- Location
- USA
Oh wow, I really hope Naruto or Sasuke show up sometime soon. Or a Kage level fighter. This situation, while epic, ended horribly.
I hope Nanika or someone can fix Team 8.
I hope Nanika or someone can fix Team 8.
Myrmidon (Naruto/Hunter x Hunter)
- Thread starter Ser_Serendipity
- Start date
- Crossover
-
- Tags
- hunter x hunter naruto
KickInator
Verified Doomsday Device, SuperVella
- Location
- India
Well even if Meruem got chakra, where is he going to find the techniques needed to mold it. He might be able to use it for enhancement only. It's not like he can learn and create new techniques out of gut instinct on....... Oh yeah. He totally could.
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
They're shinobi: they'll bounce back. And Shino and Hinata got damn close. If it weren't for Terpsichora surprising them, Pitou would have been dead as a doornail.
Hah, thanks. I had a lot of fun playing expectations there.
I should clarify, it was the Squadron Leader Zazan that killed Hinata's clone, not Meruem. If I thought people would assume the latter, I would have gone into more detail.
Everything else though... pretty spot on, unfortunately.
- Location
- Underground
It's a failure for the Ants too. The whole point of this deception was to kill the Watcher. They failed to do so.
They got a nice arm out of it, which means the King will have chakra, but they still didn't get their target.
Neferpitou must be pissed.
Last edited:
At this point they're still the bad guys though, so as readers our sympathy for them is somewhere in the negative bajillions.
The Chimera Ant arc's most impressive trick has always been how the roles of heroes and villains subtly (and not so subtly) reversed as the arc came to a climax, erasing the distinction between them. Really interested in seeing how that plays out here - if it plays out at all!
Chapter 12
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
Chapter 12
Shino was sure he had never been in this much pain.
In many ways, he'd led a blessed life for a shinobi. He'd never suffered worse than a broken bone; the battles he'd lost had left him exhausted and beaten, but whole of body and unconquered in spirit. He was all too aware that many of his comrades didn't share the same fortune, and every day, he gave thanks for that in his own quiet way.
That fortune, it seemed, had finally come to an end. His whole body was numb; Hinata's crying face, splattered with thick red, blue, and black blood, was firmly imprinted in his mind's eye. She'd kept him from passing out with a painful shock of that cold chakra that hid deep inside her; it had probably kept him alive, now that he thought about it. Falling unconscious in such a condition could be fatal.
Falling… he'd fallen. Lost his balance. Was that what had happened?
Where was he? Lying down, somewhere, in a plain of white. His heart jumped. Had he died after all? The Royal Guard hadn't hit him that hard, had it? He was sure he remembered it retreating. There was a bright light shining directly in his face. Shino tried to raise his hand to block out the piercing light, but nothing happened. He felt his limb move, but nothing appeared to save him from the light. He couldn't understand. Wasn't his hand right there?
A familiar face slipped into view above him, obscuring the light. Matted white hair, a wide nose that had been broken many times, small opaque glasses.
Morel. One of the Hunters. Not a teammate, but an ally. Shino relaxed, dropping the hand that he couldn't see, which couldn't block out the light. Where was his team?
He dimly wondered where he was within Knov's hatsu. The dimensional space. The light fit. Or was it just a place that looked like it. He could smell fresh air. The space never smelled like that. Was this simply a hospital? Morel looked pained. Was he that bad to look at?
"Shino?" The man sounded like he was underwater. Or Shino was underwater. Inside him, insects rustled at the noise; the sound almost drowned the man's voice. "Can you hear me?"
Shino tried to nod. His neck didn't respond. He tried to speak: his lips were frozen. All that emerged was a faint gasp.
Morel nodded. "You were pretty badly injured by the Guard. Don't try to speak." He looked up at someone else. "I'm going to give you some painkillers. It should help."
Painkillers? Why would he need painkillers? He wasn't in pain.
Wait.
Shino frowned.
The agony across his body was so omnipresent that for a second he'd stopped recognizing it as pain. That couldn't be a good sign. Four fractured ribs, a twisted ankle, all of his limbs screaming. All of them? That didn't seem right.
He did his best to tell the insects inside him that whatever Morel would be injecting into him was safe, that it didn't need to be purged. He wasn't sure they understood completely: his inner hive was furious, buzzing with increasing intensity. He was sure the sound could be heard outside his body. The Kikaichu had taken horrible casualties, and their home had been savaged. It was an incredible mental effort for Shino, weakened as he was, just to keep them from attacking Morel.
Like they'd attacked…
Shino sucked in a breath, the feeling deep and blessedly calming.
"Morel," he asked, "where's Hinata?"
The man looked up at him, a mixed expression on his face: a frown, a smile, some pity carried in both. "She's alright. A little cut up, but she'll be fine." The look shifted more towards a frown. "She said you saved her."
Had he? That was right. He'd pushed her aside. Hadn't even thought about it. It was the natural thing to do, even in the face of that Ant's inhuman killing intent. She had children, and he didn't. One of them couldn't afford to not return.
"Good," he grunted. Talking hurt too. "Kiba?"
"Relax," Morel said, shuffling over. There was a syrette in his hand, sloshing with clear yellow liquid. Shino had never liked needles, and his insects reacted before he could calm them, chittering with renewed anger. He shut them down with a jab of his will, but Morel had clearly noticed the noise. It was obviously unsettling.
The man approached more slowly than before. "He's pretty banged up, but nothing too serious." Raised the needle. "Now hold still. This should help you out a little."
Shino did his best to shut his insects up, to make them understand that he was receiving medicine, not poison. In times like this, it could be challenging to combat their instincts, no matter how linked they were. He only had a few surgical bugs, especially after the fight with the Guard, but if wasn't careful they'd inhibit the painkillers.
The needle slid into the bicep of his right arm. It was cold, as was the liquid inside it.
"How long?" Shino asked. Morel understood what he was asking.
"It's pretty strong: should be less than a minute," Morel said. "I won't lie, this is some powerful stuff. You might feel a little odd."
"I'll be… fine…" Shino said, the pain in his arm momentarily doubling.
It had been over a minute since he'd woken up, and he still couldn't figure out how he was feeling pain from an arm that was no longer there.
"Where's my leg?" he asked, and Morel blinked.
"The Ant…" he started to say. Shino managed to shake his head.
"I know. It's gone. Where is it?" Don't think about it.
"We retrieved it. I'm not sure where it is right now though. Your comrades probably have it." Morel cocked his head. "Why?"
"I need it back." Shino's head was swimming. He couldn't focus his eyes. His visor had been removed. He realized this was probably the first time Morel had ever seen his eyes. "My arm?"
Morel shook his head. "The Ant took it. I'm sorry."
Shino sighed. Morel's words jogged his memory. His arm was gone, and he couldn't detect the insects that had hidden themselves inside it, a hopefully lethal trap. They must have been destroyed. It could have been worse. At least he had his leg to work with.
"If you're trying to patch me, don't do anything to my leg," he warned. "I need it. Where's Hinata?"
Morel looked confused. "If you say so. She and Kiba are in another room. Don't worry, they're fine."
"Where's my leg?"
Morel's face drooped, his glasses swelling. "With them. We can go get it in a bit."
"Okay." Shino lay back, scratching his nose with his right hand. "That's okay."
He fell asleep, without his consciousness falling away. He was still in the bright room. Morel was gone. His pipe was still there, though. No, he hadn't had it in the first place. But where Morel once stood, his pipe was propped, glasses fixed crookedly on the head. Shino giggled.
"Something funny?" the pipe asked, and Shino's giggle intensified.
"I need my leg," he laughed. "I have to put it back on." The room swirled, brown and grey and green and black commingling in his vision.
"Oh? How are you going to manage that."
It was probably the first time he'd been had asked such an outright question since leaving home. "Question." Had he said that out 'loud?'
With my insects, obviously. The pipe sure was stupid if it couldn't figure that out. Shino laughed again. Then again, you are a pipe, you don't even have a brain. Of course you're stupid. It's really not your own fault. I shouldn't be so judgemental. I'm sometimes afraid I scare my students. Since they can't see my eyes, they can't know what I'm thinking. That can be frightening, especially to a child.
Poor Himawari, waking up one morning to find that her mother had been replaced by a stranger. Himawari? Hinata's daughter, of course. That was obvious. She'd been so shocked by the lunar chakra, she hadn't stopped screaming all day. He was glad that he didn't have kids, really. Teaching them was easy, raising them was impossibly difficult. Shino had never thought he would end up a teacher, but it had become as natural to him as breathing, he'd inevitably ended up in that position like someone sucked into a vacuum, not so much moving as being moved by the needs of the village. It didn't bother him; passing on the Will of Fire was an excellent honor, and Shino enjoyed his job.
The Will of Fire, where are you really from, Shino? The Village Hidden in the Leaves, of course. Without that, he'd be nothing. His whole life, only after coming heer has the absurdity of it hit him, he'd been inside the system of villages, inundated by the Will of Fire, his entire life. Even if it were incorrect or even evil, he'd never know. Where was that? In the middle of the Five Nations, a position that held both a lot of advantages and disadvantages. At the center of every war, every conflict, but with enough resources and people to weather them. So much death, it boggled the mind to consider himself the inheritor of so much suffering. It certainly seemed crazy to have nearly a century defined by conflict on that one continent, but that's what had happened. He didn't know much about the history of this land, but the conflict between the two Gorteau's had reminded him of it, though Gorteau had never resolved the debt of blood as they had. Where were the Five Nations? Shino laughed again. Well, that was a very stupid question. Was it place without victory? He supposed it had been, but they'd won, they'd won, they'd won the war, destroyed the system, established the Union, created a peace that Shino's ancestors could never have dreamed of. An impossible dream, but they'd achieved it anyway, wasn't that incredible. Where were the Five Nations, he didn't really know himself now that he thought about it. Somewhere else, far from here, across space and time, in another world, another place, completely different from here. Plenty of giant bugs there, though. Shino supposed they weren't that different after all. No Hunters though. Just lots of shinobi. It bothered Shino sometimes how very many shinobi there were, with nothing to fight, the only battle one of definition and reconstruction, much more complicated than the breaking that had preceded them. He didn't fear Naruto at all, there wasn't a single atom in his body that feared the Hokage no, he loved the man like a brother, he was eternally grateful to him for having saved the village, what, two, three times, let alone his efforts in the Fourth War, but the Hokage was terrifying, the idea that if he wanted to he could surely kill everyone, on shameful nights it kept Shino away from his bed as he pondered how the new paradigm was just as fragile as the last one, he was still just as much a weapon as a person in some ways despite his warm smile and true heart their legacy seemed destined to be built on the power of human sacrifice no matter what.
The pipe was shuddering. It looked cold. Are you cold? Let me help. Shino's insects sluggishly responded to his altruism, slipping out of his body in gradual great waves and covering the pipe. It stopped shivering, and Shino smiled. There, not cold anymore, are you? Snug as a bug. He laughed again. People didn't like being covered in insects generally, but the pipe didn't even have a brain, so it probably was just grateful for being kept warm. Kikaichu were pretty warm, compared to their peers especially. What, destruction bugs? Of course he grew them in his own body, where else would he? It would take a while to replenish his hive after the losses he'd incurred against the Royal Guard, but with enough food he'd be able to manage it easily. He was lucky to have such willing allies, always grateful for how much they were willing to do for him. Without them, he never would have survived as long as he had. The Guard would have killed him instead of just maiming him. Though it wasn't that bad. At least he could get his leg back. The thing had stolen his arm. What a bitch. It did kinda look like a woman, didn't it. Despite it's inhumanity, there had been something feminine about his face, the shape of its body. Technically Chimera Ants didn't have a gender, or identify as one sex or another, but that didn't mean they were beyond it necessarily, especially after having taken so much humanity in, that nest stuffed with blood and bones, the line between human and ants could be becoming uncomfortably thin, 'why do you have a name'-
Was he human? Of course he was. That was perhaps the stupidest floating sentence of them all. Just because he had chakra, didn't mean he wasn't human. He was just as human as any of his fellows, or the Hunters, regardless of how many insects were inside his body. Shino had never doubted that, though he knew some other people from Konohagakure inevitably did. The Aburame had always intimidated people. But if an entire clan of people with eyes like the Byakugan or the Sharingan could be called human without compunction, why not those filled with insects? He was so thirsty. One part honey, one part caramel, some tea would help soothe his throat for sure. Green, ocha~ it was his favorite color after all.
An entire clan, of course there was an entire clan of people like Hinata. She was the mightiest among them, no doubt, Shino was so proud of her for having overcome her fear, insecurity, to become the most powerful Hyuuga in the clan. It was beyond his best hopes. No more Sharingan though. Imagine if Hinata had ended up like Sasuke, he just couldn't picture it. Shino giggled again. Vengeance, in a squeaky tone, eyes tucked away. Nope, impossible. He was so tired. Especially for already being asleep. That was just making him more tired, these damn Ants putting him in this state maybe it was time to forget the consequences and simply contact naruto shinobi weren't supposed to do that except in the cases of a most dire emergency and surely that was one of these cases east gorteau could be overrun if they weren't careful naruto would have been able to settle this on the first day wipe out the nest without effort who cared about getting a sample of the queen he'd already paid for that ambition with an arm at this point was it really worth continuing the struggle might best end it in a flash of light
Without compunction, Shino passed out.
###
Hinata peeled the bandage off her forearm, the long strip of gauze coming away sticky with crusty dried blood. The slice that ran horizontally along almost the entire length of her arm was the consequence of her parrying the Royal Guard's thirty-seventh attack; all things considered, she'd gotten off lightly, especially considering the intent of the strike. The wound was one of the shallowest she'd sustained, but for some reason it irritated her the most.
She was going to have at least four new scars after the encounter. Small, but visible. That was far more than she could say for Shino.
Guilt, hot and rancid, surged up from her gut and she did her best to suppress it, glancing over at Mari. She, the Representative, and Kiba were all sequestered in a hospital somewhere in the Republic of Rokario, near the border of the NGL. They'd come there from one of Knov's dimensional apartments, filled with cots and medical supplies. Technically, the room was Kiba's. He'd been checked in with incredible speed, likely thanks to the Hunter's Association. The Inuzuka was asleep on one of the beds; Hinata had taped an ice pack to his nose and set his arm in a splint before setting about seeing to herself, long before they'd arrived at the hospital. Making sure her teammate's sense of smell went undamaged was paramount.
It had been nearly five hours since the assault had ended, and Mari hadn't said anything that whole time. Not since she'd seen Shino taken away by Morel and Knov, escorted to the building they were now sitting in. Hinata wondered if she should have gone with him, but after a moment, brushed the thought off. She trusted the Hunters, and staying behind to see to Kiba had been the right thing to do.
She didn't acknowledge to herself that it had been almost too painful to see Shino with two of his limbs removed. The feeling was far worse than the pain of her fractured leg, which sat securely in a splint, or the dozens of cuts, large and small, that covered her body. That in a way, handing him off to someone else had been a relief.
"Mari?" she asked, and the younger shinobi jerked. How old was she? Early twenties? Hinata had never asked.
"Yeah?" Mari blinked. "I'm alright, Hyuuga-sama." She looked over to Hinata, her teal eyes sliding over the bandages covering her body. "What…"
"You're sure?" Hinata continued. She patted at one of the bandages on her thigh, soaking up some excess blood. She'd had more water and calorie bars than she'd cared to count. After losing so much blood, eating was more important than ever. "You said, before, that you'd never been in a large scale battle before."
Mari shook her head, brushing some of her short brown bangs away. Her lip quivered. "I'm fine."
It was obvious Mari knew Hinata knew she was lying, but the Hyuuga didn't know how to bridge the gap. The younger woman seemed ready to break down.
"You did well," Hinata said. It was the truth. "That jutsu of yours really is amazing-"
The girl from the Thunder Corp started silently crying. Her whole body shuddered.
"Sorry…" she said quietly, the words broken up. "Sorry… I really couldn't do anything."
Hinata limped over to the girl and sat down next to her, the bed creaking under them. She was sure she'd stained the sheets, but at the moment, she hardly cared.
"You killed quite a few Ants," she said, smiling. Over twenty, unless her count had been off. "You retreated without getting injured. The Union still has its Representative in Gorteau." She gently put her hand down on Mari's shaking shoulder. It stung: she'd been cut on that palm as well. "You did everything right."
"I didn't think it would be like this," Mari gasped, trying to control her tears. She wiped at her nose. "I'm not even hurt…"
She really was young. Young and inexperienced. Hinata kept up the grip on her shoulder. "It was your first battle. Trust me, it happens. Don't be concerned about it."
Mari glanced at her with desperate and shameful eyes. "Did it happen to you?"
Hinata looked away, up at the bright ceiling, to Kiba, sleeping peacefully, then back to Mari. Her other hand curled into a fist. "My first real battle… well, I suppose it was the assault on my village before the Fourth War, by the leader of the Akatsuki," she admitted. "During it, I was terrified, and afterwards…" she leaned forward, frowning. "I didn't have time to process what had happened. I didn't really have time for any of that until after the War, and that was weeks later."
Mari coughed. "Hyuuga-sama, you have to understand…" she trailed off, seemingly afraid to put her thoughts to words. "You and your team, you're heroes. You're the Hokage's wife. Seeing you all come back from this, especially Shino, so badly injured, while I don't even have a scratch on me-"
Hinata nodded as Mari sniffed, her nose clogged. "It just doesn't seem real, you know? I must have let you guys down, if someone like Shino can be hurt so bad while I'm totally fine."
The Hyuuga almost smiled. Mari made sense, but it was a childish thing to say. She leaned in, as if to tell the girl a secret, and unconsciously, Mari did the same.
"That's how this sort of thing works," she said, and the girl cocked her head. "When shinobi go into battle, they risk their lives, but everyone has their role to play. As the wife of the Hokage, I know that better than most people." She leaned back. "I'm sure your teacher told you this was how it's going to be. Since you were in the Thunder Corp, you were never going to be in direct danger unless things went terribly wrong."
Mari frowned as Hinata continued. "It sounds awful, but that's the way it is. Even with the Union established, that's how shinobi have lived for as long as my clan's been around. Until we come up with something better, it's inevitable." She smiled. "And just because you consider us heroes, doesn't mean we're any better than you." She pointed to Kiba. "Kiba and I, and Shino, we were just lucky enough to survive the War. It had nothing to do with how great we were. Over fifty-thousand people died in just two days, and we could have been among them. We were just in the right place at the right time."
Her smile softened. "And of course, without my husband, it would have been far more than that."
"I… I don't understand," Mari muttered. Hinata's smile faded.
They hadn't taken the proper precautions, and now this girl was feeling guilt that she didn't deserve.
"I'm trying to tell you not to feel guilty," she said, and Mari stiffened. "It's obvious, and you shouldn't. We made a mistake. I made a mistake: I should never have assumed my Byakugan couldn't be beaten. You're not responsible for that; it was us who came up with the plan to attack the nest, not you. Don't think that you didn't do well."
"Bullshit." Both the women's heads swivelled towards Kiba, who slowly pulled himself up, propping himself on one trembling arm. Somehow, he's woken up in time to join the conversation. Hinata's eyes narrowed. Had he been feigning sleep? "You didn't do a damn thing wrong." He looked down, at the catheter protruding from under the sheets. "Oh hell. Why'd you let them put this in?"
He was talking to her, not Mari. Hinata couldn't help but smile at her teammate's stubbornness. "You know as well as me that's not true, Kiba. I made a mistake-" a hiccup, "-and Shino paid for it."
"Don't give me that crap," Kiba groaned, trying and failing to pull himself off the bed. "Maybe once we've fucked these Ants, you can start saying stuff like that. How the hell could we have known one of them could dodge your eyes?" His beard was crusted with blue and red blood.
"It's like you said a couple days ago," Hinata pointed out. "We're not the experts on this place. Assuming the Ants couldn't develop a Hatsu to avoid my eyes was arrogant."
"The Hunters did the same damn thing, and they are experts. It was their fuckup, not yours," Kiba shot back. He was angry, clearly looking to blame someone. Hinata pursed her lips. He was right, but the arrogance that had led to the failed assault had been shared. The Hunters had asked her if anything could hide from her eyes, and she'd told them the truth. That Royal Guard had achieved the impossible, but she hadn't dared to assume that in another world, with different truths, that could be the case.
It was her fault they were in this room with these injuries. But she couldn't say that out loud. That would be even more painful, and Kiba would be angry.
"Stop swearing, please," she asked quietly, and Kiba growled.
"Shit, my ribs," he grumbled, giving up on standing up. "That last Royal Guard is way too strong."
"They all are," Hinata said. "When Shino and I were fighting that cat one, it was obvious to the both of us that it could kill either of us with a lucky hit. They're ridiculous creatures."
"Why'd you keep fighting, then?" Kiba asked. "You can't afford to die here, Hinata."
"We couldn't retreat," Hinata said, "and it was our best chance to destroy it. It didn't have any backup, that far from the nest. It was frightening, but I thought the ideal decision was to finish it off." She looked down at her leg. "I still do," she said, the image of a hundred thousand cracked open bones inside the nest overlapping over her own broken one.
"I never thought you'd say something like that," Kiba said. He looked disappointed. "You both could have died."
"We didn't," Hinata said. She almost said it out of spite. Her head was swimming. Was Kiba right? Had she become so obsessed with making the Ants pay for their crimes that she'd put herself in too much danger?
It was an incredibly disturbing thought.
Mari watched the quiet argument, her tears drying.
"You're not worried about Shino?" she asked, breaking into the momentary silence. Hinata glanced at her.
"No. I'm terribly worried," she said, her whole body shaking once, violently. She pushed down her ancestor's urges, catching sight of a bright bird flying past the room's single narrow window. "But he's not going to die. He's in good hands, and his insects will keep alive even in the worst situation." She sighed. "I hate to admit it, but I wouldn't be as nearly well off as him if the Royal Guard had managed to strike me instead."
Kiba looked her up and down, taking in the dozen of bandages and the thick splint around her leg. "It seems like it got you pretty good." Hinata shook her head.
"Just scratches. And a broken leg. I'll be fine." She closed her eyes. "Shino lost his arm. And a leg."
"Holy shit," Kiba jerked, wincing and laying one arm on his gut. "Like, gone, or…?"
"We retrieved his leg," Hinata said. "Morel came to collect it about an hour ago: he was convinced that the doctors he's got working with Shino could reattach it. But the Royal Guard took his arm. We'll have to have a synthetic one made when we return to Konoha."
"Jeez." Kiba lay back. "Why aren't you with him?"
Hinata blinked. "I decided to stay with you. I went to visit him earlier, after Knov brought us here, but he was completely out of it." She flared her Byakugan to make her point. "I've been keeping an eye on him, don't worry."
"Where are we, anyway?" Kiba asked, looking around. He strained, looking at the unfamiliar city outside the window.
"Somewhere in The Republic of Rokario," Mari said suddenly. "Most likely Dory. That's the nearest city to NGL." She looked back down, as though embarrassed to have spoken up without warning.
Hinata nodded; she remembered the information from when Mari had first explained it on their journey to the NGL, but it was good the girl was speaking up. "Well, the location doesn't really matter. Shino will be unconscious for at least a day. They gave him something to help him heal, apparently. His insects were making a fuss."
"Man," Kiba said with a painful laugh. "That must have freaked the doctors out."
"It did. I did my best to make sure they weren't concerned, though I don't think it did much coming from me. The Hunters will definitely have questions about that," Hinata agreed. "But it's unavoidable."
"Who cares," Kiba asked. "Let them ask whatever the fuck they want. I'm sick of it." Hinata almost chuckled at how Kiba's opinion had intensified in just a couple days. Her teammate sighed. "I think at this point we should think about more reinforcements."
Hinata blinked. "What? More shinobi, you mean?"
Kiba nodded, wincing. "Those Royal Guard are fucked up. If the King's going to be even stronger than them, we really can't let him be born. I'm pretty sure Netero is the only of the Hunters who could take on any of the Guards, so the King would probably be beyond him." He looked to Mari. "And he's the Chairman of the Association, so he's probably one of the most powerful, even with his age." The Representative nodded in agreement. "So, if we want to make sure no one else ends up like Shino… might be worth considering bringing in some more people. To protect West Gorteau, at the very least."
Hinata chewed her lip. "That's risky, Kiba. It would be nice to settle this more safely, but…"
"It's pointless to consider right now," Mari spoke up, her eyes finally dry. Kiba raised an eyebrow. "The portal is still recharging thanks to all three of you coming through: it won't be finished for at least another three weeks, maybe even more. Right now, the only thing that can be sent here from the Union, or back to it, are faxes."
"Faxes?" Kiba blinked. "Seriously?"
Mari shrugged. "They've done a lot of experiments, apparently: they're the only kind of data that can make it through without too much corruption. I'm not sure how it works, to be honest."
"Hmm." Kiba scratched his nose, and then at his broken arm. "Well, shit. Forget what I said then. If that's the case, we'll have to finish this on our own." He coughed, spitting out a granule of dried blood. "I don't suppose you know any medical jutsu? I know Hinata hasn't practiced hers in a while."
"Sorry, no." Mari practically looked ready to cry again; it almost made Hinata laugh. Kiba was right. At best, she'd be able to mend their broken bones over the course of a week or two, but they wouldn't be even close to fully healed. She wasn't a hundredth as talented as Sakura, so there wasn't a question that for the rest of their time in the Mitene Union, their injured limbs would be weak points.
She felt too light. Shino had just lost a limb, hadn't he? She had no right to feel like this, especially with a shattered leg of her own. It was probably the blood loss. It was always like this after a hard fight, blood loss or not. The paradoxical feeling of relief and joy at having survived, and the guilt of others being less lucky. It reminded her of when Neji had died, such fierce sorrow and joy and anger all painfully juxtaposed, making her feel like a bug being rattled around inside a jar.
It was exhausting. The optimism she'd felt about attacking the nest just hours ago seemed like a dream.
She forced her mouth open, trying to drain the conflict inside her. "The King isn't due to be born for at least another five weeks," she said. "If we really can't find a solution to dealing with the Guards by then, we'll still probably have time to seek reinforcements." She smiled, sure there was some blood on her teeth. "But Shino and I nearly killed that Guard on our own. It almost killed us as well, but with just one more person backing us up, I think we could have taken it. Even if we're all injured, I'm sure we'll be able to figure out a way to finish the Ants safely before that point."
Kiba's mouth twisted. "It's back in your system now, I can tell. You're going to be using more of that lunar chakra, aren't you?" He leaned back with a small grimace. "It's making you a little reckless, Hinata."
"Lunar chakra?" Mari asked, cocking her head. Hinata glanced at her, then down at her trembling leg. It wasn't a conscious movement, just the twitching of pained nerves. She willed it to sit still, and it did… for a couple seconds, before it resumed its shaking.
She frowned.
"It's not common knowledge," she told Mari, who only looked more curious, "but it's not exactly a secret either." She focused, the muscles in her back and core tensing, and drew out some of her ancestor's chakra, the ferocious purple energy burning off her arms and shoulders. Mari rocked back in shock, and Hinata relaxed, the unusual chakra fading. "You were probably pretty young at the time, but I'm sure you remember the moon falling."
Mari nodded, her wariness melting away to be replaced by more curiosity. "Duh," she said. The the first time in five hours, she almost laughed. "I was ten at the time: I didn't really understand what was happening, but I thought for sure the world was ending. The sky was catching fire…" She trailed off. "And we were getting sent into shelters. But the Hokage, didn't he stop whoever was causing it?"
Hinata nodded. "My husband and I traveled to the moon along with some of our comrades and stopped the man who was making it fall." She grinned at the ridiculous truth of it. "While we were there, I came into contact with some ancient chakra, from the very first head of the Hyuuga Clan: Hamura. He was long dead, but his spirit, I guess you could say, passed it on to me to help destroy the jutsu that was causing the moon's fall." Kiba snorted, and Hinata shot him a half-hearted glare. "Since then, Hamura's chakra has been a part of me."
"But you don't usually use it?" Mari asked. "Why not? It sounds incredible." Hinata could swear there were little stars behind the girl's eyes.
"Well, you just saw it," Hinata said, her face growing serious. "It's a little scary." She shrugged. "And it's powerful: once its in my chakra system, it can take months to work all of it out and replace it with just my own. It's not a concern for me, or my husband-"
"Or me!" Kiba interjected, and Hinata managed a small, dry laugh.
"Right. But both of my children have the Byakugan, though only my daughter has managed to activate it." Comprehension dawned on Mari's face. "The first time she saw it, felt it," Hinata said, growing quiet. It was a painful memory that Mari had accidentally dragged back up to compete with Shino's lost limbs. "She was terrified. I'm sure she thought someone had taken over me. She wouldn't look at me for the rest of the day, and she didn't let me hold her until I'd managed to get it all out of my system."
"Oh." Mari sobered. "I'm sorry."
Hinata shrugged. "It's not your fault. But now that it's out, there's little reason to stop using it. We're in a bad situation. It's a shame, but I'll try to make my daughter understand."
'When I get back.'
"So, what now then?" Mari asked.
"You get back to West Gorteau, do your job," Kiba groaned. "Inform the Union on what's up. Don't let the Hokage know we got his wife beat up, he'll be pissed."
"Kiba!" Hinata protested, and he shot her a bloody grin. She sighed. "Don't listen to him. Well, you should return to your job, but the rest, ignore that."
"And you, Hinata," Kiba said, not finished. "You're done."
Hinata blinked, the bit of cheer she'd gained slammed against the verbal brick wall Kiba had just thrown at her.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Kiba tried to cross his arms and failed. "After this, there's no way I'm letting you fight again. Not like you have been."
That was unusually patronizing. Hinata looked him up and down, clearly eyeing his cast, bandages, and the catheter. "How would you stop me?"
"I'm not kidding around," Kiba said, spitting out some more blood. It landed on his cast. "Looking at that nest day and night, it's done something to you. I don't know if you see it or not, but it's obvious to me. Shino too, though he's probably too polite to say it. You're way too fixated on the Ants. Even more so than Shino, and he practically drools over the damn things." His eyes narrowed. "We're going to finish this. Those Ants are too dangerous to ignore, and I don't trust the Hunters to not fuck it up. But when we get out of this place, back to the nest, you're done. You're going to stay back and help the Hunters out, nothing more. If you have to, you'll play up your leg."
"That's not your decision to make," Hinata said, her voice low.
"That's true," Kiba said, not budging. "But it's not your right to make me explain to Boruto and Himawari why their mom came back twenty pounds lighter." Mari gasped.
That was a low blow. Hinata felt like Kiba had physically punched her in the gut.
She almost wanted to strike back. That's what shinobi did when they were hurt. Even though Kiba was one of her oldest friends, the urge to hurt him as he'd just hurt her was overwhelming.
But she was sure there was nothing she could say that would be as hurtful.
Or as true.
She opened her mouth, but she had nothing to say. She hesitated. One second, two, three. The silence stretched. Her throat was dry. Kiba's lips were drawn in a harsh line.
After five seconds, she conceded with a single, shallow nod. Her eyes were hot, but she refused to show any more weakness.
Hinata frowned, trying to crush her shame, and turned to Mari. "We'll stay here for two days, maybe three. Enough time to heal our bones for fieldwork. But after that, we've got to return. It's a critical time: we've got to capitalize on the Ant's losses. It'll be the same for Shino, though he might take longer." Shino would be just as dangerous without his right arm. Perhaps even more so, now that he had lost something to the Ants.
She breathed out, her breath shaky. "We'll be fine." Hinata told Mari with a false smile.
"Do your job. Don't worry about us."
###
Knov took a sip of his tea, his eyes wandering over the nest in the distance. Though it had only been three days since the assault, the scars left by Isaac Netero and the shinobi Mari Kansai were already fading, the Ants industriously repairing and reinforcing the dents and holes their combined effort had put in the nest with the enthusiasm and speed of…
Well, he acknowledged with a minute grin, ants.
That, combined with the reestablishment of the Royal Guard's monstrous En about fifteen hours after the battle had ended, made it seem like the only legacy of the assault were several devastated patches of forest. The Chairman had used dozens of trees as ammunition, and Shino's insects had devoured a sizeable number as well. That had been somewhat alarming, he thought, the tea soothing his throat. He never would have guessed the shinobi had command over quite that many creatures, or that they were capable of stripping life from an area so thoroughly.
When he had arrived at Hinata's location, drawn by her call, the only thing that had surprised him more than the damage to the forest was that it had not been enough to stop the Royal Guard. Shino Aburame had still been down two limbs, his stumps clogged with insects desperate to stop the bleeding. That had resolved a longstanding question Knov had had about the Aburame's abilities: whether the insects were a conjuration or an emission.
The answer had turned out to be both simple and obvious, which he appreciated. They were neither. The man obviously somehow hosted the insects, real creatures, inside his body, and commanded them through some sort of symbiosis. It was disgusting, but also somewhat mundane compared to the other possibilities.
However, despite appearances, the assault had resulted in far more that some dead trees. Nearly two hundred Chimera had perished, bringing their total numbers down to somewhere around six-hundred. The forest was stained with their blue blood; it was a far cry from when the Hunters had arrived to find over two-thousand of the insects infesting the area. The Royal Guard that had so badly injured Hinata and Shino had nearly been killed in kind, and it would doubtlessly take time to recover: Knov was almost eager for the Hyuuga to return, so her eyes could inform the Hunters as to the health of that Guard in particular.
Most critically, the chaos of the assault had allowed Knov to accomplish his primary objective. Though he'd had to withdraw sooner than he'd liked thanks to Hinata's call for aid, he'd still managed to penetrate somewhat into the nest, making his way several hundred feet up and into it, and leave behind an exit portal for Hide and Seek. That portal was the lynchpin of any further attacks against the Chimera. The next time they were distracted, assassinating the Queen would be much simpler.
"When did you have time to grab this, Knov?" Morel asked, taking a gulp of his own tea. Knov had given the man a kettle instead of a cup; he had more of an appetite. "It's terrible."
Knov shrugged. "It's from the hospital," he said without care. "I just wanted something to drink. And I didn't have time to get anything better before the Chairman called us here."
'Here' was a rocky bluff situated on the edge of a short cliff about eight kilometers away from the nest. It was an ideal observational post: the Hyuuga had spent much of her time here. Knov and Morel had seated themselves on some choice stones, waiting for the Chairman to address them. He'd been silent since they'd arrived about five minutes ago, content to stand and stare at the nest. Knov had produced the tea after the first minute, sure that when the Chairman was ready, he'd break the silence.
"You don't have something better squirreled away?" Morel asked, cocking an eyebrow. Knov shrugged.
"Of course," he admitted, "but I wouldn't bring it out for this."
"How cruel," Morel grumbled, taking another gulp of tea. "Twenty-eight days, and you still won't treat me."
"It only extends two kilometers now," Netero suddenly said, and Morel coughed, some tea caught in his throat. "That's what that attack gained us. One kilometer." The man's lips pulled back in a sneer. "How barbaric. Like the wars of old."
"Pardon, Chairman?" Knov asked, setting his tea down on the rock beside him. Netero crossed his arms. At some point after the assault, he had cut his topknot short, but not his beard. Knov wondered what had prompted the change.
"The En of that Royal Guard," he said. "It's reduced. Likely due to her injuries."
Her? The Ants didn't have genders, though Knov supposed that that cat-like Guard could look a little female. He didn't bother trying to correct the Chairman; the man would doubtlessly destroy him with sophistries if he tried. After nearly a month, he'd grown used to the little games Netero played to keep himself amused.
"Well, that's something then," Knov said. "Next time we'll finish her off."
"Mmm." The Chairman grunted, turning around. "Do you know why I've called you here?" Both Knov and Morel shook their heads, sharing a glance. The old man smiled. "Well, rejoice. You are here to have your curiosity satisfied." His teeth shone under his mustache. "And also to get you into the loop, Knov."
"Excuse me?" Knov asked. Morel frowned, and he looked to the larger Hunter. "You know what he's talking about?" The shinobi had informed them they would be returning by the end of the day, likely in several hours; it had been odd that the Chairman had called this impromptu meeting before they returned.
"It's been a hectic couple days," Morel said, running a hand through his long hair. He was clearly unhappy, though Knov had no idea why. "So you have my apologies for waiting to share some information with you."
"What did you find out, Morel?" Knov asked. There was genuine curiosity bubbling up inside him now. The man cupped his square chin in one of his huge hands, scratching at his jaw. Knov had never seen his fellow Hunter looking uncertain.
"After Shino was injured, in the hospital," he said, gesturing to Netero, "the Chairman suggested that there was opportunity for information gathering: potentially our only safe one." Netero wiggled his eyebrows, and Knov blinked at the childish expression. "There was a period where Kiba was unconscious, and Hinata was busy inside of Hide and Seek: about half an hour." Morel cracked one of his knuckles. "So I took that time to inject Shino with pentium solin, along with some midazolam."
Knov had a moment of realization. "That's why you had me fetch some?" he asked Netero, and the old man shrugged. In the days leading up to the assault, Netero had given Knov a list of things to stockpile in Hide and Seek: most had been simple and understandable, but pentium solin had been anything but. It was a rare compound synthesized from a particular kind of echinoderm that only lived deep inside the Yalu Jungles, discovered by the Hunter Ging. The land-bound starfish, limbs as large as trees, used it as a paralytic agent to ensnare prey the size of elephants. But in extremely small doses, it instead functioned as a truth serum.
Of course, real truth serums didn't exist: pentium solin just made people extremely suggestible. Combined with Shino's state, and he probably would have answered any questions Morel leveled at him.
"That's dangerous. His fellows... not to mention it interacting with the painkillers they had him on," Knov said idly, pointing to Morel. "Doesn't sound like you."
Morel grinned, a flat expression that was all teeth and no happiness. "I consulted with the hospital staff: they assured me that combination of drugs was perfectly safe. Three days later, and he hasn't shown any complications. They even managed to reattach his leg with the help of those insects, after all."
"Still," Knov said, "it must sting that it probably only worked thanks to his trust of you."
Morel flinched, and Knov regretted pressing so harshly. That hadn't been necessary.
"Without a doubt," the large man growled. "But… I do think it was worth it."
"So," Knov asked, trying to be conciliatory. "Did he say anything interesting?"
Morel produced a paper pad from his back pocket. "It was difficult to parse through it all: I actually had to take some notes afterwards. He wouldn't stop talking." He sighed. "I guess I'll just tell you what I told the Chairman."
"No, feel free," Netero said. "We have time. And I am curious as well, about what else he may have said."
"Fine," Morel grumbled. Knov could see the man was hanging between regret and satisfaction. Out of all the shinobi, Morel had had the best relationship with Shino. They'd worked well together on a few occasions, clouds of smoke and insects leaving Ants with no escape. Still, getting more information about the shinobi was probably worth a bruised friendship, especially considering that Shino wouldn't remember the 'conversation.'
"Most important stuff first, I think," Morel said, flipping through the notebook. "He claimed that they were from somewhere else, 'across space and time,' in his words. Kinda loopy, so I put that down to the painkillers. Most likely, wherever Konohagakure is, it's just far away from here. Especially since the Association still hasn't been able to locate any Hidden Villages with that name." He flipped to the next page. "He said it was a 'place without victory…'" he said, glancing at Netero, who might as well have been a statue, "until they won."
Knov cocked his head. "A lot of what he said was pretty disjointed, but he made it sound like there had been some kind of major upheaval: maybe politically, militarily, whatever. There was a huge paradigm shift at some point recently wherever Konohagakure is. I'd guess that now it's a much more peaceful place."
Odd, but not too far out of the ordinary. Upheaval was hardly uncommon in the world. Knov quietly nodded, and Morel continued.
"He mentioned his Hokage, the Fire Shadow Hinata talked about, at length," Morel said, scratching the back of his head. "From what I could figure out, his name is 'Naruto,' no last name given. Shino has a lot of personal affection for him; I wouldn't be surprised if they had been peers, the way he talked about him. The phrase 'The Will of Fire' came up once or twice, and from context, I assume it's his fancy way of talking about the Hokage's wishes." His eyes narrowed a little. "He claimed, and again, this was all while he was heavily influenced by painkillers, so don't take it as gospel, that if Naruto were here, he could destroy all of the Chimera Ants without any trouble." Knov's eyebrow twitched as Morel continued. "He also implied that if he wanted to, the Hokage could wipe out all of Konoha, maybe even all life in the area. He wasn't very clear."
Knov hummed, leaning back and uncrossing his legs. "That's a strong claim."
"Very," Morel agreed. "But it's what Shino honestly believed. Near the end, before he passed out for good, he was rambling about 'calling Naruto.'" He looked down at the notepad for the exact words. "To 'End it in a flash of light.' That was the last thing he said. The way he said it, calling Naruto is some sort of taboo, or at least discouraged. He clearly thinks very highly of his Hokage's capabilities." Morel looked back up, his face grim. "Whatever the truth is, it's obvious we have to be wary of this guy. There's no doubt he's a threat; maybe even a bigger threat than the Ants, if Shino wasn't exaggerating."
"I'm sure he was," Knov said, not so sure if he believed himself. "He was barely conscious, after all. Perhaps Konohagakure is in possession of weapons like the Poor Man's Rose?"
"Maybe," Morel acknowledged, shifting his weight forward. The way his fingers tightened around the pad told Knov he was trying to convince himself, along with the man's bitter expression. "At any rate…" He moved on to his next page.
"This next one, I found the most troubling." Knov sat up a little. Netero had remained as animated as grass throughout the conversation. He was as quiet as his Nen: as ever, Knov found him impossible to read.
"Shino claimed that their civilization," Morel said, "and by this I don't know if he meant the village Konohagakure, or something greater it's part of, was built on 'Jinchuriki.' An archaic term for 'Human Sacrifice.'" He leaned back with a frown. "I have no idea how literally he meant that to be taken. The shinobi certainly don't seem very religious, so I doubt they actually sacrifice people to something, but nonetheless, it's an alarming thing to hear."
"Maybe he meant their martial culture," Knov offered, adjusting his glasses. "It could be a metaphor."
Morel nodded. "I suspect if its literal, it could be the explanation for their hatsu; something like the Byakugan could be created by a proper human sacrifice. And Shino's own body is quite the sacrifice, considering he's completely full of insects." He shrugged. "However, other things Shino said seemed to point away from that."
"Such as?"
"A couple things," Morel said. "Hinata has a daughter, named Himawari." He tapped the notebook. "At some point in the past, she was shocked by something Hinata possessed that Shino called 'lunar chakra.' No idea what that is, obviously: chakra is likely some sort of energy or power, given the etymology. So some sort of power from the moon. Whatever it was, it made her think her mother was a stranger."
Netero made his first motion in the conversation. He slowly blinked, one foot sliding forward an inch. Morel continued. "In addition, Himawari, and the rest of Hinata's family aside, also possess the Byakugan. That allowed her to see it, apparently. That opens up several possibilities: they could be genetic, or to be a Hyuuga you have to make a Contract that bestows the Byakugan. Whichever it is, Hinata is the strongest among them. It's that mention of her daughter that made me think the 'sacrifice' wasn't completely literal." Morel paused for a moment of thought. "Shino is also some sort of teacher, apparently. By all indications he has a real love for it," he finished with a sniff. "I'd say that was everything relevant."
"Interesting." Knov leaned back. It really was quite interesting. A little of the shinobi's mystique had been peeled away. The information about the Hokage was particularly enticing to him; if this 'Naruto' was even slightly as powerful and influential as Shino made him seem, it was a miracle he wasn't a bigger player on the world's stage. The mystery of the supposed lunar chakra that apparently inhabited Hinata also drifted around his mind, unresolved, along with the word 'Jinchuriki.' He'd never seen the Hyuuga exhibit any power he'd call 'frightening.' Perhaps her daughter was just fragile?
"She has a son as well," Netero spoke up, his words slow. "The way she looked at Killua, back when we first met, it was obvious. At least two children, then. That's a shame."
"A shame?" Knov asked. Morel seemed content to stay silent after his long explanation.
"The two of you," Netero said, ignoring Knov's question, "will be receiving some information today that is only privy to myself and two of the Zodiacs. I don't care how you treat it, but I trust you'll have the appropriate judgement of its value."
Two of the Zodiacs? Any information so exclusive to the higher echelons of the Association must be secret indeed. Knov immediately started paying more attention. Today, the old man wasn't just messing around with them.
"The shinobi are likely from the Dark Continent," Netero said.
Knov almost fell off his rock. Across from him, Morel choked on his tea once again.
The Dark Continent. The enormous forbidden land that surrounded the known world, that the Chairman himself had deemed to dangerous to explore for any civilization, or the Hunter Association itself, after two disastrous personal expeditions? The shinobi might call that place their home?
It seemed completely impossible that any humans could survive, let alone live, in a place so horrifying that even Isaac Netero had been unwilling to return to it. Knov's mind went into overdrive at the implications as he felt a cold sweat form on the back of his neck. Hinata's eyes, Shino's insect-ridden body, Kiba's canine features, were they more than just particular expressions of Nen and genetic abnormalities? Were those the norm for those who survived beyond the invisible barrier that kept humanity separated from what would surely destroy them, erected after centuries of mistakes and millions of lost lives?
When humans had to constantly compete with the likes of the Chimera Ants, another creature from the Dark Continent, were incredible abilities like Hinata's all-seeing eyes the bare minimum required for their survival? Was that the sacrifice that Shino had been talking about?
After a moment of almost panicked thought, Knov calmed, and realized that Netero's second sentence had not followed the first. 'Likely' did not denote valuable information, only suspicion. He was sure Morel had come to the same realization already, but the larger man gave nothing away.
"The Dark Continent?" he asked, trying and failing to seem at ease. "Surely, that's impossible, Chairman. No humans live in the Dark Continent."
Netero nodded. "So far as we know," he said. "No one has traveled there for nearly half a century, since I prohibited such expeditions. Perhaps things have changed." He smiled. "Or we missed something."
He sat down, his legs curling under him. "You've seen my wariness of the shinobi they arrived, but I'm sure you didn't understand why. It was far out of proportion for new, helpful allies." Netero sounded cheerful, but there was an edge in his words. He dug into one of his ears in search of wax. "To understand that paranoia, you must understand some of what I encountered in the Dark Continent."
"I mentioned it to you some time ago, when my suspicions were still forming: a place without victory. I called it that not only because humanity could never triumph there; nothing truly could. The entire land, larger many times over than the known world, is filled with terrible things. The Five Calamities are barely representative of the dangers there. It is not just simple beasts like the Chimera Ants, but diseases incomprehensible to man, creatures that inhabit a spectrum of existence beyond our comprehension, words that can kill without being spoken, and far worse besides."
Both Knov and Morel listened with almost reverent focus, aware of the import of what the Chairman was telling them. It was when the Chairman spoke like this, with such gravity, that Knov found it easier to believe the man had once been known as the strongest Nen user in the world, that he had actually accrued wisdom over the course of a life four times longer than Knov's own, instead of just a ceaseless skill at irritation and obfuscation.
"But of the uncountable dangers there, one of the least odd is actually well known. The World Tree."
The World Tree. An enormous tree, nearly two kilometers tall, that grew in the northern country of Ygtal. Knov had heard of it. It was an enormously popular tourist attraction. That monstrous tree was from the Dark Continent?
"The one here is merely a sapling, unable to draw enough nutrients from the earth to grow to its full height and bloom. The Hunters Association saw to that long ago. With its growth stunted, it's harmless. But its fellows in the Dark Continent have had no such impediment, aside from one another. There, they grow to their full height, stretching beyond even the atmosphere. They have a peculiar lifestyle. There are several different species of them, but they all share the same means of spreading their influence and supplying themselves with more nutrients."
Netero closed his eyes. His aura rippled around him, an invisible stream of energy that sent pinpricks up and down Knov's spine.
"Once they are fully grown, a large fruit sprouts at the top. It ripens and plummets to earth, and creatures around the tree inevitably eat its remains. Once they have, they become tools of the World Tree."
Knov frowned. "The Trees are conscious?"
Netero's grin was outright unsettling. "Unmistakably. They possess great malice as well. The creatures they take control of through their fruit are twisted into weapons of terrible destruction. They rampage, searching for more nutrients for the Tree. All too often, they come into conflict with each other, an endless war that is continuously fought with mutated proxies." He licked his finger and rubbed a spot of dirt off his knee. "The mutation is the result of an unnatural melding of the creature's physical and spiritual energy. That much was obvious to us, when we witnessed these futile wars."
"Did a human ever consume the remains of the fruits?" Morel asked. Knov realized the potential connection at once.
"Once," Netero said, "an exceptionally foolish companion of mine, on my second expedition, dared to." His unsettling grin expanded. "He exploded. His body became an unstable weapon, and his Nen was the fuel." He poked at his side. "I still have a scar here, where one of his fingers buried itself inside me."
"But you think the shinobi are humans who have been successfully controlled by the World Trees," Morel said, Knov nodding along with him. It was obvious that's what the Chairman was pushing at.
Netero shrugged. "It is only one of many possibilities, but it has been foremost in my mind, yes. Especially since our assault on the nest." He leaned forward. "Whatever power they use in their hatsu, it reminds me very much of the World Trees. I could not be sure until I saw that girl Mari's techniques up close, but now, I have no doubt. It is nearly the same kind of energy."
"So, what?" Morel said. "We've stumbled into a conflict between two creatures from the Dark Continent?"
"They're not creatures; they are certainly human," Netero chided. "I find the most likely explanation is that the Dark Continent has a heretofore undiscovered civilization, and these shinobi are some of its first attempts to make inroads into ours. They would have been noticed otherwise, by world governments or the Association. Their reinforcement showing up so quickly also confirms there may be more of them around, or they have some means of rapid transport. All of it does raise a fascinating question about their involvement with these Ants, though."
He raised one hand. "Are they acting out of altruism, as they are so desperate to seem, hoping to make allies?" He raised the other, curling it into a fist. His smile shone behind it. "Or are they simply removing the competition?"
If it was the latter, Knov thought, the shinobi would attempt to destroy both the Ants and the dormant World Tree, removing any other potential rivals from the Continent. That much was obvious to him. If it was the former… he had no idea what to think of that. The situation was simply too incredible.
He and Morel digested what they had been told in silence for almost a minute.
"Netero." Morel used the man's name, not his title. "What should we do with this information?"
"As I said, that's not my concern," Netero said. "But I believe the most intelligent course of action at the moment would be…"
He stuck out his tongue. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" Knov asked. He couldn't tell if the Chairman was testing them or not.
Morel nodded. "As I thought," he admitted, turning to Knov. "This changes everything and nothing. No matter what, the shinobi are powerful allies. There's no reason to undermine them until the Chimera Ants have been dealt with."
Knov was forced to agree. Even if the shinobi had a menacing ulterior motive, their power couldn't be questioned. With their assistance, the Hunters had brought the Ants to their knees in far less time than should have been possible. Despite the injuries the shinobi had suffered in the assault, their position was stronger than ever.
"We have five weeks until the earliest possible date for the King's birth," he said, speaking to himself as much as he was to his fellow Hunters." "And in just two days, reinforcements will be arriving. This matter will be finished soon. Then," he said, looking to Netero, "we will worry about the shinobi?"
The old man gave an infuriating shrug, and Knov resisted the urge to grind his teeth. "Perhaps I'll win our bet," he said, giving Morel a meaningful look. The big man laughed. Knov hoped that all of the other Hunters would arrive for reasons besides his bet. Perhaps if Palm had been a part of the assault, able to track the Royal Guard who had evaded the Byakugan, things would have gone differently. It was a shame they had been too impatient.
"All five of them showing up?" he said with a grin. "Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it? I'd hand you that one-million jenny with a smile on my face." He stood up off his rock, grabbing his pipe and swinging it over his shoulder. Morel looked out to the nest, and Knov could tell from the way his nose twisted he was calculating the odds.
"Well," he said. "Make it two, four, or five. No matter who shows up, we'll have plenty of time."
###
This update got some substantial edits and ballooned up a little beyond my expectations. Chapter 13 is coming along, but it might take a while: tricky stuff coming. But as always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Laid Low
Shino was sure he had never been in this much pain.
In many ways, he'd led a blessed life for a shinobi. He'd never suffered worse than a broken bone; the battles he'd lost had left him exhausted and beaten, but whole of body and unconquered in spirit. He was all too aware that many of his comrades didn't share the same fortune, and every day, he gave thanks for that in his own quiet way.
That fortune, it seemed, had finally come to an end. His whole body was numb; Hinata's crying face, splattered with thick red, blue, and black blood, was firmly imprinted in his mind's eye. She'd kept him from passing out with a painful shock of that cold chakra that hid deep inside her; it had probably kept him alive, now that he thought about it. Falling unconscious in such a condition could be fatal.
Falling… he'd fallen. Lost his balance. Was that what had happened?
Where was he? Lying down, somewhere, in a plain of white. His heart jumped. Had he died after all? The Royal Guard hadn't hit him that hard, had it? He was sure he remembered it retreating. There was a bright light shining directly in his face. Shino tried to raise his hand to block out the piercing light, but nothing happened. He felt his limb move, but nothing appeared to save him from the light. He couldn't understand. Wasn't his hand right there?
A familiar face slipped into view above him, obscuring the light. Matted white hair, a wide nose that had been broken many times, small opaque glasses.
Morel. One of the Hunters. Not a teammate, but an ally. Shino relaxed, dropping the hand that he couldn't see, which couldn't block out the light. Where was his team?
He dimly wondered where he was within Knov's hatsu. The dimensional space. The light fit. Or was it just a place that looked like it. He could smell fresh air. The space never smelled like that. Was this simply a hospital? Morel looked pained. Was he that bad to look at?
"Shino?" The man sounded like he was underwater. Or Shino was underwater. Inside him, insects rustled at the noise; the sound almost drowned the man's voice. "Can you hear me?"
Shino tried to nod. His neck didn't respond. He tried to speak: his lips were frozen. All that emerged was a faint gasp.
Morel nodded. "You were pretty badly injured by the Guard. Don't try to speak." He looked up at someone else. "I'm going to give you some painkillers. It should help."
Painkillers? Why would he need painkillers? He wasn't in pain.
Wait.
Shino frowned.
The agony across his body was so omnipresent that for a second he'd stopped recognizing it as pain. That couldn't be a good sign. Four fractured ribs, a twisted ankle, all of his limbs screaming. All of them? That didn't seem right.
He did his best to tell the insects inside him that whatever Morel would be injecting into him was safe, that it didn't need to be purged. He wasn't sure they understood completely: his inner hive was furious, buzzing with increasing intensity. He was sure the sound could be heard outside his body. The Kikaichu had taken horrible casualties, and their home had been savaged. It was an incredible mental effort for Shino, weakened as he was, just to keep them from attacking Morel.
Like they'd attacked…
Shino sucked in a breath, the feeling deep and blessedly calming.
"Morel," he asked, "where's Hinata?"
The man looked up at him, a mixed expression on his face: a frown, a smile, some pity carried in both. "She's alright. A little cut up, but she'll be fine." The look shifted more towards a frown. "She said you saved her."
Had he? That was right. He'd pushed her aside. Hadn't even thought about it. It was the natural thing to do, even in the face of that Ant's inhuman killing intent. She had children, and he didn't. One of them couldn't afford to not return.
"Good," he grunted. Talking hurt too. "Kiba?"
"Relax," Morel said, shuffling over. There was a syrette in his hand, sloshing with clear yellow liquid. Shino had never liked needles, and his insects reacted before he could calm them, chittering with renewed anger. He shut them down with a jab of his will, but Morel had clearly noticed the noise. It was obviously unsettling.
The man approached more slowly than before. "He's pretty banged up, but nothing too serious." Raised the needle. "Now hold still. This should help you out a little."
Shino did his best to shut his insects up, to make them understand that he was receiving medicine, not poison. In times like this, it could be challenging to combat their instincts, no matter how linked they were. He only had a few surgical bugs, especially after the fight with the Guard, but if wasn't careful they'd inhibit the painkillers.
The needle slid into the bicep of his right arm. It was cold, as was the liquid inside it.
"How long?" Shino asked. Morel understood what he was asking.
"It's pretty strong: should be less than a minute," Morel said. "I won't lie, this is some powerful stuff. You might feel a little odd."
"I'll be… fine…" Shino said, the pain in his arm momentarily doubling.
It had been over a minute since he'd woken up, and he still couldn't figure out how he was feeling pain from an arm that was no longer there.
"Where's my leg?" he asked, and Morel blinked.
"The Ant…" he started to say. Shino managed to shake his head.
"I know. It's gone. Where is it?" Don't think about it.
"We retrieved it. I'm not sure where it is right now though. Your comrades probably have it." Morel cocked his head. "Why?"
"I need it back." Shino's head was swimming. He couldn't focus his eyes. His visor had been removed. He realized this was probably the first time Morel had ever seen his eyes. "My arm?"
Morel shook his head. "The Ant took it. I'm sorry."
Shino sighed. Morel's words jogged his memory. His arm was gone, and he couldn't detect the insects that had hidden themselves inside it, a hopefully lethal trap. They must have been destroyed. It could have been worse. At least he had his leg to work with.
"If you're trying to patch me, don't do anything to my leg," he warned. "I need it. Where's Hinata?"
Morel looked confused. "If you say so. She and Kiba are in another room. Don't worry, they're fine."
"Where's my leg?"
Morel's face drooped, his glasses swelling. "With them. We can go get it in a bit."
"Okay." Shino lay back, scratching his nose with his right hand. "That's okay."
He fell asleep, without his consciousness falling away. He was still in the bright room. Morel was gone. His pipe was still there, though. No, he hadn't had it in the first place. But where Morel once stood, his pipe was propped, glasses fixed crookedly on the head. Shino giggled.
"Something funny?" the pipe asked, and Shino's giggle intensified.
"I need my leg," he laughed. "I have to put it back on." The room swirled, brown and grey and green and black commingling in his vision.
"Oh? How are you going to manage that."
It was probably the first time he'd been had asked such an outright question since leaving home. "Question." Had he said that out 'loud?'
With my insects, obviously. The pipe sure was stupid if it couldn't figure that out. Shino laughed again. Then again, you are a pipe, you don't even have a brain. Of course you're stupid. It's really not your own fault. I shouldn't be so judgemental. I'm sometimes afraid I scare my students. Since they can't see my eyes, they can't know what I'm thinking. That can be frightening, especially to a child.
Poor Himawari, waking up one morning to find that her mother had been replaced by a stranger. Himawari? Hinata's daughter, of course. That was obvious. She'd been so shocked by the lunar chakra, she hadn't stopped screaming all day. He was glad that he didn't have kids, really. Teaching them was easy, raising them was impossibly difficult. Shino had never thought he would end up a teacher, but it had become as natural to him as breathing, he'd inevitably ended up in that position like someone sucked into a vacuum, not so much moving as being moved by the needs of the village. It didn't bother him; passing on the Will of Fire was an excellent honor, and Shino enjoyed his job.
The Will of Fire, where are you really from, Shino? The Village Hidden in the Leaves, of course. Without that, he'd be nothing. His whole life, only after coming heer has the absurdity of it hit him, he'd been inside the system of villages, inundated by the Will of Fire, his entire life. Even if it were incorrect or even evil, he'd never know. Where was that? In the middle of the Five Nations, a position that held both a lot of advantages and disadvantages. At the center of every war, every conflict, but with enough resources and people to weather them. So much death, it boggled the mind to consider himself the inheritor of so much suffering. It certainly seemed crazy to have nearly a century defined by conflict on that one continent, but that's what had happened. He didn't know much about the history of this land, but the conflict between the two Gorteau's had reminded him of it, though Gorteau had never resolved the debt of blood as they had. Where were the Five Nations? Shino laughed again. Well, that was a very stupid question. Was it place without victory? He supposed it had been, but they'd won, they'd won, they'd won the war, destroyed the system, established the Union, created a peace that Shino's ancestors could never have dreamed of. An impossible dream, but they'd achieved it anyway, wasn't that incredible. Where were the Five Nations, he didn't really know himself now that he thought about it. Somewhere else, far from here, across space and time, in another world, another place, completely different from here. Plenty of giant bugs there, though. Shino supposed they weren't that different after all. No Hunters though. Just lots of shinobi. It bothered Shino sometimes how very many shinobi there were, with nothing to fight, the only battle one of definition and reconstruction, much more complicated than the breaking that had preceded them. He didn't fear Naruto at all, there wasn't a single atom in his body that feared the Hokage no, he loved the man like a brother, he was eternally grateful to him for having saved the village, what, two, three times, let alone his efforts in the Fourth War, but the Hokage was terrifying, the idea that if he wanted to he could surely kill everyone, on shameful nights it kept Shino away from his bed as he pondered how the new paradigm was just as fragile as the last one, he was still just as much a weapon as a person in some ways despite his warm smile and true heart their legacy seemed destined to be built on the power of human sacrifice no matter what.
The pipe was shuddering. It looked cold. Are you cold? Let me help. Shino's insects sluggishly responded to his altruism, slipping out of his body in gradual great waves and covering the pipe. It stopped shivering, and Shino smiled. There, not cold anymore, are you? Snug as a bug. He laughed again. People didn't like being covered in insects generally, but the pipe didn't even have a brain, so it probably was just grateful for being kept warm. Kikaichu were pretty warm, compared to their peers especially. What, destruction bugs? Of course he grew them in his own body, where else would he? It would take a while to replenish his hive after the losses he'd incurred against the Royal Guard, but with enough food he'd be able to manage it easily. He was lucky to have such willing allies, always grateful for how much they were willing to do for him. Without them, he never would have survived as long as he had. The Guard would have killed him instead of just maiming him. Though it wasn't that bad. At least he could get his leg back. The thing had stolen his arm. What a bitch. It did kinda look like a woman, didn't it. Despite it's inhumanity, there had been something feminine about his face, the shape of its body. Technically Chimera Ants didn't have a gender, or identify as one sex or another, but that didn't mean they were beyond it necessarily, especially after having taken so much humanity in, that nest stuffed with blood and bones, the line between human and ants could be becoming uncomfortably thin, 'why do you have a name'-
Was he human? Of course he was. That was perhaps the stupidest floating sentence of them all. Just because he had chakra, didn't mean he wasn't human. He was just as human as any of his fellows, or the Hunters, regardless of how many insects were inside his body. Shino had never doubted that, though he knew some other people from Konohagakure inevitably did. The Aburame had always intimidated people. But if an entire clan of people with eyes like the Byakugan or the Sharingan could be called human without compunction, why not those filled with insects? He was so thirsty. One part honey, one part caramel, some tea would help soothe his throat for sure. Green, ocha~ it was his favorite color after all.
An entire clan, of course there was an entire clan of people like Hinata. She was the mightiest among them, no doubt, Shino was so proud of her for having overcome her fear, insecurity, to become the most powerful Hyuuga in the clan. It was beyond his best hopes. No more Sharingan though. Imagine if Hinata had ended up like Sasuke, he just couldn't picture it. Shino giggled again. Vengeance, in a squeaky tone, eyes tucked away. Nope, impossible. He was so tired. Especially for already being asleep. That was just making him more tired, these damn Ants putting him in this state maybe it was time to forget the consequences and simply contact naruto shinobi weren't supposed to do that except in the cases of a most dire emergency and surely that was one of these cases east gorteau could be overrun if they weren't careful naruto would have been able to settle this on the first day wipe out the nest without effort who cared about getting a sample of the queen he'd already paid for that ambition with an arm at this point was it really worth continuing the struggle might best end it in a flash of light
Without compunction, Shino passed out.
###
Hinata peeled the bandage off her forearm, the long strip of gauze coming away sticky with crusty dried blood. The slice that ran horizontally along almost the entire length of her arm was the consequence of her parrying the Royal Guard's thirty-seventh attack; all things considered, she'd gotten off lightly, especially considering the intent of the strike. The wound was one of the shallowest she'd sustained, but for some reason it irritated her the most.
She was going to have at least four new scars after the encounter. Small, but visible. That was far more than she could say for Shino.
Guilt, hot and rancid, surged up from her gut and she did her best to suppress it, glancing over at Mari. She, the Representative, and Kiba were all sequestered in a hospital somewhere in the Republic of Rokario, near the border of the NGL. They'd come there from one of Knov's dimensional apartments, filled with cots and medical supplies. Technically, the room was Kiba's. He'd been checked in with incredible speed, likely thanks to the Hunter's Association. The Inuzuka was asleep on one of the beds; Hinata had taped an ice pack to his nose and set his arm in a splint before setting about seeing to herself, long before they'd arrived at the hospital. Making sure her teammate's sense of smell went undamaged was paramount.
It had been nearly five hours since the assault had ended, and Mari hadn't said anything that whole time. Not since she'd seen Shino taken away by Morel and Knov, escorted to the building they were now sitting in. Hinata wondered if she should have gone with him, but after a moment, brushed the thought off. She trusted the Hunters, and staying behind to see to Kiba had been the right thing to do.
She didn't acknowledge to herself that it had been almost too painful to see Shino with two of his limbs removed. The feeling was far worse than the pain of her fractured leg, which sat securely in a splint, or the dozens of cuts, large and small, that covered her body. That in a way, handing him off to someone else had been a relief.
"Mari?" she asked, and the younger shinobi jerked. How old was she? Early twenties? Hinata had never asked.
"Yeah?" Mari blinked. "I'm alright, Hyuuga-sama." She looked over to Hinata, her teal eyes sliding over the bandages covering her body. "What…"
"You're sure?" Hinata continued. She patted at one of the bandages on her thigh, soaking up some excess blood. She'd had more water and calorie bars than she'd cared to count. After losing so much blood, eating was more important than ever. "You said, before, that you'd never been in a large scale battle before."
Mari shook her head, brushing some of her short brown bangs away. Her lip quivered. "I'm fine."
It was obvious Mari knew Hinata knew she was lying, but the Hyuuga didn't know how to bridge the gap. The younger woman seemed ready to break down.
"You did well," Hinata said. It was the truth. "That jutsu of yours really is amazing-"
The girl from the Thunder Corp started silently crying. Her whole body shuddered.
"Sorry…" she said quietly, the words broken up. "Sorry… I really couldn't do anything."
Hinata limped over to the girl and sat down next to her, the bed creaking under them. She was sure she'd stained the sheets, but at the moment, she hardly cared.
"You killed quite a few Ants," she said, smiling. Over twenty, unless her count had been off. "You retreated without getting injured. The Union still has its Representative in Gorteau." She gently put her hand down on Mari's shaking shoulder. It stung: she'd been cut on that palm as well. "You did everything right."
"I didn't think it would be like this," Mari gasped, trying to control her tears. She wiped at her nose. "I'm not even hurt…"
She really was young. Young and inexperienced. Hinata kept up the grip on her shoulder. "It was your first battle. Trust me, it happens. Don't be concerned about it."
Mari glanced at her with desperate and shameful eyes. "Did it happen to you?"
Hinata looked away, up at the bright ceiling, to Kiba, sleeping peacefully, then back to Mari. Her other hand curled into a fist. "My first real battle… well, I suppose it was the assault on my village before the Fourth War, by the leader of the Akatsuki," she admitted. "During it, I was terrified, and afterwards…" she leaned forward, frowning. "I didn't have time to process what had happened. I didn't really have time for any of that until after the War, and that was weeks later."
Mari coughed. "Hyuuga-sama, you have to understand…" she trailed off, seemingly afraid to put her thoughts to words. "You and your team, you're heroes. You're the Hokage's wife. Seeing you all come back from this, especially Shino, so badly injured, while I don't even have a scratch on me-"
Hinata nodded as Mari sniffed, her nose clogged. "It just doesn't seem real, you know? I must have let you guys down, if someone like Shino can be hurt so bad while I'm totally fine."
The Hyuuga almost smiled. Mari made sense, but it was a childish thing to say. She leaned in, as if to tell the girl a secret, and unconsciously, Mari did the same.
"That's how this sort of thing works," she said, and the girl cocked her head. "When shinobi go into battle, they risk their lives, but everyone has their role to play. As the wife of the Hokage, I know that better than most people." She leaned back. "I'm sure your teacher told you this was how it's going to be. Since you were in the Thunder Corp, you were never going to be in direct danger unless things went terribly wrong."
Mari frowned as Hinata continued. "It sounds awful, but that's the way it is. Even with the Union established, that's how shinobi have lived for as long as my clan's been around. Until we come up with something better, it's inevitable." She smiled. "And just because you consider us heroes, doesn't mean we're any better than you." She pointed to Kiba. "Kiba and I, and Shino, we were just lucky enough to survive the War. It had nothing to do with how great we were. Over fifty-thousand people died in just two days, and we could have been among them. We were just in the right place at the right time."
Her smile softened. "And of course, without my husband, it would have been far more than that."
"I… I don't understand," Mari muttered. Hinata's smile faded.
They hadn't taken the proper precautions, and now this girl was feeling guilt that she didn't deserve.
"I'm trying to tell you not to feel guilty," she said, and Mari stiffened. "It's obvious, and you shouldn't. We made a mistake. I made a mistake: I should never have assumed my Byakugan couldn't be beaten. You're not responsible for that; it was us who came up with the plan to attack the nest, not you. Don't think that you didn't do well."
"Bullshit." Both the women's heads swivelled towards Kiba, who slowly pulled himself up, propping himself on one trembling arm. Somehow, he's woken up in time to join the conversation. Hinata's eyes narrowed. Had he been feigning sleep? "You didn't do a damn thing wrong." He looked down, at the catheter protruding from under the sheets. "Oh hell. Why'd you let them put this in?"
He was talking to her, not Mari. Hinata couldn't help but smile at her teammate's stubbornness. "You know as well as me that's not true, Kiba. I made a mistake-" a hiccup, "-and Shino paid for it."
"Don't give me that crap," Kiba groaned, trying and failing to pull himself off the bed. "Maybe once we've fucked these Ants, you can start saying stuff like that. How the hell could we have known one of them could dodge your eyes?" His beard was crusted with blue and red blood.
"It's like you said a couple days ago," Hinata pointed out. "We're not the experts on this place. Assuming the Ants couldn't develop a Hatsu to avoid my eyes was arrogant."
"The Hunters did the same damn thing, and they are experts. It was their fuckup, not yours," Kiba shot back. He was angry, clearly looking to blame someone. Hinata pursed her lips. He was right, but the arrogance that had led to the failed assault had been shared. The Hunters had asked her if anything could hide from her eyes, and she'd told them the truth. That Royal Guard had achieved the impossible, but she hadn't dared to assume that in another world, with different truths, that could be the case.
It was her fault they were in this room with these injuries. But she couldn't say that out loud. That would be even more painful, and Kiba would be angry.
"Stop swearing, please," she asked quietly, and Kiba growled.
"Shit, my ribs," he grumbled, giving up on standing up. "That last Royal Guard is way too strong."
"They all are," Hinata said. "When Shino and I were fighting that cat one, it was obvious to the both of us that it could kill either of us with a lucky hit. They're ridiculous creatures."
"Why'd you keep fighting, then?" Kiba asked. "You can't afford to die here, Hinata."
"We couldn't retreat," Hinata said, "and it was our best chance to destroy it. It didn't have any backup, that far from the nest. It was frightening, but I thought the ideal decision was to finish it off." She looked down at her leg. "I still do," she said, the image of a hundred thousand cracked open bones inside the nest overlapping over her own broken one.
"I never thought you'd say something like that," Kiba said. He looked disappointed. "You both could have died."
"We didn't," Hinata said. She almost said it out of spite. Her head was swimming. Was Kiba right? Had she become so obsessed with making the Ants pay for their crimes that she'd put herself in too much danger?
It was an incredibly disturbing thought.
Mari watched the quiet argument, her tears drying.
"You're not worried about Shino?" she asked, breaking into the momentary silence. Hinata glanced at her.
"No. I'm terribly worried," she said, her whole body shaking once, violently. She pushed down her ancestor's urges, catching sight of a bright bird flying past the room's single narrow window. "But he's not going to die. He's in good hands, and his insects will keep alive even in the worst situation." She sighed. "I hate to admit it, but I wouldn't be as nearly well off as him if the Royal Guard had managed to strike me instead."
Kiba looked her up and down, taking in the dozen of bandages and the thick splint around her leg. "It seems like it got you pretty good." Hinata shook her head.
"Just scratches. And a broken leg. I'll be fine." She closed her eyes. "Shino lost his arm. And a leg."
"Holy shit," Kiba jerked, wincing and laying one arm on his gut. "Like, gone, or…?"
"We retrieved his leg," Hinata said. "Morel came to collect it about an hour ago: he was convinced that the doctors he's got working with Shino could reattach it. But the Royal Guard took his arm. We'll have to have a synthetic one made when we return to Konoha."
"Jeez." Kiba lay back. "Why aren't you with him?"
Hinata blinked. "I decided to stay with you. I went to visit him earlier, after Knov brought us here, but he was completely out of it." She flared her Byakugan to make her point. "I've been keeping an eye on him, don't worry."
"Where are we, anyway?" Kiba asked, looking around. He strained, looking at the unfamiliar city outside the window.
"Somewhere in The Republic of Rokario," Mari said suddenly. "Most likely Dory. That's the nearest city to NGL." She looked back down, as though embarrassed to have spoken up without warning.
Hinata nodded; she remembered the information from when Mari had first explained it on their journey to the NGL, but it was good the girl was speaking up. "Well, the location doesn't really matter. Shino will be unconscious for at least a day. They gave him something to help him heal, apparently. His insects were making a fuss."
"Man," Kiba said with a painful laugh. "That must have freaked the doctors out."
"It did. I did my best to make sure they weren't concerned, though I don't think it did much coming from me. The Hunters will definitely have questions about that," Hinata agreed. "But it's unavoidable."
"Who cares," Kiba asked. "Let them ask whatever the fuck they want. I'm sick of it." Hinata almost chuckled at how Kiba's opinion had intensified in just a couple days. Her teammate sighed. "I think at this point we should think about more reinforcements."
Hinata blinked. "What? More shinobi, you mean?"
Kiba nodded, wincing. "Those Royal Guard are fucked up. If the King's going to be even stronger than them, we really can't let him be born. I'm pretty sure Netero is the only of the Hunters who could take on any of the Guards, so the King would probably be beyond him." He looked to Mari. "And he's the Chairman of the Association, so he's probably one of the most powerful, even with his age." The Representative nodded in agreement. "So, if we want to make sure no one else ends up like Shino… might be worth considering bringing in some more people. To protect West Gorteau, at the very least."
Hinata chewed her lip. "That's risky, Kiba. It would be nice to settle this more safely, but…"
"It's pointless to consider right now," Mari spoke up, her eyes finally dry. Kiba raised an eyebrow. "The portal is still recharging thanks to all three of you coming through: it won't be finished for at least another three weeks, maybe even more. Right now, the only thing that can be sent here from the Union, or back to it, are faxes."
"Faxes?" Kiba blinked. "Seriously?"
Mari shrugged. "They've done a lot of experiments, apparently: they're the only kind of data that can make it through without too much corruption. I'm not sure how it works, to be honest."
"Hmm." Kiba scratched his nose, and then at his broken arm. "Well, shit. Forget what I said then. If that's the case, we'll have to finish this on our own." He coughed, spitting out a granule of dried blood. "I don't suppose you know any medical jutsu? I know Hinata hasn't practiced hers in a while."
"Sorry, no." Mari practically looked ready to cry again; it almost made Hinata laugh. Kiba was right. At best, she'd be able to mend their broken bones over the course of a week or two, but they wouldn't be even close to fully healed. She wasn't a hundredth as talented as Sakura, so there wasn't a question that for the rest of their time in the Mitene Union, their injured limbs would be weak points.
She felt too light. Shino had just lost a limb, hadn't he? She had no right to feel like this, especially with a shattered leg of her own. It was probably the blood loss. It was always like this after a hard fight, blood loss or not. The paradoxical feeling of relief and joy at having survived, and the guilt of others being less lucky. It reminded her of when Neji had died, such fierce sorrow and joy and anger all painfully juxtaposed, making her feel like a bug being rattled around inside a jar.
It was exhausting. The optimism she'd felt about attacking the nest just hours ago seemed like a dream.
She forced her mouth open, trying to drain the conflict inside her. "The King isn't due to be born for at least another five weeks," she said. "If we really can't find a solution to dealing with the Guards by then, we'll still probably have time to seek reinforcements." She smiled, sure there was some blood on her teeth. "But Shino and I nearly killed that Guard on our own. It almost killed us as well, but with just one more person backing us up, I think we could have taken it. Even if we're all injured, I'm sure we'll be able to figure out a way to finish the Ants safely before that point."
Kiba's mouth twisted. "It's back in your system now, I can tell. You're going to be using more of that lunar chakra, aren't you?" He leaned back with a small grimace. "It's making you a little reckless, Hinata."
"Lunar chakra?" Mari asked, cocking her head. Hinata glanced at her, then down at her trembling leg. It wasn't a conscious movement, just the twitching of pained nerves. She willed it to sit still, and it did… for a couple seconds, before it resumed its shaking.
She frowned.
"It's not common knowledge," she told Mari, who only looked more curious, "but it's not exactly a secret either." She focused, the muscles in her back and core tensing, and drew out some of her ancestor's chakra, the ferocious purple energy burning off her arms and shoulders. Mari rocked back in shock, and Hinata relaxed, the unusual chakra fading. "You were probably pretty young at the time, but I'm sure you remember the moon falling."
Mari nodded, her wariness melting away to be replaced by more curiosity. "Duh," she said. The the first time in five hours, she almost laughed. "I was ten at the time: I didn't really understand what was happening, but I thought for sure the world was ending. The sky was catching fire…" She trailed off. "And we were getting sent into shelters. But the Hokage, didn't he stop whoever was causing it?"
Hinata nodded. "My husband and I traveled to the moon along with some of our comrades and stopped the man who was making it fall." She grinned at the ridiculous truth of it. "While we were there, I came into contact with some ancient chakra, from the very first head of the Hyuuga Clan: Hamura. He was long dead, but his spirit, I guess you could say, passed it on to me to help destroy the jutsu that was causing the moon's fall." Kiba snorted, and Hinata shot him a half-hearted glare. "Since then, Hamura's chakra has been a part of me."
"But you don't usually use it?" Mari asked. "Why not? It sounds incredible." Hinata could swear there were little stars behind the girl's eyes.
"Well, you just saw it," Hinata said, her face growing serious. "It's a little scary." She shrugged. "And it's powerful: once its in my chakra system, it can take months to work all of it out and replace it with just my own. It's not a concern for me, or my husband-"
"Or me!" Kiba interjected, and Hinata managed a small, dry laugh.
"Right. But both of my children have the Byakugan, though only my daughter has managed to activate it." Comprehension dawned on Mari's face. "The first time she saw it, felt it," Hinata said, growing quiet. It was a painful memory that Mari had accidentally dragged back up to compete with Shino's lost limbs. "She was terrified. I'm sure she thought someone had taken over me. She wouldn't look at me for the rest of the day, and she didn't let me hold her until I'd managed to get it all out of my system."
"Oh." Mari sobered. "I'm sorry."
Hinata shrugged. "It's not your fault. But now that it's out, there's little reason to stop using it. We're in a bad situation. It's a shame, but I'll try to make my daughter understand."
'When I get back.'
"So, what now then?" Mari asked.
"You get back to West Gorteau, do your job," Kiba groaned. "Inform the Union on what's up. Don't let the Hokage know we got his wife beat up, he'll be pissed."
"Kiba!" Hinata protested, and he shot her a bloody grin. She sighed. "Don't listen to him. Well, you should return to your job, but the rest, ignore that."
"And you, Hinata," Kiba said, not finished. "You're done."
Hinata blinked, the bit of cheer she'd gained slammed against the verbal brick wall Kiba had just thrown at her.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Kiba tried to cross his arms and failed. "After this, there's no way I'm letting you fight again. Not like you have been."
That was unusually patronizing. Hinata looked him up and down, clearly eyeing his cast, bandages, and the catheter. "How would you stop me?"
"I'm not kidding around," Kiba said, spitting out some more blood. It landed on his cast. "Looking at that nest day and night, it's done something to you. I don't know if you see it or not, but it's obvious to me. Shino too, though he's probably too polite to say it. You're way too fixated on the Ants. Even more so than Shino, and he practically drools over the damn things." His eyes narrowed. "We're going to finish this. Those Ants are too dangerous to ignore, and I don't trust the Hunters to not fuck it up. But when we get out of this place, back to the nest, you're done. You're going to stay back and help the Hunters out, nothing more. If you have to, you'll play up your leg."
"That's not your decision to make," Hinata said, her voice low.
"That's true," Kiba said, not budging. "But it's not your right to make me explain to Boruto and Himawari why their mom came back twenty pounds lighter." Mari gasped.
That was a low blow. Hinata felt like Kiba had physically punched her in the gut.
She almost wanted to strike back. That's what shinobi did when they were hurt. Even though Kiba was one of her oldest friends, the urge to hurt him as he'd just hurt her was overwhelming.
But she was sure there was nothing she could say that would be as hurtful.
Or as true.
She opened her mouth, but she had nothing to say. She hesitated. One second, two, three. The silence stretched. Her throat was dry. Kiba's lips were drawn in a harsh line.
After five seconds, she conceded with a single, shallow nod. Her eyes were hot, but she refused to show any more weakness.
Hinata frowned, trying to crush her shame, and turned to Mari. "We'll stay here for two days, maybe three. Enough time to heal our bones for fieldwork. But after that, we've got to return. It's a critical time: we've got to capitalize on the Ant's losses. It'll be the same for Shino, though he might take longer." Shino would be just as dangerous without his right arm. Perhaps even more so, now that he had lost something to the Ants.
She breathed out, her breath shaky. "We'll be fine." Hinata told Mari with a false smile.
"Do your job. Don't worry about us."
###
Knov took a sip of his tea, his eyes wandering over the nest in the distance. Though it had only been three days since the assault, the scars left by Isaac Netero and the shinobi Mari Kansai were already fading, the Ants industriously repairing and reinforcing the dents and holes their combined effort had put in the nest with the enthusiasm and speed of…
Well, he acknowledged with a minute grin, ants.
That, combined with the reestablishment of the Royal Guard's monstrous En about fifteen hours after the battle had ended, made it seem like the only legacy of the assault were several devastated patches of forest. The Chairman had used dozens of trees as ammunition, and Shino's insects had devoured a sizeable number as well. That had been somewhat alarming, he thought, the tea soothing his throat. He never would have guessed the shinobi had command over quite that many creatures, or that they were capable of stripping life from an area so thoroughly.
When he had arrived at Hinata's location, drawn by her call, the only thing that had surprised him more than the damage to the forest was that it had not been enough to stop the Royal Guard. Shino Aburame had still been down two limbs, his stumps clogged with insects desperate to stop the bleeding. That had resolved a longstanding question Knov had had about the Aburame's abilities: whether the insects were a conjuration or an emission.
The answer had turned out to be both simple and obvious, which he appreciated. They were neither. The man obviously somehow hosted the insects, real creatures, inside his body, and commanded them through some sort of symbiosis. It was disgusting, but also somewhat mundane compared to the other possibilities.
However, despite appearances, the assault had resulted in far more that some dead trees. Nearly two hundred Chimera had perished, bringing their total numbers down to somewhere around six-hundred. The forest was stained with their blue blood; it was a far cry from when the Hunters had arrived to find over two-thousand of the insects infesting the area. The Royal Guard that had so badly injured Hinata and Shino had nearly been killed in kind, and it would doubtlessly take time to recover: Knov was almost eager for the Hyuuga to return, so her eyes could inform the Hunters as to the health of that Guard in particular.
Most critically, the chaos of the assault had allowed Knov to accomplish his primary objective. Though he'd had to withdraw sooner than he'd liked thanks to Hinata's call for aid, he'd still managed to penetrate somewhat into the nest, making his way several hundred feet up and into it, and leave behind an exit portal for Hide and Seek. That portal was the lynchpin of any further attacks against the Chimera. The next time they were distracted, assassinating the Queen would be much simpler.
"When did you have time to grab this, Knov?" Morel asked, taking a gulp of his own tea. Knov had given the man a kettle instead of a cup; he had more of an appetite. "It's terrible."
Knov shrugged. "It's from the hospital," he said without care. "I just wanted something to drink. And I didn't have time to get anything better before the Chairman called us here."
'Here' was a rocky bluff situated on the edge of a short cliff about eight kilometers away from the nest. It was an ideal observational post: the Hyuuga had spent much of her time here. Knov and Morel had seated themselves on some choice stones, waiting for the Chairman to address them. He'd been silent since they'd arrived about five minutes ago, content to stand and stare at the nest. Knov had produced the tea after the first minute, sure that when the Chairman was ready, he'd break the silence.
"You don't have something better squirreled away?" Morel asked, cocking an eyebrow. Knov shrugged.
"Of course," he admitted, "but I wouldn't bring it out for this."
"How cruel," Morel grumbled, taking another gulp of tea. "Twenty-eight days, and you still won't treat me."
"It only extends two kilometers now," Netero suddenly said, and Morel coughed, some tea caught in his throat. "That's what that attack gained us. One kilometer." The man's lips pulled back in a sneer. "How barbaric. Like the wars of old."
"Pardon, Chairman?" Knov asked, setting his tea down on the rock beside him. Netero crossed his arms. At some point after the assault, he had cut his topknot short, but not his beard. Knov wondered what had prompted the change.
"The En of that Royal Guard," he said. "It's reduced. Likely due to her injuries."
Her? The Ants didn't have genders, though Knov supposed that that cat-like Guard could look a little female. He didn't bother trying to correct the Chairman; the man would doubtlessly destroy him with sophistries if he tried. After nearly a month, he'd grown used to the little games Netero played to keep himself amused.
"Well, that's something then," Knov said. "Next time we'll finish her off."
"Mmm." The Chairman grunted, turning around. "Do you know why I've called you here?" Both Knov and Morel shook their heads, sharing a glance. The old man smiled. "Well, rejoice. You are here to have your curiosity satisfied." His teeth shone under his mustache. "And also to get you into the loop, Knov."
"Excuse me?" Knov asked. Morel frowned, and he looked to the larger Hunter. "You know what he's talking about?" The shinobi had informed them they would be returning by the end of the day, likely in several hours; it had been odd that the Chairman had called this impromptu meeting before they returned.
"It's been a hectic couple days," Morel said, running a hand through his long hair. He was clearly unhappy, though Knov had no idea why. "So you have my apologies for waiting to share some information with you."
"What did you find out, Morel?" Knov asked. There was genuine curiosity bubbling up inside him now. The man cupped his square chin in one of his huge hands, scratching at his jaw. Knov had never seen his fellow Hunter looking uncertain.
"After Shino was injured, in the hospital," he said, gesturing to Netero, "the Chairman suggested that there was opportunity for information gathering: potentially our only safe one." Netero wiggled his eyebrows, and Knov blinked at the childish expression. "There was a period where Kiba was unconscious, and Hinata was busy inside of Hide and Seek: about half an hour." Morel cracked one of his knuckles. "So I took that time to inject Shino with pentium solin, along with some midazolam."
Knov had a moment of realization. "That's why you had me fetch some?" he asked Netero, and the old man shrugged. In the days leading up to the assault, Netero had given Knov a list of things to stockpile in Hide and Seek: most had been simple and understandable, but pentium solin had been anything but. It was a rare compound synthesized from a particular kind of echinoderm that only lived deep inside the Yalu Jungles, discovered by the Hunter Ging. The land-bound starfish, limbs as large as trees, used it as a paralytic agent to ensnare prey the size of elephants. But in extremely small doses, it instead functioned as a truth serum.
Of course, real truth serums didn't exist: pentium solin just made people extremely suggestible. Combined with Shino's state, and he probably would have answered any questions Morel leveled at him.
"That's dangerous. His fellows... not to mention it interacting with the painkillers they had him on," Knov said idly, pointing to Morel. "Doesn't sound like you."
Morel grinned, a flat expression that was all teeth and no happiness. "I consulted with the hospital staff: they assured me that combination of drugs was perfectly safe. Three days later, and he hasn't shown any complications. They even managed to reattach his leg with the help of those insects, after all."
"Still," Knov said, "it must sting that it probably only worked thanks to his trust of you."
Morel flinched, and Knov regretted pressing so harshly. That hadn't been necessary.
"Without a doubt," the large man growled. "But… I do think it was worth it."
"So," Knov asked, trying to be conciliatory. "Did he say anything interesting?"
Morel produced a paper pad from his back pocket. "It was difficult to parse through it all: I actually had to take some notes afterwards. He wouldn't stop talking." He sighed. "I guess I'll just tell you what I told the Chairman."
"No, feel free," Netero said. "We have time. And I am curious as well, about what else he may have said."
"Fine," Morel grumbled. Knov could see the man was hanging between regret and satisfaction. Out of all the shinobi, Morel had had the best relationship with Shino. They'd worked well together on a few occasions, clouds of smoke and insects leaving Ants with no escape. Still, getting more information about the shinobi was probably worth a bruised friendship, especially considering that Shino wouldn't remember the 'conversation.'
"Most important stuff first, I think," Morel said, flipping through the notebook. "He claimed that they were from somewhere else, 'across space and time,' in his words. Kinda loopy, so I put that down to the painkillers. Most likely, wherever Konohagakure is, it's just far away from here. Especially since the Association still hasn't been able to locate any Hidden Villages with that name." He flipped to the next page. "He said it was a 'place without victory…'" he said, glancing at Netero, who might as well have been a statue, "until they won."
Knov cocked his head. "A lot of what he said was pretty disjointed, but he made it sound like there had been some kind of major upheaval: maybe politically, militarily, whatever. There was a huge paradigm shift at some point recently wherever Konohagakure is. I'd guess that now it's a much more peaceful place."
Odd, but not too far out of the ordinary. Upheaval was hardly uncommon in the world. Knov quietly nodded, and Morel continued.
"He mentioned his Hokage, the Fire Shadow Hinata talked about, at length," Morel said, scratching the back of his head. "From what I could figure out, his name is 'Naruto,' no last name given. Shino has a lot of personal affection for him; I wouldn't be surprised if they had been peers, the way he talked about him. The phrase 'The Will of Fire' came up once or twice, and from context, I assume it's his fancy way of talking about the Hokage's wishes." His eyes narrowed a little. "He claimed, and again, this was all while he was heavily influenced by painkillers, so don't take it as gospel, that if Naruto were here, he could destroy all of the Chimera Ants without any trouble." Knov's eyebrow twitched as Morel continued. "He also implied that if he wanted to, the Hokage could wipe out all of Konoha, maybe even all life in the area. He wasn't very clear."
Knov hummed, leaning back and uncrossing his legs. "That's a strong claim."
"Very," Morel agreed. "But it's what Shino honestly believed. Near the end, before he passed out for good, he was rambling about 'calling Naruto.'" He looked down at the notepad for the exact words. "To 'End it in a flash of light.' That was the last thing he said. The way he said it, calling Naruto is some sort of taboo, or at least discouraged. He clearly thinks very highly of his Hokage's capabilities." Morel looked back up, his face grim. "Whatever the truth is, it's obvious we have to be wary of this guy. There's no doubt he's a threat; maybe even a bigger threat than the Ants, if Shino wasn't exaggerating."
"I'm sure he was," Knov said, not so sure if he believed himself. "He was barely conscious, after all. Perhaps Konohagakure is in possession of weapons like the Poor Man's Rose?"
"Maybe," Morel acknowledged, shifting his weight forward. The way his fingers tightened around the pad told Knov he was trying to convince himself, along with the man's bitter expression. "At any rate…" He moved on to his next page.
"This next one, I found the most troubling." Knov sat up a little. Netero had remained as animated as grass throughout the conversation. He was as quiet as his Nen: as ever, Knov found him impossible to read.
"Shino claimed that their civilization," Morel said, "and by this I don't know if he meant the village Konohagakure, or something greater it's part of, was built on 'Jinchuriki.' An archaic term for 'Human Sacrifice.'" He leaned back with a frown. "I have no idea how literally he meant that to be taken. The shinobi certainly don't seem very religious, so I doubt they actually sacrifice people to something, but nonetheless, it's an alarming thing to hear."
"Maybe he meant their martial culture," Knov offered, adjusting his glasses. "It could be a metaphor."
Morel nodded. "I suspect if its literal, it could be the explanation for their hatsu; something like the Byakugan could be created by a proper human sacrifice. And Shino's own body is quite the sacrifice, considering he's completely full of insects." He shrugged. "However, other things Shino said seemed to point away from that."
"Such as?"
"A couple things," Morel said. "Hinata has a daughter, named Himawari." He tapped the notebook. "At some point in the past, she was shocked by something Hinata possessed that Shino called 'lunar chakra.' No idea what that is, obviously: chakra is likely some sort of energy or power, given the etymology. So some sort of power from the moon. Whatever it was, it made her think her mother was a stranger."
Netero made his first motion in the conversation. He slowly blinked, one foot sliding forward an inch. Morel continued. "In addition, Himawari, and the rest of Hinata's family aside, also possess the Byakugan. That allowed her to see it, apparently. That opens up several possibilities: they could be genetic, or to be a Hyuuga you have to make a Contract that bestows the Byakugan. Whichever it is, Hinata is the strongest among them. It's that mention of her daughter that made me think the 'sacrifice' wasn't completely literal." Morel paused for a moment of thought. "Shino is also some sort of teacher, apparently. By all indications he has a real love for it," he finished with a sniff. "I'd say that was everything relevant."
"Interesting." Knov leaned back. It really was quite interesting. A little of the shinobi's mystique had been peeled away. The information about the Hokage was particularly enticing to him; if this 'Naruto' was even slightly as powerful and influential as Shino made him seem, it was a miracle he wasn't a bigger player on the world's stage. The mystery of the supposed lunar chakra that apparently inhabited Hinata also drifted around his mind, unresolved, along with the word 'Jinchuriki.' He'd never seen the Hyuuga exhibit any power he'd call 'frightening.' Perhaps her daughter was just fragile?
"She has a son as well," Netero spoke up, his words slow. "The way she looked at Killua, back when we first met, it was obvious. At least two children, then. That's a shame."
"A shame?" Knov asked. Morel seemed content to stay silent after his long explanation.
"The two of you," Netero said, ignoring Knov's question, "will be receiving some information today that is only privy to myself and two of the Zodiacs. I don't care how you treat it, but I trust you'll have the appropriate judgement of its value."
Two of the Zodiacs? Any information so exclusive to the higher echelons of the Association must be secret indeed. Knov immediately started paying more attention. Today, the old man wasn't just messing around with them.
"The shinobi are likely from the Dark Continent," Netero said.
Knov almost fell off his rock. Across from him, Morel choked on his tea once again.
The Dark Continent. The enormous forbidden land that surrounded the known world, that the Chairman himself had deemed to dangerous to explore for any civilization, or the Hunter Association itself, after two disastrous personal expeditions? The shinobi might call that place their home?
It seemed completely impossible that any humans could survive, let alone live, in a place so horrifying that even Isaac Netero had been unwilling to return to it. Knov's mind went into overdrive at the implications as he felt a cold sweat form on the back of his neck. Hinata's eyes, Shino's insect-ridden body, Kiba's canine features, were they more than just particular expressions of Nen and genetic abnormalities? Were those the norm for those who survived beyond the invisible barrier that kept humanity separated from what would surely destroy them, erected after centuries of mistakes and millions of lost lives?
When humans had to constantly compete with the likes of the Chimera Ants, another creature from the Dark Continent, were incredible abilities like Hinata's all-seeing eyes the bare minimum required for their survival? Was that the sacrifice that Shino had been talking about?
After a moment of almost panicked thought, Knov calmed, and realized that Netero's second sentence had not followed the first. 'Likely' did not denote valuable information, only suspicion. He was sure Morel had come to the same realization already, but the larger man gave nothing away.
"The Dark Continent?" he asked, trying and failing to seem at ease. "Surely, that's impossible, Chairman. No humans live in the Dark Continent."
Netero nodded. "So far as we know," he said. "No one has traveled there for nearly half a century, since I prohibited such expeditions. Perhaps things have changed." He smiled. "Or we missed something."
He sat down, his legs curling under him. "You've seen my wariness of the shinobi they arrived, but I'm sure you didn't understand why. It was far out of proportion for new, helpful allies." Netero sounded cheerful, but there was an edge in his words. He dug into one of his ears in search of wax. "To understand that paranoia, you must understand some of what I encountered in the Dark Continent."
"I mentioned it to you some time ago, when my suspicions were still forming: a place without victory. I called it that not only because humanity could never triumph there; nothing truly could. The entire land, larger many times over than the known world, is filled with terrible things. The Five Calamities are barely representative of the dangers there. It is not just simple beasts like the Chimera Ants, but diseases incomprehensible to man, creatures that inhabit a spectrum of existence beyond our comprehension, words that can kill without being spoken, and far worse besides."
Both Knov and Morel listened with almost reverent focus, aware of the import of what the Chairman was telling them. It was when the Chairman spoke like this, with such gravity, that Knov found it easier to believe the man had once been known as the strongest Nen user in the world, that he had actually accrued wisdom over the course of a life four times longer than Knov's own, instead of just a ceaseless skill at irritation and obfuscation.
"But of the uncountable dangers there, one of the least odd is actually well known. The World Tree."
The World Tree. An enormous tree, nearly two kilometers tall, that grew in the northern country of Ygtal. Knov had heard of it. It was an enormously popular tourist attraction. That monstrous tree was from the Dark Continent?
"The one here is merely a sapling, unable to draw enough nutrients from the earth to grow to its full height and bloom. The Hunters Association saw to that long ago. With its growth stunted, it's harmless. But its fellows in the Dark Continent have had no such impediment, aside from one another. There, they grow to their full height, stretching beyond even the atmosphere. They have a peculiar lifestyle. There are several different species of them, but they all share the same means of spreading their influence and supplying themselves with more nutrients."
Netero closed his eyes. His aura rippled around him, an invisible stream of energy that sent pinpricks up and down Knov's spine.
"Once they are fully grown, a large fruit sprouts at the top. It ripens and plummets to earth, and creatures around the tree inevitably eat its remains. Once they have, they become tools of the World Tree."
Knov frowned. "The Trees are conscious?"
Netero's grin was outright unsettling. "Unmistakably. They possess great malice as well. The creatures they take control of through their fruit are twisted into weapons of terrible destruction. They rampage, searching for more nutrients for the Tree. All too often, they come into conflict with each other, an endless war that is continuously fought with mutated proxies." He licked his finger and rubbed a spot of dirt off his knee. "The mutation is the result of an unnatural melding of the creature's physical and spiritual energy. That much was obvious to us, when we witnessed these futile wars."
"Did a human ever consume the remains of the fruits?" Morel asked. Knov realized the potential connection at once.
"Once," Netero said, "an exceptionally foolish companion of mine, on my second expedition, dared to." His unsettling grin expanded. "He exploded. His body became an unstable weapon, and his Nen was the fuel." He poked at his side. "I still have a scar here, where one of his fingers buried itself inside me."
"But you think the shinobi are humans who have been successfully controlled by the World Trees," Morel said, Knov nodding along with him. It was obvious that's what the Chairman was pushing at.
Netero shrugged. "It is only one of many possibilities, but it has been foremost in my mind, yes. Especially since our assault on the nest." He leaned forward. "Whatever power they use in their hatsu, it reminds me very much of the World Trees. I could not be sure until I saw that girl Mari's techniques up close, but now, I have no doubt. It is nearly the same kind of energy."
"So, what?" Morel said. "We've stumbled into a conflict between two creatures from the Dark Continent?"
"They're not creatures; they are certainly human," Netero chided. "I find the most likely explanation is that the Dark Continent has a heretofore undiscovered civilization, and these shinobi are some of its first attempts to make inroads into ours. They would have been noticed otherwise, by world governments or the Association. Their reinforcement showing up so quickly also confirms there may be more of them around, or they have some means of rapid transport. All of it does raise a fascinating question about their involvement with these Ants, though."
He raised one hand. "Are they acting out of altruism, as they are so desperate to seem, hoping to make allies?" He raised the other, curling it into a fist. His smile shone behind it. "Or are they simply removing the competition?"
If it was the latter, Knov thought, the shinobi would attempt to destroy both the Ants and the dormant World Tree, removing any other potential rivals from the Continent. That much was obvious to him. If it was the former… he had no idea what to think of that. The situation was simply too incredible.
He and Morel digested what they had been told in silence for almost a minute.
"Netero." Morel used the man's name, not his title. "What should we do with this information?"
"As I said, that's not my concern," Netero said. "But I believe the most intelligent course of action at the moment would be…"
He stuck out his tongue. "Nothing."
"Nothing?" Knov asked. He couldn't tell if the Chairman was testing them or not.
Morel nodded. "As I thought," he admitted, turning to Knov. "This changes everything and nothing. No matter what, the shinobi are powerful allies. There's no reason to undermine them until the Chimera Ants have been dealt with."
Knov was forced to agree. Even if the shinobi had a menacing ulterior motive, their power couldn't be questioned. With their assistance, the Hunters had brought the Ants to their knees in far less time than should have been possible. Despite the injuries the shinobi had suffered in the assault, their position was stronger than ever.
"We have five weeks until the earliest possible date for the King's birth," he said, speaking to himself as much as he was to his fellow Hunters." "And in just two days, reinforcements will be arriving. This matter will be finished soon. Then," he said, looking to Netero, "we will worry about the shinobi?"
The old man gave an infuriating shrug, and Knov resisted the urge to grind his teeth. "Perhaps I'll win our bet," he said, giving Morel a meaningful look. The big man laughed. Knov hoped that all of the other Hunters would arrive for reasons besides his bet. Perhaps if Palm had been a part of the assault, able to track the Royal Guard who had evaded the Byakugan, things would have gone differently. It was a shame they had been too impatient.
"All five of them showing up?" he said with a grin. "Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it? I'd hand you that one-million jenny with a smile on my face." He stood up off his rock, grabbing his pipe and swinging it over his shoulder. Morel looked out to the nest, and Knov could tell from the way his nose twisted he was calculating the odds.
"Well," he said. "Make it two, four, or five. No matter who shows up, we'll have plenty of time."
###
This update got some substantial edits and ballooned up a little beyond my expectations. Chapter 13 is coming along, but it might take a while: tricky stuff coming. But as always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Interesting. I've blotted a lot of Naruto's ending from my mind, but it looks like you're trying to say whatever that thing was that crashed the Ninja War towards the end came from the Dark Continent?
chocolote12
A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.
Nah, they're explicitly extradimensional. It is a pretty good guess for what Netero actually knows, though.
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
That's a possible interpretation of the information given.
(oho so coy)
To be honest, I don't have a ton of interest in explicitly exploring the connection between the Shinju, the World Trees, the Dark Continent, and the Otsutsuki. I have it all mapped out in my outline so I can keep references to it internally consistent, but the background multi-dimensional farming drama that plot line entails isn't the intended focus of Myrmidon. All Netero's monologue is meant to definitely establish is that a kind of chakra (which is the result of an artificial mixing of physical and spiritual 'aura') exists in the Dark Continent and is responsible for some of the strife there, which is why Netero was extra touchy around the shinobi.
Sounds like it's not compatible with Nen, though, if Netero's account of a Nen user eating a World Tree Fruit and exploding is any indication.
- Location
- Underground
The fruit itself might not have been compatible with humans at all. At least not directly.
Kaguya, Momoshiki, and others like them aren't human to begin with. She ate the fruit, got the tree's power, and passed it on to her half-human children. They then passed it on to other people. That process probably made it safer, and less likely to control than what the HxH trees do. Yeah, there's infinite tsukuyomi...but that requires the tree project an endless perfect illusion, wrapping people up in pods, and turning them into plant people. Seems like a much more complicated process than 'sucker the animals to eat the fruit and then assume direct control'.
Though the tree that showed up on Naruto's world could be a separate strain or similar but different species of the trees in HxH world, which could account for the differences in how they work.
Haha, when I read the first half of the chapter my first thought was: well, the jig is up, everyone knows they're from another world now I wonder how this'll play out-
Okay, now that you put it like that I guess it does sound kind of stupid.
My thought is, will Shino remember the interrogation? Truth serums and so on seem to be more in a ninja's wheelhouse than a Hunter's, so if he even vaguely recalls it he'll realize what happened.
Is this from canon? Because this is an awesome description of 'here there be monsters' in a world where people can definitely be heroes.
Okay, now that you put it like that I guess it does sound kind of stupid.
My thought is, will Shino remember the interrogation? Truth serums and so on seem to be more in a ninja's wheelhouse than a Hunter's, so if he even vaguely recalls it he'll realize what happened.
Is this from canon? Because this is an awesome description of 'here there be monsters' in a world where people can definitely be heroes.
More or less? The Dark Continent has still not really been fleshed out in canon. Just that The Chairman is one of the few survivors of a previous expedition, it's where the Chimera Ants are from, and that travel there is forbidden. An expedition to the Continent is the backdrop for the current storyline so hopefully we'll know more eventually.
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
"Words that can kill" was ruthlessly cribbed from various fiction (most primarily in my conception from the Ravenor trilogy) as something appropriately alien and in line with HxH; the other two things have been shown off in canon, through the Calamities and (implied) Alluka.
Lucky number 13 is living up to its reputation for those interested, lol. Bitch of a chapter. Hopefully I'll have it done before long though.
Great Greedy Guts
Ceterum censeo Vigilam esse delendam.
Well, there's also the theory that Alluka's other self is one of the Calamities, too. A whole bunch of similarities. Here's hoping we find out, someday... if only for more HxH and more Alluka.
Ridtom
Good. Bad. I'm the man with the Wand.
"Ayyyyy" - Jiraiya's Ghost
Chapter 13
Ser_Serendipity
Building Character
Chapter 13
Fifty-two hours after Hinata resumed observing the Chimera Ant's nest, their King was born.
He ripped his way out of his mother, despite her pleading screams. A full month early; what could be troublesome for a human was only momentarily inconvenient for the King of the Chimera Ants. He had been overwhelmed by boredom, hunger, and insecurity. The pain of being watched, unable to locate the source of discomfort, had been nagging and unbearable. Its absence, and the delicious morsel of meat he'd been fed just five days before, had strengthened his resolve.
Though she would not die for another four hours, the King's impatience killed his mother as surely as the human's preying on the Nest would have.
Hinata Hyuuga did not witness the unexpected matricide that would tear apart the Chimera Ants. This was a mixed blessing. She had retired for the day to the safety of Hide and Seek, the injuries she had sustained fighting Neferpitou reducing her stamina. She, Morel Mackernasy, and Kiba Inuzuka were asleep in the early hours of the day that heralded the King's birth. Shino Aburame, who despite his dramatic injuries had recovered the fastest among the shinobi, and Knov, who had given up his family name several years ago, were patrolling the forest at the time.
It was only by pure luck that they did not witness the King departing with his Royal Guard in search of Shino himself, being several kilometers away on the other side of the Nest. Just an hour later, they would curse their apparent misfortunate.
If they had paused to rest thirty minutes earlier, or the King had departed fifteen minutes later, they almost certainly would have died. It was also extremely fortunate for them that the infant King grew bored within minutes, as most infants do, and departed with his Guards in search of something more immediately exciting.
In the end, the first sign for the extermination team that things had gone dramatically wrong was an Ant wandering the forest, calling out for death, clutching a crude white flag in its gnawed fingers.
###
"Wake up. The King's been born."
Hinata stirred.
She was sure she'd misheard.
###
Netero smiled.
"This early? That's impossible."
Knov couldn't imagine smiling at a time like this.
"We'll have to take necessary precautions, Chairman."
###
"There's too many." Kiba sank into a squat, wincing and clutching at his ribs. Even five days later, they were still paining him. For a shinobi, it was unusual. "Even with Shadow Clones, there's too damn many," he rasped. He was shaking.
Frustration, and exhaustion. Hinata was feeling the same thing.
She was forced to acknowledge that he was right. It had been about an hour and a half since the King had been born, based off the estimates given by the Chimera Ant that had approached Knov and Shino; in that time, the nest had steadily begun emptying itself as Ants poured out, individuals, squads, sometimes in what could only be called platoons that Hinata assumed were sticking together out of fear, or maybe even a herd instinct, since it was obvious that with the Queen's impending death, any sense of solidarity for the greater group had evaporated, the twisted creatures happy to stick with those that were familiar to them, but little more.
The King born, a whole month before the Hunters earliest estimates.
It was unbelievable. Worse, it was dangerous. Terribly dangerous.
The news had put Hinata in a horrible mood. Aside from getting her up early when she was desperately in need of rest, it had made a mockery of their efforts over the last month. The last three hours had been nothing but painful introspection.
Shino had lost an arm for nothing. They'd called off the assault on the nest too soon: with only a week left, they should have pushed as hard as they could at the opportunity, with one Royal Guard disabled and the Ants scrambling and disoriented, regardless of her and her teammates injuries. It was entirely hindsight, but that didn't make the reality of it any less painful. They'd unknowingly wasted their only chance to abort the abomination that the Ant's Queen had gestated, the sum of all the human misery in the NGL, thanks to the Hunters making yet another mistake in underestimating their constantly surprising opponents. In the face of that harsh realization, all Hinata could taste was regret.
Even then, the Ants scattering should have been a windfall, an opportunity to pick off the monsters without any hope of a counterattack, but their numbers were simply overwhelming. Even attacking individuals was dangerous with their injuries. Thankfully, the Ants seemed too focused on putting distance between themselves and the Nest to seek out the shinobi and Morel, who had remained with them. The sight of so many of the monsters streaming off into the world without comeuppance had made Hinata tremble. Kiba had noticed, and silently provided a solution, creating a clone to send out and hopefully pick off at least several of the Ants without too much risk.
But even with Hinata joining in with clones of her own, their shadows had only killed about a dozen Ants. It was an insignificant dent in the hundreds flooding the forest and fleeing the country.
Kiba had insisted she stay out of the fighting, but now, he'd seem to have forgotten that promise. Maybe it was the scale of the disaster happening all around them.
The sun was peeking over the low mountains surrounding the nest. It was around seven in the morning.
"It's something," Morel said. He leaned against a tree, his pipe next to him. "At this point, any damage is welcome. With the King born and the Ants spreading, the Association will definitely have to bring in more Hunters." He eyed Shino: for some reason, he'd been uncomfortable around the Aburame since the assault, though Hinata was sure she'd only noticed thanks to the acuity of her eyes. It was probably thanks to Shino's insects. Hinata was sure it had been an incredible shock to the Hunters to find the living hive inside of her teammate, despite the fact that they had studiously avoided the topic for the last five days.
"More Hunters?" Kiba asked rhetorically. He huffed. Hinata was sure he was missing Akamaru more than ever. Even with arthritis, even one more ally would make a difference here. "More than a few, I hope. This is a disaster for the Union."
"I'd imagine it'll be quite a bit more than a few," Morel said somberly. "The reinforcements we're getting today will just be the first of many." He looked downcast; the gravity of the situation was weighing on him just as heavily as it was on Hinata. He didn't look as tired as she felt, though. Everything was so turgid.
"You mentioned them, about a week ago," Shino said, and Hinata shook her head, trying to focus on the moment. Despite his grievous injuries, the Aburame had seemed to recover the quickest among the shinobi. Perhaps it had been because he had the least internal damage, but it still amazed Hinata to see her teammate standing so steady, as though he hadn't lost his leg just five days before. With the help of his insects and some surprisingly advanced surgery, the hospital staff in Dory had managed to reattach the limb with impossible ease. It had been a spot of relief in a difficult week.
His arm was still gone though. There was no doubt of that. The Ants had certainly destroyed or devoured it. Shino carried its loss well, but the absence disturbed Hinata, and she could tell even her normally unflappable teammate was unsettled by his injury. He still stood a little off-balance, not used to the change in his body's weight and center of gravity.
It reminded her of Sasuke Uchiha, who'd forgone a prosthetic, even as they'd grown more and more advanced. Maybe as some form of penance. Hinata had never asked, and she doubted she ever would. The Uchiha was taciturn at best, despite his relationship with Naruto, and his mind was his own. If he wanted her to understand his reasoning, he would tell her in his own time. Maybe Shino could ask him for advice on dealing with the missing limb, once the mission was over.
Hinata frowned as her teammate finished his thought, dispelling her worthless musing. "But you didn't tell us much about them. Is there anything we should know?"
Morel grunted. "There's five that may show up, but it will most likely only be two. The Chairman laid out some pretty stringent requirements for entering the NGL." He frowned. "That will probably go doubly now that the King has been born…"
"Killua and Gon are two of them, I'm sure," Hinata said offhand. She was considering deactivating her Byakugan. There wasn't much left to observe in the nest: barely a hundred Ants remained, and that number was steadily decreasing. The Queen was slowly dying, her body torn apart by whatever the King had done. Watching it filled Hinata with a cold satisfaction, but she couldn't deny the curdled discomfort creeping up into her gut at the sight. Nothing deserved to be savaged by its own child like that.
The veins around her eyes faded as Morel idly spun his pipe from one shoulder to the other, his huge hand rotating the handle. She wondered if it was a nervous tic; more likely, and consistent with what she'd seen, that the man just liked to keep his hands busy.
"That's right," he said. "They impressed the Chairman a couple years ago, when they competed in the Hunters Exam. He told us that much: I doubt he would have invited them otherwise. They're young, and relatively inexperienced."
"But strong," Kiba said, his voice thick and nasally. HIs nose still wasn't fully healed, along with everything else. "They must be, to impress a guy like that, right?"
"Maybe," Morel shrugged. "I don't know much about them. Killua's from the Zoldyck family: world-famous assassins." He chuckled. "Kinda a contrast there."
"What do you mean?" Kiba asked, and the bigger man cocked his head.
"Contract killers being that famous. Their compound is a tourist attraction in their country, even. You don't find that a little funny?" Morel asked. Kiba shrugged, and Hinata sympathized. After all, where they came from that sort of thing wasn't exactly uncommon
"Well, anyway," Morel continued. "Killua's got some infamous relatives, but Gon's more of a mystery. His father is a notable Hunter by the name of Ging: I've never met him, but he's the kind of guy who seems like they've been everywhere and done everything from the stories you hear. I have no idea what kind of relationship they have, but anyone who can pass the Hunter Exam on their first try when they're only twelve is worth noticing, at least."
"Not to mention..." Hinata said half to herself, "he did attack that Royal Guard. Killua had to knock him out, remember." Only a month ago. Had it really been that long already? The days had passed in a flash. Hours of boredom punctuated by flitting minutes of excitement, humor, or fear.
"Heh." Morel finally brought his pipe to a stop on his left shoulder. "That's true. That brat's either insane or stupid. Either way, if he manages to beat my students, he deserves to help us out."
Hinata was reminded of her husband, decades ago. 'Insane or stupid.' Hadn't someone used those words about him? The half-memory made her grin. She decided to give Gon a closer look, if he did end up arriving.
"Your students?" Shino asked, finally taking a more active interest in the conversation. He scratched at his stump: according to him his right arm was always itching. "Are those the others, then?"
Morel nodded. It brought a little warmth to Hinata's heart to see the unabashed pride in his face. "Two of mine: Knuckle and Shoot. They're accomplished Hunters, I'm happy to say." He grinned. "Knuckle is far too soft, and Shoot is rather shy, but no one can be perfect, unfortunately."
"Just as well," Shino said with a soft smile. "There's no worth in teaching if your students have nothing to improve." The Aburame was really a marvel, speaking so warmly when he'd lost so much to this worthless mission.
"Ha. I suppose you have a point," Morel easily granted, his expression remaining cheerful. "You sound like a teacher yourself, Shino."
Hinata was surprised; Morel very rarely blatantly fished for information like that. It wasn't an outright question at least.
"I am," Shino said. "I took a break from my duties to conduct this mission. The Academy was on break for the next two months anyway: I was planning on putting together my syllabus once I returned." He glanced at his missing arm. "That may be more difficult now. I'm used to writing with my right, unfortunately."
"Academy?" Morel asked. He was genuinely interested more; Hinata was sure he'd moved beyond simply asking out of duty to the Hunter's Association. "Sounds high-class."
Shino glanced at Kiba, who shrugged. They'd all agreed to answer questions honestly in the wake of the failed assault, after all. With the King born, it might become inevitable that the Shinobi Union would get more involved with the fiasco anyway. A distant possibility, but one that existed nonetheless.
"In our village, if you want to be recognized as an official shinobi, you have to graduate from the Academy," Shino explained. "Nowadays, it's not quite as popular, but it's still somewhat prestigious. We all attended it as children."
Hinata couldn't bring herself to contribute, her bitterness choking her, but Kiba spoke up in a nasally rasp.
"You might have seen this, Morel," he said, and the bigger man cocked his head. "You're a perceptive guy. But we were all assigned to each other as a team when we were pretty young: twenty years ago, I guess." Kiba blinked. "Jeez. We got old. At any rate, we were pretty used to working together."
"Were?" Morel asked. "You still have pretty amazing teamwork, by my reckoning." He grinned, shifting back against the tree. "Knov and I supposed you'd been working together for a long time: I appreciate you confirming it."
"Well, maybe," Kiba conceded. "But you know how it is. Things change over time. Hinata got married, Shino went to the Academy, I ended up in the police force…"
"You're a policeman?" Morel blinked. "A ninja policeman?"
Kiba grinned. Was one of his teeth chipped? If she hadn't noticed it before with her Byakugan, it was probably just a trick of the shadows cast by the canopy. "Who else is gonna catch ninja crooks? They're more common than you'd think." He tapped his face. "The nose comes in handy, you know."
"If you say so," Morel said with a bemused look. "Well, I understand you and Shino having responsibilities keeping you out of..." he continued, hesitating on the final word. Hinata couldn't help but mentally substitute phrases. These kind of disasters? Pointless exercises? Hopeless wastes? "This kind of thing," he finished. shifting his gaze to Hinata. "But what about you, Hinata?"
She wasn't sure she wanted to answer, but she also didn't want to be rude. Hinata glanced at Kiba, seeing if he'd pick up the slack for her.
Thankfully, he caught her signal. "She focused on her kids," he said. It was the truth, part of it at least. "Naruto's a great dad, but he always had a lot on his plate."
Morel sucked in a breath. Hinata looked up sharply at the sudden noise. The man had turned slightly, looking over his shoulder, and readied his pipe, but after a second, he relaxed.
"Sorry," he said with a little laugh. Kiba cocked an eyebrow. "Guess I'm jumpy. I thought I heard something."
'Can't blame him,' Hinata thought. She was surprised the King had left without attacking them. It didn't really make sense to her. She half expected him to pull the same trick his Royal Guard had, and appear from seemingly nowhere without warning.
"So that's her husband's name? Naruto?" Morel was poking at something, Hinata realized, but she wasn't sure what.
"Yes," Shino said slowly. He suddenly seemed uncomfortable, and Hinata felt the same way. The reminder of her husband had inserted some melancholy into her already morbid emotions. "You mentioned five reinforcements, but only named four. Who's the fifth, then?"
"Palm Sibera," Morel answered, adjusting to the change in topic with ease and scratching his chin. "She's Knov's… disciple, I suppose. She's a little…" He shrugged with one arm, palm facing up in a gesture of quiet futility. "Strange. Odd, but not unpleasant. She was forbidden to come at first. Not the best in a combat situation; her strengths lie elsewhere. But now, the situations changed. I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up alongside the others."
"When are they arriving?" Hinata asked, her voice quiet. Morel looked to her, adjusting his glasses as they slid down his nose.
"About half an hour, supposedly. The Chairman was still negotiating with the Ant that approached us when I left, but it was agreed they'd be here before eight," he said. "I'll admit, I never thought one of the Chimera would come to us. I knew they were a bit like humans, but can you imagine ants surrendering?"
He was right about that. Though Hinata understood that the Chimera Ants had stolen some traits from humanity, one of them having enough individualism to approach the people that had been so remorselessly destroying them for the last month in hope of aid was still astonishing. Hinata had learned with a sense of unwelcome fate that the Ant that had staggered through the forest in the early morning with a white flag made from a tattered white shirt had been named Colt; it had been the Squadron Leader of the patrol she and her teammates had killed all those weeks ago, when they'd first arrived.
She'd wondered, once or twice, if they had killed 'Colt' without knowing it and reduced the dying Hawk-Ants promise to nothing, but now she had proof that wasn't the case.
Colt himself had done that, by begging aid from Knov and Shino, the only humans who'd been on active watch that early in the morning. Hinata, Kiba, and Morel had been asleep, getting some very necessary rest; Netero had been doing whatever he did in lieu of rest. Morel had been overstretching himself with the shinobi gone, filling the forest with his smoke hatsu 'Deep Purple' to confuse and ambush the few Ants that wandered out in the wake of the failed assault.
Hinata wasn't sure what the Chairman would do with the rogue Ant. Netero was an unpredictable man, but also a pragmatic one. Perhaps he'd leave it alive in hopes it would inspire other Ants to surrender.
She sat down, shifting her stiff leg awkwardly out from under her body, and closed her eyes. Gradually, Hinata settled into a state of semi-consciousness. She hadn't gotten a full nights sleep, and just like her teammates, her injuries still plagued her. A half-hearted nap wasn't out of the question.
"No," she said, answering Morel's question before drifting off. "I really can't."
###
Hinata got forty-two minutes of rest before she was forced into wakefulness. It was Kiba that alerted her with a soft tap on the shoulder, snapping her out of the quiet darkness she'd shrouded her mind in. She'd been comfortable there, with her absent husband and his warm smile.
It was childish, but Hinata felt like she needed a hug.
One of Knov's portals had appeared in the middle of the forest clearing they'd been waiting in. It was a bit larger than a normal one. Hinata slowly pulled herself to her feet, taking Kiba's hand as he helped her up, and shook the last of sleep from her head. The day was unmistakably underway now. She couldn't afford to be groggy anymore.
What followed seemed like something of a setup to a bad joke, or a carol. Less than five seconds after the portal opened, fifteen people and one creature poured out of it, one after the other.
Knov was the first, looking unusually ruffled. His suit had clearly been slept in, and his hair was untidy. Nine medical staff followed him, all carrying clearly expensive surgical tools and bulkier equipment; it was practically a mobile hospital.
A Chimera Ant came close behind them, its too-human face twisted in clear worry. It was obviously Colt: the creature was a product of some kind of hawk or falcon and humanity, and it was a much more elegant fusion than its subordinate had been. It looked like a muscular man with grey skin and natural carapace armor. If it weren't for its beak-like mouth, talons and huge white wings flowing down from its back, it would almost be able to pass as an odd looking man. Its right hand was covered in teeth marks, one set crusted with dried blue blood. It looked like an Ant had been chewing on it.
Hinata examined its expression with more interest than she'd imagined herself giving such a thing. It was surprising to see such genuine worry and… compassion in an Ant. She'd only ever seen them express hunger, fear, hatred, and greed before. Colt, on the other hand, was clearly mad with fear, but it was a selfless terror. She hadn't realized they were capable of it.
Her mind wandered back to the first Ants she had killed. Subordinates of this creature standing before her. Then, she'd been unable to ignore that the Ants had acted like children, murderous teenagers, but that thought had been discarded without consideration by the horrific excesses of cruelty and misery in the nest. Now, the unsettling implications of that observation were creeping back into existence in her consciousness.
The last five arrivals through the portal mercifully drew her attention from Colt.
The first two, she didn't know. One was a tall man with a face made for smirking and a strong chin, his thick black hair styled up in a heavy pompadour. He wore a long white jacket with golden clasps running down the front, and matching pants. The man shadowing him was his opposite in several ways. His posture was more subdued, and his features were thin, even reedy. His hair looked somewhat greasy, pulled up in a long spiked ponytail, and he had dark, nervous eyes. He was wearing a purple robe, one sleeve long and huge, completely obscuring his left arm, and the other short, leaving most of his right arm exposed. That, combined with his right collar being high and sharp, created an unsettling vision of asymmetry.
If Hinata had to guess, she would have said that the first man to come through was Knuckle, and the second Shoot. The man in white bled confidence and joviality, but the one behind him was clearly timid. It matched up with what little Morel had told them.
The two following after them were familiar to her. Killua and Gon, looking out of place amongst all the new arrivals thanks to their obvious youth. They were both wearing similar outfits to what Hinata had met them in, though they were modern, not built in line with the NGL's all-organic restrictions. Gon was in mostly green, with a comfortable jacket and shorts, and Killua wore a blue tee-shirt and long black pants.
Of all the new arrivals, they seem the most relaxed. Killua made eye contact with Hinata for a moment and then looked away, walking off to the side; Gon followed him with a curious look. The boy looked innocent, but there was a steel edge in his eyes.
The last person to step through was a woman with long and lustrous auburn hair, hazel eyes, and sharp features. She was undeniably beautiful, like someone out of a magazine, and the impression was only enhanced by her teal dress, and the knives strapped to her chest. Next to Hinata, Morel twitched, some minute and unintentional flinch. Hinata glanced at him. The last woman was probably Palm Siberia, and by Morel's reaction, there was something surprising about her.
The portal closed, and Hinata suddenly felt overwhelmed by all the new arrivals. She could tell she wasn't the only one; her teammates were similarly uncertain. It was the most people they'd been with at once since crossing through the portal. Especially after a month of near isolation in the NGL, the sudden influx was a little shocking.
"Come. We've got to hurry." It was the Chimera Ant, Colt, of all the arrivals that started moving first. He glanced at the medical team. "We must reach the Queen immediately."
The group nodded, trudging after the Chimera Ant as it began moving towards the nest. Hinata wondered where Isaac Netero was. He hadn't arrived with everyone else.
"He's right," Knov told them. He walked over, glancing at Hinata's stiff leg. "Hinata, is it safe to enter the nest?"
She blinked, activating her Byakugan for just a second or so with an internal surge of cold energy.
"Including the Queen, there are a dozen Chimera Ants remaining in the nest," she told him. "I assume that... " she looked to the Chimera Ant that had started all this, and it glanced back, its fearful look narrowing as it noticed her unusual eyes, "Colt has assured you the remaining ones won't attack?"
"As best I can," the Ant said, not slowing down. The whole group was on the move now, jogging through the forest. It was less than a kilometer to the nest. "I can't guarantee my comrades intentions, but anyone that's stayed behind has done so out of loyalty to the Queen. They won't risk her safety, even if that means letting humans into the Nest."
The creature sounded so polite, and so desperate. It sent chills down Hinata's spine.
"Good enough," the man in white grunted. He was right behind the Ant, but slowly dropped back to be level with Hinata. He glanced at her leg; even at the mild pace, her limp was obvious and painful. Hinata glanced at him, keeping her expression neutral. Somehow, in just a minute she'd ended up seperate from Shino and Kiba in the little convoy. Looking around, she saw Shino and Morel in quiet conversation. Kiba was alone, on the edge of the group, but Gon was giving him an odd look.
"So, you're Hinata?" he asked. She nodded, and he grinned, all teeth, and leveled a thumb at himself. "I'm Knuckle; that quiet guy behind us in Shoot." Hinata's assumption had been right after all: Shoot trailed the group with a taciturn expression. "Our master mentioned you. You've been helping out, huh?"
"Something like that," Hinata grunted, her hip flaring in pain. "He only told us about you earlier today."
"Ah, he's a hard guy like that," Knuckle said, maintaining his smile. "Always keeps things close to his chest." His smile shrunk a little. "I'm sorry about your injuries. It's a shame we weren't here earlier."
Hinata gave him a look: it was an odd thing to say. "They were my fault," she said. "No reason for you to be sorry." Was it because she was a woman? Knuckle shrugged.
"You're not what I imagined, I'll admit," he said. "The way my master and Killua talked about you, I thought you'd be a little..." he frowned, realising there wasn't a polite way to end that sentence. Hinata giggled, her chest feeling a little lighter.
"Taller?" she suggested, and the man laughed back. He had about ten inches on her, after all.
"Something like that," he admitted. "Master's told me you and your comrades were indispensible in dealing with the Ants as quickly as you all have. You've got all our thanks for that."
Hinata smiled and nodded, glancing to her left, where Gon and Killua ran. They were nearly at the nest: the group as a whole broke out of the forest. Some of the doctors were sweating, but they moved without complaint. Hinata wondered why Knov hadn't transported them through Hide and Seek, to the portal he'd managed to place within the nest; perhaps they'd decided to stay with the group for safety, just in case.
Killua had been talking about her, Knuckle had said. Hinata wondered what exactly that meant. They traveled in silence for another minute or so, drawing closer to the nest.
"Alright," Knov announced as the group slowed down in front of one of the nest's main entrances. The hole in the structure yawed like a dark mouth, foul smells emanating from the dim interior. "Straight to the Queen."
"Hold up." It was Killua who spoke up, Gon close at his side. "You don't mind if we don't go up with the rest, right?"
"Ah." Morel glanced at Gon, and the small teen stared back at him. Hinata couldn't define his expression. It was something between beaming and a cold stare, determination and cheer combined into something bizarre and powerful. "Kite?"
"Right," Gon said as medical personal shuffled past him. "We've got to find him. It's already been too long."
Kite. One of the odd mysteries of the nest. The first time Hinata had seen him frozen in a block of ice, covered in horrible scars from head to toe, she'd been absolutely sure the man was dead. It had been to her substantial shock the next day that he'd been up and unmistakably alive, though still clearly injured. The man resided in one of the nest's deeper chambers, serving as a kind of training dummy for the Ants.
A training dummy that usually won its fights. Hinata wasn't sure what had prompted the man's apparent resurrection, or how exactly the malevolent puppet created by the cat-like Royal Guard kept him docile, but after having her Byakugan defeated by the same Guard, she was unwilling to underestimate anything about the strange and terrifying powers of Nen.
Killua, Gon, and Kite had been traveling together. It was obvious Gon felt some connection to the man if he was that focused on him.
"Yeah, you're right," Morel said. He looked back, pointing at Knuckle. "Hey, go with Killua and Gon. Find Kite. We'll handle the Queen." The man nodded, his face growing serious.
Hinata looked to her team for their opinion. Kiba came over, greeting Knuckle with a nod.
"We'll bring them to him," he said. "Shino'll go up with the medical team." He grinned. "Guess he'll finally get his hands on the Queen after all."
The group quietly dissolved, breaking up into two rough groups. Shino, Morel, Knov, Palm, Shoot, the medical team, and Colt rushed into the nest, intent on ascending it and reaching the Queen high above. Knuckle, Killua, and Gon stayed behind with Hinata and Kiba.
"Hey," Gon said cheerfully, sticking out his hand. "I'm Gon. Gon Freecss."
Hinata took it with a smile, disarmed by the show of good faith. "I'm Hinata. It's a pleasure to meet you, Gon."
"Yeah," he said, speaking quickly. "Killua told me about your eyes. They sound really incredible! You should be able to lead us right to Kite, right?"
Monofocused. Hinata actually sort of liked that. Still shaking his hand, she flared her eyes once more, tracking Kite.
He was waiting deep in the nest, standing alone and still in a dark and empty chamber. There was only one Ant between them and him; it looked like a somber koala in a small suit. Hinata wondered where on earth the Ant had acquired it, especially given the NGL's ban on synthetic fabric.
"I've got him," she said, releasing both Gon's hand and her Byakugan. "Don't worry, we'll go right to him."
"Thanks." Hinata started walking, and the group followed her. Gon stayed alongside her, growing a little more somber. "Morel told us you got injured fighting that Royal Guard. Neferpitou."
"Neferpitou?" Hinata asked, and Killua drew up on her either side. She noticed with amusement she'd been sandwiched by the teens. They were both clearly interested in her, almost certainly due to her introduction to Killua.
"That Ant that surrendered, Colt," Killua said, his voice softer than Gon's. "He told us that was that thing's name. All the Royal Guards have long names like that. Most of the Ants apparently just shortened them to the bit at the end, so they called that one Pitou."
Neferpitou. Pitou. Hinata considered that as they walked deeper into the nest, its shadows swallowing them. After a month of attacks and occasional starvation, the nest was cleaner than ever. Even the bones that had haunted her had been consumed by the Ants' hunger. Everything edible had been stripped away before the exodus caused by the Queen's injury.
She was glad the younger boys hadn't had a chance to see the nest at its worst.
The Royal Guard's name sounded delicate but dangerous. Maybe it was only because of Hinata's experience with it. Hinata wondered if she would meet it face to face once more. Almost certainly.
"I was," she said, responding to Gon's words almost six seconds after he'd said them. "I got lucky. It could have been worse."
"Lucky or not, if you could fight that thing, you must be pretty strong," Killua said. Hinata glanced at him cockeyed. The knowledge that he was from a family of world famous assassins made her readjust her assumptions about him. A innocent look was now recast as him blatantly sizing her up.
"I suppose," she said, deciding to try and engage the quieter boy with a soft smile. "That needle of yours is gone. Did you have it removed?"
"He did it himself!" Gon said, sticking his tongue out. "Dug it right out, and didn't even warn me. I thought he'd gone crazy, sticking his hand in his head like that." Behind them, Kiba and Knuckle chatted. "Still, we gotta thank you for seeing that thing."
"Oh?" Hinata asked as Killua shushed Gon.
"Well, I did want to thank you actually," the teen admitted awkwardly. "Who knows how long it would have been before I noticed it if you hadn't for me. So… you know, thank you, for that."
Killua Zoldyck clearly rarely handed out thanks, so Hinata decided to appreciate it.
"Of course," she told him, trying to make him understand she wasn't owed anything. She got the impression that was how Killua operated, under a system of grudges and debts. Hinata wasn't sure what had created the assumption, couldn't have explicated it if asked, but it was there nonetheless. "I just hope you were careful about that."
"As much as I could be," Killua said. They'd nearly reached Kite's chamber, and she raised her hand, bringing the group to a stop.
"Kite's in there," she said, gesturing to a wide door to the left. Beyond it was the huge chamber that Kite hadn't left in a month. "From what I've seen," she said, looking at Gon, "he's alive, but something is definitely wrong with him." The teen frowned, the deep shadows of the nest erasing his eyes. "He's attacked anything that's approached him from what I've seen, but those were all Ants. Maybe if we're lucky, he'll recognize us. If not, we'll have to disable him."
"I'll go first," Gon said, striding through the doorway without a second thought. "If he'll recognize anyone, it'll be me."
Hinata hoped that would be the case. It would be a relief to salvage even one life from the bloodsoaked nest.
They entered with Gon in the lead. Kite was apparent almost immediately; though cloaked in the darkness of the room, with the only light being several lanterns set near the corners, his shadowy form was obvious to the heightened senses of both the Hunters and Shinobi. The man stood completely still, his posture hunched, his heart beating only once every two seconds. Kite stood like a dead man, despite his struggling heart. His limbs twisted in an inhuman stance that nonetheless kept him on his feet, and his right eye refused to stay open, while his left was painfully wide, the eyelid seemingly drawn far back in his head.
Hinata's own heart sped up. She'd seen it through the Byakugan, but in person, the static violence that bristled in every fiber of Kite's body was shocking. Everyone with her had the same reaction, shifting themselves into a cautious guard.
Except for Gon. He just approached the man, hands at his sides, palms out, the picture of pacifism. Kiba shot Hinata a worried look, and she suddenly had a moment of strange clarity. This reminded her of something, from decades ago. She tried not to let the sense of deja vu distract her.
"Gon," Knuckles called after him, and Gon stopped about four meters from Kite. The man didn't make a move. "Be careful. Something's wrong." Killua may have been a professional assassin, but to Hinata he sounded like any other concerned teenager.
"I know." Gon's voice was flat. The contrast to his previous cheerful self was startling. "The Ants did something to him. But it's still Kite."
He grew a little louder, brighter. "Can you hear me, Kite?" He took another step forward. "We're here. Killua and me."
Gon choked, a little hiccup. His shoulders shook for a second before he steadied himself. "We're sorry for leaving you behind, but we're here now." Another step. "You'll be okay. Promise. We just gotta get you out of here."
A third step. "I'm-"
For the first time, Kite moved. It was a measured mechanical reaction, like a piston firing, but it was undertaken with vicious speed. Without hesitation, the man slammed a right-handed jab directly into Gon's face.
Gon tumbled backwards with a grunt of pain, and Hinata jumped, surprised by the sudden violence. Even under her eyes, Kite hadn't had an obvious tell, not for the initial strike. Gon rolled to his feet, rubbing his lip with his right hand. He'd only partially managed to raise the shields of Nen Hunter's used in a fight, and his cheek was bruised by consequence. His guard had been completely down.
"Jeez," Kiba said, circling around to the man's left. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," Gon muttered, shaking his head. "I probably deserved that."
"Gon." Killua frowned. "The way he moved…"
Gon grit his teeth. "Yeah. Not like Kite at all. He surprised me."
He approached once more, more guarded this time. Once again, when he came within arms length of Kite, the man lashed out: this time, Gon took the blow on his arm, stumbling backwards with the force but remaining unharmed.
Hinata examined the scarred man, who seemed happy to remain still so long as no-one got too close. At the moment he'd attacked, there'd been a flash of purple in her chakra-enhanced sight, a color she knew no one else would be able to see.
"His body is filled with Neferpitou's Nen," she said, drawing Knuckle's attention. "It's possible it's controlling him."
Killua remained quiet, circling to Kite's right, and Knuckle followed him. Gradually, the group came to surround Kite in a rough circle.
"So what do we do?" Killua asked. Knuckles clenched his fist.
"A.P.R. would be safest," he said, the term unfamiliar to Hinata. Gon nodded. "Especially if we don't want to hurt him too badly." Dealing with people under the control of others was always such a pain, Hinata thought. It was a pity they didn't have a Yamanaka with them.
"A.P.R.?" Kiba asked.
"Knuckle's Hatsu," Gon explained as Knuckle carefully approached Kite. "It's pretty amazing: he almost totally beat me with it,"
"He let us win that fight," Killua said. Knuckle looked offended, but didn't contradict him. "If he'd been trying, you'd be in Zetsu for the next month."
"That's what it does?" Kiba asked, and Killua nodded.
"Oi!" Knuckle shouted. Kite remained still. "Don't go explaining my technique without permission! Besides, you'll probably get it wrong."
He darted in in a boxer's stance. Hinata was impressed by his speed; the man moved with the practiced grace of someone who'd been in far too many fights. Kite threw another punch, predictable compared to his first; he seemed to be drawing from the same moveset. Knuckle easily knocked the familiar blow aside and landed one of his own, a solid punch slamming into Kite's lower ribs and pushing him back an inch.
The man didn't react to the strike as Knuckle leapt back, gaining distance. So far as Hinata could tell, the punch had done no damage.
"Done," Knuckle said with a frown. "Now we just have to wait."
As Hinata watched, a little blue and white creature appeared on Kite's shoulder, a clear product of Nen. It looked like the child of a cherub and a calculator: there was a pad on its forehead showing the number four-hundred.
"That's the Hatsu?" Kiba asked. Gon nodded.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "If it sits there long enough-"
"Don't go straining yourself," Knuckle cut in with a grin. Gon grew quiet, looking away and watching Kite with intense eyes. Next to him, Killua was doing the same. Hinata was sure she had no idea what they were going through; whatever had happened in the NGL before she had arrived, it had left a heavy mark on Killua and Gon. "The concept is simple enough," Knuckle started saying, for her benefit. Both she and Kiba did their best to pay attention. "I lend the enemy a little of my aura, but with interest. So long as A.P.R. is active, I can't hurt them, and they can't hurt me. Additional attacks lend more aura, while attacks against me give it back. However…"
He paused, holding up one hand. Hinata cocked her head. The man waited one second.
"It's time," the Nen construct said, its voice high pitched and bubbly. "Adding interest!"
It swelled slightly, growing larger. The number on its head loudly flipped from four-hundred to four-hundred and forty.
"Every ten seconds," Knuckle continued, his rough voice undeniably proud, "A.P.R. adds interest to the pool of aura from my own Nen. I drive a hard bargain, so it's ten percent. Once the aura its borrowed from me exceeds the targets total capacity of Nen…" He grinned, and A.P.R. spoke once again, growing larger. This time, the number on its head became four-hundred and eighty-four. "They go bankrupt."
"Which means?" Kiba asked.
"No more Nen," Knuckle said. "A.P.R. becomes I.R.S. and cuts off all the opponent's aura pores, forcing them into Zetsu." He gestured to Kite. "Once he's gone bankrupt, subduing him without hurting him will be easy."
"So what?" Kiba said with a crooked grin. "We just wait?"
"Basically," Knuckle acknowledged. He plopped down into a crosslegged position. "It'll take a while for the interest to add up, but he seems happy to sit their while it does, so there's no need to take any risks."
It was an ingenious and incredibly dangerous technique that could function on both offense and defense. Hinata couldn't help but be impressed. She sank down as well, happy to be off of her bad leg. It was hard to believe Knuckle had just given everything away like that: perhaps he was still holding some information back, or Morel had convinced him the shinobi could be trusted without reservation. Whatever the reason, Hinata appreciated it.
"How long will it take?" she asked, and Knuckle shrugged.
"Anywhere between five to seven minutes," he said. "Kite's a dangerous guy, so he'll have a lot of aura, but I have no idea how much exactly."
How many increments of interest was that? The math was simple, but Hinata was so tired the numbers just swam through her head. Six times a minute, five minutes, thirty loans. Who knew how much aura that was in the end. The final number was entirely beyond her foggy brain.
"We've got some time then," Killua said with a glance at Kiba. "Maybe you guys can catch us up on what happened while we were gone."
Kiba met his glance and shrugged, stretching his arms. He kept his eyes on Kite, still wary about him attacking despite the man's apparent reactionary nature. "What's there to say." He coughed. "We killed a lot of Ants."
"How many?" Gon asked. The difference between him and Killua really was night and day; where Killua's question had been vaguely cynical, Gon's was painfully earnest. However, the steel was still there behind his eyes; it was obvious he wouldn't be able to relax until Kite was out of danger.
"There were around two-thousand when we got started," Kiba said. "We brought that down to like, four-hundred." He grimaced. "Still way too many."
"Jeez," Killua said. "You guys were busy." Kite watched them, his stretched eye observing them without seeing them. Hinata closed her eyes, not wanting to meet the man's gaze.
But the darkness in their unnerved her. She activated her Byakugan instead. Better to see everything instead of nothing.
"Netero did most of the work," Kiba said. Hinata watched Gon and Killua, doing her best to weigh their minute movements. Knuckle was watching her with open curiosity; he had the least experience with the Byakugan, so that was only natural. Hinata realized she hadn't opened her eyes. He was probably wondering if she could still see. "That old man's really something."
"He's a scary guy," Gon said with a nod. "Killua and I met him when we took the Hunter Exam; he was super cool."
Hinata listened to the conversation in the background as she observed an unfolding drama nearly a hundred meters above them. The medical team had reached the Queen, and the Hunters and Shino were gathered around the dying monster, along with Colt.
The Chimera Ant was crying. Hinata never thought she'd have seen something like that. The medical team was performing an ad-hoc surgery on the Queen, hooking her up to several artificial organs and poking at her terrible injuries with caution. Hinata doubted it would be enough: the Ant's entire abdomen had been shredded, along with most of her organs. Shino was observing the whole process with an intense focus she'd only seen from him once or twice before. The Queen was one-of-a-kind, after all, so his interest was more than reasonable.
There were other Ants aside from Colt; they hung behind the Hunters and Shino, clearly concerned for the Queen but hesitant to get too close. A giant blue Bull-Ant, one that looked like a Penguin, a giant turtle with ancient features, another with the body of a man and the head of an octopus with a tentacle beard. It was a freakish collection.
But for the first time, Hinata didn't feel disgust or fear at the creatures' appearances. The Byakugan revealed every inch of their own terror and uncertainty. They clustered like frightened children, not sure of what they should do.
The thought came back, impossible to avoid, as Hinata looked between the Ants and Gon and Killua, seated nearby.
How long ago had they been born? Several months at the absolute most. They really were children, no matter how developed their bodies or minds, even more so children then the teens sitting next to her.
Killua could tell she was looking at him; no doubt some instincts he'd picked up as an assassin. It was no wonder he'd realized she was tracking him when they'd first 'met.' He gave her a curious look, and Hinata shifted, intentionally confirming his suspicions.
Children. Children watching their mother slowly die. For the first time, Hinata felt a twinge of sympathy for the Chimera. No matter how terrible their crimes, no one should be forced to watch their parent die.
"The Queen's dying," she said, interrupting Kiba as he explained to Killua how he had baited nearly a hundred Ants into Knov's Hide and Seek traps and Netero's grasp. "The medical team can't save her."
"Damn, no chance?" Knuckle said. "That's a shame. It might have been nice to take her alive."
"Shino will be disappointed, that's for sure," Kiba said. He chuckled weakly. "Though he probably won't admit it."
He was right: after losing an arm, Shino probably deserved a living queen to take back to the Aburame. The NGL wasn't a place of fairness.
"Shino?" Gon asked.
"Our other teammate," Kiba said. "He's the whole reason we came here: we heard about the Chimera Ants, and his clan is super into bugs, so we decided to come with him to look for them."
Killua cocked an eyebrow. "How did you hear about the Ants? Kite's team was the one following them, and they didn't tell many people."
Kiba shrugged. "Dunno. I wasn't curious how he found out. You can ask him if you want."
Hinata doubted Killua would. Silently, she watched the Queen die as though she were standing alongside Shino. It was a quiet passing; one of the Ants was saying something to the group, but the Queen herself just lay there, her mandibles gradually clicking together.
Hinata realized that she'd missed something. The notion was a shock, but also seemed fitting. One of the Queen's organs wasn't an organ at all; she'd looked it over, another assumption blinding her to what her eyes were actually seeing. It was a tiny creature, something that looked just like a human fetus. Colt withdrew it from the Queen's dying body, tears running down his cheeks, and the impossibly small thing started screaming; the plaintiff wailing of a newborn.
It didn't look at all like an Ant: its features were entirely human. Hinata didn't understand how that was possible. Behind Colt, Morel began crying too, his huge body shuddering. Hinata didn't understand why. She must have missed something. She focused on the man's lips as he spoke to Colt.
"If you promise to never devour a human," he said to a shocked Colt, "I swear, you'll be under my protection."
Hinata sucked in a breath, eliciting a questioning look from everyone present. Morel had the same sort of kind naivete shining through him as her husband. Seeing it here, far from home, in a man who until then had been calculating and somewhat cold, choked her.
As did seeing it applied to the Ants.
She looked down, deactivating her Byakugan.
Children.
Murderous children.
Her hands curled into fists.
"Something wrong?" Kiba asked. Hinata shook her head.
"The Queen's gone," she said. Took a shuddering breath. "Which reminds me." She looked to Killua. "Where is Netero? Why isn't he with you?"
"The Chairman had to take care of something else, apparently. No idea what," Knuckle answered. He huffed. "Dunno what could be more important than this, but he's got the big job for a reason."
Something more important that the death of the Chimera Queen? Hinata tried not to let her creeping paranoia influence her.
"Y'know," Gon said, "I gotta ask something." Killua shot him a look, which the other boy ignored. "Hinata?"
She couldn't ignore him. "Yes, Gon?"
The teen's face screwed up. "How the heck did you manage to fight Neferpitou? I could only manage it…" His gaze wandered over to Kite, pale and ragged, and his mouth hardened into a harsh line. "She'd hurt Kite, and I was so mad I stopped thinking. If Killua hadn't knocked me out, I definitely would've died."
"Implying you were thinking before, idiot," Killua prodded goodnaturedly, and Gon laughed. He seemed just a bit lighter than before. Something had happened while Hinata was focused on the Queen, she was sure.
"Well, you know what I mean!" he jabbed back, refocusing on Hinata. "That aura of hers, it was way too intense. When I woke up, I couldn't believe I'd pushed through it. So, I'm wondering…" he frowned. "Can you tell me how you did it? I've got to get stronger; I was almost too weak to come here, to save Kite. If it weren't for Killua…"
"Give yourself some credit, Gon!" Knuckle said. "It was your Jajanken that took me down!" The boy smiled, but Hinata could see the uncertainty that was drowning him.
She'd seen what Netero had said to Killua a month ago: it was obvious from what he'd said and what Morel had told them that Gon and Killua had competed with Knuckle and Shoot for the duty of entering the NGL. The Hunters hadn't wanted anyone unworthy arriving.
But despite arriving with the other Hunters, Gon didn't feel like he deserved to be here. She understood that now.
"There's no secret to it," she told him after a moment of thought. "You seem like a smart kid: I'm sure you understand there's nothing like a switch you flip."
"If you want to be strong," Gon said. Strong enough to protect what was important to you, Hinata heard underneath his words. He understood that critical principle, despite his age. Hinata was glad: she'd seen too many young ninja in the new generation who thought strength was all their was to growing. "I know. I've been a Hunter for almost two years now, and that whole time, I've been training all the time, with Killua too." He frowned. "But it's still not enough."
"It takes time," Hinata said softly. "Time, experience, bravery, luck." Knuckle nodded. "You're young: don't worry that you needed help to save Kite this time." She did her best to smile. "Hopefully he won't need saving again, but the next time something like this happens, you have to remember that your whole life you'll be working towards something you can't see. Sometimes you just have to have faith you'll get there."
Gon tilted his head. "So that's how you fought Neferpitou?"
It was so refreshing to talk to children again. Hinata felt light, warmth, releasing inside her. Something she'd suppressed as she'd clinically directed the slaughter of the Ants, that her ancestor's chakra had pushed away.
"Well, in a way," she said. "But I didn't think about it like that. It ambushed me." She gestured to the hundreds of scabs, large and small, covering her arms, legs, and face, her hand settling on her stiff leg. "There wasn't any time to think about how scared I was. I just had to live."
"So you were scared," Gon said quietly. "That's good. Why'd you have to live?"
Hinata blinked. It was a bizarre question. KIllua, Kiba, and Knuckle seemed to agree, given their various reactions. Even Kite contributed to the oddness, despite not moving at all. She was surrounded by incredulous K's. That, combined with the surreal query, made her giggle a little.
"Why'd I have to live?" she said, and Gon nodded.
"I'm not an idiot," he said. "People don't wanna die. But you don't seem like someone who'd fight just to stay alive. I never do."
Hinata tilted her head. She couldn't tell if the boy was truly an idiot, or much sharper than he let on. There was some serious, if sophomoric, philosophy buried in the observation. It took her about ten seconds to decide if she wanted to answer the question honestly. A.P.R.'s quiet announcement of incrementing interest stretched the silence.
"I have two children," she said. "Boruto, my son, and Himawari, my daughter. Boruto's only a couple years younger than you." She felt her eyes narrowing, and Killua stiffened, almost scooting back. She'd accidentally released a hint of Hamura's chakra. "If Neferpitou had killed me, they'd have lost their mother. I couldn't let that happen."
"Makes sense," Gon said with a grin. "Thanks for telling me." He looked back to Kite, who sightlessly gazed back. "I'm glad we met you. Who knows if we'd have been able to reach Kite so quick otherwise."
Kiba chuckled. "You're too good with kids, Hinata."
She didn't know what to say to either of them, so she stayed silent. The quiet persisted for another twenty or so seconds. At that point, Knuckle blinked, rising from his squat into a ready position.
"Hey," he said. "Looks like it's time." Hinata looked to him, and then A.P.R.
"It's time!" the little thing said, its voice warping and dropping an octave. It had steadily grown as time had passed: while it had started out the size of Hinata's head, it was now almost as big as her. "Looks like you're bankrupt! Too bad!" It cackled, and suddenly turned inside out: its cute spherical head withdrew into its body and emerged out its bottom looking like a vicious and bedraggled cat with unrealistically sharp teeth. Its whole body followed, inverting itself and becoming thinner, meaner, and darker. The thing flipped over, still cackling. It was now about the same size as A.P.R. had been when it had first appeared.
'This must be I.R.S.' Hinata flared her Byakugan; Kite's energy had been forced back inside his body. He looked like a dead tree, cold and static
"Alright," Knuckle said, walking forward. "He should be safe to approach now."
There was no opportunity for Hinata to give a warning. A monstrous figure sprung up behind Kite: a huge floating torso with a wide sharp grin and pinprick yellow eyes, its hands greedily stretched out over the injured Hunter. A string of Nen wormed down from each of its fingers. Kite sprang forward with incredible fluid speed; his movement and initiative was nothing like it had been before.
Knuckle had the reflexes to see the attack coming, but not the speed to avoid it. He barely had time for a strangled "What?!" before Kite hammered a roundhouse into his side, sending him flying into the wall of the cavern.
Hinata jumped back, along with everyone else. Kite's whole body pulsed with menacing purple light. There was no doubt now that somehow, Neferpitou was controlling him.
"Okay, uh-" Kiba started to say. But unlike before, Kite was no longer happy to stand around at wait for his opponents to make a move. Now, as the gigantic Nen construct hovering over him grinning madly, he rushed forward with lethal intent. Killua was his first target.
The pale boy saw him coming, and dodged his first vicious punch by darting to the side, under the blow. Kite kicked out, and Killua leapt over the strike, but Kite was far faster than before; before Killua had even reached the apex of his jump, he reversed his kick, slamming it into the teen's gut and sending him backwards and up. Killua gagged, and Kite leaped after him, trying to capitalize on his empty lungs.
Kiba intercepted him, knocking the maddened Hunter out of the air. They tumbled across the ground, Kiba trying to pull the taller man into a submission hold, until Kite slammed his forehead into Kiba's nose. The Inuzuka howled in pain, and Kite took the opportunity to box both his ears, rolling on top of him and trying to crush his throat with an elbow.
Hinata reached him before the blow could land, slamming her palm into Kite's chest. The man tumbled backwards, head over heels, before coming to his feet and launching off as though he hadn't felt the blow. He didn't directly attack Hinata: instead, he hurtled all around the chamber like a human pinball, never stopping in one place for more than a heartbeat. Hinata activated her Byakugan, tracking his movement.
"Forget it!" Knuckle called, coming to his feet.
Kite launched at Hinata from behind, and she ducked, sinking to her good knee and pivoting her hip to smash the back of her hand into the man's ribs. Purple chakra flared, and Kite was sent crashing sideways, a vivid bruise on his side.
"We gotta hit him for real!" Knuckle said, launching himself into the fight. He sprinted right into Kite's face before the man could recover, launching into a flurry of punches that the puppeteered Hunter deflected without apparent effort. "Sorry Gon!"
"Kite!" Gon shouted. He came in from the side, and Knuckle trapped one of Kite's punches in an armhold. The gangly man twisted, catching Gon's full-body punch with his other hand, and was left pinned between the two Hunters. Gon glared at him from behind his trembling fist. "You taught me that sometimes, you just gotta knock some sense into people!" He dropped, flipped, and pushed off the ground. One foot kicked out and knocked Kite's guard aside, and the other shot forward into the man's chin: an impressively quick reverse double-kick. "So snap out of it!"
Hinata stayed back, her leg protesting, as Knuckle and Gon pushed the Hunter back with a relentless combo of punches and kicks. Kite gave ground without care, deflecting the vast majority of the attacks and sending both his opponents staggering with powerful punches aimed at their chest and neck; Kiba and Killua circled, waiting for an opportunity. The fight was impressive, but it wasn't what Hinata was focused on.
Her attention was dominated by the puppeteer looming over Kite, and the play of Nen coursing between it and Kite. It was a beautiful technique, and as Hinata observed, she came to comprehend it more fully. It was something similar to, but far more developed than, the puppet jutsu used by the Hidden Sand. An autonomous puppet-master that manipulated its target with strings, but unlike the obvious string-use of Sunagakure, these strings filled the entire target with the Nen of the puppet's creator.
It was a comprehensive and terrifying domination technique, very much like what had animated the puppets that had cared for Toneri in his lunar palace. Hinata felt even more sympathy for Kite; long ago, she'd been in his position.
The strings were composed of Nen, and the method by which it was transmitted into Kite's body. They looked similar to the Hatsu the Royal Guard had manipulated itself with. The one Shino's insects had eaten away at.
Hinata rose to her feet, a simple plan forming.
"Keep him occupied," she said, making her voice heard over the constant low sounds of the intense fight. "I'm going to try and cut those strings."
"You're an exorcist?!" Knuckle shouted, before Kite punched him full in the face. Killua rushed into his place as the man stumbled back hissing in pain, sending Kite dancing sideways with a series of kicks intent on crushing the man's ankles and knees. Hinata had no idea what the term referred to.
Then again, Kite did seem to be possessed by a sort of ghost. Maybe if this worked she would be a sort of exorcist.
She focused, channeling a thin scalpel of chakra into her right fist. It was the same principle as the Lions Fist, just sharper. A projected chakra blade like this wouldn't be much use in an actual fight: not powerful enough to cut physical objects, and not precise enough to disrupt tenketsu or break up most jutsu. But here, it would be more than enough to cut some string made of spiritual energy.
Hinata waited until Kite was on the backfoot, Killua burying a sparking fist in his kidney, before she launched herself. She sliced lengthwise, hoping to severe most of the strings in one go, but Kite reacted to her with impressive awareness, despite still being occupied by three opponents. He slipped down and away, kicking back Gon to give himself the space, and the puppeteer went with him. Hinata's impromptu blade only cut three of the ten strings.
Kite sagged, scrambling away like an injured animal, and made a keening noise. Killua didn't follow up on the successful attack; instead, he dropped back, clearly startled by the change in character and shocking scream. Gon did the same, his eyes going wide. Kiba let out a short bark of a laugh and charged in, along with Knuckle; they drove Kite across the chamber as Hinata circled, looking another opportunity, like lions leading prey into an ambush.
The opportunity came three seconds laters, and Hinata took it without hesitation, throwing herself into another leaping strike. Kite launched a sluggish counterattack, and Hinata twisted around the sloppy punch, cutting four more of the strings: only three were left on one of the puppeteer's hands.
The Hunter stumbled backwards, spasming. His limbs twitched, along with his head; the shiver traveled down until his whole body was trembling violently. Kite sagged to the right, his foot dragging, barely able to stay on his feet. His eyes rapidly blinked. He looked like a man having a deadly stroke.
"Um," Gon said. "Is he-?"
Hinata charged; the man didn't offer an resistance.
She cut the last three strings in a single pass.
Kite fell over.
Hinata realized her mistake in the span of time between Kite's breathing stopping and his heart doing the same, a moment so short it essentially didn't exist.
There was no inertia, no struggle for survival. In an instant, all of the man's organs shut down. He went from stiff and alive to limp and dead before he hit the ground.
Hinata's mistake was both subtle and total. She'd made yet another fatal assumption. Not fatal to her, but fatal nonetheless. She'd seen the chakra strings and come to think what was controlling Kite was a puppeteer jutsu.
She'd been right, but her experience with chakra techniques had deceived her.
When Kite hit the ground, the Hyuuga realized the technique she'd just cut off had more in common with the Edo Tensei than Sunagakure's puppets. She'd been right, a month ago. Kite had been quite dead. The Royal Guard Neferpitou had simply animated his body with its Nen; imparted it with artificial life for reasons beyond Hinata's comprehension. Made its heart beat to keep its muscles healthy, its brain active to glean a hint of the man's impressive combat reflexes.
Saving Kite had never been a possibility. There was nothing in the nest to salvage.
All of this came to Hinata in a second as she watched the unintentional consequences of her actions crumple to the floor. Neferpitou's Hatsu evaporated in a cloud of chuckling malice.
There was a pregnant silence as left-over air slipped from from Kite's lungs, like a long, final sigh.
"Hey." Gon took a step forward. "Kite?"
"You alright?"
Hinata was frozen in place as Gon moved closer to the body. She understood that he didn't yet comprehend what had happened. It only took a second for her to know that both Knuckle and Killua, along with Kiba, had come to the same conclusion as her by now.
Gon was the only one who hadn't immediately understood Kite's passing. Almost certainly because he had the least experience with death.
"Kite?" Gon bent down to one knee, placing his hand on Kite's own, splayed out before him. "What's…"
He froze as soon as he touched Kite's hand, not even breathing. Hinata held her own breath as well. The boy became a statue, just as still as Kite.
Silently, something inside Gon broke. Hinata saw it as clearly as anything the Byakugan could have showed her.
Killua slowly approached, laying his hand on his friend's shoulder. He reminded Hinata of her father in a flash of deja vu: severe, calm, and sad all at once. It was almost disturbing to see a face like that on a fourteen year old.
"Gon," he said. "He's gone."
Gon sank to both knees. His hands curled into fists as his face fell into a sharp and ugly expression.
"He can't be gone," he whispered. "He was just alive. Kite wouldn't die." He started shaking.
"Pitou killed him," Killua said. He said it without thinking, and then paused to collect himself. "The night she attacked us. She killed him and then brought him back like this." He tightened his hold on Gon's shoulder, looking up at Hinata. "Right? You must have seen it."
Hinata nodded. "Only after I cut the strings," she admitted. "I misunderstood the technique." She released the breath she'd been holding. "The puppet was keeping his heart beating, but he was already dead."
"Pitou killed him?" Gon muttered, staring with blank eyes at the body. He wasn't seeing Kite's corpse; Hinata wasn't sure he was seeing anything. "Pitou killed him? That night?"
He looked back up over his shoulder at Killua. "Really?"
'It's not true, right?'
The plea broke Hinata's heart. Killua's grave nod didn't help.
Gon looked back at the body, seeing it, really looking at it, for the first time. Behind him, Knuckle watched the proceedings with a somber face: all the good cheer had gone out of him. Kiba had a similar look, his newly broken nose twitching. His grimace was only enhanced by the blood covering his mouth.
Gon bared his teeth, his fists curling so tight his nails cut into his palms.
He slammed them into the floor in front of Kite's corpse, cratering the stone-like material. The sickening thud of flesh twisted Hinata's stomach. Gon struck again, and again: he remorselessly crushed his fists into the ground, ripping skin off his knuckles and shattering the floor further.
"DAMN IT!" he screamed, tears starting to flow. Whereas before he'd been speaking so quietly Hinata had strained to hear him, now his voice was monstrous. Hinata saw Shino and Morel flinch and turn around near the top of the nest, alerted by the scream.
"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" With every scream, Gon grew louder, and he struck at the ground with more and more rage. Orange energy flowed out of his body, twisting around him like a vortex, putting Hinata's hair on end. It warped, black streaks flowing from Gon's shoulders and hair, some of the blood from his torn knuckles being sucked up into the raging aura as well. His tears were lifted up into it as well, mixing with the blood. The raw manifestation of Gon's desperation and despair pushed against Hinata like a solid wall.
But no matter how it intensified, Killua maintained a steady hold on Gon's shoulder, a rock in the middle of a violent black storm.
"I'll kill you." Gon's voice like a knife. Killua winced, the aura intensifying. Hinata could feel it even at this distance, see it just as easily; Gon's Nen pricked at her like thousands of black needles, sending goosebumps racing along her body and raising a cold sweat in the small of her back. Standing right next to him, Killua must have felt like someone was running blades up and down his body. "I'll kill you!"
Killua tightened his grip, his face stricken, and Gon let out one final scream, even louder than his previous shouts. His whole body stretched, as though he was trying to push himself into the sky without leaving the ground, and his aura stretched with it, smashing into the ceiling and exploding out across the room. Hinata actually felt herself rock back on her feet from the force of it.
Gon didn't stop screaming when he ran out of air. Instead, he remained there with an open mouth, trembling in a rictus of loss. He didn't need to speak for his Nen to send the same message his words had been.
Finally, he slumped, gasping for air. His Nen whipped away, drawing back into his body, slowly lightening back to its initial orange. His fists uncurled, bruised and bleeding.
For ten seconds, the room was silent and still as everyone did their best to cope with the sudden absence of both Kite and Gon's buffeting hatred. Kiba shot Hinata a glance she couldn't read, while Knuckle moved towards the younger Hunters.
"I'm sorry, Kite," Gon eventually said, his voice shuddering but coherent. He dragged himself to his feet, away from the body. Killua uncertainly supported him. "I'll be stronger next time."
He looked down at the corpse of the man who had obviously been so dear to him. "Promise."
The other Hunters and Shino were coming, drawn by the explosion of Nen and shouting. They'd arrive within the minute. Hinata had no idea what to do: she'd never dreamed Gon's reaction would have been so violent.
Her instincts as a mother implored her to provide the teen with some comfort. Her experience as a shinobi told her that everyone reacted to grief differently, and that he might not appreciate any open affection. She paralyzed by indecision.
'How many children did you kill in the last month?'
Hinata stepped forward.
Bad Roll
Fifty-two hours after Hinata resumed observing the Chimera Ant's nest, their King was born.
He ripped his way out of his mother, despite her pleading screams. A full month early; what could be troublesome for a human was only momentarily inconvenient for the King of the Chimera Ants. He had been overwhelmed by boredom, hunger, and insecurity. The pain of being watched, unable to locate the source of discomfort, had been nagging and unbearable. Its absence, and the delicious morsel of meat he'd been fed just five days before, had strengthened his resolve.
Though she would not die for another four hours, the King's impatience killed his mother as surely as the human's preying on the Nest would have.
Hinata Hyuuga did not witness the unexpected matricide that would tear apart the Chimera Ants. This was a mixed blessing. She had retired for the day to the safety of Hide and Seek, the injuries she had sustained fighting Neferpitou reducing her stamina. She, Morel Mackernasy, and Kiba Inuzuka were asleep in the early hours of the day that heralded the King's birth. Shino Aburame, who despite his dramatic injuries had recovered the fastest among the shinobi, and Knov, who had given up his family name several years ago, were patrolling the forest at the time.
It was only by pure luck that they did not witness the King departing with his Royal Guard in search of Shino himself, being several kilometers away on the other side of the Nest. Just an hour later, they would curse their apparent misfortunate.
If they had paused to rest thirty minutes earlier, or the King had departed fifteen minutes later, they almost certainly would have died. It was also extremely fortunate for them that the infant King grew bored within minutes, as most infants do, and departed with his Guards in search of something more immediately exciting.
In the end, the first sign for the extermination team that things had gone dramatically wrong was an Ant wandering the forest, calling out for death, clutching a crude white flag in its gnawed fingers.
###
"Wake up. The King's been born."
Hinata stirred.
She was sure she'd misheard.
###
Netero smiled.
"This early? That's impossible."
Knov couldn't imagine smiling at a time like this.
"We'll have to take necessary precautions, Chairman."
###
"There's too many." Kiba sank into a squat, wincing and clutching at his ribs. Even five days later, they were still paining him. For a shinobi, it was unusual. "Even with Shadow Clones, there's too damn many," he rasped. He was shaking.
Frustration, and exhaustion. Hinata was feeling the same thing.
She was forced to acknowledge that he was right. It had been about an hour and a half since the King had been born, based off the estimates given by the Chimera Ant that had approached Knov and Shino; in that time, the nest had steadily begun emptying itself as Ants poured out, individuals, squads, sometimes in what could only be called platoons that Hinata assumed were sticking together out of fear, or maybe even a herd instinct, since it was obvious that with the Queen's impending death, any sense of solidarity for the greater group had evaporated, the twisted creatures happy to stick with those that were familiar to them, but little more.
The King born, a whole month before the Hunters earliest estimates.
It was unbelievable. Worse, it was dangerous. Terribly dangerous.
The news had put Hinata in a horrible mood. Aside from getting her up early when she was desperately in need of rest, it had made a mockery of their efforts over the last month. The last three hours had been nothing but painful introspection.
Shino had lost an arm for nothing. They'd called off the assault on the nest too soon: with only a week left, they should have pushed as hard as they could at the opportunity, with one Royal Guard disabled and the Ants scrambling and disoriented, regardless of her and her teammates injuries. It was entirely hindsight, but that didn't make the reality of it any less painful. They'd unknowingly wasted their only chance to abort the abomination that the Ant's Queen had gestated, the sum of all the human misery in the NGL, thanks to the Hunters making yet another mistake in underestimating their constantly surprising opponents. In the face of that harsh realization, all Hinata could taste was regret.
Even then, the Ants scattering should have been a windfall, an opportunity to pick off the monsters without any hope of a counterattack, but their numbers were simply overwhelming. Even attacking individuals was dangerous with their injuries. Thankfully, the Ants seemed too focused on putting distance between themselves and the Nest to seek out the shinobi and Morel, who had remained with them. The sight of so many of the monsters streaming off into the world without comeuppance had made Hinata tremble. Kiba had noticed, and silently provided a solution, creating a clone to send out and hopefully pick off at least several of the Ants without too much risk.
But even with Hinata joining in with clones of her own, their shadows had only killed about a dozen Ants. It was an insignificant dent in the hundreds flooding the forest and fleeing the country.
Kiba had insisted she stay out of the fighting, but now, he'd seem to have forgotten that promise. Maybe it was the scale of the disaster happening all around them.
The sun was peeking over the low mountains surrounding the nest. It was around seven in the morning.
"It's something," Morel said. He leaned against a tree, his pipe next to him. "At this point, any damage is welcome. With the King born and the Ants spreading, the Association will definitely have to bring in more Hunters." He eyed Shino: for some reason, he'd been uncomfortable around the Aburame since the assault, though Hinata was sure she'd only noticed thanks to the acuity of her eyes. It was probably thanks to Shino's insects. Hinata was sure it had been an incredible shock to the Hunters to find the living hive inside of her teammate, despite the fact that they had studiously avoided the topic for the last five days.
"More Hunters?" Kiba asked rhetorically. He huffed. Hinata was sure he was missing Akamaru more than ever. Even with arthritis, even one more ally would make a difference here. "More than a few, I hope. This is a disaster for the Union."
"I'd imagine it'll be quite a bit more than a few," Morel said somberly. "The reinforcements we're getting today will just be the first of many." He looked downcast; the gravity of the situation was weighing on him just as heavily as it was on Hinata. He didn't look as tired as she felt, though. Everything was so turgid.
"You mentioned them, about a week ago," Shino said, and Hinata shook her head, trying to focus on the moment. Despite his grievous injuries, the Aburame had seemed to recover the quickest among the shinobi. Perhaps it had been because he had the least internal damage, but it still amazed Hinata to see her teammate standing so steady, as though he hadn't lost his leg just five days before. With the help of his insects and some surprisingly advanced surgery, the hospital staff in Dory had managed to reattach the limb with impossible ease. It had been a spot of relief in a difficult week.
His arm was still gone though. There was no doubt of that. The Ants had certainly destroyed or devoured it. Shino carried its loss well, but the absence disturbed Hinata, and she could tell even her normally unflappable teammate was unsettled by his injury. He still stood a little off-balance, not used to the change in his body's weight and center of gravity.
It reminded her of Sasuke Uchiha, who'd forgone a prosthetic, even as they'd grown more and more advanced. Maybe as some form of penance. Hinata had never asked, and she doubted she ever would. The Uchiha was taciturn at best, despite his relationship with Naruto, and his mind was his own. If he wanted her to understand his reasoning, he would tell her in his own time. Maybe Shino could ask him for advice on dealing with the missing limb, once the mission was over.
Hinata frowned as her teammate finished his thought, dispelling her worthless musing. "But you didn't tell us much about them. Is there anything we should know?"
Morel grunted. "There's five that may show up, but it will most likely only be two. The Chairman laid out some pretty stringent requirements for entering the NGL." He frowned. "That will probably go doubly now that the King has been born…"
"Killua and Gon are two of them, I'm sure," Hinata said offhand. She was considering deactivating her Byakugan. There wasn't much left to observe in the nest: barely a hundred Ants remained, and that number was steadily decreasing. The Queen was slowly dying, her body torn apart by whatever the King had done. Watching it filled Hinata with a cold satisfaction, but she couldn't deny the curdled discomfort creeping up into her gut at the sight. Nothing deserved to be savaged by its own child like that.
The veins around her eyes faded as Morel idly spun his pipe from one shoulder to the other, his huge hand rotating the handle. She wondered if it was a nervous tic; more likely, and consistent with what she'd seen, that the man just liked to keep his hands busy.
"That's right," he said. "They impressed the Chairman a couple years ago, when they competed in the Hunters Exam. He told us that much: I doubt he would have invited them otherwise. They're young, and relatively inexperienced."
"But strong," Kiba said, his voice thick and nasally. HIs nose still wasn't fully healed, along with everything else. "They must be, to impress a guy like that, right?"
"Maybe," Morel shrugged. "I don't know much about them. Killua's from the Zoldyck family: world-famous assassins." He chuckled. "Kinda a contrast there."
"What do you mean?" Kiba asked, and the bigger man cocked his head.
"Contract killers being that famous. Their compound is a tourist attraction in their country, even. You don't find that a little funny?" Morel asked. Kiba shrugged, and Hinata sympathized. After all, where they came from that sort of thing wasn't exactly uncommon
"Well, anyway," Morel continued. "Killua's got some infamous relatives, but Gon's more of a mystery. His father is a notable Hunter by the name of Ging: I've never met him, but he's the kind of guy who seems like they've been everywhere and done everything from the stories you hear. I have no idea what kind of relationship they have, but anyone who can pass the Hunter Exam on their first try when they're only twelve is worth noticing, at least."
"Not to mention..." Hinata said half to herself, "he did attack that Royal Guard. Killua had to knock him out, remember." Only a month ago. Had it really been that long already? The days had passed in a flash. Hours of boredom punctuated by flitting minutes of excitement, humor, or fear.
"Heh." Morel finally brought his pipe to a stop on his left shoulder. "That's true. That brat's either insane or stupid. Either way, if he manages to beat my students, he deserves to help us out."
Hinata was reminded of her husband, decades ago. 'Insane or stupid.' Hadn't someone used those words about him? The half-memory made her grin. She decided to give Gon a closer look, if he did end up arriving.
"Your students?" Shino asked, finally taking a more active interest in the conversation. He scratched at his stump: according to him his right arm was always itching. "Are those the others, then?"
Morel nodded. It brought a little warmth to Hinata's heart to see the unabashed pride in his face. "Two of mine: Knuckle and Shoot. They're accomplished Hunters, I'm happy to say." He grinned. "Knuckle is far too soft, and Shoot is rather shy, but no one can be perfect, unfortunately."
"Just as well," Shino said with a soft smile. "There's no worth in teaching if your students have nothing to improve." The Aburame was really a marvel, speaking so warmly when he'd lost so much to this worthless mission.
"Ha. I suppose you have a point," Morel easily granted, his expression remaining cheerful. "You sound like a teacher yourself, Shino."
Hinata was surprised; Morel very rarely blatantly fished for information like that. It wasn't an outright question at least.
"I am," Shino said. "I took a break from my duties to conduct this mission. The Academy was on break for the next two months anyway: I was planning on putting together my syllabus once I returned." He glanced at his missing arm. "That may be more difficult now. I'm used to writing with my right, unfortunately."
"Academy?" Morel asked. He was genuinely interested more; Hinata was sure he'd moved beyond simply asking out of duty to the Hunter's Association. "Sounds high-class."
Shino glanced at Kiba, who shrugged. They'd all agreed to answer questions honestly in the wake of the failed assault, after all. With the King born, it might become inevitable that the Shinobi Union would get more involved with the fiasco anyway. A distant possibility, but one that existed nonetheless.
"In our village, if you want to be recognized as an official shinobi, you have to graduate from the Academy," Shino explained. "Nowadays, it's not quite as popular, but it's still somewhat prestigious. We all attended it as children."
Hinata couldn't bring herself to contribute, her bitterness choking her, but Kiba spoke up in a nasally rasp.
"You might have seen this, Morel," he said, and the bigger man cocked his head. "You're a perceptive guy. But we were all assigned to each other as a team when we were pretty young: twenty years ago, I guess." Kiba blinked. "Jeez. We got old. At any rate, we were pretty used to working together."
"Were?" Morel asked. "You still have pretty amazing teamwork, by my reckoning." He grinned, shifting back against the tree. "Knov and I supposed you'd been working together for a long time: I appreciate you confirming it."
"Well, maybe," Kiba conceded. "But you know how it is. Things change over time. Hinata got married, Shino went to the Academy, I ended up in the police force…"
"You're a policeman?" Morel blinked. "A ninja policeman?"
Kiba grinned. Was one of his teeth chipped? If she hadn't noticed it before with her Byakugan, it was probably just a trick of the shadows cast by the canopy. "Who else is gonna catch ninja crooks? They're more common than you'd think." He tapped his face. "The nose comes in handy, you know."
"If you say so," Morel said with a bemused look. "Well, I understand you and Shino having responsibilities keeping you out of..." he continued, hesitating on the final word. Hinata couldn't help but mentally substitute phrases. These kind of disasters? Pointless exercises? Hopeless wastes? "This kind of thing," he finished. shifting his gaze to Hinata. "But what about you, Hinata?"
She wasn't sure she wanted to answer, but she also didn't want to be rude. Hinata glanced at Kiba, seeing if he'd pick up the slack for her.
Thankfully, he caught her signal. "She focused on her kids," he said. It was the truth, part of it at least. "Naruto's a great dad, but he always had a lot on his plate."
Morel sucked in a breath. Hinata looked up sharply at the sudden noise. The man had turned slightly, looking over his shoulder, and readied his pipe, but after a second, he relaxed.
"Sorry," he said with a little laugh. Kiba cocked an eyebrow. "Guess I'm jumpy. I thought I heard something."
'Can't blame him,' Hinata thought. She was surprised the King had left without attacking them. It didn't really make sense to her. She half expected him to pull the same trick his Royal Guard had, and appear from seemingly nowhere without warning.
"So that's her husband's name? Naruto?" Morel was poking at something, Hinata realized, but she wasn't sure what.
"Yes," Shino said slowly. He suddenly seemed uncomfortable, and Hinata felt the same way. The reminder of her husband had inserted some melancholy into her already morbid emotions. "You mentioned five reinforcements, but only named four. Who's the fifth, then?"
"Palm Sibera," Morel answered, adjusting to the change in topic with ease and scratching his chin. "She's Knov's… disciple, I suppose. She's a little…" He shrugged with one arm, palm facing up in a gesture of quiet futility. "Strange. Odd, but not unpleasant. She was forbidden to come at first. Not the best in a combat situation; her strengths lie elsewhere. But now, the situations changed. I wouldn't be surprised if she shows up alongside the others."
"When are they arriving?" Hinata asked, her voice quiet. Morel looked to her, adjusting his glasses as they slid down his nose.
"About half an hour, supposedly. The Chairman was still negotiating with the Ant that approached us when I left, but it was agreed they'd be here before eight," he said. "I'll admit, I never thought one of the Chimera would come to us. I knew they were a bit like humans, but can you imagine ants surrendering?"
He was right about that. Though Hinata understood that the Chimera Ants had stolen some traits from humanity, one of them having enough individualism to approach the people that had been so remorselessly destroying them for the last month in hope of aid was still astonishing. Hinata had learned with a sense of unwelcome fate that the Ant that had staggered through the forest in the early morning with a white flag made from a tattered white shirt had been named Colt; it had been the Squadron Leader of the patrol she and her teammates had killed all those weeks ago, when they'd first arrived.
She'd wondered, once or twice, if they had killed 'Colt' without knowing it and reduced the dying Hawk-Ants promise to nothing, but now she had proof that wasn't the case.
Colt himself had done that, by begging aid from Knov and Shino, the only humans who'd been on active watch that early in the morning. Hinata, Kiba, and Morel had been asleep, getting some very necessary rest; Netero had been doing whatever he did in lieu of rest. Morel had been overstretching himself with the shinobi gone, filling the forest with his smoke hatsu 'Deep Purple' to confuse and ambush the few Ants that wandered out in the wake of the failed assault.
Hinata wasn't sure what the Chairman would do with the rogue Ant. Netero was an unpredictable man, but also a pragmatic one. Perhaps he'd leave it alive in hopes it would inspire other Ants to surrender.
She sat down, shifting her stiff leg awkwardly out from under her body, and closed her eyes. Gradually, Hinata settled into a state of semi-consciousness. She hadn't gotten a full nights sleep, and just like her teammates, her injuries still plagued her. A half-hearted nap wasn't out of the question.
"No," she said, answering Morel's question before drifting off. "I really can't."
###
Hinata got forty-two minutes of rest before she was forced into wakefulness. It was Kiba that alerted her with a soft tap on the shoulder, snapping her out of the quiet darkness she'd shrouded her mind in. She'd been comfortable there, with her absent husband and his warm smile.
It was childish, but Hinata felt like she needed a hug.
One of Knov's portals had appeared in the middle of the forest clearing they'd been waiting in. It was a bit larger than a normal one. Hinata slowly pulled herself to her feet, taking Kiba's hand as he helped her up, and shook the last of sleep from her head. The day was unmistakably underway now. She couldn't afford to be groggy anymore.
What followed seemed like something of a setup to a bad joke, or a carol. Less than five seconds after the portal opened, fifteen people and one creature poured out of it, one after the other.
Knov was the first, looking unusually ruffled. His suit had clearly been slept in, and his hair was untidy. Nine medical staff followed him, all carrying clearly expensive surgical tools and bulkier equipment; it was practically a mobile hospital.
A Chimera Ant came close behind them, its too-human face twisted in clear worry. It was obviously Colt: the creature was a product of some kind of hawk or falcon and humanity, and it was a much more elegant fusion than its subordinate had been. It looked like a muscular man with grey skin and natural carapace armor. If it weren't for its beak-like mouth, talons and huge white wings flowing down from its back, it would almost be able to pass as an odd looking man. Its right hand was covered in teeth marks, one set crusted with dried blue blood. It looked like an Ant had been chewing on it.
Hinata examined its expression with more interest than she'd imagined herself giving such a thing. It was surprising to see such genuine worry and… compassion in an Ant. She'd only ever seen them express hunger, fear, hatred, and greed before. Colt, on the other hand, was clearly mad with fear, but it was a selfless terror. She hadn't realized they were capable of it.
Her mind wandered back to the first Ants she had killed. Subordinates of this creature standing before her. Then, she'd been unable to ignore that the Ants had acted like children, murderous teenagers, but that thought had been discarded without consideration by the horrific excesses of cruelty and misery in the nest. Now, the unsettling implications of that observation were creeping back into existence in her consciousness.
The last five arrivals through the portal mercifully drew her attention from Colt.
The first two, she didn't know. One was a tall man with a face made for smirking and a strong chin, his thick black hair styled up in a heavy pompadour. He wore a long white jacket with golden clasps running down the front, and matching pants. The man shadowing him was his opposite in several ways. His posture was more subdued, and his features were thin, even reedy. His hair looked somewhat greasy, pulled up in a long spiked ponytail, and he had dark, nervous eyes. He was wearing a purple robe, one sleeve long and huge, completely obscuring his left arm, and the other short, leaving most of his right arm exposed. That, combined with his right collar being high and sharp, created an unsettling vision of asymmetry.
If Hinata had to guess, she would have said that the first man to come through was Knuckle, and the second Shoot. The man in white bled confidence and joviality, but the one behind him was clearly timid. It matched up with what little Morel had told them.
The two following after them were familiar to her. Killua and Gon, looking out of place amongst all the new arrivals thanks to their obvious youth. They were both wearing similar outfits to what Hinata had met them in, though they were modern, not built in line with the NGL's all-organic restrictions. Gon was in mostly green, with a comfortable jacket and shorts, and Killua wore a blue tee-shirt and long black pants.
Of all the new arrivals, they seem the most relaxed. Killua made eye contact with Hinata for a moment and then looked away, walking off to the side; Gon followed him with a curious look. The boy looked innocent, but there was a steel edge in his eyes.
The last person to step through was a woman with long and lustrous auburn hair, hazel eyes, and sharp features. She was undeniably beautiful, like someone out of a magazine, and the impression was only enhanced by her teal dress, and the knives strapped to her chest. Next to Hinata, Morel twitched, some minute and unintentional flinch. Hinata glanced at him. The last woman was probably Palm Siberia, and by Morel's reaction, there was something surprising about her.
The portal closed, and Hinata suddenly felt overwhelmed by all the new arrivals. She could tell she wasn't the only one; her teammates were similarly uncertain. It was the most people they'd been with at once since crossing through the portal. Especially after a month of near isolation in the NGL, the sudden influx was a little shocking.
"Come. We've got to hurry." It was the Chimera Ant, Colt, of all the arrivals that started moving first. He glanced at the medical team. "We must reach the Queen immediately."
The group nodded, trudging after the Chimera Ant as it began moving towards the nest. Hinata wondered where Isaac Netero was. He hadn't arrived with everyone else.
"He's right," Knov told them. He walked over, glancing at Hinata's stiff leg. "Hinata, is it safe to enter the nest?"
She blinked, activating her Byakugan for just a second or so with an internal surge of cold energy.
"Including the Queen, there are a dozen Chimera Ants remaining in the nest," she told him. "I assume that... " she looked to the Chimera Ant that had started all this, and it glanced back, its fearful look narrowing as it noticed her unusual eyes, "Colt has assured you the remaining ones won't attack?"
"As best I can," the Ant said, not slowing down. The whole group was on the move now, jogging through the forest. It was less than a kilometer to the nest. "I can't guarantee my comrades intentions, but anyone that's stayed behind has done so out of loyalty to the Queen. They won't risk her safety, even if that means letting humans into the Nest."
The creature sounded so polite, and so desperate. It sent chills down Hinata's spine.
"Good enough," the man in white grunted. He was right behind the Ant, but slowly dropped back to be level with Hinata. He glanced at her leg; even at the mild pace, her limp was obvious and painful. Hinata glanced at him, keeping her expression neutral. Somehow, in just a minute she'd ended up seperate from Shino and Kiba in the little convoy. Looking around, she saw Shino and Morel in quiet conversation. Kiba was alone, on the edge of the group, but Gon was giving him an odd look.
"So, you're Hinata?" he asked. She nodded, and he grinned, all teeth, and leveled a thumb at himself. "I'm Knuckle; that quiet guy behind us in Shoot." Hinata's assumption had been right after all: Shoot trailed the group with a taciturn expression. "Our master mentioned you. You've been helping out, huh?"
"Something like that," Hinata grunted, her hip flaring in pain. "He only told us about you earlier today."
"Ah, he's a hard guy like that," Knuckle said, maintaining his smile. "Always keeps things close to his chest." His smile shrunk a little. "I'm sorry about your injuries. It's a shame we weren't here earlier."
Hinata gave him a look: it was an odd thing to say. "They were my fault," she said. "No reason for you to be sorry." Was it because she was a woman? Knuckle shrugged.
"You're not what I imagined, I'll admit," he said. "The way my master and Killua talked about you, I thought you'd be a little..." he frowned, realising there wasn't a polite way to end that sentence. Hinata giggled, her chest feeling a little lighter.
"Taller?" she suggested, and the man laughed back. He had about ten inches on her, after all.
"Something like that," he admitted. "Master's told me you and your comrades were indispensible in dealing with the Ants as quickly as you all have. You've got all our thanks for that."
Hinata smiled and nodded, glancing to her left, where Gon and Killua ran. They were nearly at the nest: the group as a whole broke out of the forest. Some of the doctors were sweating, but they moved without complaint. Hinata wondered why Knov hadn't transported them through Hide and Seek, to the portal he'd managed to place within the nest; perhaps they'd decided to stay with the group for safety, just in case.
Killua had been talking about her, Knuckle had said. Hinata wondered what exactly that meant. They traveled in silence for another minute or so, drawing closer to the nest.
"Alright," Knov announced as the group slowed down in front of one of the nest's main entrances. The hole in the structure yawed like a dark mouth, foul smells emanating from the dim interior. "Straight to the Queen."
"Hold up." It was Killua who spoke up, Gon close at his side. "You don't mind if we don't go up with the rest, right?"
"Ah." Morel glanced at Gon, and the small teen stared back at him. Hinata couldn't define his expression. It was something between beaming and a cold stare, determination and cheer combined into something bizarre and powerful. "Kite?"
"Right," Gon said as medical personal shuffled past him. "We've got to find him. It's already been too long."
Kite. One of the odd mysteries of the nest. The first time Hinata had seen him frozen in a block of ice, covered in horrible scars from head to toe, she'd been absolutely sure the man was dead. It had been to her substantial shock the next day that he'd been up and unmistakably alive, though still clearly injured. The man resided in one of the nest's deeper chambers, serving as a kind of training dummy for the Ants.
A training dummy that usually won its fights. Hinata wasn't sure what had prompted the man's apparent resurrection, or how exactly the malevolent puppet created by the cat-like Royal Guard kept him docile, but after having her Byakugan defeated by the same Guard, she was unwilling to underestimate anything about the strange and terrifying powers of Nen.
Killua, Gon, and Kite had been traveling together. It was obvious Gon felt some connection to the man if he was that focused on him.
"Yeah, you're right," Morel said. He looked back, pointing at Knuckle. "Hey, go with Killua and Gon. Find Kite. We'll handle the Queen." The man nodded, his face growing serious.
Hinata looked to her team for their opinion. Kiba came over, greeting Knuckle with a nod.
"We'll bring them to him," he said. "Shino'll go up with the medical team." He grinned. "Guess he'll finally get his hands on the Queen after all."
The group quietly dissolved, breaking up into two rough groups. Shino, Morel, Knov, Palm, Shoot, the medical team, and Colt rushed into the nest, intent on ascending it and reaching the Queen high above. Knuckle, Killua, and Gon stayed behind with Hinata and Kiba.
"Hey," Gon said cheerfully, sticking out his hand. "I'm Gon. Gon Freecss."
Hinata took it with a smile, disarmed by the show of good faith. "I'm Hinata. It's a pleasure to meet you, Gon."
"Yeah," he said, speaking quickly. "Killua told me about your eyes. They sound really incredible! You should be able to lead us right to Kite, right?"
Monofocused. Hinata actually sort of liked that. Still shaking his hand, she flared her eyes once more, tracking Kite.
He was waiting deep in the nest, standing alone and still in a dark and empty chamber. There was only one Ant between them and him; it looked like a somber koala in a small suit. Hinata wondered where on earth the Ant had acquired it, especially given the NGL's ban on synthetic fabric.
"I've got him," she said, releasing both Gon's hand and her Byakugan. "Don't worry, we'll go right to him."
"Thanks." Hinata started walking, and the group followed her. Gon stayed alongside her, growing a little more somber. "Morel told us you got injured fighting that Royal Guard. Neferpitou."
"Neferpitou?" Hinata asked, and Killua drew up on her either side. She noticed with amusement she'd been sandwiched by the teens. They were both clearly interested in her, almost certainly due to her introduction to Killua.
"That Ant that surrendered, Colt," Killua said, his voice softer than Gon's. "He told us that was that thing's name. All the Royal Guards have long names like that. Most of the Ants apparently just shortened them to the bit at the end, so they called that one Pitou."
Neferpitou. Pitou. Hinata considered that as they walked deeper into the nest, its shadows swallowing them. After a month of attacks and occasional starvation, the nest was cleaner than ever. Even the bones that had haunted her had been consumed by the Ants' hunger. Everything edible had been stripped away before the exodus caused by the Queen's injury.
She was glad the younger boys hadn't had a chance to see the nest at its worst.
The Royal Guard's name sounded delicate but dangerous. Maybe it was only because of Hinata's experience with it. Hinata wondered if she would meet it face to face once more. Almost certainly.
"I was," she said, responding to Gon's words almost six seconds after he'd said them. "I got lucky. It could have been worse."
"Lucky or not, if you could fight that thing, you must be pretty strong," Killua said. Hinata glanced at him cockeyed. The knowledge that he was from a family of world famous assassins made her readjust her assumptions about him. A innocent look was now recast as him blatantly sizing her up.
"I suppose," she said, deciding to try and engage the quieter boy with a soft smile. "That needle of yours is gone. Did you have it removed?"
"He did it himself!" Gon said, sticking his tongue out. "Dug it right out, and didn't even warn me. I thought he'd gone crazy, sticking his hand in his head like that." Behind them, Kiba and Knuckle chatted. "Still, we gotta thank you for seeing that thing."
"Oh?" Hinata asked as Killua shushed Gon.
"Well, I did want to thank you actually," the teen admitted awkwardly. "Who knows how long it would have been before I noticed it if you hadn't for me. So… you know, thank you, for that."
Killua Zoldyck clearly rarely handed out thanks, so Hinata decided to appreciate it.
"Of course," she told him, trying to make him understand she wasn't owed anything. She got the impression that was how Killua operated, under a system of grudges and debts. Hinata wasn't sure what had created the assumption, couldn't have explicated it if asked, but it was there nonetheless. "I just hope you were careful about that."
"As much as I could be," Killua said. They'd nearly reached Kite's chamber, and she raised her hand, bringing the group to a stop.
"Kite's in there," she said, gesturing to a wide door to the left. Beyond it was the huge chamber that Kite hadn't left in a month. "From what I've seen," she said, looking at Gon, "he's alive, but something is definitely wrong with him." The teen frowned, the deep shadows of the nest erasing his eyes. "He's attacked anything that's approached him from what I've seen, but those were all Ants. Maybe if we're lucky, he'll recognize us. If not, we'll have to disable him."
"I'll go first," Gon said, striding through the doorway without a second thought. "If he'll recognize anyone, it'll be me."
Hinata hoped that would be the case. It would be a relief to salvage even one life from the bloodsoaked nest.
They entered with Gon in the lead. Kite was apparent almost immediately; though cloaked in the darkness of the room, with the only light being several lanterns set near the corners, his shadowy form was obvious to the heightened senses of both the Hunters and Shinobi. The man stood completely still, his posture hunched, his heart beating only once every two seconds. Kite stood like a dead man, despite his struggling heart. His limbs twisted in an inhuman stance that nonetheless kept him on his feet, and his right eye refused to stay open, while his left was painfully wide, the eyelid seemingly drawn far back in his head.
Hinata's own heart sped up. She'd seen it through the Byakugan, but in person, the static violence that bristled in every fiber of Kite's body was shocking. Everyone with her had the same reaction, shifting themselves into a cautious guard.
Except for Gon. He just approached the man, hands at his sides, palms out, the picture of pacifism. Kiba shot Hinata a worried look, and she suddenly had a moment of strange clarity. This reminded her of something, from decades ago. She tried not to let the sense of deja vu distract her.
"Gon," Knuckles called after him, and Gon stopped about four meters from Kite. The man didn't make a move. "Be careful. Something's wrong." Killua may have been a professional assassin, but to Hinata he sounded like any other concerned teenager.
"I know." Gon's voice was flat. The contrast to his previous cheerful self was startling. "The Ants did something to him. But it's still Kite."
He grew a little louder, brighter. "Can you hear me, Kite?" He took another step forward. "We're here. Killua and me."
Gon choked, a little hiccup. His shoulders shook for a second before he steadied himself. "We're sorry for leaving you behind, but we're here now." Another step. "You'll be okay. Promise. We just gotta get you out of here."
A third step. "I'm-"
For the first time, Kite moved. It was a measured mechanical reaction, like a piston firing, but it was undertaken with vicious speed. Without hesitation, the man slammed a right-handed jab directly into Gon's face.
Gon tumbled backwards with a grunt of pain, and Hinata jumped, surprised by the sudden violence. Even under her eyes, Kite hadn't had an obvious tell, not for the initial strike. Gon rolled to his feet, rubbing his lip with his right hand. He'd only partially managed to raise the shields of Nen Hunter's used in a fight, and his cheek was bruised by consequence. His guard had been completely down.
"Jeez," Kiba said, circling around to the man's left. "You alright?"
"I'm fine," Gon muttered, shaking his head. "I probably deserved that."
"Gon." Killua frowned. "The way he moved…"
Gon grit his teeth. "Yeah. Not like Kite at all. He surprised me."
He approached once more, more guarded this time. Once again, when he came within arms length of Kite, the man lashed out: this time, Gon took the blow on his arm, stumbling backwards with the force but remaining unharmed.
Hinata examined the scarred man, who seemed happy to remain still so long as no-one got too close. At the moment he'd attacked, there'd been a flash of purple in her chakra-enhanced sight, a color she knew no one else would be able to see.
"His body is filled with Neferpitou's Nen," she said, drawing Knuckle's attention. "It's possible it's controlling him."
Killua remained quiet, circling to Kite's right, and Knuckle followed him. Gradually, the group came to surround Kite in a rough circle.
"So what do we do?" Killua asked. Knuckles clenched his fist.
"A.P.R. would be safest," he said, the term unfamiliar to Hinata. Gon nodded. "Especially if we don't want to hurt him too badly." Dealing with people under the control of others was always such a pain, Hinata thought. It was a pity they didn't have a Yamanaka with them.
"A.P.R.?" Kiba asked.
"Knuckle's Hatsu," Gon explained as Knuckle carefully approached Kite. "It's pretty amazing: he almost totally beat me with it,"
"He let us win that fight," Killua said. Knuckle looked offended, but didn't contradict him. "If he'd been trying, you'd be in Zetsu for the next month."
"That's what it does?" Kiba asked, and Killua nodded.
"Oi!" Knuckle shouted. Kite remained still. "Don't go explaining my technique without permission! Besides, you'll probably get it wrong."
He darted in in a boxer's stance. Hinata was impressed by his speed; the man moved with the practiced grace of someone who'd been in far too many fights. Kite threw another punch, predictable compared to his first; he seemed to be drawing from the same moveset. Knuckle easily knocked the familiar blow aside and landed one of his own, a solid punch slamming into Kite's lower ribs and pushing him back an inch.
The man didn't react to the strike as Knuckle leapt back, gaining distance. So far as Hinata could tell, the punch had done no damage.
"Done," Knuckle said with a frown. "Now we just have to wait."
As Hinata watched, a little blue and white creature appeared on Kite's shoulder, a clear product of Nen. It looked like the child of a cherub and a calculator: there was a pad on its forehead showing the number four-hundred.
"That's the Hatsu?" Kiba asked. Gon nodded.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "If it sits there long enough-"
"Don't go straining yourself," Knuckle cut in with a grin. Gon grew quiet, looking away and watching Kite with intense eyes. Next to him, Killua was doing the same. Hinata was sure she had no idea what they were going through; whatever had happened in the NGL before she had arrived, it had left a heavy mark on Killua and Gon. "The concept is simple enough," Knuckle started saying, for her benefit. Both she and Kiba did their best to pay attention. "I lend the enemy a little of my aura, but with interest. So long as A.P.R. is active, I can't hurt them, and they can't hurt me. Additional attacks lend more aura, while attacks against me give it back. However…"
He paused, holding up one hand. Hinata cocked her head. The man waited one second.
"It's time," the Nen construct said, its voice high pitched and bubbly. "Adding interest!"
It swelled slightly, growing larger. The number on its head loudly flipped from four-hundred to four-hundred and forty.
"Every ten seconds," Knuckle continued, his rough voice undeniably proud, "A.P.R. adds interest to the pool of aura from my own Nen. I drive a hard bargain, so it's ten percent. Once the aura its borrowed from me exceeds the targets total capacity of Nen…" He grinned, and A.P.R. spoke once again, growing larger. This time, the number on its head became four-hundred and eighty-four. "They go bankrupt."
"Which means?" Kiba asked.
"No more Nen," Knuckle said. "A.P.R. becomes I.R.S. and cuts off all the opponent's aura pores, forcing them into Zetsu." He gestured to Kite. "Once he's gone bankrupt, subduing him without hurting him will be easy."
"So what?" Kiba said with a crooked grin. "We just wait?"
"Basically," Knuckle acknowledged. He plopped down into a crosslegged position. "It'll take a while for the interest to add up, but he seems happy to sit their while it does, so there's no need to take any risks."
It was an ingenious and incredibly dangerous technique that could function on both offense and defense. Hinata couldn't help but be impressed. She sank down as well, happy to be off of her bad leg. It was hard to believe Knuckle had just given everything away like that: perhaps he was still holding some information back, or Morel had convinced him the shinobi could be trusted without reservation. Whatever the reason, Hinata appreciated it.
"How long will it take?" she asked, and Knuckle shrugged.
"Anywhere between five to seven minutes," he said. "Kite's a dangerous guy, so he'll have a lot of aura, but I have no idea how much exactly."
How many increments of interest was that? The math was simple, but Hinata was so tired the numbers just swam through her head. Six times a minute, five minutes, thirty loans. Who knew how much aura that was in the end. The final number was entirely beyond her foggy brain.
"We've got some time then," Killua said with a glance at Kiba. "Maybe you guys can catch us up on what happened while we were gone."
Kiba met his glance and shrugged, stretching his arms. He kept his eyes on Kite, still wary about him attacking despite the man's apparent reactionary nature. "What's there to say." He coughed. "We killed a lot of Ants."
"How many?" Gon asked. The difference between him and Killua really was night and day; where Killua's question had been vaguely cynical, Gon's was painfully earnest. However, the steel was still there behind his eyes; it was obvious he wouldn't be able to relax until Kite was out of danger.
"There were around two-thousand when we got started," Kiba said. "We brought that down to like, four-hundred." He grimaced. "Still way too many."
"Jeez," Killua said. "You guys were busy." Kite watched them, his stretched eye observing them without seeing them. Hinata closed her eyes, not wanting to meet the man's gaze.
But the darkness in their unnerved her. She activated her Byakugan instead. Better to see everything instead of nothing.
"Netero did most of the work," Kiba said. Hinata watched Gon and Killua, doing her best to weigh their minute movements. Knuckle was watching her with open curiosity; he had the least experience with the Byakugan, so that was only natural. Hinata realized she hadn't opened her eyes. He was probably wondering if she could still see. "That old man's really something."
"He's a scary guy," Gon said with a nod. "Killua and I met him when we took the Hunter Exam; he was super cool."
Hinata listened to the conversation in the background as she observed an unfolding drama nearly a hundred meters above them. The medical team had reached the Queen, and the Hunters and Shino were gathered around the dying monster, along with Colt.
The Chimera Ant was crying. Hinata never thought she'd have seen something like that. The medical team was performing an ad-hoc surgery on the Queen, hooking her up to several artificial organs and poking at her terrible injuries with caution. Hinata doubted it would be enough: the Ant's entire abdomen had been shredded, along with most of her organs. Shino was observing the whole process with an intense focus she'd only seen from him once or twice before. The Queen was one-of-a-kind, after all, so his interest was more than reasonable.
There were other Ants aside from Colt; they hung behind the Hunters and Shino, clearly concerned for the Queen but hesitant to get too close. A giant blue Bull-Ant, one that looked like a Penguin, a giant turtle with ancient features, another with the body of a man and the head of an octopus with a tentacle beard. It was a freakish collection.
But for the first time, Hinata didn't feel disgust or fear at the creatures' appearances. The Byakugan revealed every inch of their own terror and uncertainty. They clustered like frightened children, not sure of what they should do.
The thought came back, impossible to avoid, as Hinata looked between the Ants and Gon and Killua, seated nearby.
How long ago had they been born? Several months at the absolute most. They really were children, no matter how developed their bodies or minds, even more so children then the teens sitting next to her.
Killua could tell she was looking at him; no doubt some instincts he'd picked up as an assassin. It was no wonder he'd realized she was tracking him when they'd first 'met.' He gave her a curious look, and Hinata shifted, intentionally confirming his suspicions.
Children. Children watching their mother slowly die. For the first time, Hinata felt a twinge of sympathy for the Chimera. No matter how terrible their crimes, no one should be forced to watch their parent die.
"The Queen's dying," she said, interrupting Kiba as he explained to Killua how he had baited nearly a hundred Ants into Knov's Hide and Seek traps and Netero's grasp. "The medical team can't save her."
"Damn, no chance?" Knuckle said. "That's a shame. It might have been nice to take her alive."
"Shino will be disappointed, that's for sure," Kiba said. He chuckled weakly. "Though he probably won't admit it."
He was right: after losing an arm, Shino probably deserved a living queen to take back to the Aburame. The NGL wasn't a place of fairness.
"Shino?" Gon asked.
"Our other teammate," Kiba said. "He's the whole reason we came here: we heard about the Chimera Ants, and his clan is super into bugs, so we decided to come with him to look for them."
Killua cocked an eyebrow. "How did you hear about the Ants? Kite's team was the one following them, and they didn't tell many people."
Kiba shrugged. "Dunno. I wasn't curious how he found out. You can ask him if you want."
Hinata doubted Killua would. Silently, she watched the Queen die as though she were standing alongside Shino. It was a quiet passing; one of the Ants was saying something to the group, but the Queen herself just lay there, her mandibles gradually clicking together.
Hinata realized that she'd missed something. The notion was a shock, but also seemed fitting. One of the Queen's organs wasn't an organ at all; she'd looked it over, another assumption blinding her to what her eyes were actually seeing. It was a tiny creature, something that looked just like a human fetus. Colt withdrew it from the Queen's dying body, tears running down his cheeks, and the impossibly small thing started screaming; the plaintiff wailing of a newborn.
It didn't look at all like an Ant: its features were entirely human. Hinata didn't understand how that was possible. Behind Colt, Morel began crying too, his huge body shuddering. Hinata didn't understand why. She must have missed something. She focused on the man's lips as he spoke to Colt.
"If you promise to never devour a human," he said to a shocked Colt, "I swear, you'll be under my protection."
Hinata sucked in a breath, eliciting a questioning look from everyone present. Morel had the same sort of kind naivete shining through him as her husband. Seeing it here, far from home, in a man who until then had been calculating and somewhat cold, choked her.
As did seeing it applied to the Ants.
She looked down, deactivating her Byakugan.
Children.
Murderous children.
Her hands curled into fists.
"Something wrong?" Kiba asked. Hinata shook her head.
"The Queen's gone," she said. Took a shuddering breath. "Which reminds me." She looked to Killua. "Where is Netero? Why isn't he with you?"
"The Chairman had to take care of something else, apparently. No idea what," Knuckle answered. He huffed. "Dunno what could be more important than this, but he's got the big job for a reason."
Something more important that the death of the Chimera Queen? Hinata tried not to let her creeping paranoia influence her.
"Y'know," Gon said, "I gotta ask something." Killua shot him a look, which the other boy ignored. "Hinata?"
She couldn't ignore him. "Yes, Gon?"
The teen's face screwed up. "How the heck did you manage to fight Neferpitou? I could only manage it…" His gaze wandered over to Kite, pale and ragged, and his mouth hardened into a harsh line. "She'd hurt Kite, and I was so mad I stopped thinking. If Killua hadn't knocked me out, I definitely would've died."
"Implying you were thinking before, idiot," Killua prodded goodnaturedly, and Gon laughed. He seemed just a bit lighter than before. Something had happened while Hinata was focused on the Queen, she was sure.
"Well, you know what I mean!" he jabbed back, refocusing on Hinata. "That aura of hers, it was way too intense. When I woke up, I couldn't believe I'd pushed through it. So, I'm wondering…" he frowned. "Can you tell me how you did it? I've got to get stronger; I was almost too weak to come here, to save Kite. If it weren't for Killua…"
"Give yourself some credit, Gon!" Knuckle said. "It was your Jajanken that took me down!" The boy smiled, but Hinata could see the uncertainty that was drowning him.
She'd seen what Netero had said to Killua a month ago: it was obvious from what he'd said and what Morel had told them that Gon and Killua had competed with Knuckle and Shoot for the duty of entering the NGL. The Hunters hadn't wanted anyone unworthy arriving.
But despite arriving with the other Hunters, Gon didn't feel like he deserved to be here. She understood that now.
"There's no secret to it," she told him after a moment of thought. "You seem like a smart kid: I'm sure you understand there's nothing like a switch you flip."
"If you want to be strong," Gon said. Strong enough to protect what was important to you, Hinata heard underneath his words. He understood that critical principle, despite his age. Hinata was glad: she'd seen too many young ninja in the new generation who thought strength was all their was to growing. "I know. I've been a Hunter for almost two years now, and that whole time, I've been training all the time, with Killua too." He frowned. "But it's still not enough."
"It takes time," Hinata said softly. "Time, experience, bravery, luck." Knuckle nodded. "You're young: don't worry that you needed help to save Kite this time." She did her best to smile. "Hopefully he won't need saving again, but the next time something like this happens, you have to remember that your whole life you'll be working towards something you can't see. Sometimes you just have to have faith you'll get there."
Gon tilted his head. "So that's how you fought Neferpitou?"
It was so refreshing to talk to children again. Hinata felt light, warmth, releasing inside her. Something she'd suppressed as she'd clinically directed the slaughter of the Ants, that her ancestor's chakra had pushed away.
"Well, in a way," she said. "But I didn't think about it like that. It ambushed me." She gestured to the hundreds of scabs, large and small, covering her arms, legs, and face, her hand settling on her stiff leg. "There wasn't any time to think about how scared I was. I just had to live."
"So you were scared," Gon said quietly. "That's good. Why'd you have to live?"
Hinata blinked. It was a bizarre question. KIllua, Kiba, and Knuckle seemed to agree, given their various reactions. Even Kite contributed to the oddness, despite not moving at all. She was surrounded by incredulous K's. That, combined with the surreal query, made her giggle a little.
"Why'd I have to live?" she said, and Gon nodded.
"I'm not an idiot," he said. "People don't wanna die. But you don't seem like someone who'd fight just to stay alive. I never do."
Hinata tilted her head. She couldn't tell if the boy was truly an idiot, or much sharper than he let on. There was some serious, if sophomoric, philosophy buried in the observation. It took her about ten seconds to decide if she wanted to answer the question honestly. A.P.R.'s quiet announcement of incrementing interest stretched the silence.
"I have two children," she said. "Boruto, my son, and Himawari, my daughter. Boruto's only a couple years younger than you." She felt her eyes narrowing, and Killua stiffened, almost scooting back. She'd accidentally released a hint of Hamura's chakra. "If Neferpitou had killed me, they'd have lost their mother. I couldn't let that happen."
"Makes sense," Gon said with a grin. "Thanks for telling me." He looked back to Kite, who sightlessly gazed back. "I'm glad we met you. Who knows if we'd have been able to reach Kite so quick otherwise."
Kiba chuckled. "You're too good with kids, Hinata."
She didn't know what to say to either of them, so she stayed silent. The quiet persisted for another twenty or so seconds. At that point, Knuckle blinked, rising from his squat into a ready position.
"Hey," he said. "Looks like it's time." Hinata looked to him, and then A.P.R.
"It's time!" the little thing said, its voice warping and dropping an octave. It had steadily grown as time had passed: while it had started out the size of Hinata's head, it was now almost as big as her. "Looks like you're bankrupt! Too bad!" It cackled, and suddenly turned inside out: its cute spherical head withdrew into its body and emerged out its bottom looking like a vicious and bedraggled cat with unrealistically sharp teeth. Its whole body followed, inverting itself and becoming thinner, meaner, and darker. The thing flipped over, still cackling. It was now about the same size as A.P.R. had been when it had first appeared.
'This must be I.R.S.' Hinata flared her Byakugan; Kite's energy had been forced back inside his body. He looked like a dead tree, cold and static
"Alright," Knuckle said, walking forward. "He should be safe to approach now."
There was no opportunity for Hinata to give a warning. A monstrous figure sprung up behind Kite: a huge floating torso with a wide sharp grin and pinprick yellow eyes, its hands greedily stretched out over the injured Hunter. A string of Nen wormed down from each of its fingers. Kite sprang forward with incredible fluid speed; his movement and initiative was nothing like it had been before.
Knuckle had the reflexes to see the attack coming, but not the speed to avoid it. He barely had time for a strangled "What?!" before Kite hammered a roundhouse into his side, sending him flying into the wall of the cavern.
Hinata jumped back, along with everyone else. Kite's whole body pulsed with menacing purple light. There was no doubt now that somehow, Neferpitou was controlling him.
"Okay, uh-" Kiba started to say. But unlike before, Kite was no longer happy to stand around at wait for his opponents to make a move. Now, as the gigantic Nen construct hovering over him grinning madly, he rushed forward with lethal intent. Killua was his first target.
The pale boy saw him coming, and dodged his first vicious punch by darting to the side, under the blow. Kite kicked out, and Killua leapt over the strike, but Kite was far faster than before; before Killua had even reached the apex of his jump, he reversed his kick, slamming it into the teen's gut and sending him backwards and up. Killua gagged, and Kite leaped after him, trying to capitalize on his empty lungs.
Kiba intercepted him, knocking the maddened Hunter out of the air. They tumbled across the ground, Kiba trying to pull the taller man into a submission hold, until Kite slammed his forehead into Kiba's nose. The Inuzuka howled in pain, and Kite took the opportunity to box both his ears, rolling on top of him and trying to crush his throat with an elbow.
Hinata reached him before the blow could land, slamming her palm into Kite's chest. The man tumbled backwards, head over heels, before coming to his feet and launching off as though he hadn't felt the blow. He didn't directly attack Hinata: instead, he hurtled all around the chamber like a human pinball, never stopping in one place for more than a heartbeat. Hinata activated her Byakugan, tracking his movement.
"Forget it!" Knuckle called, coming to his feet.
Kite launched at Hinata from behind, and she ducked, sinking to her good knee and pivoting her hip to smash the back of her hand into the man's ribs. Purple chakra flared, and Kite was sent crashing sideways, a vivid bruise on his side.
"We gotta hit him for real!" Knuckle said, launching himself into the fight. He sprinted right into Kite's face before the man could recover, launching into a flurry of punches that the puppeteered Hunter deflected without apparent effort. "Sorry Gon!"
"Kite!" Gon shouted. He came in from the side, and Knuckle trapped one of Kite's punches in an armhold. The gangly man twisted, catching Gon's full-body punch with his other hand, and was left pinned between the two Hunters. Gon glared at him from behind his trembling fist. "You taught me that sometimes, you just gotta knock some sense into people!" He dropped, flipped, and pushed off the ground. One foot kicked out and knocked Kite's guard aside, and the other shot forward into the man's chin: an impressively quick reverse double-kick. "So snap out of it!"
Hinata stayed back, her leg protesting, as Knuckle and Gon pushed the Hunter back with a relentless combo of punches and kicks. Kite gave ground without care, deflecting the vast majority of the attacks and sending both his opponents staggering with powerful punches aimed at their chest and neck; Kiba and Killua circled, waiting for an opportunity. The fight was impressive, but it wasn't what Hinata was focused on.
Her attention was dominated by the puppeteer looming over Kite, and the play of Nen coursing between it and Kite. It was a beautiful technique, and as Hinata observed, she came to comprehend it more fully. It was something similar to, but far more developed than, the puppet jutsu used by the Hidden Sand. An autonomous puppet-master that manipulated its target with strings, but unlike the obvious string-use of Sunagakure, these strings filled the entire target with the Nen of the puppet's creator.
It was a comprehensive and terrifying domination technique, very much like what had animated the puppets that had cared for Toneri in his lunar palace. Hinata felt even more sympathy for Kite; long ago, she'd been in his position.
The strings were composed of Nen, and the method by which it was transmitted into Kite's body. They looked similar to the Hatsu the Royal Guard had manipulated itself with. The one Shino's insects had eaten away at.
Hinata rose to her feet, a simple plan forming.
"Keep him occupied," she said, making her voice heard over the constant low sounds of the intense fight. "I'm going to try and cut those strings."
"You're an exorcist?!" Knuckle shouted, before Kite punched him full in the face. Killua rushed into his place as the man stumbled back hissing in pain, sending Kite dancing sideways with a series of kicks intent on crushing the man's ankles and knees. Hinata had no idea what the term referred to.
Then again, Kite did seem to be possessed by a sort of ghost. Maybe if this worked she would be a sort of exorcist.
She focused, channeling a thin scalpel of chakra into her right fist. It was the same principle as the Lions Fist, just sharper. A projected chakra blade like this wouldn't be much use in an actual fight: not powerful enough to cut physical objects, and not precise enough to disrupt tenketsu or break up most jutsu. But here, it would be more than enough to cut some string made of spiritual energy.
Hinata waited until Kite was on the backfoot, Killua burying a sparking fist in his kidney, before she launched herself. She sliced lengthwise, hoping to severe most of the strings in one go, but Kite reacted to her with impressive awareness, despite still being occupied by three opponents. He slipped down and away, kicking back Gon to give himself the space, and the puppeteer went with him. Hinata's impromptu blade only cut three of the ten strings.
Kite sagged, scrambling away like an injured animal, and made a keening noise. Killua didn't follow up on the successful attack; instead, he dropped back, clearly startled by the change in character and shocking scream. Gon did the same, his eyes going wide. Kiba let out a short bark of a laugh and charged in, along with Knuckle; they drove Kite across the chamber as Hinata circled, looking another opportunity, like lions leading prey into an ambush.
The opportunity came three seconds laters, and Hinata took it without hesitation, throwing herself into another leaping strike. Kite launched a sluggish counterattack, and Hinata twisted around the sloppy punch, cutting four more of the strings: only three were left on one of the puppeteer's hands.
The Hunter stumbled backwards, spasming. His limbs twitched, along with his head; the shiver traveled down until his whole body was trembling violently. Kite sagged to the right, his foot dragging, barely able to stay on his feet. His eyes rapidly blinked. He looked like a man having a deadly stroke.
"Um," Gon said. "Is he-?"
Hinata charged; the man didn't offer an resistance.
She cut the last three strings in a single pass.
Kite fell over.
Hinata realized her mistake in the span of time between Kite's breathing stopping and his heart doing the same, a moment so short it essentially didn't exist.
There was no inertia, no struggle for survival. In an instant, all of the man's organs shut down. He went from stiff and alive to limp and dead before he hit the ground.
Hinata's mistake was both subtle and total. She'd made yet another fatal assumption. Not fatal to her, but fatal nonetheless. She'd seen the chakra strings and come to think what was controlling Kite was a puppeteer jutsu.
She'd been right, but her experience with chakra techniques had deceived her.
When Kite hit the ground, the Hyuuga realized the technique she'd just cut off had more in common with the Edo Tensei than Sunagakure's puppets. She'd been right, a month ago. Kite had been quite dead. The Royal Guard Neferpitou had simply animated his body with its Nen; imparted it with artificial life for reasons beyond Hinata's comprehension. Made its heart beat to keep its muscles healthy, its brain active to glean a hint of the man's impressive combat reflexes.
Saving Kite had never been a possibility. There was nothing in the nest to salvage.
All of this came to Hinata in a second as she watched the unintentional consequences of her actions crumple to the floor. Neferpitou's Hatsu evaporated in a cloud of chuckling malice.
There was a pregnant silence as left-over air slipped from from Kite's lungs, like a long, final sigh.
"Hey." Gon took a step forward. "Kite?"
"You alright?"
Hinata was frozen in place as Gon moved closer to the body. She understood that he didn't yet comprehend what had happened. It only took a second for her to know that both Knuckle and Killua, along with Kiba, had come to the same conclusion as her by now.
Gon was the only one who hadn't immediately understood Kite's passing. Almost certainly because he had the least experience with death.
"Kite?" Gon bent down to one knee, placing his hand on Kite's own, splayed out before him. "What's…"
He froze as soon as he touched Kite's hand, not even breathing. Hinata held her own breath as well. The boy became a statue, just as still as Kite.
Silently, something inside Gon broke. Hinata saw it as clearly as anything the Byakugan could have showed her.
Killua slowly approached, laying his hand on his friend's shoulder. He reminded Hinata of her father in a flash of deja vu: severe, calm, and sad all at once. It was almost disturbing to see a face like that on a fourteen year old.
"Gon," he said. "He's gone."
Gon sank to both knees. His hands curled into fists as his face fell into a sharp and ugly expression.
"He can't be gone," he whispered. "He was just alive. Kite wouldn't die." He started shaking.
"Pitou killed him," Killua said. He said it without thinking, and then paused to collect himself. "The night she attacked us. She killed him and then brought him back like this." He tightened his hold on Gon's shoulder, looking up at Hinata. "Right? You must have seen it."
Hinata nodded. "Only after I cut the strings," she admitted. "I misunderstood the technique." She released the breath she'd been holding. "The puppet was keeping his heart beating, but he was already dead."
"Pitou killed him?" Gon muttered, staring with blank eyes at the body. He wasn't seeing Kite's corpse; Hinata wasn't sure he was seeing anything. "Pitou killed him? That night?"
He looked back up over his shoulder at Killua. "Really?"
'It's not true, right?'
The plea broke Hinata's heart. Killua's grave nod didn't help.
Gon looked back at the body, seeing it, really looking at it, for the first time. Behind him, Knuckle watched the proceedings with a somber face: all the good cheer had gone out of him. Kiba had a similar look, his newly broken nose twitching. His grimace was only enhanced by the blood covering his mouth.
Gon bared his teeth, his fists curling so tight his nails cut into his palms.
He slammed them into the floor in front of Kite's corpse, cratering the stone-like material. The sickening thud of flesh twisted Hinata's stomach. Gon struck again, and again: he remorselessly crushed his fists into the ground, ripping skin off his knuckles and shattering the floor further.
"DAMN IT!" he screamed, tears starting to flow. Whereas before he'd been speaking so quietly Hinata had strained to hear him, now his voice was monstrous. Hinata saw Shino and Morel flinch and turn around near the top of the nest, alerted by the scream.
"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" With every scream, Gon grew louder, and he struck at the ground with more and more rage. Orange energy flowed out of his body, twisting around him like a vortex, putting Hinata's hair on end. It warped, black streaks flowing from Gon's shoulders and hair, some of the blood from his torn knuckles being sucked up into the raging aura as well. His tears were lifted up into it as well, mixing with the blood. The raw manifestation of Gon's desperation and despair pushed against Hinata like a solid wall.
But no matter how it intensified, Killua maintained a steady hold on Gon's shoulder, a rock in the middle of a violent black storm.
"I'll kill you." Gon's voice like a knife. Killua winced, the aura intensifying. Hinata could feel it even at this distance, see it just as easily; Gon's Nen pricked at her like thousands of black needles, sending goosebumps racing along her body and raising a cold sweat in the small of her back. Standing right next to him, Killua must have felt like someone was running blades up and down his body. "I'll kill you!"
Killua tightened his grip, his face stricken, and Gon let out one final scream, even louder than his previous shouts. His whole body stretched, as though he was trying to push himself into the sky without leaving the ground, and his aura stretched with it, smashing into the ceiling and exploding out across the room. Hinata actually felt herself rock back on her feet from the force of it.
Gon didn't stop screaming when he ran out of air. Instead, he remained there with an open mouth, trembling in a rictus of loss. He didn't need to speak for his Nen to send the same message his words had been.
Finally, he slumped, gasping for air. His Nen whipped away, drawing back into his body, slowly lightening back to its initial orange. His fists uncurled, bruised and bleeding.
For ten seconds, the room was silent and still as everyone did their best to cope with the sudden absence of both Kite and Gon's buffeting hatred. Kiba shot Hinata a glance she couldn't read, while Knuckle moved towards the younger Hunters.
"I'm sorry, Kite," Gon eventually said, his voice shuddering but coherent. He dragged himself to his feet, away from the body. Killua uncertainly supported him. "I'll be stronger next time."
He looked down at the corpse of the man who had obviously been so dear to him. "Promise."
The other Hunters and Shino were coming, drawn by the explosion of Nen and shouting. They'd arrive within the minute. Hinata had no idea what to do: she'd never dreamed Gon's reaction would have been so violent.
Her instincts as a mother implored her to provide the teen with some comfort. Her experience as a shinobi told her that everyone reacted to grief differently, and that he might not appreciate any open affection. She paralyzed by indecision.
'How many children did you kill in the last month?'
Hinata stepped forward.
I keep on meaning to comment and I keep on forgetting. o3o;;
I really love those moments in fanfiction where things aren't wildly divergent, but divergent enough that something very slightly different happens. Gon's... I don't want to call it madness, but it's grief approaching madness here, is on full display here and it came through really well.
Everyone's reaction to it, especially Hinata's, is extremely well done too.
*Thumbs up*
I really love those moments in fanfiction where things aren't wildly divergent, but divergent enough that something very slightly different happens. Gon's... I don't want to call it madness, but it's grief approaching madness here, is on full display here and it came through really well.
Everyone's reaction to it, especially Hinata's, is extremely well done too.
*Thumbs up*