymore. All that went through his mind was how different it could’ve been if only he arrived sooner….
