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Always and Forever Chap8

Deviation Actions

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        Hinata took a step back. She hadn’t anticipated this. She drew another kunai to try and defend herself.
        Kabuto also produced a kunai that glinted cruelly in the moonlight. That might just end up in your gut, a small voice in her head interjected. Hinata shook it off.
        I’ve changed. I can do this, she reminded herself.
        “I’m afraid that you won’t be seeing the real Naruto-kun for quite a while. At least, not where you’re going.” Kabuto let that hang.
        Hinata felt her knees start to tremble. She didn’t want to die. Not yet, not with so much awaiting her and Naruto-kun in the future. She took a deep breath. She had to believe in herself and her abilities, or she was a goner for sure. Time to let her attacker know that he had picked on the wrong gennin.
        Hinata squared her shoulders, and glared at Kabuto. “Don’t worry. I’m sure that you’ll be going there much sooner than I am.”
        Kabuto chuckled, and pushed up on the bridge of his gleaming glasses. “Don’t be so sure. Orochimaru-sama requested a pair of Hyuuga eyes to study and perhaps help evolve Sasuke-kun’s abilities,” Kabuto said. “And you certainly can’t be alive when we dissect you to obtain information about your family’s unique abilities.”
        “My Byakugan!” Hinata whispered. She shook off the impending chill that threatened to freeze her to the ground. Kabuto intended to kill her and hand her body over to Orochimaru so that he could analyze her kekkei genkai – the Hyuuga Byakugan – and maybe find some way to enhance Sasuke-kun’s Sharingan. And since the Hyuuga and Uchiha lines were connected in the distant past, Orochimaru might actually succeed in unearthing a valuable piece of information, thus helping Sasuke – and ultimately Orochimaru himself.
        Now this no longer concerns only me. If I fight him and fail, it’s not only my own life that hangs in the balance. I must protect my life in order to save the future lives of others, Hinata thought. She frowned and tightened her hold on the kunai.
        The best thing to do would be to retreat. What did Naruto-kun say earlier? Kabuto was Orochimaru’s subordinate? Orochimaru wouldn’t let just any shinobi train under him. Kabuto must have some sort of hidden ability. Even with all of my improvements, I still can’t fight him alone.
        It’s not that I’m too weak or too much of a coward to fight him. And it’s that not that I don’t believe in myself.
        It’s that I’m not too arrogant or stupid to notice that I’m in no condition to fight a shinobi of his stature. I’m not running away because I’m a coward. It’s because I’m smart
, Hinata nodded to herself. She wasn’t trying to delude herself. It was a harsh reality that she couldn’t fight Kabuto with such high stakes.
        Besides, what did Kurenai-sensei used to say? A shinobi needs not only to be strong, but also to be wise. I can show my strength by outsmarting him. I don’t need to fight.
        A shinobi needs not only to be fearless, but also know how to pick his – or her fights.
        And this will not be one of mine.

        “Any final words?” Kabuto straightened his glasses once more.
        Hinata straightened her shoulders. “Just one.”
        Suddenly, Hinata hurled the kunai at Kabuto. “Catch!”
        Kabuto easily dodged the weapon. “As expected of a lowly gen –”
        An explosion of black smoke erupted from the ground. Smoke pellet, Kabuto thought. More stupid gennin tricks. What an obvious diversion.
        “Jyuuken!” Hinata burst out of the smoke, palm aimed directly for Kabuto’s chest.
        Kabuto side-stepped her easily. Hinata struck out at him again, palm open. Kabuto could see a faint wisp of chakra trailing after her hand. Hinata made a forcible contact with his stomach and grinned.
        But suddenly a puff of gray smoke surrounded Hinata completely, and a rotten log replaced Kabuto.
        Hinata reappeared on the far side of the path.
        The attack was so fast, Hinata seemed not to sense it, even with her Byakugan.
Kabuto swooped down on her from above, and in two fluid motions, he cut across her windpipe and her chest with kunai in both hands.
        Definitely fatal, Kabuto sneered. Hinata didn’t even have time to touch the ground. Immediately landing on the dirt path, Kabuto kicked out sideways at Hinata’s falling form.
        Hinata flew backwards from the impact, and Kabuto thought that he saw a plume of gray obscure her from view. But then again, the dim moonlight and dark smoke had reduced visibility to a near impossibility.
        But Hinata quickly reappeared and bounced twice across the dirt path before colliding with a tree on the side of the road. Again, Kabuto almost swore that he saw a streak of gray intermingled with the dissolving black pellet smoke. But once again, the gray vanished. Kabuto shook his head. When he got back to the Sound base, he would have to check his glasses for scratches.
        Hinata lay against the tree; her head slumped onto her chest. Kabuto could make out the slice in her hoodie where he had cut her. A telltale puddle of blood was forming in her lap, dripping from the cut across her throat. He smirked sadistically.
Kabuto walked up to Hinata’s fallen form as the last of the smoke from the pellet dissipated. Hinata didn’t move.
        “Poor Naruto-kun. He probably never got to say good-bye,” Kabuto murmured mockingly. He drew another kunai, and prepared to deliver the deathblow. Between the tree and Hinata’s bowed head, a patch of pale skin on her neck glowed faintly in the moonlight. Kabuto gripped the kunai tighter and set his aim for the base of her neck.
With a grunt, Kabuto drove the kunai downward and watched as the tip entered the back of Hinata’s neck – and kept going.
        Suddenly, Kabuto’s kunai sliced through air as Hinata vanished in a puff of gray.
        Kabuto took a step back. “A bunshin!”

        Hinata transferred more chakra to her feet, and she fled along the pathway. The faster I get away and back to the village, the better, she thought. Suddenly, she felt the chakra ties with her last bunshin snap.
        Oh no. He finished off all four already? Hinata thought as she dashed down the pathway back to the village. He’ll realize now that they were all just regular bunshin, and I simply sent them in one at a time to look like it was a simple attack instead of a diversion. And now – Hinata felt her blood freeze. Now, he’ll come after me.
        She transferred as much chakra to her feet as she dared, and continued down the path. Hinata had to choose between saving chakra for a possible battle with Kabuto, or expending it to speed her retreat. If she used chakra to run away, there was a less chance of her having to battle Kabuto. Then again he might have caught up to her no matter what, so using chakra to run away was pointless.
        Hinata grimaced. In either scenario, she was in no condition to fight Kabuto. But at least if she was closer to the village, there was a better chance of someone coming to her aid more quickly. She shook off the fear settling in the pit of her stomach, and continued to run.
        How much longer until I reach the village? I couldn’t have ran that far aw –
        Suddenly, a scattering of shuriken whirled through the air, aimed for her chest. Hinata leapt away an instant before they tore open her body. She skidded to a stop across the dirt pathway, raising a trail of dust from her feet. She straightened and faced Kabuto who materialized, blocking her path back to the village.
         “I must compliment you on your evasion and your well-planned distraction,” said Kabuto, shaking his head pityingly. “But in a moment, “ he formed an intricate set of hand seals, “it’s not going to matter.”
        Hinata relaxed her tense muscles and gathered the correct amount of chakra. “Say what you want. This time, I’m not going to go without a fight. And that’s a promise.” She struck her hands together to form a seal. “Byakugan!”
        Through her Byakugan, Hinata could see Kabuto’s hands begin glowing blue with concentrated chakra. Hinata noticed that he concentrated his chakra into a sharp edge, almost like a knife, but much more deadly. It was the same kind of chakra that he had used to damage her before when she had come to defend Naruto-kun. And as before, she noted it as the same jutsu that Tsunade-sama used while performing operations. So this jutsu formed chakra into a sort of medical knife –a scalpel.
        With a shout, Kabuto rushed her.
        Hinata put up her hands in perfect Jyuuken form to defend herself.
        Kabuto slashed sideways across her body with the chakra scalpel. Hinata barely dodged the attack and leapt sideways. Kabuto followed up his attack with his other hand.
        Hinata leapt away again, once more scarcely evading his attacks.
        Kabuto sliced at her again, aiming for her neck. Hinata ducked under his hand, and blocked his other hand aimed for her gut. She pushed off of him, and flipped backwards, landing a few yards away.
        Kabuto scowled at her, and she once more set her Jyuuken stance, one palm facing him for deflecting attacks and her other hand at her side waiting for a chance to counterattack. Hinata almost grinned. Those intense practice sessions with Neji were finally paying off.
        Kabuto noted her raised spirits and shook his head. “Don’t think that this is the limit of my abilities. I have more strength than you could ever imagine.”
        He sprinted towards her, and swiped at her once more with his chakra scalpel. But his blocking hand was too slow.
        Hinata saw the opening and took it. “Jyuuken!”
        She smashed her palm against Kabuto’s side. Upon contact, time seemed to freeze.
        Hinata drove her chakra into Kabuto’s system, focusing her Byakugan to direct her chakra. But then she felt a pressure on her own stomach. She shifted to another layer of Byakugan, and to her horror found Kabuto’s glowing blue hand pushing against her abdomen.
        Time came crashing back and a pulse of blue chakra sent her flying backwards. Hinata crashed into a tree a few yards away.
        Hinata tried to shake the impending black dots from her vision, but her head wouldn’t move. Instead, her right foot batted back and forth. Through her Byakugan, Hinata could see that her chakra pathway was disrupted and a new electrical current sparked across her nerves every time she tried to move a different body part.
        Hinata heard Kabuto approach.
        “Do you like that jutsu? I looked it up after your Hokage immobilized me with it. It disrupts the neurological messages to your brain. Every time you try to move one of your body parts, a completely different one will respond.”
        Hinata could almost hear the smirk evident in Kabuto’s voice.
        Kabuto continued, “You were too confident. I let you see an opening in my defenses, and I knew that you’d take the opportunity to try and attack me. But I had this jutsu prepared for you. You’re too confident in your own abilities – or should I say lack of abilities.”
        Hinata wasn’t listening. She tried tipping her right foot up, and noted that she was able to raise her head. While Kabuto continued to rant about her lack of capabilities, Hinata moved each of her body parts in turn.
        Alright, now I understand the right side of my body. So my left foot moves my right forearm. And vice versa…
        Suddenly, Hinata heard the sharp ring of metal as Kabuto wound down and he drew a kunai. “And your incompetence on the battlefield led to your downfall. And now, you will die.” Kabuto raised the kunai once more over Hinata’s fallen form.
        Hinata watched its descent and at the last moment, tried kicking out with her left foot, causing her right forearm to push off the ground and roll her over. Hinata heard the kunai strike the tree bark behind her head.
        “Hold still. There’s no use in trying to delay the inevitable. You should just give up,” Kabuto snarled.
        Hinata twitched her right foot upwards to tilt her head back and glare at Kabuto. With painstaking care, she moved each corresponding body part to move her lips and speak. “I-I said that I’m not going to go w-without a fight, and I will never t-take back my words. That’s my Nindo.”
        “Good for you, Hinata-chan! You’re sticking to your Nindo like you’re supposed to.” A loud voice resounded from across the road. Hinata didn’t have to tip her right foot any farther. She would know that voice anywhere.
        “Naruto-kun!” Hinata yelped.
        The orange-clad ninja stood in the middle of the road with his fists poised dramatically on his hips. “The hero always enters late, ne? Hinata-chan?”
        “Well, this time, you’re too late, Naruto-kun,” mocked Kabuto. He quickly adjusted his grip on the kunai, and plunged it downwards. Hinata’s eyes widened. She could tell that even if she tried rolling out of the way again, she would still be impaled. Either way – whether she tried to fight or not – she would die.
        Suddenly, another Naruto leapt from above in the tree, tackling Kabuto before his kunai could graze Hinata’s skin. Kabuto toppled over, but slashed at Naruto with the kunai.
        Naruto disappeared in a plume of gray.
        Kabuto scowled. “More bunshin? How irritating.”
        Several more Narutos fanned out and surrounded Kabuto. “Yeah, but they’re kage bunshin, now,” they echoed.
        Through her Byakugan, Hinata could see that each bunshin had its own chakra system. It’s really Naruto-kun this time! she thought, her heart skipping a beat.
        Kabuto drew another kunai, and crouched lower. “We’ve been through this before, Naruto-kun. You cannot defeat me.”
        “That’s what everyone says,” the kage bunshin drew kunai also.
        “Then I will be the one to prove it,” Kabuto sneered. The kage bunshin closed in with collective shout.
        Hinata watched as Kabuto stabbed and slashed his way through two Naruto clones that disappeared in twin clouds of gray.
        Suddenly a hand clasped firmly over her mouth. Hinata started to struggle, but a low voice murmured in her ear, “Hinata, it’s the real me. C’mon. We have to get you outta here. Can you walk?”
        Hinata wagged her foot back and forth to shake her head no, and the hand was removed. Naruto’s strong arms cradled her body gently as he picked her up and leapt away through the woods towards the village.


        “N-Naruto-kun p-please put m-me down,” Hinata tugged at Naruto’s jacket, this time without having to move her pinkie toe instead of her actual hand. Her stutter was more pronounced than before, but she could move her lips more easily to speak now. Kabuto’s jutsu seemed to be wearing off.
        Naruto nodded and leapt down from the tree branch to the ground. Tenderly, he placed Hinata on her own two feet, catching her when she stumbled slightly.
        Hinata blushed, despite their circumstance. “Th-thank you, Naruto-kun for saving me.”
        Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. “No problem, Hinata. But before you finish thanking me, maybe we should get back to the village first. There’s still a chance that Kabuto can catch us.”
        Hinata nodded. “Let’s go then. We can’t be too far away.” She took a step forward and flinched as her bare feet met sharp sticks and stones.
        “Alright. Let’s go,” said Naruto as he sprinted forward. Hinata sucked in a breath and ran after him. Naruto knew that they’d never make it back to the village if they wasted their chakra running. They had to keep a reserve of chakra in case Kabuto had managed to defeat all the kage bunshin and came after them.
        “C’mon Hinata. I thought I saw the bathhouse through the woods over there,” Naruto pointed as he ran. He ducked to avoid running into a branch.
        Suddenly, a kunai whirred through the air and buried itself in the tree behind where Naruto’s head would have been if he hadn’t ducked. Naruto leapt away and back, glancing about him wildly for Kabuto.
        Hinata ran up to Naruto. He nodded to her. She formed the appropriate seal. “Byakugan!”
        Before she could focus through the layers to search for Kabuto, she saw a kunai whining directly for her and Naruto. “Naruto-kun! Look out!” Hinata pushed Naruto out of the way, and tried to leap out of the kunai’s trajectory. But she couldn’t move fast enough. The kunai skimmed her upper arm, ripping through her sweater and drawing blood.
        “Hinata!” Naruto was beside her in a moment. “Are you ok?”
        She grimaced and clutched her arm. Her fingers began turning red as blood seeped through her jacket. Naruto quickly tore a thin strip of fabirc off the hem of his jacket and wrapped it tightly around Hinata’s arm.
        “Thank you, Naruto-kun.”
        “Don’t thank me yet. We still have to get rid of him,” Naruto shifted his gaze through the trees overhead. He turned in a full circle. “Kabuto, you coward! Come out and fight!”
        “Gladly,” suddenly, Kabuto materialized in front of the two genin. His glasses glinted wickedly, reflecting what little light the forest had to offer. “Unlike your Hyuuga friend, here, I prefer to face my enemy head on. Not dapple in useless tricks and amateur jutsus.”
        Naruto’s brow darkened. “You bastard. Don’t you dare say anything about Hinata. She could whip your ass before you could even blink. Don’t underestimate her,” Naruto growled between clenched teeth.
        Hinata’s eyes widened. Naruto-kun really believes in me. He thinks that I could take on Kabuto and win. He has faith in me. He doesn’t think that I’m weak and useless. Thank you, Naruto-kun.
        Kabuto’s harsh voice broke through her thoughts. “Well if she could have beat me before, why hasn’t she yet?” he taunted.
        A shadow passed over Naruto’s face. “Hinata,” he growled. “Go hide. I’m going to make this bastard pay for what he did to you.”
        Hinata hesitated slightly before nodding. Naruto’s gaze didn’t faze from Kabuto. Hinata stumbled to her feet and began to back away. She hesitated again.
        Abruptly she changed direction and ran to stand next to Naruto.
        “Hinata! Go hide!”
        “Naruto-kun. I’m sick of hiding. Remember, you told me to never be afraid. And to never run away,” Hinata raised her hands, ready for Jyuken, and not wincing when she moved her injured arm.
        Naruto leaned down quickly, and Hinata felt his lips brush against her cheek. “Very good, Hinata. I never expected any less from you.”
        “How touching,” sneered Kabuto. “Maybe you two will finally be able to be together in the next life.” His hands began forming a series of hand seals.
        Hinata activated her Byakugan. Kabuto’s chakra system appeared. He had somehow healed the chakra points that she had blocked earlier. Hinata frowned. The only way that she would be able to bring him down would be to stop all of his chakra points at once. Good thing that Neji-nii-san had finally taught–
        “Die!” shouted Kabuto as he leapt forward, slashing with his chakra-scalpel hands. Naruto and Hinata jumped away.
        “Look out, Naruto-kun. He uses his chakra like a knife,” warned Hinata. She dodged another blow from Kabuto. Naruto nodded.
        “I know. I’ve fought him before.”
        “But, Naruto-kun, you didn’t know that I had this jutsu,” Kabuto performed another string of seals. He leapt at Hinata. Hinata recognized it as the same formation of chakra as before when he had interfered with her body functions.
        She dodged away, ducking, then gliding to the right, then left. Kabuto followed her movements with uncanny precision. Suddenly, he found a weakness in her defenses, and thrust forwards, aiming for her chest. Hinata tried to back up, but tripped over a tree root.
        She reeled backwards, and Kabuto’s hand passed over her head.
        Kabuto raised his hand again to perform a finishing strike, but suddenly, a blur of orange and black knocked him over.
        Naruto pushed off Kabuto’s body and flipped through the air, landing in a crouch. Kabuto didn’t fall, but performed a back handspring, landing on his feet.
        Naruto began to stand up. “Stop picking on Hinata, you –” suddenly, Naruto toppled over, and lay helplessly splayed on the ground.
        Kabuto pushed on the bridge of his glasses. “Looks like you came in contact with my hands after all. That’s the jutsu that your Tsunade-sama used on me in our last fight. Quite the annoyance, but it also comes in handy. Like now. Your brain won’t respond accordingly to your body functions.”
        Kabuto turned back to Hinata. She glared back at him. “How dare you use that on Naruto-kun!”
        “Don’t worry my dear little Hyuuga,” Kabuto smirked at her distress. “you’re next.”
Do you guys get what happened in the first fight?
Hinata created four regular bunshin, and she set off a smoke pellet to hide the fact that there were four Hinatas instead of one.

Every time during the first fight that Hinata comes into contact with an object, she disappears in gray smoke, and another bunshin takes her place.

I hope I didn't make Hinata seem too fickle in her reasons to first retreat, then stay and fight with Naruto.

And I hope and pray that this makes sense.

And I hope and pray that nobody hurts me because I said that this would be the last chapter, but it obviously isn't xP

Oh dear.

But would you guys have rather waited another two days for me to finish the rest of this already incredibly long chapter, or have this chapter now and another later?

I honestly had no idea that the fight scenes would take this long... or this much effort xP

Sorry if they suck. I'm not really great at writing fight scenes... *wince*

Well, hope you like it.
Look forward to another two (overestimation going on here) or maybe even one last chapter :D

Soon?

Hopefully.

*edit* Yeah right xP

[First (Chapter 1)]

[Previous (Chapter 7)]

[Next (Chapter 9)]

[Final (Chapter 10)]
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