Sunagakure Mission

Angel of Anime

Chapter One: Captured

"I have to go, Father. I have a mission today," Hyuuga Hinata informed her father after she finished baking breakfast.

"A mission, eh?" he responded, looking down at the petite fifteen year old with his hard lavender eyes. "All right; just make sure you don't burden your teammates." These days the man didn't give Hinata the credit she deserved, but he'd never really seen her in action, either.

Trying to hide the fact that that statement hurt, Hinata answered, "It's a solo mission, Father. I'll be going alone." She directed her gaze slightly more to the ground and pressed her index fingers together in a shy, nervous way.

"In that case, don't fail, or you'll be the only one to blame." His voice wasn't as firm as it once was, but it still sounded very solemn; Hyuuga Hiashi was not the most care-free man. Everyone who had met him at least one time knew that.

"Y-yes, Father," she nodded, picking up her bag and going out the door. Hinata was a timid person that needed encouragement. Even the slightest disheartenment would steal all the spirit she had worked up. The girl didn't see how strong and powerful she was, and very few people helped her to. That was why she admired Uzumaki Naruto so much. No matter what, he believed in her; or at least, he seemed to with all the cheering he always shouted towards her. Also, he never quit trying, even after the toughest of events.

When she reached the gateway out of the village, Hinata breathed a deep breath. Never had she been on a solo mission before, and she was rather tense about it. It was a simple task: to go to Sunagakure and see how they were all doing there. The Hidden Leaf was sort of friends with Sunagakure, and it had been a couple of weeks since Gaara had died (but was given life once more after the Elder Chiyo gave it to him with her own). They were worried that maybe the Akatsuki (a band of several evil men who inflicted terrible things upon many undeserving people) had decided another attack against them, and so that brought Hinata's task to check on them.

All right, Father, I won't let you or the village down. She jumped into the nearest tree and made her way until dusk came. It was just two days starting tomorrow until she reached the village, if she was lucky enough to avoid any danger that might befall her.

Hinata didn't sleep in a tent that night. She figured out a few missions ago that it would be much easier to just sleep in her sleeping bag. More quickly she could arrive at her destination if she didn't have to carry the weight of a tent, or take the time to put it up and take it down. Of course, though, it only worked if the weather was clear and warm.

When the girl awoke the sun had barely risen and the sky was pink. She sensed someone's presence a couple of yards away. Whether they sensed hers or not, she had yet to find out.

As promptly as she could, Hinata stood and whispered, "Byakugan!" Her mouth opened a little as she saw the person's shape. Disbelief filled her body, her mind. I-it couldn't be. Could it? Hurriedly she grabbed her weapons pouch filled with kunai and other such weapons, ready to attack. But then, she remembered who he was and what everyone always said about him. It was always compliments, except from Naruto. They were, in a way, rivals. Instinct told her to run but Naruto told her to stay. An absurd fantasy spelled out into her head. If you can capture him, a low, gluttonous voice told her, Naruto will surely open those dense eyes of his and love you!

Hinata was certainly not foolish, obviously, and disagreed with the other voice that sounded not at all like hers. Naruto wouldn't love me for that reason.

How do you know? The voice countered.

I… I know.

Hinata, stay and fight him. You'll be rewarded somehow. Your father's eyes will shine upon you and no longer your cousin Neji and your sister Hanabi. Naruto will be grateful to you and his gratitude could become something else, too. Lady Hokage will also be gracious towards you and many of the other villagers. The tone this thing was using was rather persuasive, but Hinata would not fall for such wretched tactics.

Hinata shook her head reluctantly. It's dangerous, though. I don't care about any of that, either. He'll kill me if I get in his way.

The voice laughed wickedly. Well, it said, you'd better make your decision now, because here he comes. By now he's probably already detected you…

O-oh no, Hinata panicked. I can see him now, and he sees me; it's too late to run!

The boy halted in a tree and stared right at her. His hair was dark as well as his eyes, and his skin was a peachy color. He was almost six feet tall and wore a white long sleeved shirt which he kept open, and black pants with a thick purple twine tied around his waist.

Frozen with fear, Hinata's feet wouldn't move. Not knowing if the boy was going to kill her or not, she was somehow able to look him in the face.

Chidori cackled in his right hand, and Hinata knew he was ready to attack. I have to be, too, she thought, although she was unsure. It's too late to run now; I'll have to counter his attacks as best I can. Oh, Naruto, lend me your strength, please!

But as he rushed towards her with the jutsu, his black eyes gazed into her lavender ones and suddenly he was unable to move, paralyzed. There was something about her… something that he didn't know. But whatever it was, it made him feel like a weakling.

Wondering why his jutsu was fading in his right hand, Hinata wanted to take her chance to attack, but something held her back… something that she didn't know. It was her chance, while he was standing just a foot away from her. Why didn't she take it? Why couldn't she?

"Sasuke… Uchiha," she said in her soft voice, staring right into his face bravely.

His eyes widened at his name. How does she know who I am? And why can't I move? He broke into a low, malicious snigger that sounded like "hn hn hn hn hn hn." Such a laugh put chills down Hinata's spine and then back up.

W-what's so funny? Hinata asked herself, terrified at what Sasuke could be capable of. She wanted desperately to scream, but all the sounds that came out of her mouth were short whimpers of fear.

"Who are you, anyway? You know me, but I don't know you," inquired Sasuke casually, although in a cruel tone. It was like he didn't even care to know, which he didn't most likely.

Hinata wasn't certain if she should answer his question. He was not good, and it made no sense to converse with your opponent. So, overwhelmed with indecision, Hinata's entire world went black as she hit the ground, releasing Sasuke from her unseen grip.

-X-

As the blackness around Hinata become light, Hinata groaned. W-what happened? She speculated. Oh, that's right!

She sat up abruptly to find her wrists were tied tightly behind her back and her outstretched legs were pressed together as a rope was around her ankles too. A question made its way across her mind but before she could cogitate over the answer she heard a man's, or rather, a boy's voice.

"Do you faint often?" He was smirking, amused.

Diffidently, Hinata disregarded his query and inquired her own. "W-why didn't, um, you… k-kill m-m-me?" she stuttered.

Phoenix Flower Jutsu, screamed Sasuke in his mind, his hand cupped around his lips as he spat out fist-sized fire. He was at the spot that Hinata had fainted, not finding the need to move her if she was dead.

But when he saw that his jutsu didn't hit her and instead bounced off of her blue aura he tried again. Once more it did not work, and so he tried Chidori, a powerful technique of his. When he wasn't successful with that Sasuke decided to take her hostage until he knew why and how to get passed whatever kept his power from hitting her. That was when he roped her wrists and ankles and carried her to the cave.

Sasuke's face became even more intense than it was before, if that was viable. He looked away, probably trying to cloak his humiliation and said, "I didn't feel like it."

Something made Hinata feel he was lying, but she wasn't in a situation where she could tell him that. She was sure saying something like that would anger him, and then maybe he would kill her.

"W-what are you pl-planning on… um… d-doing with me?" she said as an alternative.

He looked back at her with eyes, she had to think, worse than her father's; they were just as critical and disapproving. Or, well, that's what she deciphered them as. "I don't know yet."

Silence befell them and Hinata thought, I wonder why he really didn't kill me already, and what he will do with me. After ten minutes or so, Hinata looked at Sasuke who was leaning against a wall a few feet away. "W-where are w-we?"

"We're in a cave."

There were no caves near where I was; did he move me?

As if reading her mind, Sasuke added, "I couldn't leave you where someone would find you, so I carried you about a mile from where you were."

I guess he couldn't have just left me knowing he was--- W-wait! Hinata's face filled up with the color red from the tip of her hairline on her forehead to that sensitive chin of hers.

"Y-you c-carried me," she whispered, about to press her index fingers together as she looked down, only to find that she couldn't!

Smirking, Sasuke reminded her that he still didn't know who she was. "Not that I care," he added her, flicking his gaze away for a moment. She was still mortified that he'd carried her almost a whole mile while she was "out". Actually, Hinata didn't even hear him. She looked left and right, her cheeks burning. Impatience broke his blank emotion. "Hey, who the heck are you?"

That snapped Hinata out of her trance. "I… I was… in y-your class at t-the… um… ac-academy," she replied, somewhat perturbed.

"The academy?" scoffed Sasuke. Tch, maybe she was one of the girls that wouldn't leave me alone, he deemed, trying not to recollect the days he was a weak little boy, a mere child.

Hinata nodded, explaining that they hadn't come in contact with each other at all. "W-well, none that I c-can r-re-remember, any… w-way," she stammered. Then her heart beat grew rapid suddenly and her entire body seared. I… I… Hinata's head fell and her world became mute as darkness surrounded her. She was confounded when she realized she had been speaking to Sasuke like they were on a friendly level, rather than on a criminal-hostage one.

Sasuke, while Hinata was out, examined her as well as he could without touching her. He needed to kill her and stop wasting his precious time holding a conversation with the girl, although, he tried not to admit to himself, he did enjoy talking to a normal person. That is, if you can call a girl that faints every twenty minutes and has a stutter normal.

She says we were in the academy together, thought Sasuke, but I don't remember her. Maybe I would recall her if I knew her name, unless she's a fan girl. I never bothered to ---.

"N-na-naruto," Hinata whispered as she stirred in her sleep. Eventually she'd fallen on her side instead of sitting uncomfortably against the wall; not that the cold dirt ground was much better.

Sasuke clenched his fists at the name, putting on a furious expression and growling at no one. "That idiot…" he said through gritted teeth. Why is she dreaming about him? He asked himself. Then, why do I even care? His face softened at that moment; Sasuke looked at Hinata in a way he had never looked at a girl before. His eyes were sentimental; they held feelings, rather than nothing at all besides vacuity. "Wait, what am I thinking?" Sasuke said very ferociously aloud. "Not now; these are thoughts for someone weak! I'm no weakling." His hands were still tightly gripped and his top set of teeth pressed against his bottom ones sorely, making him feel as if they were being pushed further up into his gums. But he didn't care much for pain; in fact, Uchiha Sasuke blocked out all pain, if he could. … But she looks so peaceful while she sleeps… her stutter is ad --- Dang! What the heck is wrong with me?! Sasuke argued with himself. He sunk to the ground and pulled his knees up, putting his palms against each side of his head.

"N-no," murmured Hinata, opening her eyes so quickly she startled Sasuke on the inside, not on the outside, of course. Surprised herself, she gasped and tried to sit up, but ended up with a bump on the back of her head. She winced but made no sounds. Sasuke looked at her intently but she avoided his gaze which made her want to curl up into a little ball and tremble, sucking her thumb. For some long moments it was like that, until Hinata finally spoke up. "I-its, um, dark," she pointed out, tilting her head back to see that the small mouth to the cave shone no light. Sasuke said nothing in reply and Hinata wanted to know how long it had been since she had passed out for the second time.

"Hn," was his short answer. After Sasuke looked at her and thought what he'd thought, he resolved that it would be better if they didn't exchange many words. But even then he didn't feel… safe.

Puzzled, Hinata kept her mouth shut as she might usually do. She was still a captive of his after all, and she supposed he probably killed before, or at least came close to doing it. She focused her thoughts on training and missions and such things, hopeful that that would push her fear and stupefaction aside.

My radius for Byakugan is getting better every day; maybe I'll be able to surpass Neji soon enough… but I guess that isn't likely. I don't think I could be a worthy opponent for him just yet, but I would probably last a bit longer than the last time I went up against him, in the Preliminary Exams. I bet Naruto could beat Neji; well, I guess he did once already in the Chunnin Exams, but maybe he still can even though Neji's even stronger.

I remember the mission we had to find the Bikochu Beetle to find Sa… Sasuke… a-and I used my Byakugan to see small insects. We found it but Naruto gave it another smell to follow…

An idea popped into Hinata's head just that minute. Maybe I could use my Byakugan to scout the area to see if anyone is near here! If there's water, too, then I could lead them here with it… O-oh, but, Sasuke would see me using Byakugan, wouldn't he? His Sharingan is activated as well.

For a few minutes Hinata began thinking up an escape plan, since nobody was evidently coming to her rescue yet. The girl was still supposed to be on her way to Sunagakure, so she wouldn't be missed until maybe two or three days from then. That was when her stomach lightly rumbled, telling her that she needed to eat. She blushed when Sasuke looked at her, lying flat on her back on the ground. Averting her gaze, Hinata thought, I haven't eaten all day, have I?

As she thought those words, those wonderful words, a plan devised itself quickly into her mind. That's it! …I hope…

"U-um… is t-there a… um… a w-way I c-could, um, eat so-something?" she queried unsteadily. When she said that Sasuke realized he was ravenous also. But there served a problem with that. He couldn't loosen Hinata's ropes, and he was not going to feed her himself. He couldn't let her starve either. That wasn't going to be the way he killed her.

How, though, could he eat when she could not? Sasuke didn't care much for being polite, but somehow he just wouldn't feel quite right eating in front of her when she'd just told him she needed to fill her stomach.

"U-um…" Hinata hesitated when Sasuke didn't respond.

"I'll untie you to eat, but if you try to escape I will kill you," concluded Sasuke. There was something about his voice, low, deep, evil. It was difficult to describe it, but it was malicious and cold, just like his eyes. The darkness inside him wouldn't let him rest, either. Never would it let him think the thoughts of a normal shinobi; only those of Lord Orochimaru's, or any other iniquitous man.

"U-um, y-yes," Hinata told him softly, holding back the quivering that her voice would have been doing. Sasuke frightened her terribly, but he also made her feel… warm. It was somewhat hard to believe, with the icy look in his eyes and hearing the merciless tone in his voice.

Now, Hinata thought, disappointed, I can't do it. I was planning on taking a cup of water and using it to cut through this cord, after he has fallen asleep. Only now, I'm too afraid to do it. He swore he would take my life, and I won't take the chance to see if he was bluffing. Sasuke assisted Hinata in sitting upward and, not wanting to squander the ropes, untied them and set them aside. He left her legs together since she wouldn't need them to eat. As soon as he did so, she brought her knees toward her body, somewhat of a protective state less degrading than the fetal position.

Taking off the pack on her back, Hinata pulled out a small cake and a green canteen of water. Before she began filling her famished stomach she thought of Sasuke, and offered him a cake and a drink. Of course, having such a vast amount of pride he declined, even though he really would have liked something. Also, he didn't really have much of a sweet tooth, anyway.

"I'm going to go grab something real to eat," Sasuke announced, getting to his feet and warning her not to try anything that she would regret.

She nodded slightly but kept all concentrating on biting, chewing, and swallowing her meal. If I ignore him, maybe he'll think me weak, scared, and I'll surprise him and escape… but I have so many questions I'd like to ask him. I want to know why he left Konoha; why he left Naruto to chase after him; why he did all that he did, especially hurting Naruto… The Uchiha sauntered out of the cave, having to walk about twelve yards to the opening. Hinata decided this would be the best time to put her plan into action. Well, her altered plan. In truth, the girl had not expected him to let her hands free, but it would definitely buy her more time and she was grateful to that.

His Sharingan, she thought, is like my Byakugan, but it's also different. He isn't capable of seeing me escaping from the river, which is approximately half of a mile away from here. So, if I'm careful, I can get away without him finding me until it's too late. Right, I can do it!

After activating her Byakugan to see how far Sasuke had gotten, Hinata let free her ankles and stood as quickly as she could. A little numb from not standing for so long, she wobbled a little but gained her balance before she fell. Okay, I'm closer to Sunagakure Village, but it would help to lure him to the Leaf, wouldn't it? So then once he finds that I've gone, he'll follow my trail and end up at Konoha. But… what if he decides not to go in? I don't think I'm really worth the trouble, especially not to him…

But I've got to try anyway, for Naruto and all the others in the village! I'll lead him there if I can, and he'll be caught and all the trouble in the village will be over… I hope…


A/n: Well, I think (regretfully) this story sounds a bit like Itachi's Mine ***** 's story, Teach Me, but it isn't exactly the same, I don't think. It's definitely a little different. So, I hope this is a good story. I've worked really hard on this, believe me. I'll be putting chapter two up tomorrow or the day after, depending on how many hits I get on this. It would be great if you would send me a review, no matter how short. I get lots of hits, but no reviews…

Thanks for reading and, if you take the time, the review! It really does mean lots!

Oh, and, I need a better title. I'm open to suggestions.

Disclaimer: I do not own Narutohow unfair is that?