A Heavenly Promise

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Hinata or any other manga for that matter…even though I really only wanna own Rurouni Kenshin...no offense Naruto but that series needs more help then you do…..

Chp.1

Hinata jumped from tree limb to tree limb, nimbly dodging branches and leaves. She moved so fast that not even the snow on the limbs caught her footsteps as she jumped across each. The soft snow that swirled around her tickled her eyes and her nose. A brief memory of herself as a child reaching out with her tongue to catch snow blurred across her mind. She almost repeated the gesture but mentally kicked herself. She was a ninja and had no time for such foolishness.

"Hinata! Where are we at right now?" Kiba barked at her. He was bored and sick of this mission. He had lost track of the scent of the person they were trying to locate and now he didn't even know where he was. As team leader it was his responsibility to know were they were at, at all times. And now, they were lost. He cursed himself in his mind.

"Ummm okay…" Hinata whispered as she activated her Byakugan, and looked around. To the north…nothing

East…nothing

South….still nothing

West…nothing…nothing but trees

"There's nothing but trees here" she said, "But it's strange, because I don't sense any living things either". This is strange, she thought, in a forest this large and no animals. Something is up she thought and slowly put her hand on her kunai.

"No living things huh…well…that's a problem" Kiba replied. He sighed. This was a C-ranked mission. He remembered when they had all gone to Lady Tsunade to receive their mission….

"Look", Tsunade barked at the three Chuunins in front of her, "Mr. and Mrs. Eto are very wealthy people and have a very important job for us"

"Well what is it?" Kiba said impatient with having to walk all the way here from the park were he was training with Akamaru.

Hinata flinched at Kiba's callousness. She hated it when he yelled like that and especially at someone who deserved respect like Lady Tsunade. Then again…Naruto acts like that to. Hinata pushed the thought out of her mind before the blush hit her face.

Shino merely stood still and waited for the assignment.

Tsunade seemed to ignore the disrespect and carried on. "Of course their wealth makes them targets and it seems that their son, Hachiro, has been kidnapped. He is being held for ransom in the woods south of Konoha" Tsunade took a breath. "Of course this is not a very difficult mission; the men who took Hachiro seem to be nothing but a bunch of punks who want money". Tsunade looked up at the tracking team, "But still, don't underestimate them…we're still not sure what level they may be at. Since Kakashi is out on a mission and Kurenai is, as you all know…not available, it seems you three will be doing this mission on your own". Tsunade closed her eyes and sighed at seeing the shocked expressions on the teenager's faces. I hope I don't regret my decision, she thought. "Kiba" Tsunade almost yelled at the Inuzuka. Kiba jumped to attention.

"You will be the team leader…for now" Tsunade glared, "I hope you don't disappoint, you three will be leaving early in the morning tomorrow, you are dismissed"

Kiba, Hinata, and Shino, still in a sort of state of shock, bowed and left the room. They each separated to one another's own thoughts.

"Kiba?...Team leader?...hmph it should be me…" Shino thought dejectedly while he walked home to tend to his bugs.

"Kiba? Oh well….I should get some rest before tomorrow" Hinata thought walking home.

"Yes!!" Inside Kiba's mind he was doing somersaults. "I can't wait to lead my team…this is amazing!" Kiba ran home to get ready for the upcoming mission.

And now we're lost, Kiba thought. He wanted to sink into the ground and die. The first time he had to prove his worth as a ninja and he had gotten his team lost. Tsunade is going to kill me, he thought.

"Shino, can you use your bugs to see if there is any sign of people or life in this forest" he asked.

"Already on it"

Shino's bugs curled and quivered as they quickly crawled out from under his clothes and face to search the area. Hinata shivered a little as they crawled past her.

After about half and hour the bugs came back. Shino picked the tiny beetle up and held it to his face almost as if talking to it for about five minutes.

"C'mon already….we don't have time Shino...what did they find" Kiba said exasperatingly. The sun was high in the sky but Kiba knew that if they didn't hurry soon they would fail their mission.

Shino sent the evil eye on Kiba. "They traveled about 20m past Hinata's Byakugan range and they found nothing".

Hinata felt herself grow a little cold…and not from the snow. Nothing? How could they find no sign of life in this huge forest unless….

"Genjustu?" Hinata whispered "…no it can't be…I would've sensed it by now with Byakugan…what is this?"

Hinata stood shocked as the snow flittered and fluttered around her and her teammates and suddenly ground to a halt.

"Wait a second…" Hinata said as a kunai zoomed past her head and into a nearby tree.

So there is chp. 1…please read and review…or maybe just skim and review. So long as you review. This is my first fanfic and it would really help my self esteem if you review, especially if you like it and want it to continue…(Gives puppy dog eyes and started whimpering a little) Please…(as you see the small tears build up in Meridia's eyes your hand slowly grasps the mouse ready to click the review button…..)