Birds of a Feather
Chapter Six: Screams
Istoria

Naruto tossed the radio in the air as he lay on the ground next to the Tengu Aviary. An hour after leaving everyone else behind, the setting sun had been the only exciting thing to watch. He eyed the Tengu Aviary warily before finally pressing the button on the side of the radio.

"Sakura-chan?" he whined. "Can I come back yet?"

There was a long pause before Sakura answered. "Not yet," came the crackling voice.

"Did everyone come back yet?"

"Yeah... we're trying to sort things out. I'll call back in a bit."

Naruto sighed and lay back on the ground, staring up at the sky. Five seconds of watching the golden clouds and Naruto decided that Shikamaru must have serious mental problems to enjoy doing this all the time.

Without warning, the sky suddenly became dark and it took Naruto a moment to realize that it wasn't natural. He stood up quickly and looked back towards the Tengu Aviary. It appeared the entire population of Konoha's birds was pouring out of the metal cage and into the sky.

Naruto jumped up, quickly scrambling for the radio. "Sakura-chan!"

There was a pause before Sakura's bored voice came through. "What is it? I told you to give me a few minutes."

"All the birds in the Tengu Aviary are going wild!" he yelled.

"What?"

Naruto attempted to answer but the entire caged area of the Aviary pitched over and came crashing to the ground. There was an unearthly scream and Naruto was sure they would have heard it back in Ibiki's office even without the radio on.

The ground under Naruto's feet seemed to lurch upward as the building collapsed. He jumped backwards as he started to fall, determined not to lose his footing. As soon as he landed his eyes caught the movement out of the rubble.

"NARUTO!" Sakura's voice screamed through the radio.

Naruto quickly stuffed it under his shirt and hit the ground. The tall grass covered him for the most part but he could still see what was going on.

The shadow grew out of the rubble and Naruto realized what it was. The radio buzzed against his stomach and he knew Sakura was yelling through it. He reached for the radio and pressed the talk button, silencing the other end. He brought it up to his mouth as his eyes locked with the creature.

"It's here," he said.

Sakura was knee deep in scrolls by the time Shikamaru wandered in. He eyed her for a few minutes before wandering over to help get her out of the mess she had made.

"I don't think your sensei will be pleased with the state of his office," he said, reaching out a hand to help her out of the pile.

"It's actually better off then before," Sakura replied, letting him pull her out. She tottered, tripping over a few scrolls and ended up dancing a bit to maintain her balance.

"Having fun there?" Sasuke asked, as he entered the room.

Shikamaru sighed as Sakura snatched her hand back. "Just waiting for the rest of you to decide to come back. Anything useful?" Sasuke nodded curtly just as Hinata walked in behind him.

"That's everyone," Sakura said. "Did you find anything out, Hinata?"

Everyone turned to her and Hinata's thumbs instinctively began to twiddle. Slowly she shook her head, feeling the her conscience weigh down on her. "We had no records of anything like that," she said softly, knowing it was a lie but that she couldn't betray her family.

"It's no surprise," Sasuke stated.

"Why not?" Sakura asked.

He frowned. "I went to the police station and read the report. There was something too familiar about the beast. So I looked in... our family records." He trailed off.

"Its part of the Uchiha isn't it?" Shikamaru said, filling in the silence. Sasuke nodded slightly. "Makes sense, the thing is perfect at copying the physical."

Sakura looked at Sasuke but if he was feeling anything, he wasn't showing it. "So what happened?"

"The cross went bad," Sasuke shrugged. "There were some notes but nothing much."

"Did it survive?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah. But it didn't say anything about what happened afterwards."

"It was destroyed," Hinata said. They all looked at her and she paled at her words. "I mean... it... it's not here. We never knew about it. So..."

"Unless they hid it," Shikamaru added.

"They being who?" Sakura asked.

"I'd say either family but with the Uchiha gone it seems more likely to be the Tengu."

"If it was the Tengu," Sakura said, pulling out the scroll of notes from earlier, "then why would it attack them?"

"To get free," Shikamaru shrugged. "To get power. Maybe it was aiming for both Hane and the Hokage, two birds with one stone and all."

The bad pun wasn't the only reason for silence in the room. Sakura frowned deeply at the words. Why would anyone want to keep a monster alive?

The radio on the desk crackled to life suddenly and Naruto's voice boomed into the room.

"Sakura-chan? Can I come back yet?"

Sakura maneuvered through the mess and picked up the radio. "Not yet," she replied.

"Did everyone come back yet?" he asked.

"Yeah... we're trying to sort things out. I'll call back in a bit."

She kept the radio in her hand as she looked at the group in front of her. It seemed that they had almost all the pieces to put something together. But they were still missing the answer to the simplest question. Why? Why did the beast return? Why was it attacking people?

"I have to go," Hinata said suddenly. "I promised my father I would go home before dark. I'm sorry that... that I couldn't help."

Sakura shook her head. "You've been a real help, Hinata-chan, thanks again." The other girl blushed and bowed, quickly scurrying out of the door.

Shikamaru let out a deep sigh and glanced at the clock. They had a little under two hours to come up with an answer. He hated working under pressure.

"Ne, Shikamaru," Sakura started, catching his attention. "What did you find out about the matchmaker?"

Shikamaru frowned. He didn't want to bring Ino's name into this so he just skirted around the source of the information. "The creature probably posed as the old woman to get information. Think about it, who would think it's strange for a matchmaker to ask about all the people in your life."

Shikamaru paused as he pulled everything together. "It's looking for something," he said. "Or more accurately, someone."

Sasuke looked up. "The police report... one of the officers heard it say it had found what it needed."

Sakura looked at them both. "What did it find?" she asked, knowing no one had the answer.

The radio suddenly screamed at them. "Sakura-chan!"

Sakura let out a sigh and picked up the radio, annoyed that Naruto had interrupted their discussion again. "What is it? I told you to give me a few minutes."

"All the birds in the Tengu Aviary are going wild!" he yelled.

"What?" she screamed, noting that both Shikamaru and Sasuke had come alert.

There was noise on the other end, like it was the end of the world. Sakura was screaming Naruto's name into the radio but he wasn't responding. Shikamaru snatched it out of her hands and quickly turned the channel, calling into the Hokage's tower to inform them. Sasuke simply grabbed Sakura and dragged her out as a scream echoed in the air, inhumane and full of rage.

"The idiot's going to get hurt if we don't help," he said simply as Sakura tripped next to him.

"Keep trying him," Shikamaru said, catching up with them and handing the radio back to her.

They cleared the exit of the building in record time and started running towards the Tengu Aviary. There was a plume of dust and debris in the air as they approached, followed swiftly by a wave of black and white that could only signify that the Anbu had been mobilized.

"NARUTO!" Sakura tried once more into the radio.

"It's here," came the reply.

Sakura's eyes opened wide. "Just stay quiet," she whispered into radio. "Don't do anything..."

"HEY! YOU STUPID MONSTER!"

Sasuke cursed as Naruto's voice came through the radio. Leave it to the idiot to make things worse. He jumped up on the roof, noting that Sakura and Shikamaru followed a few steps behind.

The field leading to the Aviary was coming up fast and Sasuke could make out the gray-black form of the beast. Nearby was ball of orange and yellow that could only be Naruto. Sasuke was about to continue but a hand on his shoulder pulled him to a stop.

His head whipped around, coming face to face with Shikamaru. "Let go," Sasuke growled.

"Let the Anbu handle this," Shikamaru said. "You wouldn't make it five seconds with something like that."

Sasuke was about to argue but Sakura's voice broke the fight. "Look," she whispered.

They turned and followed her gaze. The beast was shrinking, suddenly turning human sized. It started to limp towards Naruto who seemed completely transfixed by its gaze. Sasuke started again, but Shikamaru held him back, pointing to the Anbu on the next roof. It was obvious they were about to attack.
Naruto yelled and got the monster's attention. It turned to him and Naruto brought his hands up to start performing seals. He could summon the frog boss and eliminate this thing in no time.

But something filtered in the air. A sweet, sickly smell and suddenly Naruto found he couldn't move. The monster began to shrink until suddenly it was the outline of an older man. It limped towards him and despite his attempts, his legs would not move.

It brought a hand up and slowly grazed a nail against his cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. It paused and looked at its nail.

"You're not like her," it said, a ghost of a smile on its shadow like face.

Then suddenly it was gone and in its place were a pile of Kunai. Two Anbu arrived next to him but one quickly disappeared. The other kept asking him if he was okay, but Naruto couldn't answer.

The trio of genin watching from the distance finally arrived. Naruto could hear Sakura's frantic question about his state of being but he couldn't answer. He really wanted to though, because she was obviously very upset. He wanted to tell her that he was okay. So he started to muster all the strength to say something.

But at the last second, he knew there was something more important he had to say. The way the beast had spoken to him made it clear that it was looking for someone. A girl to be specific. And he knew that Sakura would be able to make better sense of it then he could.

"Not... like... her..." he said through gritted teeth, using ever ounce of willpower he had. The effort cost him. The beast's spell dragged him down into the blackness of unconsciousness.

"Not like who?" Sakura cried. But Naruto was falling and all she could do was catch him and lay him on the ground. "Is that what it said to you? Naruto! Please wake up!!"

Behind her, Shikamaru's brows had begun to furrow as he thought about what Naruto said. The thin line of blood on his face drew his attention and suddenly he had an image of Hinata, grabbing her arm during their fight in the forest.

It's after her.

"Hinata!" he said suddenly. "It's after Hinata."

"What?" Sakura cried, turning her attention from her fallen teammate.

"Damn it!" Shikamaru cursed. "Why didn't I see it before? When we were fighting in the village, the thing got a hit on Hinata. It drew her blood. That's why afterwards, with Ibiki it said it had found what it needed."

"What did it need?" Sakura asked.

"A Hyuuga," Sasuke said, understanding where this was going. "Sharigan wasn't enough to let it make perfect copies of things."

"But Byakugan would do that, chakra system and all," Shikamaru finished. "You have to find Hinata," he said at to the Anbu. "Wherever she is, the beast will be there."
Hinata left the Interrogation building and quickly made her way home. The sun had already set and she knew her father was going to be displeased with her. She had barely made it ten steps outside when a familiar form appeared in front of her.

"Neji-niisan."

"Your father wanted me to escort you home as you failed to return before he asked," he stated.

Hinata bowed and tried to push the grim thoughts of punishment from her mind. She followed behind him, her fingers nervously playing the edge of her jacket. She knew he was upset with her about the incident earlier but she should have been just as upset. Why did he always have to run and tell her father when she did something? She knew that he was supposed to protect her as a Branch Member but it seemed that it was more like tattling on her.

She knew she should say something but she didn't want to risk disrupting things further. After the Chuunin exam, Neji had been somewhat more civil to her. He never apologized for the fight but she hadn't expected that much. She just wanted him to smile at her like he did when they first met.

Her gaze turned to the Tengu Aviary and she blushed a bit at the thought of Naruto up there. If she was more like that, she could tell Neji how she felt. Though she might use less colorful language then he would.

Hinata's feet came to a stop. Neji turned around and was about to ask her what the hold up was when he felt saw the wave of bird that filled the sky. Simultaneously, they activated Byakugan, concentrating on Tengu Aviary as it slowly came apart.

"The beast," Hinata whispered as it came to shape.

"We need to go now," Neji said grabbing her arm.

"No!" Hinata cried. "Naruto-kun is up there."

"He can take care of himself."

"Not against that!" Hinata cried.

"I fought him," Neji said, looking at her. "I know his abilities. I know he will be fine. Besides, look, the Anbu are already going."

Hinata wanted to argue further, but she knew he was right. She could see the waves of Anbu heading to the Aviary. And looking back, it appeared that the beast had shrunk down. So she let Neji drag her through the streets without any more protests. She still couldn't help but worry about Naruto.

Neji suddenly stopped, causing her to run into his back. She was about to question why when she saw it.

"Hello, Hinata-chan, Neji-kun," came a deep voice from the black humanoid mass in front of them. "Hinata-chan, I've been looking for you, for a very long time."

Neji's muscles tightened as the smell pervaded his senses. His legs suddenly seized up and refused to move.

"Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked, feeling the way he had tensed.

"Sorry," the beast said. "But your guard will have to stay behind."

"What did you do to him?"

The beast produced a small container, with smoke billowing out of it. "It's an old trick, a little bit of sweet smoke and they never see it coming. This particular incense paralyzes the nerves of males." It quickly put the container away. "You, however, I need awake."

"Me? What do you want with me?" Hinata asked, tightening her grip on the back of Neji's coat. She could feel his heart beating in his chest rapidly as he struggled.

"I need you to finish what was started," it said. "I was not perfect, but our child will be."

Hinata's eyes opened wide and she stepped backwards. She looked around the area, searching for a way to get away but the beast was watching her.

"Go ahead and run if you want," it said. "But I'll still catch up to you. After I kill your cousin, of course. I was told there is bad blood between you but can you really let a family member die, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata's hands were shaking. Neji concentrated, trying to draw as much energy as he could. She could see the strain he was putting on himself to move. "R...run," came the soft voice. "G...go..."

She looked at him, knowing what he was asking her to do. It made sense. The Anbu couldn't be that far behind. Running would buy her the time she needed. His knees shook and he fell to the ground, obviously weakened by the strain against the nerve toxin. She looked at him on the ground, eyes still open but helpless before the creature in front of her.

Her hands suddenly clenched tightly. She looked up at the beast, the veins in her eyes straining as she took a step forward.

"No," she said suddenly, standing in front of Neji. "I won't run." She slowly shifted her feet into the opening position of Jyuuken. "But... I won't come easily either."

She didn't dare look down at Neji, knowing the look that must be in his eyes. The same one her father gave her each time she fought Hanabi. You're not good enough to do this. You're not strong enough. You're weak.

The beast snarled and eyed her cautiously. She needed to buy a bit of time so that the Anbu would find them. She concentrated on the monster in front of her and saw that one of its sides was badly damaged. That must have been where Ibiki hit him.

The beast lunged and Hinata jumped backwards, avoiding the extended flesh that reached for her. It moved quickly again, but this time towards Neji whom she had left behind.

Hinata realized her dilemma as she quickly jumped forward, delivering a solid kick to the thing and pushing it away. By fighting the beast and attempting to prevent it from getting Neji, she'd have to stay in only one place. She was greatly reducing her already weak skills.

The beast sneered, coughing slightly as it put a hand to its side. Hinata lowered her stance. There was no other way to fight. She would have to bring the fight to the beast and hope that a hit to its side would immobilize it.

It was surprised when she suddenly appeared before him. What she lacked in strength, Hinata made up for in speed. Her palm struck forward, landing a blow on its shoulder and sending it stumbling back. Its body was mostly solid, Hinata realized, though its chakra coils were aligned differently and appeared to be constantly shifting.

From the shoulder strike, the beast had turned slightly backwards, allowing Hinata to breech his defense and push her other palm deep into the wound on its side. The beast screamed in agony, a noise that Hinata could only hope would bring the Anbu quickly.

Not wanting to lose the advantage, she struck again, aiming for where the eyes should have been with a nippon nukite. She didn't make contact with the eyes and instead her two fingers slowly slid into the darkness.

Two hands on the beast and Hinata knew this was her only chance. Concentrating, she brought the chakra inside her to a peak. If she couldn't target the tenketsu because they weren't in one place, she would just push as much chakra as she could into its insides.

The air around the two crackled with energy, the beast's opaque skin took on a slightly blue hue. It realized the danger and shifted in her hands, trying to get away. One hand came loose but the other one was still tight inside its wound.

There was a moment of stillness before Hinata let her attack go. For a moment, the beast was almost white as chakra spilled into its body. Most of it was leaking out but some of it made it through the wound and burned its insides.

It reared backward, pushing Hinata away and quickly scampered to the nearest sewer entrance. Hinata had her hands on her knees, attempting to recover from the abrupt drop in her chakra level. After several seconds, she finally started to wobble over to Neji to check on him.

She expected the surprised look on his face. After all, she hadn't been the most aggressive person in Konoha. But he wasn't looking at her. He was staring in surprise at something behind her.

She barely had a chance to react as she felt it wrap around her ankle. Looking backwards, she saw the long arm of the beast stretching out of the sewer hole. It pulled back into the darkness, snapping like an elastic band. Hinata fell forward, smashing her head on the ground and losing consciousness.

A second later, they were both gone. All the remained was an immobilized Neji and a long red line that from where Hinata had fallen towards the darkness of the sewers.


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