The bell's chime echoed through the halls of the Konoha Ninja Academy, a sound that should have brought triumph and relief to the students spilling out into the afternoon sun. For Hinata Hyuuga, however, it was a dull, hollow tone that only amplified the knot of inadequacy in her stomach. Her fingers traced the cool, unfamiliar metal of the new forehead protector clutched in her hands. Graduation. She had passed. She was officially a Genin of Konoha. The word, the title, felt like a borrowed robe, one she hadn't truly earned the right to wear.
She moved with the throng of her classmates, a small, quiet island in a boisterous sea of celebration and nervous chatter. Sakura and Ino were already arguing, their voices sharp but laced with the familiar cadence of their rivalry. Kiba, ever boisterous, was boasting to Shino about the amazing feats he would accomplish as a full-fledged ninja, Akamaru yipping in agreement from inside his jacket. Even Naruto, usually the loudest of them all, was uncharacteristically subdued, a thoughtful frown on his face as he walked alone. Hinata's gaze lingered on him for a moment, a familiar blush warming her cheeks before she quickly looked away, her heart giving a painful little squeeze. He was probably disappointed in his own performance, just as she was in hers.
The weight of her family name pressed down on her, a physical burden that made her shoulders stoop. A Hyuuga. Heiress to the main branch. She was supposed to be a prodigy, a shining example of the clan's might. Instead, she was... this. A timid girl whose gentle fist was anything but. She knew, with a frustrating certainty, that she was capable. In the quiet solitude of her personal training ground, she could perform the techniques. She could mould the chakra. But during the exam, under the crushing weight of her father's disapproving scowl, her confidence had shattered. The single, passable clone she had managed to manifest was a testament to that failure of nerve. It earned her the headband she now clutched, but the clone itself had been a pale, pathetic thing, barely holding its form—a flickering candle in the hurricane of her self-doubt. It wasn't a fluke, but a bitter reflection of her own weakness in the moments that mattered. It was enough to be a Genin, but not nearly enough to be a Hyuuga.
Her feet, acting on their own accord, carried her away from the main streets of Konoha, where her peers were heading to celebrate with their families. The thought of facing her father, of seeing the disappointment in his pale, all-seeing eyes, was more terrifying than any exam. Neji, her cousin, would be there too, his quiet condescension a sharper blade than any kunai. 'Lady Hinata,' he would say, his tone respectful but his eyes mocking, 'your performance was... as expected.'
No. She couldn't go home. Not yet.
A desperate need for solitude clawed at her, a yearning for a place where she could breathe without the suffocating pressure of expectation. A place where she could be just Hinata, not the Hyuuga heiress. Her mind turned to the training grounds, not the popular ones where teams practiced and sparred, but one of the more secluded fields on the outskirts of the village, nestled deep within the whispering woods. It was a place she had discovered by accident, a small, forgotten clearing where the trees grew thick and tall, their leaves forming a dense canopy that dappled the ground in perpetual twilight. It was a place of peace, a sanctuary.
She was running away, she knew, but in that moment, it felt like the only choice she had.
The air in the clearing was cool and still, a welcome relief from the oppressive humidity of the village. Sunlight struggled to pierce the dense canopy, casting long, ethereal shadows across the moss-covered ground. A few weather-worn training posts stood in a loose circle, their surfaces scarred with the marks of countless shuriken and kunai. It was perfect. Here, there were no judging eyes, no impossible standards to meet. There was only the rustle of the leaves and the whisper of the wind, a silent audience to her solitary practice.
Hinata took a deep breath, trying to center herself. She slipped the scroll into her weapons pouch and fell into the opening stance of the Gentle Fist, her body moving with a practiced, albeit hesitant, grace. "One..." she whispered, her voice barely a tremor in the quiet air. She flowed through the motions, her hands carving delicate arcs, her feet pivoting on the soft earth. But her mind was a whirlwind. The image of Naruto's lonely back, her father's stony face, Neji's smug superiority... they flashed behind her eyes, breaking her concentration. Her foot caught on an exposed root, and she stumbled, her carefully constructed poise crumbling into a heap on the ground.
A fresh wave of frustration washed over her, hot and sharp. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, and she clenched her fists, her knuckles white. Why couldn't she do it? Why was she so weak, so utterly useless? She was a Hyuuga, for kami's sake! She was supposed to be better than this.
As she pushed herself up, brushing dirt from her lavender jacket, a flicker of movement in the darkening sky caught her eye. It was a star, but unlike the others just beginning to sprinkle the heavens, this one was moving. It streaked across the twilight, a tiny, incandescent teardrop against the canvas of deep blue and orange. It grew brighter, larger, leaving a trail of shimmering dust in its wake. It was beautiful, in a terrifying sort of way.
Then, she heard it. A soft whistle, that grew into a rushing roar. The light intensified, bathing the clearing in a brief, otherworldly glow. It wasn't a star. It was falling.
CRUMP!
The impact was not as loud as she would have expected, more of a dull, heavy thud than an explosion. It landed somewhere deeper in the woods, just beyond the edge of the clearing. The ground beneath her feet trembled for a second, and then everything was still again. For a moment, Hinata froze, her heart hammering against her ribs. What was that? A stray ninjutsu? An attack? Her first instinct, born of years of ingrained timidity, was to run. To flee back to the perceived safety of the village.
But then, another feeling stirred within her. Curiosity. A flicker of something she hadn't felt in a long time. It was the same feeling that sometimes made her follow Naruto from a distance, just to see what kind of mischief he was up to. This was something... different. Something unknown. And for some reason, the unknown felt less frightening than the familiar disappointment that awaited her at home.
Taking a shaky breath, Hinata activated her Byakugan. The world around her shifted, the vibrant colors of the forest draining away to be replaced by a near-360-degree field of black and white. The intricate network of chakra pathways in the trees and the tiny, flickering life forces of insects and small animals became visible to her. She scanned the direction of the impact, her vision piercing through the dense foliage. There was no sign of hostile chakra, no hidden ninja waiting in ambush. There was just... a disturbance. A weird, pulsing... something.
Her curiosity overriding her fear, she began to walk, her steps cautious at first, then more confident as she navigated the tangled undergrowth. The air grew thick with the smell of ozone and burnt earth. Pushing aside a low-hanging branch, she found it.
It was... alive. And it was calling to her. Not with a voice, but with a feeling. A sense of... kinship. A promise of strength. A hunger.
An unknown force drew her closer, her feet moving as if in a trance. The pulsing black mass seemed to react to her proximity, its shifting patterns becoming more agitated, more focused. The faint light within it throbbed in time with her own frantic heartbeat. Her Byakugan was still active, and through it, she could see something she didn't understand. The object had no chakra pathway system, yet it was undeniably alive, a void in the natural world that was simultaneously terrifying and alluring.
She reached out a hesitant hand, her fingers trembling. A profound, instinctual part of her screamed a silent warning, a primal terror that she should turn and run and never look back. But the promise of strength, the silent call that echoed in the deepest, most neglected corners of her soul, was too powerful to ignore. Maybe this was the answer. A power that wasn't tied to her bloodline, to the gentle fist she could never seem to master.
Just as her fingertips were about to brush against the slick, undulating surface, the thing moved.
It didn't just move; it exploded outwards. A whip-like tendril of the black goo shot out with lightning speed, coiling around her outstretched wrist. It was cold. Impossibly, unnaturally cold, a stark contrast to the humid forest air. The contact sent a jolt through her body, a shocking intimacy that was both violation and embrace.
"AAAAH!"
A strangled scream ripped from her throat. Panic, sharp and absolute, shattered the trance. She tried to yank her hand back, but the tendril held fast, its grip like steel. More tendrils erupted from the central mass, flowing like liquid shadow across the scorched earth. They swarmed up her arm, their touch sending a cascade of horrifying sensations through her nerves. It felt wet, but it wasn't. It felt like a thousand tiny needles prickling her skin, and yet there was no pain, only a spreading numbness.
...Hunger...
A voice. Not a sound that entered her ears, but a thought that bloomed in her mind, alien and ravenous.
Hinata stumbled backward, her other hand clawing uselessly at the black substance that was now mercilessly crawling up her arm, enveloping her lavender jacket. It was like trying to fight living oil. It flowed around her fingers, sticking to them, pulling them in. The blackness spread, consuming the fabric of her sleeve, and then her skin. It wasn't covering her; it was merging with her. She could feel it sinking past her skin, into her muscles, her very bones.
...So much fear... Such a strong... host...
The voices were clearer now, a chorus of whispers that slithered through her consciousness. Tears streamed down her face, her breath coming in ragged, terrified sobs. She fell hard onto her back, her body convulsing as the symbiote surged up her chest and down her legs, a relentless tide of living darkness. She could see it now, even without her Byakugan. Spidery white markings, like warped, demonic eyes, began to form on the back of her hands and on her chest as the blackness consumed her.
She tried to scream again, but the goo was already at her neck, flowing over her chin, her lips. It tasted of static and ash. Her frantic struggles grew weaker, her limbs heavy and unresponsive. The forest, the twilight sky, the entire world began to shrink, framed by an encroaching, viscous darkness. The last thing she saw was a grotesque mockery of a face forming over her own, with jagged white eyes and a lipless maw stretching into a terrifying grin.
...We are one... We are... VENOM...
Her consciousness, unable to withstand the sheer alienness of the experience, the utter violation of her body and mind, finally gave way. The world dissolved into a silent, screaming blackness.
Darkness. But not the empty, peaceful void of sleep. It was a thick, suffocating blackness, filled with a low, resonant thrumming that seemed to vibrate through her very essence. It was a conscious darkness, and it was watching her.
...Wake up...
The voice from before. It was no longer a booming, overwhelming force, but a persistent, intimate whisper that echoed in the space where her own thoughts should be. It felt... close. Too close. Like a secret being told directly into her soul.
...Get up, little one. The cold ground is no place for us...
Slowly, reluctantly, Hinata drifted back towards the surface of consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered open, heavy as lead. The first thing she saw was the canopy of leaves, now almost black against the deep indigo of the night sky. The second thing she noticed was that she was seeing it with a startling, impossible clarity. Every leaf, every vein, every drop of dew was rendered in perfect, sharp relief, as if the world had suddenly been brought into focus for the first time.
Panic, cold and familiar, began to seep back into her. She sat up with a gasp, her body feeling strangely... powerful. Lighter. She looked down at herself, expecting to see the terrifying black ooze. But there was nothing. She was just... her. Her lavender jacket, her dark blue pants. All clean, unstained. Had she imagined it? A horrible, vivid nightmare brought on by the stress of the exams?
A rustling in the bushes nearby made her flinch. Without thinking, her head snapped towards the sound, her senses exploding with information. She could hear the minuscule scrape of a beetle's legs on a leaf. She could smell the damp earth, the faint scent of night-blooming flowers, and the lingering, acrid tang of ozone from the impact. It was too much. A wave of dizziness washed over her, and she squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her palms to her temples.
"What... what is happening to me?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
...We are happening to you... The voice was back, and this time, there was no mistaking it. It was inside her head, as clear as her own thoughts, but utterly alien. A smooth, deep baritone that was somehow both menacing and soothing at once.
Hinata's blood ran cold. She scrambled backwards, crab-walking away from an unseen threat, her heart feeling like it was trying to beat its way out of her chest. "Who-who are you? Get out of my head!"
...Get out? Oh, we can't do that. We are in your heart, your lungs, your blood. We are a part of you now. A better part...
A slick, black substance oozed from the back of her hands, flowing like ink over her skin. It formed sleek, fingerless gloves, the same strange white markings appearing on the back of them. Hinata stared in horror, flexing her fingers, watching the alien material move with them perfectly, like a second skin.
"No... no, this can't be real," she stammered, her panic reaching a fever pitch. Her breathing became shallow and rapid. The world started to spin again.
...Breathe... the voice commanded, a sudden wave of calm washing over her, dampening the edges of her terror. It was an artificial, intrusive feeling, but it worked. Her breathing deepened, her heart rate slowed. ...Hysteria is unproductive. We are one. We must work together. We are Venom...
"Venom?" Hinata repeated the name, the word feeling strange on her tongue. "What... are you? A demon? A curse?"
...We are... more. We are from the stars. We fell. You were there. We were alone. Now... we are not. You are not... The voice paused, and she could almost feel a sense of smug satisfaction emanating from it. ...We liked you. So much fear. So much potential. Wasted potential. We can fix that...
The sheer audacity of the statement cut through her fear for a moment. "Fix me? I... I don't need fixing!"
...No? Hiding in the woods? Crying over a test? Scared of your father? Scared of your own shadow? You are more than that. We can make you more... We can make you strong...
It was exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure. She was trapped. Trapped in her own body with this... this thing. This Venom. And it was already changing her from the inside out.
"Strong?" Hinata repeated, her voice a fragile whisper against the overwhelming presence in her mind. She took a few unsteady steps, her new, hyper-aware senses making the familiar path back towards the village feel like an alien landscape. "By... by taking over my body? By turning me into... into some kind of monster?"
...Monster? We are no monster. We are perfection. We are a predator. You are a predator now, too. You just have to accept it... The voice purred, a dark and dangerous sound that vibrated through her bones. ...Look. Even now. You see everything. Hear everything. This world is a feast for the senses, is it not?...
It was true. As she walked, the forest came alive in ways she had never imagined. She could see the faint heat signatures of squirrels sleeping in their nests high above, hear the flutter of a moth's wings from twenty paces away. It was a dizzying, intoxicating flood of information that her brain, with Venom's help, was slowly learning to process.
She had to go home. The thought was a cold stone in her stomach. What was she going to do? How could she face her family like this? How could she hide... this?
...Hide? Why would you hide perfection? Your father, the one you fear... he is weak. His eyes see much, but they do not see the truth. The truth of strength. We will show him...
"No!" Hinata hissed, stumbling to a halt. "You will not! You will... you will stay quiet. You will not hurt anyone!"
...Hurt? We only help. We help you survive. And to survive... we must feed...
As if summoned by the words, a pang of hunger, so sudden and violent that it made her double over, struck her. It was not the gentle rumbling of a skipped meal. This was a gnawing, ravenous emptiness, a void that demanded to be filled. Her stomach cramped painfully, and a string of drool escaped her lips before she hastily wiped it away.
"I... I'm so hungry..." she gasped.
...Yes. We are. Our joining... it takes energy. Much energy...
Her eyes, guided by some new, predatory instinct, darted to a nearby tree branch. A small, plump bird was perched there, its head tucked under its wing. Before Hinata could even process the thought, the voice in her head whispered, its tone dripping with craving.
...That will do. Small. But a start. Its head looks so... juicy. So easy to snap off...
Horror, pure and undiluted, washed through Hinata. She physically recoiled from her own thoughts, or rather, from its thoughts. "No! That's disgusting! I would never!"
...Why not? It is food. It is weak. We are strong. This is the way of things. Or... The voice seemed to consider, a wave of dark amusement flowing through her. ...There is a place, not far. It smells of... cooked meat. And something sweet. Chocolate? Yes... We want chocolate. And then we want a real meal...
The hunger was a living thing inside her, a beast clawing at her insides. The thought of food, any food, was overwhelming. Chocolate. The odd specificity of the craving was jarring, but the desire was undeniable. It was a desperate, all-consuming need. She had to eat. Now.
"Just... just be quiet," she pleaded, her resolve crumbling in the face of the gnawing abyss in her stomach. "I will get you your... your chocolate. And food. Just... no more talking about eating birds."
...For now... Venom conceded, the single phrase hanging in her mind, pregnant with unspoken threats.
Driven by a hunger she had never known and accompanied by a voice she couldn't silence, Hinata broke into a run. Her movements were fluid and fast, her feet barely seeming to touch the ground. She tore through the woods, her enhanced senses guiding her effortlessly through the deepening night. Trees that would have been obstacles were now just blurs in her peripheral vision. She was faster, stronger. And she was starving.
It felt like a cage. And she was walking right back into it, with a monster hiding inside her skin.
The two guards at the gate barely registered her presence. They were tense, their hands gripping their spears tightly, their Byakugan activated as they scanned the darkened streets beyond the compound walls. As Hinata slipped past them, a small, unobtrusive shadow, she caught snippets of their hushed, urgent conversation.
"...the Hokage's office is in an uproar..."
"...the Uzumaki boy..."
"...the Scroll of Sealing... a disgraceful security lapse..."
...Uzumaki? The loud, orange one you stare at? He sounds more interesting than we thought... Venom mused, a flicker of what felt like respect in its tone. ...Stealing from the village leader. Bold. We approve...
Hinata ignored the voice, her focus entirely on her mission. The gnawing hunger was back, a physical ache that overshadowed everything else. The main house was a labyrinth of polished wooden floors and paper-thin shoji screens, every footstep a potential betrayal. But her new senses made navigating the familiar corridors a completely different experience. She could feel the vibrations of footsteps through the floorboards, pinpointing the location of every patrolling clan member. It was like having her Byakugan active, but more... instinctual.
...This place is so... quiet. So... bland. It needs more color. And screaming... Venom commented, its boredom a palpable weight in her mind.
"Be quiet," Hinata mouthed silently, her heart pounding. The kitchen was just ahead. She could smell it. The lingering scents of rice, mirin, and grilled mackerel from dinner, and something else... something sweeter.
The kitchen was empty, a pristine, orderly space of gleaming steel and dark wood. A large pot of miso soup was still warm on the stove. Without a moment's hesitation, Hinata grabbed a bowl and began to ladle the soup into it, her hands shaking from a combination of hunger and adrenaline.
She didn't even bother with the table. She drank it straight from the bowl, the warm, salty liquid a balm to her ravaged stomach, but it wasn't enough. It was like pouring water on a raging fire.
...Salty water. A pathetic appetizer. We need substance...
Her eyes scanned the room, landing on a covered platter. Inside was leftover grilled mackerel. She tore into it with her bare hands, forgoing chopsticks. The flesh was savory and oily, and she devoured it in seconds, the crunch of the delicate bones a strange and satisfying sensation.
...Better. The fat and protein are acceptable. But it is not enough. We are still... empty...
Next came the rice, which she scooped directly from the pot into her mouth with her cupped hands. It was a messy, desperate act, completely at odds with the lifetime of strict etiquette that had been drilled into her.
...Starch. Tasteless filler. You people eat like herbivores. Where is the real food? Where is the red meat?...
As if guided by the symbiote's desires, her gaze fell upon the pantry. She flung the door open and began to rummage through it. There. A box of chocolates, a rare treat her mother sometimes bought. She ripped the box open, her fingers fumbling with the wrapping. The first piece melted on her tongue, an explosion of rich, dark, bittersweet flavor.
...YES! THIS! This is it! The phenylethylamine! The theobromine! MORE! WE NEED MORE OF THIS! FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE, FEED US CHOCOLATE!...
The pleasure that flooded her senses was dizzying, overwhelming. It wasn't just her own enjoyment; it was Venom's ecstatic, ravenous delight, a potent cocktail of neurochemicals that made her head swim. She devoured the entire box in a minute, the symbiote's purrs of contentment echoing in her skull.
Her hunger, though, was still not sated. There was a raw, primal craving for something more. She saw a package of uncooked deer meat, intended for the next day's stew. Her stomach turned, but another, darker part of her, the part that was now them, considered it.
...Raw... Perfect... Let us sink our teeth into it...
"No!" Hinata gasped aloud, stumbling back from the pantry, her eyes wide with horror at what she had almost done. The sight of her own reflection in the polished steel of a countertop startled her. Her face was flushed, her lips smeared with chocolate, and a wild, almost feral look was in her eyes. This wasn't her. It couldn't be.
She had to get out of there. Before someone found her. Before she did something else she couldn't take back. With her heart hammering against her ribs, she turned and fled the kitchen, leaving a trail of disarray in her wake, the echoes of a dark, hungry voice purring in her mind.
Slipping through the silent, moon-drenched corridors of the Hyuuga compound felt like a dream. The adrenaline from her frantic raid was fading, leaving behind a profound sense of shame and a bone-deep weariness. She reached her room, a small, sparse space that had always been her sanctuary, and slid the shoji door shut behind her, the soft click sealing her in with her new reality.
Her eyes immediately fell upon the full-length mirror standing in the corner. For a long moment, she just stared, taking in the reflection of the girl she was supposed to be. Her lavender jacket was smudged with dirt, her hair was a tangled mess, and there was still a faint smear of chocolate at the corner of her mouth. But it was more than just the disarray. Something was different.
Her posture, for starters. Where she usually stooped, a subconscious effort to make herself smaller, she now stood straighter, her shoulders squared. Her eyes, normally a soft, gentle lilac, seemed darker, more intense, the pupils slightly dilated even in the dim light. There was a new vitality to her skin, a faint lustre that hadn't been there before. She hesitantly flexed an arm, and was shocked to see the faint but definite outline of a bicep, a subtle-yet-undeniable shift in her musculature.
...A decent foundation... The voice echoed in her head, its tone that of a critical sculptor appraising a block of marble. ...The chassis is sound, if a bit neglected. But the design is inefficient. Full of weaknesses. We will have to make... improvements...
Hinata flinched as if struck. "Improvements? What are you talking about? This is my body!"
...Our body... Venom corrected smoothly. ...And it needs upgrades. Your cardiovascular system, for instance. Pathetic. We are already working on that. Lungs, heart, circulatory system... they will all be optimized for peak performance. You will be able to run for hours without tiring...
As it spoke, she could almost feel a strange tingling in her chest, a low thrum of cellular activity that was both unsettling and invigorating.
...Your muscle density is laughable. We will need to increase it. Drastically. And your bone structure... too brittle. We can reinforce it. Weave our own substance through the marrow. You will be able to fall from a great height and land without a scratch...
"Stop..." Hinata whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. This was too much. It felt like a violation on the most fundamental level, her very biology being rewritten without her consent.
...The chest is... underwhelming. It throws off your center of balance... the voice continued, completely ignoring her plea. A wave of heat flooded Hinata's face, her mortification absolute. ...We can enhance the fatty and glandular tissue there. For... improved aerodynamics. And social dominance, of course. The males of your species are so easily distracted...
"Be quiet!" she hissed, her voice trembling with a mixture of rage and utter embarrassment. "Just... be quiet!"
...We are merely planning for our future. A wider hip structure would also be beneficial. For stability in combat. And childbirth, should you choose to engage in such... primitive... reproductive methods...
That was it. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut, clapping her hands over her ears as if she could physically block out the voice inside her own skull. The sheer, calculated audacity of the creature was staggering. It spoke of modifying her body with the casual detachment of a blacksmith reforging a tool. And the worst part? The terrifying, treacherous part of her that had been buried under a lifetime of self-doubt couldn't entirely dismiss the allure of its promises. Stronger? Faster? More... impressive?
The emotional whirlwind of the day finally crashed down on her. The failure at the academy, the terror in the woods, the ravenous hunger, the horrifying and humiliating conversation with the parasite that was now her other half... it was too much for one person to bear. A wave of exhaustion so profound that it felt like sinking into a deep ocean washed over her. She stumbled towards her bed, not even bothering to change out of her dirty clothes, and collapsed onto the futon.
Her consciousness began to fray, the edges of the world softening into a welcome blur. As she drifted into the waiting darkness, the last thing she felt was the symbiote's final, chillingly paternal thought, a promise and a threat all in one.
...Rest now, Hinata. We have a great deal of work to do. And we will need all of our energy for tomorrow...