Taming Your Demon (Sealing Series Part I)

Pain's Attack!

Leaning out of her open window, Hinata smelt the scent of windflowers planted in her grandfather's garden next door. The honeysuckle that dripped around her bedroom window frame had disappeared with the summer leaving a clear view out into the courtyard that separated the main family houses. In the quiet of early morning, a cool autumn breeze softly caressed her face as it made its way through the Hyuga compound. Hinata grasped the ring and locket that hung around her neck in her palm and wondered what Naruto was doing at this exact moment. If she focused hard enough, she could sometimes pick up inklings of him and Kurama. A shift in mood. A moment of sheer exhaustion, or elation. But then there were times when they both seemed to completely disappear and she could not sense Naruto at all, no matter how hard she tried.

A soft knock sounded at her bedroom door. "Hinata! Breakfast is on the table."

It was Hanabi. The young girl refused to go to the breakfast table anymore without Hinata by her side. Sabui's presence in the household had made everyone, with the exception of Hiro, very uncomfortable. His hatred of them was palpable. During meals, he would just sit and leer, barely touching anything on his plate.

Hinata did not quite understand why Neji hated them so much. She was empathetic to how hard life had been on him. His entire physical being was testament to the misery. Living in this large house with servants and assistants at their beckon call, they all must have seemed to live a very spoiled and pampered life compared to his life. But it had not been easy. Her family was fractured by his disappearance. His own father gave his life because he could not endure the pain of losing his only child.

"Ok. I'm coming." Hinata called over her shoulder. But she barely made it across the room, before the first explosion rumbled through the village, shaking the floor of the house.

"Ahhh!" Hinata squeaked as she lost her balance and fell to the floor. "What was that?"

"Hinata!" Hanabi's worried voice came through the door again. "What's going on?"

"I'm ok. I'm coming." Hinata pulled the door open and grabbed her sister in an embrace as the house was shook again by another explosion.

Ko appeared in the hall headed towards the back of the house where Hiashi's office sat. "Lady Hinata, Lady Hanabi! The Long eye is being called to the wall. We are under attack!"

Hinata and Hanabi nodded at him quietly as he passed by to find their father. Then they ran out of the house, grabbing their bow and arrows.

Out in the Hyuga Compound, there was complete chaos. Half of the unit had made it out into the street and into the tunnel towards the wall. The other half was dealing with two of the Pains who had set their sights on the compound.

One of the Pains was able to absorb ninjutsu, which was useless against a Hyuga who fought almost completely with forms of taijutsu or bukijutsu. The other Pain, however, had powerful kinetic energy which made the Hyuga's skill set completely useless against him.

The second Pain took out shinobi in droves while the first Pain interrogated those who managed to survive.

"Lady Hinata... Lady Hanabi." A low voice hissed at them. Ahn, one of the four generals, appeared behind them. She grabbed their arms leading them away from the chaos towards the back of the compound. "We have to get to the wall. Let those on the ground handle this."

She led them to the tunnel at the back of the compound that ran all the way to the village wall. As they walked the length of the tunnel, the explosions continued, shaking the walls and causing crumbling rocks and dirt to fall around them. They activated their byakugans. The tunnel was pitch black, but it was the safest and quickest route to the wall, since no one outside of their clan and hokage knew about it. But exiting the tunnel, they came upon another Pain.