Kunoichi-ai (HinataxTenten)

[Elkat]

Here are the first 4 chapters of Kunoichi-Ai. Enjoy:

Chapter 1: Team Kunoichi is formed!

Kunai littered ground of the Konohagakure’s training ground as Hinata Hyuga and Tenten trained with each other. The unusual pairing was the result of several various factors; Hyuga Neji and Rock Lee were each busy training with Hiashi Hyuga and Maito Gai while Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino were each busy with matters of their clan, leaving the two kunoichi to train with each other. Though Hinata was no substitute for Neji, she was still able to keep up with Tenten nonetheless, making up for her lack of 8 Trigrams Rotation with her own technique which did virtually the same, surprising the weapon master. It seemed that the longer the kunoichi trained with each other, the closer they became, causing the girls to realize that they were interested in each other more than they were ever before.

Hinata was absolutely gorgeous, as Tenten noted with as watched with an unnatural amusement, her eye, particularly focused on the Hyuga’s oversized breasts. Though many think the weapon master’s heart was reserved only for the genus of the Hyuga Clan, Neji, she considered this to not be even close to the truth. In fact, she considered that Neji being male as her primary turn off. Of course she let them believe what they want, since she knew they’d never understand her feelings; despite Konohagakure’s reputation for being a wealthy and pacifist village, there was an ugly secret many seemed to overlook. Konoha refused to accept relationships that wasn’t “natural” as it was termed, thus enforcing the kunoichi’s education to include forcing the “importance” of men to them and an undying loyalty to it. Even if Tenten wanted to be open about her sexuality, she would be shunned and alienated from her comrades. If only there was a way…

“Thank… you… for… helping… me… train… Tenten-sama…” Hinata said, interrupting the weapon master’s thoughts. She was doubled over, panting; her clothes soaked thoroughly through with sweat, giving the weapon master an interesting view of her body.

“It’s…nothing!” Tenten said with a smile, blushing lightly while she tried to catch her breath. She hadn’t noticed it, but she never felt after training with Neji, but then that was she was focusing purely on the training at hand and not other things, especially not admiring her training partner’s body. “Why don’t we call it day and hit the baths?”

“Okay,” Hinata said with a sigh of relief. Though she could keep up with the weapon master’s speed, she wasn’t as confident in her skills as her cousin and feared that she would miss a single kunai and hurt herself or worse.

Tenten could hardly wait. She enjoyed bathing with a fellow kunoichi; it allowed her to do things she could normally not be able to do without drawing any unwanted attention or suspicion to her real sexuality.

Just as the kunoichi reached the village gates, they found Shizune walking briefly in search of someone. The medical kunoichi quickly spotted them and briskly ran to get within talking range. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you! Tsunade-dono has a mission for you and- god! What’s that smell?” Once she became close enough to smell, she pinched her nose with forefinger and thumb.

“We were training; sorry!” Tenten said embarrassedly. She didn’t realize it herself how much they stank until Shizune pointed it out.

“We were going to bathe…” Hinata said, blushing from self-consciousness.

“Well there’s no time!” Shizune said, “Tsunade-dono has been waiting for you over an hour now!”

The kunoichi gulped, knowing that the fifth lord Hokage had little patience and a short temper. Without another word, they walked straight towards the village, acknowledging the reactions of the villagers as they passed with dismay. Just as they drew close the Hokage’s office, they could hear a conversation from the other side.

“Come on, Tsunade-obasan, what the hell is up with all these damn D rank missions?” The familiar voice the number #1 hyperactive, knuckleheaded annoyance whined.

“I’m sorry Naruto, but the only higher ranked mission we have currently requests only Kunoichi!” Tsunade, the fifth lord Hokage said with a grumpy tone.

“Kunoichi eh…?” Naruto said. After a poof his voice changed to that of a girl’s “How about now? If I stay like this-”

“‘If’?! What if you can’t Naruto?” Sakura said, “Not only would you break the conditions of the contract, but the client may never hire us again, you idiot!”

“Come on, they can’t be series! Who’d hire a Team of Kunoichi anyways?” Naruto said.

“Naruto, don’t question the reason behind the client’s request!” Tsunade said. “They want a team of Kunoichi; I’ll give them a team of kunoichi!”

“Wait a second…” Naruto said, “You been giving us mission after mission and not only that, you’re assigning us any mission you can get your hands on… DON’T TELL ME YOU HAVE BEEN GAMBLING AGAIN! HOW DEEP IN DEBT IS THE VILLAGE?!”

“Naruto, do you think I could gamble away the entire village’s entire revenue with in a few hours?” Tsunade said with a hidden edge in her tone of voice.

“Knowing your loosing strea-” Naruto cut off as the sound of a fist socking somebody in the face followed by Naruto crashing through the door with a bloody nose.

“Why you arrogant little brat! That’s it! I will sure you get the worse, most degrading and horrible of D-Rank missions!” Tsunade yelled; veins bulged visibly on her forehead from anger.

“Forgive him, Tsunade-dono! He’s speaks without thinking!” Sakura said, her face pale white.

Tenten and Hinata gulped, seeing that Naruto did a pretty good job pissing her off. As curious of their mission they were, they felt it safer for her to calm down.

“Oh, hello Hinata- Gawd! What’s that smell! It smells like some animal just died!” Naruto said, pinching his nose.

N, Naruto said that I, I stink! Hinata thought, her face turning pale white as she fainted.

“Naruto!” Sakura said picking the ninja up by the collar of his cloak and shaking him. “What the hell are you thinking? You don’t ever tell a girl that she stinks (even if it’s the truth!)”

Looking out the door at Naruto and Sakura, Sai thought, so women don’t being told they stink…

“Here’s your mission, come back when you finished and I might show mercy on you!” Tsunade said pointing at them.

“Understood,” Captain Yamamoto and Sai, stepping out of the office and joining up with the others.

As Team Kakashi left, most noticeably with Sakura dragging Naruto along whose nose was still bleeding, Tenten cautiously knocked on what remained of the door.

“Come in,” Tsunade said, having looked down at a document on her table before acknowledging the kunoichi. “Oh, it’s you, where you have been and what’s wrong with Hinata?” she asked seeing the girl passed out.

“Naruto was talking without tact again,” Tenten said, dragging the unconscious kunoichi into the room. “Sorry about being late, we were training.”

“I see; here, use this,” Tsunade said, offering a jar of smelling salt.

Tenten took the smelling salt and waved it under her nose, causing Hinata to quickly regain consciousness. The girl looked around with a daze, slowly remembering what happened.

“Several mysterious abductions have been happening in Yuri no Kuni and their princess is afraid that she will be the next target. Your mission is to protect her until the individual involved with these abductions have been brought to justice. Go pack and take a bath; the princess and her bodyguard are waiting at the gate.” Tsunade said, explaining the mission.

“Um, Hokage-dono, we heard that they asked specifically for only kunoichi, why?” Hinata asked.

“Because, Yuri no Kuni forbids men from laying a foot in their country,” Tsunade says. “Do either of you have any more questions?”

The kunoichi shook their heads and the fifth lord Hokage dismissed them. Hurrying to the baths, they washed away the sweat and dirt as quickly as they could before returning to their individual residences and packing. Within less than a half hour, they were prepared and headed to meet their client.

[Elkat]

Chapter 2: Enter the Women from Yuri no Kuni!

As the two kunoichi reached the village gates, they noticed two exotic looking women dressed in a fashion that was alien and unusual to them leaving little doubt to them not being their clients. One wore an exotic hat over her short brown hair, a sleeveless robe, extending from an obi-like sash as loincloth like flaps in the front and back, over another garment with long sleeves that surpassed the hand and dangled near to her knees, puffy pants that bunched together at the ankle and two-toed shoes. The other dressed in a similar manner though her face was mostly hidden by a bandana with a veil covered the sides and back of her head. She also wore a light weight, flexible armor with vanguards the held the ridiculously long sleeves in place and greaves that bunched the pants at the knee. Combined with the spear and shield she carried, it was clear that the second woman was warrior, most likely the bodyguard of the first; the princess.

The kunoichi stared at the couple with awe, forgetting momentarily their mission until the warrior looked behind her cautiously, in the direction of the wilderness outside of the village. “Forgive us for making you wait!” Tenten said, drawing near. As she got closer, she noticed something out of place with the women. The princess had a deep tan and the air of the soldier, her eyes turning quickly to the weapon master as soon she opened her mouth while the warrior seemed rather uncomfortable in the armor and slightly frail. However, the kunoichi knew better than to point this out and decided to let go.

“We are simply grateful that Konohagakure would aid us in our time of need. Besides, we prefer waiting in the village, knowing that we are somewhere safe than in the wilderness, where we feel vulnerable,” the princess said, she and the warrior bowing to the kunoichi.

“Don’t worry; with the two us around, I doubt the assassin would show his face without thinking twice!” Tenten said confidently, she and Hinata bowing in return.

“Unfortunately, our comrades said the something on those lines and ended being killed by the assassin without having a chance to fight back. You can see how such words don’t bring us that much comfort,” the princess said in a sad tone.

“Forgive me!” Tenten said blushing in embarrassment. “If the as assailant is as good as you say, there’s no doubt it’s a shinobi!”

“Indeed, but do you mind if we continue our conversation on the road? We’re anxious to return to our homeland,” The princess said, looking towards the warrior.

“Of course! Let’s set out!” Tenten said.

The party began their journey to Yuri no Kuni, unaware that they were being observed.

---

From afar a trio of shadows watched the princess and her escort depart.

“There they go,” said one of the three with a cheerful feminine voice.

“We should attack them when the leave sight of the village,” said another of the three with a gloomy feminine voice.

“We can’t kill them right away! Where would the fun be in that?!” the first complained.

“If we let them live, we’ll loose our chance!” the second said in return.

The third said nothing, but held its forefinger up and brought it to where its lips should be before pointing towards the traveling party.

“Yes, cousin!” the first and second said, nodding their heads in understanding.

All at once, the three shadowy figures disappeared.

---

They were nearly out of sight of the village and Tenten found the princess’s and the warrior’s solemn silence to be unsettling. Realizing she knew not the name of either and unable to bear the silence anymore, she spoke up. “Excuse me, but I think we forgot to introduce ourselves. I’m Tenten and this Hyuga Hinata,” she said.

“I am Yurihime and this is my bodyguard Yuribuke. Forgive us if we don’t stop to bow, but I think it’s more important for us to get as far as we can before night sets in,” the princess said in a stressed tone.

What kind fake names are those? Tenten thought, growing agitated with the princess’s rather unfriendly and straightforward words. She could understand the need for secrecy, the knowledge that a faceless assailant could be targeting her would have her suspicious of anybody she didn’t know too well, but the princess seemed rather uncomfortable around them.

“If you don’t mind me asking… why are men forbidden?” Hinata asked, looking to the women.

At first the kunoichi were afraid the women wouldn’t answer until Yurihime spoke up, “It’s because long ago, before the reign of the first Yurijo’o, a cruel and sexist Daimyo ruled, ruling all women to be treated no better than animals. Any woman that refused to obey him let alone their husbands or fathers, were beaten and tortured until their will was broken or they died. Any man who spoke against him was publicly executed to serve as an example for the rest of them. Life in Yuri no Kuni was hell on earth and the women learned to live in disgrace, but never forget the pain and suffering they experienced at the hands of men.

“Eventually a bold and clever girl whose despise of men was so great that she wanted the Daimyo dead began to organize an underground resistance, promising that she will make the pay for what he has done. She was a clever girl, teaching the women how to drug the drink and food that the men without being caught and how to fight! She made an army of assassins out of the women, prepared to lay down their life to change the land for the future generations. Late one night, just at the turning of midnight, she had given the order for the women to begin the coup. Though the men of the land were superior warriors, they never expected their sisters and wives turn against them. Without shedding a single drop of blood, they neutralized the men, stealing from their weapons and tying them up. Armed, they gathered together and advanced to the castle. They made little work of the guards, distracting them long enough to knock them unconscious and tying them up before entering the castle and capturing the Daimyo. By the morning, the women brought the men out to witness their Daimyo beaten and tortured before being executed for his crimes. The men exiled, threatened to suffer the same fate if they were caught on ever again setting foot in Yuri no Kuni. From there began the rebirth of our country with the girl becoming the first Yurijo’o.”

The kunoichi listened to the story in silence and disbelief.

“Country serves as a safe haven for women who seek absolute seclusion from men, allowing the country to thrive on,” Yurohime said.

“I see,” Tenten said… A country where men are forbidden from entering. Could that mean…? She thought with a glimmer of hope.

“It’s getting dark…” Yurihime said, looking towards the darkening sky.

The women decided to stop and setup camp, Tenten and Hinata going out to scout the nearby area.

“Um, Tenten-sama?” Hinata asked, once they were out of earshot of the princess and her bodyguard.

“Yes?” Tenten asked.

“Have you noticed that there’s something, weird, about the Yurihime and Yuribuke?”

“Other than obviously made up names? Well I can’t place my finger on it, but it seems like there’s something they are keeping from us.” Tenten said with a sigh.

“I’m kind of scared,” Hinata said, looking at the ground. “I-I don’t why the Hokage chose me to go on this mission! I know that men are forbidden from entering their country, but there are far better kunoichi in our village that should have been chosen!”

“I’m not too sure, but I think that the Hokage had chosen you because felt that she could rely on you,” Tenten said. “Besides you’re quite powerful. I’ve seen what you can do myself!” As she said, she felt great sympathy for the Hyuga. She had from her team mate Neji how her own father is considering her young sister over her for the leadership of the clan. Though she lacked confidence, she was very kind, never trying to hurt anybody and able to standup for herself when she needed. Tenten remembered back to when the two Hyuga cousins had to fight one another in preliminary round before the third Exam. Though Hinata had no chance in defeating Neji, she still stood her ground telling him that he limited views fate were wrong.

“I, Is something wrong Tenten-sama?” Hinata asked, looking worried.

“Uh, no… I was just thinking!” Tenten said, blushing as she realized that she was staring at the girl. “Well it looks like there’s nothing dangerous around. We should be heading back.”

“Ok,” Hinata said.

The kunoichi turned about and returned to the camp, not aware of what awaited them that night.

[Elkat]

Chapter 3: Night of the Hopping Dead

“We didn’t see anybody,” Tenten said as they returned to the camp.

“What good news,” Yurihime said, “But I fear that I must relieve myself…”

“You shouldn’t go alone; I’ll go with you,” Tenten said.

“As you wish,” the princess replied, beginning to walk away.

Yuribuke grabbed the princess by the sleeve, not say a word, but exchanging her worries in her eyes.

“Don’t worry; I will return,” the princess said softly, gently taking the bodyguard’s hand in her own and removing it. Pulling down the scarf like mask the warrior wore, she kissed her romantically on the lips.

The kunoichi were shocked by this, Tenten ever so much more. What she always thought forbidden was happening before her eyes and it seemed so natural, so pure.

“Are you coming?” Yurihime said, blush alit in her face as she parted from the warrior and turned towards Tenten.

“Yes,” Tenten said in a daze, following after the princess as she walked into the wilderness.

“From the look on your face, it is not common for two women to show their affection for one another in public,” the princess said as walked.

“No, in fact it’s taboo for two women to even suggest it,” Tenten said, trying not to look embarrassedly.

“I feared as much. I’ve heard that very few countries permit the romance between two people of the same sex, but I never expected it to be true. It must be torture keep it secret, isn’t it?” The princess said with a smile.

“W, what do you mean?” Tenten asked, wandering if she knew.

“You know, how you really feel. I know that not all women think the same as we do, but I can tell you do. Do you have a lover or are you too afraid of being caught to explore your feelings?” the woman said.

“I, I don’t know what you mean?” Tenten said, gulping.

“How about that Hyuga girl, she seems very kind. A little timid, but she is beautiful and no doubt caring towards her comrades.”

“I don’t like where you are taking this,” Tenten said, growing unexplainably angry at the princess.

“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to upset you,” princess sighed, shaking her head. “Though you know the more defensive you are about her tells me the more you like her.”

Before Tenten could deny the woman’s accusations, somebody screamed in the direction of the camp.

“No!” The princess said her growing pale. Without another thought, she ran back to the camp, Tenten following after her.

Surrounding Hinata and Yuribuke were several women in black, Manchu attire, each wearing a paper with the kanji “inochi” covering their faces. They stood with their arms stretched out before them with long, black nails and whitish-green hair covering every visible patch of skin. They hopped towards the kunoichi and warrior, unable to bend their legs.

“No way!” Tenten said in disbelief. Drawing forth the scroll she wore on her back, she unrolled it and summoned as many kunai as she could hold, tossing them at the women.

The women made no attempt to evade the attacks, but neither did they seem hampered by the weapons protruding from their bodies as they continued to hop towards Hinata and Yuribuke.

Hinata, having activated the Byakugan, stood in hesitation, a look of confusion and fear on her face. “Tenten, it seems that chakra is flowing through their body from the talisman on their faces!”

“Okay!” Tenten replied, running towards the women with kunai in hand and cutting the talisman off their faces, causing them to fall lifelessly to the ground. Unfortunately it seemed that their numbers prevented her from being able to defeat them all before they got with in attacking range of Hinata.

Hinata attacked with the open palm of her hand, knocking many back, but failing to seriously injure them. No matter how quickly she knocked them back, there seemed to be two to take its place. With in seconds, the kunoichi was completely surrounded. Oddly enough, they didn’t seem in any way interested in her. Instead, they continued to forth towards the bodyguard.

The bodyguard, seeing the women swarming towards her, backed up, shaking in fear. “No! Stay back!” She yelled, not looking to where she was stepping. Tripping over a tree root, she fell to the ground hard and lost hold of her spear.

“Princess!” Yurihime yelled, running towards the fallen warrior.

“Princess?” Tenten said, confused.

Picking the spear up, Yurihime slashed at the women, not particularly aiming for any part of their body in general.

Though confused, the kunoichi realized that they must protect their charges with their lives. Summoning more kunai, but these attached with paper bombs at the end, Tenten yelled “Get down!” as she threw them at the women.

As before, the women made no attempt to dodge the weapons and were blown apart as the paper bombs went off. Body parts were strewn across the ground as it rained blood.

“Is it over?” Yurihime asked.

“Just about!” Tenten said as she and Hinata tore the talismans from the faces of the heads of the dismembered women.

“I, Impossible!” Yurohime said, her face turning pale. “Those are, are the girls that have been abducted!”

“What?!” Yuribuke said, looking at the bodies and faces of the women strewn before them. “What have they done to my people?”

“I’m sorry for your lost, but if I heard something correctly, you were called princess? Mind explaining?” Tenten said.

“I guess we have no choice,” Yuribuke said, “But may we give our people a proper funeral first?”

“Yes,” Tenten said.

The kunoichi assisted Yurihime and Yuribuke in burying the bodies of the women after inspecting their bodies. The hair on their body seemed to be mold and they noticed several lines of stitching on the body from where organs and bones must have been replaced or removed.

“Forgive us for deceiving you, but we assumed that the assailant didn’t know what I looked like so we decided that it would be safer that we exchanged roles so that they would go after Sizume who was a better fighter than me!” the real princess, Barahime, said.

“Well apparently they did know what you looked like and saw through your plan! What happened if both of us had followed her? You would have been defenseless and we would’ve failed our mission without knowing it!” Tenten said with a sigh.

“Forgive us, you must understand, we were desperate! If the princess had died, our country would have fallen into chaos! There are people who’ve either forgotten the suffering our ancestors had gone through or never knew of it, mostly mothers who’ve given birth to male children and aren’t willing to give their child nor leave the country!” Sizume said. “If she were to die, then, our country would break out in civil war!”

“I guess it can’t be helped, but I don’t think it’s over yet… somebody was controlling those women. It’s safe to assume they are ninjas and powerful ones at that. We should better keep our guard up,” Tenten said.

“Thank you, you’re so benevolent to wish to continue your mission after learning we’ve deceived you!” Barahime said, bowing to the women.

“We are the shinobi of Konoha; we don’t give up no matter how the mission goes!” Tenten said, “You’d better turn in. I’ll take the first shift.”

The women nodded bowing and retiring to their tent.

---

“You failed…” Said a male voice from the shadows as the three figures from before kneeled before the speaker.

“Forgive us; we had underestimated the Konoha shinobi’s power. We shall not make that mistake twice,” the gloomy voiced figure said.

“Yes we will make sure that we play with them in person next time!” The cheerful voiced figure added.

“You better not fail this time or I will take my money to another village to do your job-”

The third figure looked up at the man, its gaze cutting the speaker off.

“You better not make idle threats that you know you can’t act on; we of the Hitsugi clan don’t like having competition involved even if it’s from our own village!” the gloomy voiced figure said.

“Yes, we tend to cut them up!” the cheerful voice said with a giggle.

“J, just make sure you don’t fail this time!” The male voice said before leaving.

The third figure looked to each of the other two.

“Understood…” the gloomy figure said.

“Yee! It’s play time!” the cheerful figure said.

At once, the three figures said at once.

[Elkat]

Chapter 4: Confrontation! The Hitsugi clan makes their move!

Team kunoichi broke camp little before dawn. None of the four women were able to sleep soundly through the night, fearful that the enemy would make another attack and were anxious to get moving again. Despite not getting enough sleep, they didn’t feel safe and forced themselves awake. This wasn’t a big issue for the kunoichi who were trained to sleep lightly nor Sizume who was used to waking at odd hours and marching for hours at end as a soldier. Barahime on the other hand was slow to wake and seemed to trip over the slightest of obstacle with her senses dulled from being half asleep. If Sizume hadn’t offered to carry her, she would have slowed them down greatly.

The kunoichi and their charges were able to cover many miles before noon when they decided to stop and rest. While the kunoichi set up camp, Sizume and Barahime nestled together.

“They really are a cute couple,” Tenten said, looking at the women enviously.

“I never thought that two women could…” Hinata replied, her voice trailing off as she blushed.

Seeing Hinata’s shy expression caused Tenten’s heart to beat quickly. Was she reading too much into the girl’s expression or could her fellow kunoichi share her secret. No, she doubted, it was obvious that the Hyuga was deeply in love with Uzumaki Naruto, but she was sure everybody the same of her towards Neji and they were wrong. Tenten, found Hinata’s meekness to rather bothersome at times, but cute at other times such as now. The kunoichi was also kind to a fault and strong when she needs to, not mention quite gorgeous. The more Tenten thought about Hinata, the harder her heart pounded and the hotter her body burned.

“Are you okay Tenten-sama?” Hinata asked in a worried tone, seeing how the kunoichi’s breathing had become shallow and the sweat the beaded on her face.

“Y, yeah! I, I’m just a little tired… I’m going to wash off,” Tenten said, quickly getting up and walking towards a nearby stream. Splashing cold water onto her face, she cooled down her burning body, scolding herself mentally. What are you thinking?! We’re in the middle of a mission; there’s no time to be thinking of that kind of stuff! Calming herself and regaining her composure, she was started to see somebody standing behind.

It was a tall masculine figure dressed in Manchu attire with a porcelain mask covering its face. Standing with arms intertwined with its wide sleeves, it bowed before pulling out one it’s hands which had long, black finger nails and attacked with a stabbing motion at Tenten.

---

“Hay, Hinata-san,” Sizume said, watching as Tenten left.

“Yes, Sizume-sama?” Hinata asked looking at the warrior.

“What are your feelings for Tenten-san?” Sizume asked.

“Well, I don’t know… This is the first time we have been sent on the same mission together. From what I’ve seen, I feel that I can trust her and I wish I had her confidence…” Hinata said, gazing into space as she tried to think.

“Do you like her?” Sizume asked, pressing onward.

“Yes, she seems like a nice person to be around,” Hinata answered, realizing the conversation was creeping onto a specific goal, though she wasn’t sure what it was.

“How much do you like her?” Sizume asked.

“What do you mean?” Hinata asked, growing uncomfortable suddenly.

“Do you like as a friend or maybe something more romantic…” Sizume asked in a low tone.

“W, What?!” Hinata asked, blushing deeply.

“What folly,” the gloomy voice figured said, a gloomy woman dressed in black Manchu clothes. Her face was a painted like a corpse with stitches drawn her face. “You trade idle conversation while your enemy ambushes you.”

“Peekaboo!” Cries the cheerful voiced figure, another an almost exact twin of the gloomy girl, but in white as she bursts forth from the ground and grabs Sizume. “Doton: Hadaka Maiso (Earth Style: Naked Burial)” Suddenly, the girl and Sizume disappear into the ground.

“Sizume!” Barahime cries in horror!

The gloomy girl performs a number of hand seals. “Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Teikoku no Yomigaeru (Summoning Technique: Imperial Revival)!” A number of Chinese coffins bursts forth from the ground to open up and reveal the bodies of several women from the likes of the earlier attack. “Leave no survivors.” With the command, the corpses hopped out of their coffins attacked Hinata and the princess.

“Byakugan!” Hinata activated her dojutsu and began to attack the hopping undead. What happened to Tenten-sama? She wondered as she attacked the advancing corpses with her gentle fist.

---

Though Tenten been taken by surprise by the man, she was nearly able to dodge the attack, the claw-like finger nails cutting deep enough into her arm to draw blood. Quickly jumping back, she drew forth the scroll she carried on her back and unrolled it, summoning a number of kunai from it and toss them at the man.

The man dodged the kunai and charged forward, attacking in repetition with both of his clawed hands, force the kunoichi to continuously retreat in order to maintain her range.

Damn it, he’s too fast! Hinata might have a chance with this guy… Wait a second, if he’s the assailant, why is he wasting his time with me unless… Crap! I got to get to the others! Tenten thought as she repeatedly dodge the man’s attacks. Not knowing the fate of her opponents caused her to become distracted, but she already knew she stood no chance again him. He was just as fast as him and could easily dodge her attacks if she were ever to far enough from him. She only one choice, to regroup with Hinata. Rolling up her scroll and returning it to her back, she turned away from the assailant and ran at full speed.

Oddly enough, the assailant made no attempt to chase her but instead began to perform hand signs. Suddenly a number of coffins bursts forth from the ground before Tenten, cutting off her retreat, the coffins continued to rise in a ring around her and the assailant.

There was no need for him to chase for he knew he could trap her, Tenten realized with horror. Fortunately for her, she had a slight upper hand. The coffin bearer was pretty wide, granting her with plenty of space for her to maneuver within, and performing technique required to stand still, creating a gap between them. Unless the assailant could perform ranged techniques (which she doubted), she just needed to keep her distance. Taking her scroll out again and summoning a variety of weapons she began to toss them while running along the perimeter of the barrier.

The assailant dodged the weapons left and right, attempt to close the gap between them, but finding the task difficult with the barrage of weapons be thrown at him. Realizing this, the assailant stopped in the dead center of the ring and began to observe Tenten’s movement.

This made the kunoichi uneasy, though as a stand target, he became easier to hit, he was obviously planning the best solution against her.

The assailant made a number of hand signs and then removed his mask. Too Tenten’s surprise, his face was Tenten’s. She realized that he didn’t just have copied her face, but was from head to toe now a mirror image of her. “You are ranged combatant who relies solely on keeping your distance from your opponent and attacking from afar. Now that I have cut off your escape, I figured I fight you on even grounds,” the assailant said with Tenten’s voice.

---

Hinata panted as she stood bent over, having defeated everyone of the summoned corpses. She was exhausted, spending most of her chakra against the swarm of enemies.

“You did well, no surprise that you were able to defeat my swarm last night.” The gloomy girl said, bowing. “I hope my sister has as much fun playing with you as I did.”

Hinata, remembering the girl who attacked Sizume, focused her Byakugan on the ground while keeping an eye on her original opponent. She could not detect Sizume anywhere and could only hope that she was still alive.

Looking in all directions for the other assailant, she was nowhere to be seen, neither above or below ground. I must focus! Hinata thought, pouring the last of her chakra into her eyes. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she say a figure ascending to the surface from behind her. Almost sure that it was the other girl, she was prepared to strike as soon as she surfaced. What surfaced wasn’t the other assailant, but Sizume, who was covered in scratches and bleeding.

“Sizume!” Barahime cried running to the warrior’s side. “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay, that bitch tried to kill me, but I was able to beat her! She left as soon as soon as I fought back,” The warrior said with a smile.

Hinata, realizing that she had turned her attention from the gloomy girl, turned back to find that she had disappeared. Not having much chakra left and unable to find any traces of the other girl anywhere, she released her Byakugan. “I think they retreated. We must find where Tenten-sama went! I hope she’s okay!”

“Er, maybe we should rest… you look pretty tired out.” Sizume said, looking at the kunoichi.

“I think we should find her… I don’t think that other girl is gone,” Barahime said, “and with Hinata-san so exhausted, she has no chance of defending off another attack.”

“I guess so…” Sizume said, sounding oddly disappointed at having to leave immediately.

The trio headed towards the river where they last remembered her leaving to.

---

Tenten was slightly disturbed by the assailant’s new appearance, but didn’t think too heavily into it. It’s just a transformation technique! If he thinks he can scare me by stealing my face and voice, he doesn’t know he’s fighting against! She thought, summoning another handful of weapons and tossing them at the assailant.

At the same time, the assailant mimicked the kunoichi’s actions, summoning the same number of weapons and tossing at her. The weapons collided mid-air and fell to the ground harmlessly. “Do not underestimate me. I have studied your combat style and have prepared a counter measure. As long as you maintain your distance from me, you can evade my attacks and attack me from safely in return. Though I could easily close the gap between us, I find that would exert too much energy from myself from such a prolonged battle.”

“You talk to much!” Tenten said. He must have studied my attack pattern so that he could mimic it. Additionally, the fact that he could summon the same weapons that I could means that this technique is able to copy my abilities and weapons… this is no different when I fought that doppelganger back at the Aakatsuki’s base. If that’s the case then… Tossing her scroll into the air while still holding it, it unrolled mid air and hundreds of thousands of weapons came raining down upon the assailant, making escape nearly impossible. “Souryu Tensakai (Dragon Scattering Destruction)!”

“I see,” the assailant said, somehow able to stand as his body is pierced by several weapons. “By tossing your scroll into the air, you can summon a great mass of weapons at once, leaving your opponent no room to escape and insuring almost an instantaneous victory. However, it expends every weapon within your arsenal, leaving defenseless if your opponent has by some means survived. It’s a simple technique that requires no hand seals or chakra so I should be able to try it out for myself…”

Tenten was shocked to see her opponent to be still alive. This isn’t human! She thought in horror. With that thought in mind, she remembered the undead swarm she had fought the other night. Could he be undead like the rest of them? To make things worse, his ability mimic her own techniques now granted him a chance to use Souryu Tensakai against her! With the coffins blocking her escape, she would surely die!

Fortunately, Hinata and the others could be heard coming, causing the assailant to stop in mid toss. “It seems my cousins have been defeated. That is unfortunate. Forgive me, but I must temporarily retreat. I’ve enjoyed our encounter, Konoha shinobi. I hope to fight you again…” Returning the mask to his face, he released the technique and threw a smoke bomb, causing a smoke screen to fill the ring. As it cleared, there was no signs of the assailant or the coffins, though the weapons that had pierced his body laid scattered across the ground, no traces of blood anywhere along the blade.

“Tenten-sama!” Hinata yelled, as she saw the kunoichi surrounded by her own summoned weapons.

“Are you three alright?” Tenten asked running to meet the team.

“We were attacked by two women!” Hinata said, explaining their encounter with the sisters.

“I see, it’ll only be time before they make their next attack!” Tenten said, “We better rest and prepare ourselves for the next battle.”

“Your arm!” Hinata said, seeing the slash marks in Tenten’s arms.

“It’s just a flesh wound,” Tenten said, covering her injury with her hand. “Though we should clean and bandage it before it becomes infected.”

Hinata retrieved the small medical kit in which Sakura had given her before they left the village and attended to the kunoichi’s wound, taking water from the river wash the wound clean.

After Hinata was done, Tenten went about gathering her weapons and sealing them back into her scroll before Team Kunoichi and their charges set up camp and rested for the night.

---

In the shadowy corridors of an underground room, two of the three Hitsugi clansmen rested from there battle against Team Kunoichi.

“Everything is going according to your plan, cousin,” the gloomy woman said, sewing close the wounds her cousin received from his battle with Tenten. “The poison will kill one of the kunoichi and I’m sure Maiso-imoto is capable of killing the other one along with the princess.

“Though I’ve lost a good number of bodies back there, I’m sure the kunoichi will make a wonderful addition to my collection. I’m glad the Maiso-imoto left this one in one piece. I should have it ready for our next encounter.” Having finished repairing her cousin, she moved over to corpse of Sizume to which she stroked affectionately.