A Growing Affection

Chapter 74: A Jinchuriki's Fate

Hinata was thrown into the cliff as she stopped the cat's razor sharp claws with Ginmaki. The demon's other forepaw collided with Sakura, but the powerful medic accepted some minor burns to catch the limb and force the monstrous feline back. Both the cat and her controller's eyes widened at Sakura's show of strength. Neji hurried over to his cousin, while Tenten darted around the demon towards Mayuko again. The Snow rogue barked another order, and the cat's tails slammed into the ground, nearly knocking the weapon mistress down, and blocking her path.

"Are you alright?" Neji asked Hinata quickly, helping her stand.

"I am not in any danger," she answered, "just some bruises and a cracked rib."

"Wait here," he told her, "I will get Sakura."

"No," she shook her head, "You need to keep distracting the cat. I have another idea."

Hinata  quickly summoned her familiars. She dispatched Sol to fetch Sakura, and  Luné to help keep the feline's attention. Neji nodded to her, and then  followed the male squirrel. Hinata returned to observing the battle as  she clutched her injured side. She had downplayed the damage she had  taken from hitting the rocky wall, and she knew that Neji could see just  as well with his Byakugan. But she felt there was something else going  on here, and she wanted the chance to observe from a distance for a few  moments.

Luné darted in, unnoticed by the demon or her handler, at  least until he drew a kunai shaped short sword from under his sash, and  stabbed the cat in the paw. The feline yelped, more from surprise than  pain, and she turned to look at the new annoyance. But the black  squirrel was already scampering away, and his action gave Neji an  opening to hit the cat with another water jutsu, dousing the monster's  flaming fur once more. Sol reached Sakura at that point, whispering her  message to the medic, before drawing her own blade and joining the fray.  Mayuko continued to bark orders at the cat, while Tenten remained  intent on reaching the demon's mistress.

"Like fighting the porcupine," Sakura noted, as she began to knit Hinata's injured bone, "Only about twenty times worse."

"No,"  Hinata shook her head carefully, so as not to disrupt the jutsu, "The  Two-Tails Cat is much more dangerous than that, or at least she should  be."

"What do you mean?" the medic queried her teammate. With the  fires out, Sol was able to climb up the demon's right front leg, and  slash at her shoulder. The cat shook the albino squirrel off, and was  nearly knocked over again when Neji and Tenten hit her with tandem earth  jutsus.

"It looks like the cat isn't really trying to hurt us," Hinata suggested, sounding slightly dubious of her own assertion.

"If  this is not trying to hurt us, I'd hate to see that demon get serious,"  Sakura said darkly, moving to the second crack rib that Hinata had  tried to conceal.

"No, she is doing exactly what she is told, and  no more," Hinata explained in a whisper, "And when she is able, the  demon appears to be bending Mayuko's orders to avoid hurting us. Like  every time Mayuko orders her to go after Tenten, the cat does so  immediately, even if she is in a position to kill one of us."

As  Hinata offered that, Sakura looked back and was treated to a live  example. The cat was preparing to unleash another gout of flame, this  time at Hinata's summoned allies. But then Tenten used her Shuriken  String Jutsu, and the Hidden Snow renegade again yelled for the demon to  defend her. The cat stopped her attack, and absorbed the mass of blades  with her left rear leg, even though she could have blocked while still  attempting to barbecue the ninja rodents.

"Why is the demon doing that?" Sakura wondered.

"I  don't know. Maybe whatever process they are using to control her limits  her will," Hinata suggested, "Or maybe she resents the Akatsuki."