#ch.11

“Should we leave?”

“Do you think they already know we are here?”

“Lord Neji told us to wait as much as we could here.”

“She didn’t seem that knowledgeable, I think we can wait another while.”

Their words swirl around and Hinata breathes in and out, but the metallic smell burns her nose and she can’t help the heave that overcomes her. 

A couple of maids keep to her side, soothing her as best they can in the situation they are in. The others chat among themselves, discussing their next step.

Another tremor. Bigger, closer, with enough strength to rattle the wooden walls around them. The sound of battle growing nearer by the second. 

It’s getting harder for Hinata to breathe.

“I don’t think the lady is feeling too good.”

A maid leaves the storage room. 

“Do your best to keep the lady calm, we are checking our surroundings.”

Hinata tried to keep calm in the situation they were in. Followed commands and trusted the many measures Shikamaru had told her about. Neji kept himself beside her. An anchor. Now gone. 

Hinata repeats the information under her breath, tries to keep herself from losing herself in fear. 

But it was easier to keep her mind from running wild when she had instructions to follow. Now she is quiet and in the dark and her breathing is too loud and the noise outside is revolting. 

Like that time in the Summit. With the bodies and the dirt and the blood and- and- 

Naruto isn’t here. Naruto is not with her and he won’t be coming soon to come get her. 

Her breath catches and the maid next to her tries her best to calm her down. 

“My lady-”

A maid throws herself over Hinata the second the window of the storage room shakes. There is a moment where they hold their breaths until Kiba’s disheveled face makes an appearance.

“My lord!” the maids scold as he makes his way inside. The short moment of relief is brief, as Kiba’s haggard appearance is caught in the brief space of time where he’s coming from outside. 

“You can wait a while longer in here.” He speaks fast, not quite out of breath, but decidedly winded. “I sent the other one to Neji, Sora got injured and couldn’t keep up the transforming technique so-”

“I-is Neji o-okay?”

Kiba looks at Lady Hinata, curled up and with splattered blood on her clothes. The body laying in front of her enough for Kiba to realize the situation. She can’t see him as well as he does, so he’s sure she can’t catch the way his face twists. “He’s fine, my lady,” he lies. But his voice is strong and sure and Lady Hinata breathes out and seems to relax, so he’s sure he did good. 

“You’re still on the clear over here, the enemy is focused elsewhere, stay,” he repeats, as he catches the maids near the door shifting on their feet. They nod back at him, acknowledging his order, and then they all shuffle to the center of the building, surrounding Lady Hinata and hiding her from whatever may come inside.

Kiba sniffs the place, keeps himself alert and sharpens his senses to catch whatever disturbance may arise. 

He was right. They had time, and although filled with tension and anxiety, they effectively earn time. Until a new scent he doesn’t recognize comes closer. Closer and closer and then some. Kiba awaits until the newcomer is unmistakably reaching for their hiding spot to spring into action.

“Stay inside,” he can sense Akamaru’s chakra spiking in preparation, but remains hidden outside, right where Kiba had ordered him to. “When you go out, try to not look them in the eye, there are some Uchiha mixed in there,” a couple of hitched breaths. “Keep yourselves in a group, they are scattered around. In the case you’re put under an illusion… you know how to break free..”

The enemy comes closer and Kiba has to come out. “You know how to do that, you were trained for that. Don’t worry, you can handle it.” He doesn’t look back. He hears a few words of acknowledgment, low and quiet, but firm. Much as himself, everyone in there is ready to lay their lives for the mission. 

He feels the breeze hitting his face and closes the door behind him with swiftness. He runs ahead, enough to be away from the storage room but close in case something happens. Akamaru is still in hiding. 

The scents are now close enough to be seen with his eyes. Three of them. Kiba stands and lets them come to him. 

The man in the middle scoffs but stops at a distance. The boy in front of him is young but his presence is dissuasive. “Only one? Sure you can handle all of us?”

Kiba crouches, his chakra runs through his body and he can feel his hair rising. “All of you? You’re just three, I’m more than enough.”

If he can just take care of this quickly, then maybe they’ll have more time for Lady Hinata to hide in here. If he can kill these men soon, then he can keep the lady safe for a little while longer. If he can-

The men throw themselves at Kiba and two of them clash with him, their fists trying to snake past his defenses. Kiba snarls as he deflects the attack. A fist goes past him by his ear and then grabs Kiba’s head from the back, bringing him eye to eye with the man that taunted him.

“Bad luck, boy,” he snickers and then his eyes start to change color. 

Kiba closes his eyes as soon as he possibly can. His body responds to the sounds and smells around him and the men can’t land a good hit on his body. But they don’t seem to mind. 

They take a step back the moment their ally gets closer to the storage room, readying themselves to go back him up. Kiba hears one of them scoff in satisfaction.

Akamaru is a white flash that bites to kill the moment he is close enough to it’s target. The enemy is surprised and the gurgled screams from the man are enough for Kiba to grab a kunai and slash blindly at the Uchiha. The blood paints the ground and the man curses under his breath. 

“You-!” 

There is no time between Akamaru crushing the man’s skull and leaving his body to fall limp and the jump he takes to land next to Kiba. In a puff of white smoke Akamaru transforms into his master, albeit with more wild features and a mouth foaming with blood. 

“We’re going for the Uchiha first,” shares Kiba. Akamaru growls as an answer and they crouch to the ground, impossibly low. 

The Uchiha screams for his other ally to attack, but the man trembles and doesn’t seem able to look away from the mangled body a short distance away. The Uchiha activates it’s Sharingan but is unable to make direct eye contact with his enemy, his wound preventing him from moving freely. 

Kiba’s hands dig into the ground, Akamaru copying his every movement. He turns his torso, and then they launch themselves forward. Two whirlwinds that move with enough force to create holes whenever they touch the ground. Two whirlwinds that don’t even falter after being hit with shuriken after shuriken. 

The Uchiha can’t make eye contact and his partner seems ready to flee. 

“You-!”

The man dies with a scream in his throat. A kunai sunk deep into his chest, with Kiba turning the weapon inside before taking it out and slashing at the man’s neck for good measure. 

A puff and Akamaru stands with the other enemy under his paws. The man’s neck a bloody mess. 

A tremor. 

Kiba wonders how much time they have left. Sniffs around in case an enemy has gotten closer. 

Akamaru howls to the sky and the clan’s people answer. But Kiba doesn’t need to hear to know.

Another tremble. 

He can see. 

The door to the storage room opens and Kiba turns immediately. “Wait insi-”

Lady Hinata stands at the door. Her maids surrounding her and pleading with her to stay inside. 

“What is th-that?”

They are still far enough to see it clearly. They are still far enough to only feel the fight’s aftermath. But Lady Hinata has activated her technique and she can now see whatever she wants. 

Kiba walks to her, “Please, my lady, don’t use your chakra too much.”

“Neji…” she whispers. 

Surely horrified at where he is and worried sick. But Neji knew the consequences of his role. Understood his part in all of this. So Kiba squares himself, and with pride in his voice, he says, “He is fulfilling his role, my lady.”

•····························•····························•

He can still fight. His chakra reserves are still enough to keep up. His body feels heavy and the tremors serve only to remind him that there is still danger out there. That he still has to go back to Lady Hinata. That his promise to Lord Naruto still stands.

The new maid follows behind him, she has a limp and she has already told him her chakra reserves are dangerously low. At some point she won’t be able to keep her transformed appearance and Neji will lose all his appeal as a target. 

He can only hope everyone is doing their work and Lady Hinata is somewhere safe and taken care of. 

He has barely gotten out of the building they are inside. The tension has barely left his body and his mind is still reeling from his last fight when Lady Sakura crashes in front of him. All rage and sharp eyes. 

She gives him a glance. A look she doesn’t have to follow up with words. If she’s here then her side has fallen. Hers and Lord Shikamaru’s. The enemy has realized they are not with Lady Hinata. 

Less and less fronts from which to confuse the enemy. 

Lady Hinata becoming more and more vulnerable. 

Lady Sakura deflecst an attack and throws with her bare hands a man stupid enough to try close combat with her. He bounces off a tree and his body falls with his neck at an unnatural angle.

She’s coming towards him. And by the desperation she’s showing everyone now looks at him and the Lady Hinata by his side. Disheveled and with a limp. Neji stands his ground, settles into his fighting stance. 

He’s surrounded in a matter of seconds, and he’s glad they gang up on him. His technique works better with more enemies around. 

Lady Sakura does a superb job at feigning fear, and she screams at him to protect Lady Hinata. The enemy jumps up at him, and Neji starts turning. Snaking his way around. His eyes tell him where every enemy is and his hands strike down in succession. Precise hits at their organs, rupturing tissue and blood vessels that if not taken care off immediately will prove fatal. 

The enemy does not seem to have a medic in their ranks.

They fall one after the other and although the ones that cautiously waited for Neji to show his technique see their allies fall, there is no scream nor grotesque shows of blood, and they mistakenly believe they might have a chance.

If not to take down Neji, then at least to run away after trying. 

It’s when the first wave starts heaving and panting in the ground, their eyes bloodshot and their mouth foaming with blood that they stop throwing themselves at the Hyuga. 

Neji is grateful for the respite, and although there are still plenty of enemies around him, he doesn’t worry. 

Lady Sakura jumps in to clean one side and behind her a shadow shoots up to the other enemies still standing. Lord Shikamaru is under a tree nearby, carefully hidden and stretching the shadows around him. 

Lady Sakura’s kills are bloodied and mangled. A warning to whoever comes across this side of the compound. 

Lord Shikamaru’s kills are eerie. Their necks turned in impossible ways. Sometimes just a nosebleed dripping into the ground, its owner with their eyes lost in the distance. 

An Aburame shows behind Shikamaru, his voice coming from behind his high-collared jacket. Lord Shikamaru nods once and the Aburame vanishes. 

“Go find Lady Hinata,” Lord Shikamaru orders the Hyuga. He then turns towards the tremors, “we have another wave coming from our ten o’clock.”

“Roger that.” Lady Sakura motions for this Lady Hinata to come closer, and the maid limps her way up to her. She then turns to Neji, “There are less and less of them coming, we can handle this.”

Neji doesn’t wait for another glance, for another word of reassurance. He leaves the place behind and can only berate the way he doesn’t seem to run as fast as he wants to. 

Another tremor. Bigger than ever. And finally, at last.

The Seven-Tails free from its vessel. Screeching to the sky and letting its bug-like wings move free around it, as if tasting its freedom. 

Lord Minato and Lord Jiraiya did their best. 

They really outdid themselves. Being able to control the Tailed Beast for this long. 

The Beast flaps its wings. In what seems to be an attempt at getting to the sky. The Beast is far away. Enough for Neji to not be able to see it with his bare eyes. And yet the shockwaves of its movement reach him. Moving the trees around him and raising dirt up into the air. 

His own hair whips around and Neji tastes dirt on his mouth, his eyes closed in an attempt to prevent rubble from getting inside. He doesn’t stop. 

He moves and runs and uses his technique to go around the few enemies that have made it this far. Still unsure which way to keep on moving and separating in hopes of upping their chances to find their target. 

Neji does fast work of the unlucky ones who chose the right way towards Lady Hinata. 

It really is unfair how far apart they are to the Beasts. The Beasts’ strength is ridiculous and when facing them not only do normal people have to have the numbers, but those numbers also have to be one of the best they have to offer in order to stand a chance. 

Neji understands the appeal of having one on your side. But the way the wind shakes him and the buildings around him is enough to send shivers down his spine. 

They really are-

The Beast shoots up one second. A jump so far Neji is unsure whether the Beast has taken flight or not. The Seven-Tails is a gigantic and terrifying bug, and the way it’s head moves around trying to gauge its surroundings is unsettling. The Beast doesn’t seem to go down and it really does seem like it is flying. But then Neji watches as it starts to fall. And the way it gains speed as it approaches land is infuriating.

They are monsters. Because there is no other reason why Neji feels his stomach drop at the mere sight of this being. They are monsters because there is no other way to describe the destruction they bring by just existing. 

They are monsters because-

Lady Hinata is surrounded by her maids, Lord Kiba and a couple of other Inuzuka huff and puff with piles of corpses around them, and it is obvious they are not ready for the monster coming from the sky. Who would be? 

The Beast only lands. That’s all it does. Everything around it gets obliterated. The buildings destroyed, the trees uprooted, the dirt becomes smoke. Neji runs, makes his legs hit the ground again and again with an anger he hasn’t felt in a long time. These monsters won’t take away Lady Hinata. Not like they did with his father. Not again. Not if he can help it. 

They are monsters because they bring destruction to everything he holds dear. 

Lady Hinata is petrified at the sight before her and Neji can only thank whatever is listening that the Beast landed somewhere away from them. Far enough at least to give them a chance to survive.

He shields Lady Hinata. He gets to her just as the ground trembles like never before. His technique still active. His mind only thinking about her safety.

The rubble reaches them in a gust of wind enough to make them kneel. The broken branches sting as they whip around, the stones clash against his body and Neji curls around her body. He infuses chakra into his feet, refusing to get swept about. Lady Hinata’s hands clasp his clothes, her head hides in his chest. He can withstand this. It doesn’t hurt. 

The wind settles and they don’t have time to regroup. They don’t have time to check on each other. Neji raises his head, sees a maid sprawled on the ground away from them with her limbs in an unnatural position when the sound around him rises again.

Shouts, it seems. But he can’t hear well since there is a whistle in his ear. Not that it matters. Because he sees. His body trembles as a result of all the fighting he’s done. But he can’t rest yet. 

Kiba must have been the one shouting, as he’s the first one to move in their direction. He won’t make it in time, though. 

Neji turns in a second. As the first attack from the Seven-Tails reaches their position. From its mouth a ball of energy shoots spears of energy. They fill the air and surround everything around it, small and sharp, with enough speed to maim whoever’s in their way. 

The Beast screeches to the sky..

Neji has to resist. Kiba is taking care of himself now. And Lady Hinata is unable to move from her place without being attacked by the insect. A spear slashes at his face but Neji can only wince and keep moving. 

His eyes are helpful. He can see which attacks will reach them, he can deflect the ones that are dangerous enough. He can keep his chakra in check if he can only concentrate on the ones directed at them. 

He can keep his chakra in check if he can only use his eyes and control his breathing and not panic and concentrate enough. A spear goes through his arm but it’s an attack he has decided he can withstand. His arm is pierced but Lady Hinata is safe. 

He only has to resist. 

Until the Beast’s energy ball runs out. 

Until-

Another spear pierces his shoulder and he doubles over slightly as the pain bites at him. He’s tired. He has to resist.

Kiba is coming. And he’s sure Lord Minato and Lord Jiraiya are doing their best to seal the Beast again. 

Just one second more. And then another.

His leg gets pierced. This is ridiculous. Do the Beasts never run out of chakra?

Don’t they rest? Recharge?

It’s a second. A second in which he doesn’t see one of the spears coming at them. A spear that is positioned in such a way that it will reach Lady Hinata.

His body moves without Neji ordering it to. 

His lung collapses and he tastes blood. His hands keep moving.

He only has to last one second more. Only one more. Until Kiba reaches him, until the Beast is sealed.