Turning the corner, Hinata almost slipped, skidding to slow down, nearly missing the hallway she was aiming for. She caught herself and dashed down this new corridor, alarms blaring, ANBU agents mobilized. Things here were heating up. It was an intruder, here, in Konoha, and the memory of the Chunin exams where the Third Hokage had been killed were still fresh enough for everyone to be anxious about having detected a spy after this one. Hinata adjusted her new scroll vest, her reward for having passed the Chunin exams and proven herself in the eyes of the Fifth Hokage only two days ago.

Suddenly, a voice called out desperately, "Over here! Quick!" Hinata heard a few clangs of metal and some thumping from up ahead. Hinata activated her Byakugan, and tried to see around her in the area. She mentally smacked herself in the forehead, Damnit, Neji would have done that from the start. The Byakugan was a blood power, held only by the Hyuga clan. It allowed a person to focus on anything within a certain radius, giving almost a 360 degree visual radius, and through any material. It caused its bearers to have white pupils, and was incredibly useful in scouting and using techniques that required a delicate knowledge of inner-workings, such as in a bomb, or the human body. Hyuga medical ninja were naturally superior because of their ability to see inside a human body. Byakugan was said to be the blood ancestor of the famous Sharingan, another eye ability, of the Uchiha clan. Hinata turned another corner and nearly stumbled over the body of one of the ANBU squad. He was cut open pretty bad, his throat was slashed. It looked like the wound from a kunai. Hinata turned her attention several feet in front of her and saw a figure, slightly taller than herself, wiping blood off his kunai. He was wearing black, and his long silver-grayish hair was tied into a ponytail.

Yakushi Kabuto... she thought to herself. "If you agree to come quietly," she said softly, "There won't have to be any fighting. I don't want to but I will if you refuse."

The Sound Jonin chuckled to himself, "Hyuga Hinata. As strong as you've become...you're still out of your league. I agree though," he snickered turning around. "I would hate to fight you. At the same time, even if I run," he raised his kunai, pointing it at her white eyes, "You still have that pesky jutsu to follow me. Something will have to be done. Maybe I should cut out your eyes?" he smirked arrogantly, trying to intimidate the girl.

Hinata scowled and got into a fighting stance, reaching a hand behind her, handling her kunai, narrowing her eyes a bit at Kabuto, but not saying anything.

Kabuto shrugged, and his left hand began to glow with chakra. "You know," he started, readying himself for another fight, "Out of respect, I should say I was impressed by your performance this year, that battle in the Chunin exam was spectacular. The strength of the Byakugan..." Kabuto stopped and shook his head, "Well, either way, it seems you were passed through. Quite an impressive feat. The remaining members of the old Rookie Nine were competing this year too, right? And even with a couple wins yourself." He paused, seemingly letting his guard down for a bit, "Quite a determination...I haven't seen that since Uzamaki Naruto. Especially your fight with Sakura. What a brilliant display." Hinata found herself blushing up her neck from the compliment, expression softening so slightly. Again she was overcome with the feeling of not wanting to fight. The Fifth Hokage said that was the strength she showed in her battles, finding ways to fight without killing, even in the face of lethal odds. She had said Hinata earned her new rank not only from her abilities and determination, but also because shinobi were lacking in a quality of pacifism, something she hoped Hinata would rub off on her colleagues. Hinata took a look around the immediate area, there were no other Konoha shinobi close by, nor were there any comrades of Kabuto around. It would be just him and her. Naruto had shared a few details of his fight with Kabuto with Hinata when they were part of the Konoha 11. Hinata couldn't deny she was afraid, glancing at him right now. He readied his guard again, "Are you sure there's no way to skip this?"

Hinata didn't say a word, watching him for the slightest movement. Noticing that Kabuto was reaching behind him, she lunged at him with her kunai in the dimly lit room. Kabuto easily blocked her arm, batting it away and impacting her in the chest with the full force of his empowered hand. Hinata gasped and fell back, stumbling and falling onto the floor. Kabuto rushed at her, trying to land a blow on her while she was on the ground. She backflipped away, resting on her hands like a handstand. Kabuto swung at her exposed back, overextending himself, expecting to land an easy blow. Hinata congratulated herself in her mind, Kabuto had fallen for the trick, the Byakugan allowed to her to observe all of Kabuto's movements, even the overextension of his ankle, how his arm was reaching all the way out. She reversed her flip, her feet crashing down on Kabuto's arm and nailing it to the floor, causing the Sound Jonin to fall to the ground entirely. Hinata swung her torso up, and pummeled at Kabuto's back with her Gentle Fist attack. Kabuto let out a yelp before swinging at her legs with his kunai, forcing her to leap away.

Kabuto struggled to his feet, muscles aching and torn from the Gentle Fist. "Damn jutsu...every inch..." he sighed and re-regulated the flow of chakra, healing the damaged muscles back to their full strength. Stretching his muscles, he rotated his head a bit, getting back into a battle stance, "Alright, shall we try again?"

Hinata took the lull to extend her Byakugan to its full radius, about 500 meters. Neji could do a full kilometer but she was still fuzzy on getting that much reach, though her range increased every day she practiced. Still no one headed for this building, they were all busy checking out other places in the abandoned district. So many shinobi died in the battle with the Sand and Sound villages, this portion of the city was mostly abandoned, ANBU and the other shinobi would be checking all of the buildings sooner or later. But they weren't getting close. She refocused on the surrounding ten meters and saw Kabuto's movements. He was eyeing the dead ANBU on the ground. She knew Kabuto possessed a powerful jutsu allowing him to animate corpses, but she knew this was still a dead body. She would have seen Kabuto breathing if he was posing as a dead body. However, that likely meant he was going to use this body, if he got close to it. Hinata shifted herself over to the left a meter or so and was now situated between Kabuto and the body. Hinata allowed herself a small, gloating grin.

Kabuto looked shocked. How did she...can those eyes even focus on my eye movements? That means she knows everything I'm going to do before I do it. Alright, I know, just be faster than her reaction time. Kabuto ran straight at Hinata as fast as he could, swinging at her with multiple blows. Hinata blocked the first few strikes but fell prey to the next two or three, which cut the muscles in her arm and chest. Kabuto backed away as she collapsed onto the floor, holding her sides with her one good arm. "Sorry, but I have to be off now," and he sped off as fast as his legs could carry him.

Hinata extended her Byakugan and noted that the ANBU was working their way eastward across the district, the majority of them were far away now. Kabuto emerged from the old storehouse he had battled Hinata in and looked around, noting the west wall was mostly empty. He ran off in that direction. Hinata struggled to lift herself up, trying to fight through the pain. She sped for the western watch tower as fast as she could. With her eyes she noticed Kabuto sparring off against a particularly strong ANBU, and severing his leg muscles and throat. The ANBU member fell to the ground, but was still breathing. Hinata wondered what Kabuto struck but she didn't know human anatomy that well to understand the difference between all the things in the throat. This distraction allowed Hinata to gain ground on Kabuto, but he was catching up fast. Hinata reached the now empty guard post, ready to grab the alarm to signal the shinobi over here. A kunai struck the wall inches from her face. Hinata looked down to see Kabuto there, his breathing somewhat labored. Her hand raised up to pull the signal, but she hesitated. Kabuto's eyes narrowed, his leg muscles tensing to jump up the wall and stop her. He ran at the wall, and leaping up on several of the imperfections in the rock wall, made it up to the landing and what he saw made him stop.

Hinata was standing there, the arm he had crippled hanging at her side, her good arm holding it in pain. She hadn't pulled the switch, for some reason. But neither had she hidden to set a trap for him. Short of an explanation for this bizzare action, he simply asked straight out, "What do you think you're doing?"

Hinata looked at the ground, her voice quiet and mousey, much as it was in the old days, "Well...you were the one who helped me, at the exams, three years ago...right?"

Kabuto looked confused, and thought back to those exams. Orochimaru had planned to destroy Konoha that year. Kabuto was glad that he had failed, in a sense. Konoha was his adoptive home, it was where he had met Uzamaki Naruto, a boy he both mocked, yet admired, being the host for Kyuubi. Kabuto wondered what it must be like to have the greatest of all the tailed beasts inside you, it was something that fascinated him. Was it like skitzophrenia? Did he and the Kyuubi talk to each other all the time? Did the Kyuubi wrestle his host? Were they friends?

Hinata took his silence as an invitation to explain, "Sakura told me...when I woke up. I remembered a bit too. The ANBU man in the cat mask. She said she didn't know what happened. But she told me that Kakashi and Guy had been there too. I wanted to thank that man properly. But, well, when I found out it had been you..." Hinata struggled against the blush that spread throughout her face now, "I wanted to say thanks!" she spurted out quickly, and then in a quieter tone, "That's all..."

Kabuto nodded in realization, "Yes, I remember you now."

Hinata continued, "And, well, I...I never got sick, since then, really. I guess I should thank you for that too?" Kabuto remained silent, not giving her any more feedback. Hinata deactivated her Byakugan. "Well, if you did that for me...you can't be all bad...right?"

Kabuto snorted, "Hmph, if you're thinking that letting me go will make me show mercy, I should advise you that you're sadly mistaken," he grabbed his kunai out of the wall, and got himself ready to kill the girl.

Hinata shook her head, "No, but...you helped me, I should help you...urgh!" Hinata felt her muscles tear from the dead weight of her arm and fell to her knees, letting her wrist rest painfully on the ground, giving her arm the support it needed from tearing apart and falling off. Kabuto looked scornfully down at the young Chunin. He knew what he did to her. He also knew the strain she must have put her body through in order to beat him here. And yet was it really just to say "thanks"? She looked up at him, tears welling up in her soft lavender/white eyes, "You should get going now...if you're going to, before I remember you're an enemy..."

Kabuto sheathed his kunai and hopped up on the outer wall to leave. He looked down at Hinata, who was trying to back up against the wall to rest. He looked away and sighed to himself, his expression softening. He leaped down off the wall and walked slowly over to the new Chunin and helped her back against the wall, "Here, let me see your arm." he whispered softly, his eyes looking very sorrowful and sympathetic. He used his chakra to feel inside her arm, and saw that the entire tricep had snapped clean off the bone. It was rolled up like a window shade inside her skin, the pain must have been excruciating. He slowly peeled the muscle back with his chakra, reconnecting the tendons and tissue that he had previously cut with his jutsu. Hinata squirmed, and let out a single tiny whimper, but otherwise remained still and strong. Moving his hand down her side he noticed some ribs out of place, and again, for an instant Hinata could have sworn she saw genuine concern in his eyes. His hand passed over her breast and she felt a little flustered at the entirety of the moment. Kabuto felt her heart race and tried to stifle a tiny grin as he sealed the bones of her ribs back to her sternum. Satisfied she was okay, he got up, and leaped back onto the wall. He let his lips convince him to smile broadly now, and softly spoke in his happy, boyish voice that she recognized from the first Chunin exam she had participated in, "Be well, Hinata-chan," before leaping from the wall and down to the forest floor, making his way back to Otogakure.

Hinata moved her arm around in a couple circles. Other than some residual soreness, she felt perfectly fine. She sighed, still a little flustered from her close encounter with the Sound Jonin. Hinata activated her Byakugan, and leaned out into the darkness, watching him escape into the night, her eyes just a little dreamy. As long as the Fifth didn't find out about this, no, make that anyone, she'd be fine. Besides, it felt a little nice to share a small secret with someone.