Manga/Anime: Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto/Studio Pierrot
Words: 1 886
Publish: 07/23/2020
Summary: Naruto and Hinata are on the verge of knowing the truth. It's the beginning of the end.

From outside, the building they parked in front of looked like a normal orphanage. A vast garden. A play area. A big house bathing in the sunlight. And despite the Akatsuki's arrest, everything was still in good condition.

A detail Naruto and Hinata didn't fail to notice.

All the wooden floorboards on the porch floor were cleaned. Regularly and with care, Hinata noticed as Naruto ignored the 'private property' sign and pushed the door open to enter the building with caution. Conscious they were setting foot on the enemy's territory.

From the floor to the ceiling, the interior was in redwood. The hall was huge. Framed drawings made by children decorated the walls. Not a single speck of dust was lying on the ground. And once things were clear, it wasn't the squatters which would take care of the place they live in.

At that thought, Hinata felt her hair stand on end. She looked over her shoulder.

Everything was calm. Too calm.

Seriously. They were one of the most powerful organisations and they didn't have an alarm to indicate them someone was breaking in?

It's too good to be true.

She came closer to Naruto, letting her eyes analyse the surroundings. Despite the cleanliness of the place, the atmosphere wasn't pleasant at all. On the contrary. All the doors were opened. Of course, it was intentional. And now out of reach of the sun warmth, the atmosphere was gloomy, cold and not welcoming.

Hinata knew what they were looking for. Or rather, who they were looking for. Yahiko, the Akatsuki leader. The thinker of the Biju program who had been put where he couldn't hurt anyone. According to Kakashi.

But, Menma. The Secret Services' behaviour. The two men in the car. Yahiko's clone. All of that wasn't random.

Naruto and Hinata then concluded that the program had been working again. Worse, it had maybe never stopped completely.

That's why, they kept walking deeper and deeper into the house's depth since everything was hidden from the visitor's eyes. Obviously.

Unfortunately, with the clones and the Akatsuki members potentially free, they didn't know how many enemies they will run into. So, at every door, they would stop, listen and look at the dark corners. Naruto was so tensed that Hinata was afraid his muscles failed him at the moment he would need them.

Quietly, they passed the living room, the launderette and the kitchen. All the rooms were in a irreproachable condition. As if the building had never been closed by the Secret Services.

They could almost hear the childish laughs echoed in the inconfortable silence.

Finally, they entered the dining room. Another huge room with dozens of long tables, all surrounded by children-sized chairs and covered by tablecloths without a single stain of mould.

Near the fireplace, grand windows gave view on the back garden. It was at least several hectares of green and lush grass, creating the desire to run to feel the wind. Trees shaded the unused sun loungers. Only a few plants had rotten. The rest had proliferated, letting nature reassert itself.

It was the perfect place to relax, to have fun, to feel free.

But, Hinata knew it was a facade. And, Naruto's cloudy eyes were showing it to her.

The way they were coming and going with distrust on each and every insignificant object, made her understand that he wasn't having his best memory of this place. He was back in his prison. He tried to hide his emotions behind his insensitive assassin mask but she knew him too well.

Leaving the view, she approached him to slide her hand in his. This time, not for her own confort. It was for support him. Like she promised. His fingers were instantly less stiff and he gave her a small smile before waving towards the floor above.

Their final destination was up there.

The staircase was as impressive as the rest of the house. The steps were couvert by an thick red carpet. The whole railing was sculpted and at each landing, a work of art decorated the wall. Hinata reconised the work of Hiroshige, Degas and even Dali and she had to say that those criminel had knowledge in art.

When Naruto turned left to check the first floor, she saw a children bedroom filled with cribs and single or double beds with beautiful iron frame. All the beds were made as if it had been done this morning.

The second room of the floor was the bathroom and toilets. A side for boys and another one for girls.

Adjacent to the stairs, another room was used as a playroom for babies who couldn't go outside.

At the last floor, there was a larger bedroom. On the king-size bed, the lavender bed sheets were in silk. Hinata was sure, the whole set was expensive. There was a rocking chair near the window above the fireplace and a thick carpet, probably worth millions.

When Hinata looked away from the room, she saw Naruto turned about at the end of the corridor. His hand slid against the wall, along the bars of the railing, on the window frame and on top of the wardrobe.

He was looking for the button which gave access to the attic.The attic where took place the experiences, the tests, the tortures sessions and so much more inhuman things which prevent him from sleeping at night.

They could almost hear the childish screams echoing in the silence of the house.

She then shivered, her hand fell on her belly. It's at that moment Naruto's hand joined hers. She looked up at him and frowned when his finger landed on her lips.

Immediately, her throat became dry.

They both looked up.

But the danger was coming from behind.

The window glass exploded, sending fragments of glass towards them. They had to split up. Caught by surprise, Hinata stepped back and Naruto turned on his heels, wall against his back, leaving space for the enemy.

No sooner had Hinata understood what was happening she saw before her a new ginger mane, piercings stretched by a carnivorous smile and a sub-machine gun.

No doubt, it's a new Yahiko's clone.

Yet...

He was really different from the one who followed them in the underground car park.

Oddly enough, she thought about Menma. A clone at first sight but, when she looked at his expression closely, she could see he was different from his original.

Why?

Her thought flew away when the gun aimed at her.

Again, everything happened fast.

The clone, still hanged at his cable, wasn't really balanced on his feet. Naruto took advantage of the opportunity to catch his arm and pulled him backwards, aiming the gun towards the ceiling. Hinata put her hands to her ears as soon as the first bullet were shot at the ceiling.

The two men fought on the floor but Naruto kept the barrel aimed towards the top. Away from her. Quickly,the clone ran out of munitions and having the upper hand, he elbowed the ginger's nose. Hurt, he let of of the empty sub-machine gun which stopped at Hinata's feet.

When she looked up, they were on their feet once again, Naruto in between her and the clone. Their breathing were abominably steady.

His hand moved to grab his gun and to end his opponent. Unfortunately, the second man was quick and jumped on him with all his strength. He took the impact to twist his arm but still found himself pinned against the railing. Hinata cupped her mouth to hold back a scream for fear.

Fortunately, only the gun tumbled down from the two floors to crash on the ground.

Stuck against the ginger's body, Naruto took the punch destined to him before riposting to push him towards the window now open.

It's at that moment the wardrobe door opened in a creepy creaking.

Hinata felt her heart drop.

A second clone appeared in her field of vision.

Not for long since Naruto's foot kicked the door close in the new ginger's face. The crack of bones rang but the kick wasn't strong enough to knock out the enemy. He then turned around, ready to do it again, but the first clone wrapped his arms around his neck, as he serpent would do with his prey.

Seeing him struggle to get free, Hinata didn't think twice. She took the sub-machine gun and was about to hit the ginger's head with the gun butt and her whole strength when the one from the wardrobe re appeared before her.

He was so close to her in no time that she got flustered.

"Don't touch her!" Naruto's and another voice thundered at the same time.

As a robot, the clone stopped right away and silence fell in the house.

Until soles crunched the glass on the floor.

Because it came from behind her, Hinata turned around and sent the gun butt towards the third person. Her move was stopped easily and she met deux pupils lacking with humanity.

She also noticed the new wooden, folding stairs which gave access to the attic. It was the one Naruto was looking for earlier.

So, their plan worked...

"You're fearless for a Hyuuga" he commented.

So, it's him, Hinata realised.

Again, she noticed that Yahiko was really different from his clones and his lack of human gestures matched Menma's.

But, why was she always thinking about him even though he wasn't a clone belonging to the Akatsuki?

Was there a link between them?

Naruto and Menma and Yahiko and his clones.

She had all the pieces of the story in hands. She succeeded at finishing the puzzle but couldn't clearly see the whole.

She was missing something.

But what?

Think, Hinata. Think!

"I swear if you touch her-"

"Relax Kyubi. We won't kill your beauty", the leader abruptly grabbed Hinata's jaw to have a better view of her face. That contact brought her nothing but a cold sensation, freezing her bones and making her blood run cold. "as long as you obey."

His gaze left her to meet Naruto's. He nodded to his clone and Hinata heard the click of handcuffs behind her. She couldn't see her husband but, she could well imagine that his blood was boiling with anger.

At that warning, he must restrain himself to not rip off the arms holding him while he was handcuffed.

"Did you enjoy your tour of the house? We had arranged everything for you long-awaited arrival."

His voice, whatever he was saying, was always neutral. It made her comfortable. She got rid of his hand reminding her of the feeling of snow on her skin.

"You knew we were coming?" she was glad she didn't tremble while asking.

"Indeed",

Their eyes met again.

He was so different from the man Naruto described to her during his stories. Too stoic. Not enthusiastic enough. For a scientist, he didn't look happy to see again his experience, his masterpiece, after so many years.

"And we would love for you to stay with us."

"Let her go! You want me!"

Surprised and displeased, she turned towards Naruto. They were a team. They won't slit up. But Yahiko's refusal stopped her thought. She grew pale.

"We don't want you, Kyubi. We want your child."

One chapter and an epilogue left.