Fade to Black

Chapter 3

"Here are your cloaks, hats, and rings. You two will be partnered up in a pair of two, you will execute any mission without fail and without objections. Are we clear?"

Itachi and Hinata nodded as Pein handed them each their new belongings, "Konan will guide you to your room." With a flick of his hand, the duo left the dark office to meet up with the blue-haired beauty, Konan.

"This way."

She led the two through a maze of hallways, and finally stopped at a dull steel door, "This is where we part, if you need to speak with either Pein or I, twist your rings. Itachi, you'll wear your ring on your right ring finger and Hinata yours will be on your left pinkie. Any questions?"

Both shook their head no and Konan left, Hinata opened the door, the steel scraping against the ground, creating a screeching sound that echoed through the halls.

The room was less than furnished, two twin mattresses, two dressers, a closet, and a bathroom.

The two decided which bed was whose and placed their packs on the beds, Hinata then placed her clothes in the dresser and stepped into the bathroom for a quick shower. She stepped out and wiped the steam off of the mirror, but turned away almost immediately.

She never did like what was staring back at her.

Monster.

Murderer.

Traitor.

Hinata mustered up her courage and looked in the mirror once more, she flicked up her bangs to see the creamy skin of her forehead, all previous traces of the caged bird seal gone. If not for Danzō, the Hyuuga would've been able to use the seal on her.

"Danzō. If I'm going wipe out the Hyuuga, I need to be rid of the caged bird seal."

"Ah, I suppose you're right... I heard Jiraiya-sama is in the village for a short while, act like a feeble girl, abandoned by the Hyuuga and ask for his help."

"Hai."

-Line Break-

It hadn't taken long for Hinata to find the legendary pervert, he was, of course, peeping in the females hot springs.

"Jiraiya-sama."

The little voice startled him, causing him to straighten and whip around, "Hai?" He was surprised to see a ten year old girl speaking to him, her eyes pleading, "How can I help you?"

Hinata forced out some crocodile tears and untied her bandages, "You're the master of seals." She pulled her bangs back, exposing the bright green mark, "Please help me."

-Line Break-

It hadn't taken much to convince Jiraiya, he took her to the forest and knocked her unconscious.

Step One:

Jiraiya took a calming breath before shutting of any disconcerting feelings of fear and self-doubt. Picturing the design in his minds-eye, he began painting an array of tiny symbols that sat patiently around each of Hinata's round eyes. Jiraiya then added an essential symbol atop each closed lid. The symbol was relatively simple; one large square was the starting point, then another slightly smaller square was drawn within it, repeating onwards in the same way. He then quickly drew contacting lines that bridged from each corner of each outer square to the surrounding markings.

Step Two:

Bringing the ink brush to his own skin, Jiraiya then drew the same square symbol on his right palm. Without question or hesitation he removed his shirt to receive better access to his skin. He continued, meticulously drawing small black kanji up his arm, across his shoulder, down his chest, and to the centre of his abdomen, where his chakra originates.

Step Three:

Jiraiya placed his hand over Hinata's eyes and began the jutsu. Glowing in a light green, the seals that were on Hinata began to rise starting with the centre squares, a translucent wall rose with them. Two pyramids covered each eye before they were drawn together by the now 3-D box on Jiraiya's palm. The three points connected as one.

Step Four:

Jiraiya placed his left hand over Hinata's rapidly beating heart.

This was the difficult part.

Jiraiya's left hand engulfed in what would normally be a healing chakra. This time it would be used for the opposite reason.

He swallowed. All he needed was a second.

Jiraiya used his chakra to slow Hinata's heartbeat.

Thump...

Thump...

Thump...

The racing pulse slithered to a stop.

Step Five:

The instant Hinata's heart stopped beating Jiraiya could feel the damned Caged Bird Seal jump into action. At the same instant Jiraiya's left hand helped Hinata's heartbeat again. Once he felt the tell tail thump, he focused solely on his right.

The destructive Seal attacked, aiming for Hinata's eyes, but was thwarted by Jiraiya's own powerful seals. Instead it raced upwards, following the path he created for it. As it reached Jiraiya's hand it burned him with it's intense chakra. The black seals on his arm turned into a fire red. The flames danced towards Jiraiya's core. Less than a second before it reach his centre, Jiraiya's majestic blue chakra darted out.

A battle between red and blue ensued, seconds turning into minutes.

The red eventually died out, Jiraiya's vast reserves of chakra beating out over time. As the last of the red dimmed, blue took its place, flowing along that once flaring path. Finally reaching back down to Hinata, the seals on both of them shattered, with them, the symbolic one on Hinata's forehead.(1)

Done.

The man was perverted, immature, and silly, but his true potential shines through in Fuinjutsu.

Hinata sighed, hating to look at her own complexion. She dressed and left the room to find Itachi sitting on his bed, back straight and eyes blood red, "We have a mission."

Hinata nodded, internally thanking the gods she didn't have to meet the rest of the Akatsuki, "Details?" She asked, but due to her monotone voice it sounded like a demand.

"Leaf ANBU are coming close to the base. We have to eliminate them."

Hinata sighed inaudibly, her heart aching, Neji... I hope you're well, I love you... Today would be a long day.

TBC

1: the unsealing part isn't mine. All credit goes to E.Knuxs on FanFiction.Net.

A/N: should I show Neji and Sasuke in the next chapter?