Hinata's Journey

I do not own Naruto.

We are at the end; I think…I may epilogue. I thought this would take a couple more chapters but this one sums it up pretty well.





Hinata stood hidden among the treetops and stared at the wasteland in front of her. Huge chunks of forest uprooted and mountains stood were there had never been any. Hinata surveyed the area and tried to stay calm. Swiftly she made her way towards where the most noise was coming from, only for Kabuto to stop her.





“Little lost Hyuuga what are you doing trying to go to a battlefield?” Kabuto spoke sibilantly.





“What’s it to you?” Hinata responded immediately on her guard.





“Konoha will fall soon.” Kabuto hissed.





“Why the heck are you hissing, Kabuto?” Hinata demanded letting her eyes activate. Scanning his body, she found the problem and stared at him. “You let that parasite Orochimaru take over your body.”





“We share it.” Kabuto shrugged, the hissing quality temporarily dissolving from his speech as his head tilted slightly. His glasses glared at Hinata menacingly.





“Actually his cells are starting to destroy yours and soon Orochimaru will have complete control.” Hinata retorted smiling sweetly as her eyes told her all she needed to know. “I have to kill you now before Orochimaru manages to regenerate.”





“You think you can kill me?” Kabuto hissed outraged before he gathered himself. “I have healed you before and know how your body works. Nothing you can do will defeat me.”





“Shall we test your theory?” Hinata remarked smoothly.





“Let’s.” Kabuto responded easily falling into a fighting stance.





When Kabuto attacked, it was through the mind. Eye contact was constant; a Healer battle relied on nothing but chakra and mental toughness. Hinata’s grip on the sword kept her steady as wave after wave of attacks hit her. Ripping her skin and scarring her mind. Marshalling her barriers, she began to respond, using Byakugan and the sword as a guide for finding weak points.





By outward appearances, Hinata was losing. Her skin, ripped and torn in places, was bleeding heavily. Hinata was using part of the Sharingan to use some of the attacks Kabuto used against her. She found herself unable to call on the Rinnegan but that did not bother her over much.





Naruto stood next to Sasuke on one side of the crater that had formed midway into Kabuto and Hinata’s battle.





“Ready your fire jutsu.” Naruto growled as he watched another patch of Hinata’s skin rip open from Kabuto’s attack.





“Dobe.” Sasuke retorted evenly his eyes taking in one of the scariest fights he had ever witnessed.





“So this is what a healer battle looks like.” Sakura spoke from a nearby tree, her eyes wide in barely sustained horror.





“Hinata is doing well.” Tsunade commented as she and Shizune stepped from the shadows both bloodied but watchful.





“How can you tell?” Shizune asked. “I thought Healer battles were a myth?”





“They are only a myth to those who do not know the way it is done.” Tsunade answered her eyes seeking and finding Gaara. Gaara’s face was impassive as he watched Hinata rip off one of Kabuto’s arms. A chakra haze began to form around the crater. The mental and psychological battle turned physical in a flash of movement.





When the chakra cleared, Hinata stood bloodied and weary, propping herself up with the sword. Kabuto’s body lay drained of chakra and a husk of his former self. Hinata raised a hand in greeting to the shocked gazes in front of her.





“Hinata move!” Naruto shouted. Hinata turned and could do nothing as a blob of cells and cytoplasm rushed towards her. Hinata felt darkness grab her and a wave of intense heat scorch her as she lost consciousness.





“Is she going to be alright Ba chan?” Naruto whispered. Hinata felt as though she was falling apart. Everything hurt ached and throbbed.





“Ask her yourself.” Gaara spoke. Hinata opened her eyes and winced.





“Well she’s alive.” Naruto chuckled, smiling brightly before his eyes turned dark. “She better stay that way.” Gaara merely raised a hairless brow in acknowledgement as Naruto left to go check on his slightly crushed counterpart.





“Why don’t I have eyebrows?” Hinata inquired evenly as she felt her face gingerly.





“When Kabuto died, Orochimaru needed to find another host fast.” Tsunade stated her eyes still on Hinata’s chart. “You were a little too weary to be aware of your surroundings but Orochimaru was making a beeline for you or more specifically your eyes. Naruto predicted something like this would happen so he had Sasuke ready with a fire jutsu. Unfortunately Naruto forgot about Gaara and his protective instincts.” Tsunade shot Gaara a quailing look and Gaara merely shrugged. “Sasuke managed to obliterate Orochimaru but Gaara’s sand crushed him a little bit.”





“He’s still alive?” Hinata could not help the slight grin.





“Yes, both legs are broken but he is on house arrest so…” Tsunade shrugged smiling slightly. “The council thought it was an oddly fitting punishment, to have him have to heal his legs without the added help of chakra, be on house arrest and have Naruto guarding him.”





“Poor Naruto.” Hinata responded even though she could not keep the smile from her face. Smiling however made her wince.





“Poor Sasuke, more likely.” Gaara commented smoothly. “Naruto has a lot of pint up feelings for the Uchiha and now ample opportunity to exercise them.”





“From the mouths of babes,” Tsunade interjected smiling softly. “Speaking of which Hinata I hope you are ready to be married.”





“What!” Hinata snapped, eyes widening.





“I will leave you two to chat.” Tsunade responded waltzing out.





“Gaara I can’t just marry you my family…” Hinata stopped speaking, catching Gaara’s look.





“Hinata you are marrying me so deal with it.” Gaara spoke imperviously.





“I second that. As the newly instated Head of the Hyuugas, you are to marry the Kazekage, at his earliest convenience. ” Neji spoke smoothly as he entered the room. His eyes surveyed Hinata briefly, before he smiled at her. “I am glad you survived without a parasite.”





“Why thank you.” Hinata responded slowly before thoughts of Lee forced tears to her eyes. “I am sorry about Lee.”





Before Neji could respond, “Hinata!” Lee spoke from the doorway, a bouquet of sunflowers obstructing his view.





“Lee!” Hinata cried happily before hissing in pain. “You are alive.”





“Don’t ask me how.” Lee responded laughing placing the flowers on a table before he sat himself on her bed. “I thought when that lightning struck that I was a goner. I woke up and this old blind man with a strange tattoo was telling me to hurry.”





“I can’t believe it.” Hinata’s eyes skimmed over Lee before they settled on his shirt. “You and Neji …”





“Are getting married.” Lee confirmed chuckled at Hinata’s bewildered face. “Apparently any man who can split a giant serpent in half, with or without chakra, is a worthy spouse for the Head of the Hyuugas.”





“Congratulations.” Hinata laughed pleased for them before she noted something that made her activate her Byakugan. She deactivated to waves dizziness but her smile quickly put the others at ease. “On your marriage and the baby.”





“What baby?” Neji asked blinking slowly and Lee blushed before looking at his fiancé.





“Remember when I told you that I had a couple of blood line traits…” Lee spoke soothingly.





Neji blinked once twice and promptly collapsed. Gaara caught him and sat him in the chair. “There was probably a better way for him to find this out.” Gaara commented sitting on the bed and holding Hinata’s hand. Lee shrugged moving to sit in the chair next to Neji, who came to sputtering.



“Lee how can you be having a baby I mean I only topped once.” Neji rushed out his eyes huge. Naruto entered the room in time to here the comment. He pushed a protesting Sasuke in a wheelchair.





“As interesting as your sex life is I think you are missing the point.” Sasuke said eyeing the occupants of the room.





“I can’t believe you knocked up some hussy up.” Neji recovered yelling and bursting into tears. Lee looked alarmed, Naruto looked amused and Sasuke looked like he wanted to smack Neji.





“It’s hormones.” Hinata explained to the group at large.





“Hormones?” Neji glared at Hinata.





“Neji, I thought you were a genius.” Naruto chuckled stroking Sasuke’s hair.





“Stop making us geniuses look bad and think Hyuuga.” Sasuke growled slapping away Naruto’s hands.





“Speaking of looking bad…” Naruto spoke eyeing Sasuke’s hair before he turned his gaze on Hinata and Gaara. “Iruka is no longer allowed within a mile of Gaara or me indefinitely.”





“What did you two do?” Hinata asked Naruto, her gaze however was on Gaara.





“We stole him.” Gaara responded matter of factly.





“You what?” Sasuke and Hinata looked at their respective partners in disbelief.





“Yes it was quite an interesting spectacle.” Lee conceded smiling into the distance while he covertly studied the suddenly introspective Neji.





“Apparently both Gai and Kakashi got it into their heads that Akatsuki had taken their beloved Chuunin.” Naruto shook with his mirth. “So they headed out, intent on getting back their Ruka.” At this point Gaara had to take over because Naruto was crowing with laughter.





“They arrived just in time to help Jiraya kill Pein, Konan, and a couple of others.” Gaara took a deep breath. “The only ones left standing were Kisame, Itachi and Zetsu who just escaped.”





“Well you can still get your revenge.” Hinata spoke studying Sasuke intently. Sasuke merely snorted at her before shaking his head.





“Well imagine our shock when news of Akatsuki’s defeat spread.” Gaara continued his lip twitching slightly. “Unfortunately, the first news we heard was Gai and Kakashi had both died at the hands of the remaining three Akatsuki members. Iruka set off dragging us along to find the remaining three, who just happened to be nearby. We discovered that Iruka could probably take on the three Sannins combined and win. He let both Kisame and Itachi go with a stern warning but beat the tar out of Zetsu.”





“Good old Iruka sensei.” Naruto spoke fondly having gotten control of his mirth.





“So the new landscaping of Konoha?” Hinata asked curiously.





“The mountains were Iruka; the trees were Orochimaru’s forces and summons.” Gaara clarified.





“Wow.” Hinata was dazed. “Where are they now?”





Gaara shrugged and Naruto smiled. “I think Iruka is trying to convince the two of them that they should get married.”





“He won’t have to try that hard.” Lee laughed but his attention stayed on the suddenly flushed Neji.





Everyone quieted down and looked at Neji. Gaara squeezed Hinata’s hand gently.





“Lee I’m pregnant.” Neji’s brows furrowed as his gaze met Lee’s.





“And I’m the slow one.” Naruto complained loudly, drawing the attention from the slightly shaken Hyuuga.





“Dobe.” Sasuke retorted slugging Naruto in the stomach.





“Come on Neji. I will buy you some ice cream.” Lee spoke soothingly as he put an arm around Neji and escorted him out. Before the door closed behind them, Neji could be heard speaking.





“I don’t like ice cream… but can it have sprinkles.”





“That was so cute it was disgusting.” Gaara commented evenly.





“Agreed.” The other three members in the room responded. Hinata sighed snuggling into Gaara’s chest. “So when can I go home?”





“Didn’t we go over this?” Gaara’s eyes narrowed dangerously.





“Silly, home is where you are.” Hinata soothed giving him a reassuring pat. Gaara snorted but a smug expression appeared on his face.





“That was so cute it was disgusting.” Naruto deadpanned as he wheeled Sasuke out of the room.

“I still want to see the wedding though.” Sasuke responded as they left.





“Who would have thought we would end up together?” Gaara asked lightly stroking Hinata’s hair.





“Yes and we even have matching eyebrows.” Hinata quipped.





“You realized you have grown a lot.” Gaara responded running a finger across the bruised knuckles on her hand.





Hinata scooted up in the bed so she was eye to eye with Gaara before she looked down. “Nope you are still taller by an ankle.”





“Hinata…” Gaara stopped at Hinata’s uncomfortable squirm. “What’s wrong?”





“Your knee just poked me.” Hinata grumbled reaching down to push it away but she stopped blushing scarlet.





Gaara leaned close and whispered in her ear. “Hinata that isn’t my knee.”





Done! On the other hand, am I…An epilogue shall follow shortly.