THE TIGRESS' LANTERN - A HINATA HYUGA FANFICTION

CHAPTER FIVE: SHE-WHO-MUST-NOT-BE-DISRESPECTED

- Location: Village Hidden In The Leaves / Office of the Hokage -

"She revived the dead?" The 3rd Hokage asked with a raised eyebrow as he blew smoke from his pipe while he rested his chin on his intertwined fingers while his elbows rested on the surface of his desk. Before he stood Team 7, reporting back from their mission in the Hidden Mist Village in the Land of Water, telling their leader everything: From the encounters with Zabuza to the Nine-Tailed Fox's Power spilling through, to Zabuza and Haku's Death and Resurrections; this surprised the old man, never before had he heard of someone reviving someone from the dead, especially with a Flamed Lantern.

"You said Zabuza and Haku called her 'Tigress'? What can you tell me about her?" The Old Man asked.

"She was young, about the same age as Sakura. Her hair was indigo and her skin was pale but we couldn't see her eyes, they were covered by a ribbon that kept her mask on her face. The craziest thing was that she bore the features of a tigress, such as ears and a tail, fangs, and claws included. She also wore a sword but she didn't use it, also she seems to have power over crystal; she used it to teleport to us and then used it again to take Zabuza and Haku, leaving nothing but shards, and even then, those evaporated." Kakashi explained. The Hokage closed his eyes to analyze this information and nothing came to his mind...He wondered.

"The Lantern she used. What can you tell me about it?" Sarutobi asked.

"She didn't bring it with her, it was like it was engraved in her arm." Naruto said as he pointed to this right arm, the same arm Tigress' Lantern came from.

"Engraved?" The 3rd asked.

"What Naruto means is that - before the Lantern appeared, there were seals on her arm that glowed before she summoned the lantern, it had a lively blueish-white flame burning within it." Sakura said.

'A Sealed Lantern that can revive the dead? Just who or what is this 'Tigress'? From the way they described her, she sounds a lot like...' Her'.' The thought of who the Hokage compared to Tigress caused his heart to freeze.

It had been over a year since Hinata Hyuga disappeared and no one was able to find her, not even the Inuzuka Clan was able to use their Ninja Hounds and find her scent from the headband she left behind. Many feared the worst and it affected everyone in a different way:

Neji was angered. He failed to protect the Heiress, his cousin, the one who still tried to reach him no matter how horrible he treated her, blaming her for his father's death. Hinata was a kind and gentle soul, he knew it wasn't her fault, she didn't ask to be targeted by the Cloud Nin. She didn't ask to be Heiress. She didn't even ask to be born. Once she was gone, he saw the horrible side of himself and vowed that once he saw her again, he would never let anyone hurt her. He would protect her, no matter the cost.

Team 8 took it the hardest - Hinata was their teammate, while she hurt Akamaru during training, they would still have forgiven her but she was gone. Akamaru would whimper when he saw something that reminded him of Hinata - Like Cinnamon Rolls or Flowers. Kiba began blaming himself because he yelled at her for hurting his dog. Shino didn't speak on his emotion, but the sadness would radiate off him in waves when Hinata was mentioned. Kurenai really felt back - she thought if she never told Hiashi about Hinata's Behavior, he would have never yelled at her and she would still be here with them.

About 3 months after Hinata left, they received a placeholder for her place on Team 8 - The Daughter of a Rich Lord - Mori was her name and no one liked her. She was full of herself, always stating her superiority over the rest of Team 8, regardless of her being completely useless it was yapping her gums. She once went as far as disrespecting Hinata's Name when Teams 7 & 8 went to Hinata's Sight - a Small Memorial for Hinata until she was found or confirmed dead. It didn't go so well for her.