'They're leaving' Whispered Kiba both him and Akamaru standing absolutely still,tension pulling the lines of their bodies taut.

Hinata exhaled a sigh of relief and lowered the amount of chakra flowing to her palms

'That was close' said Kiba , finally relaxing from his position and walking over to where Hinata stood with her byakugan activated,still peering into the thick of the forest where the six enemy ninja had stood a mere five minutes ago.

Hinata nodded still not trusting her voice not to betray her .

'We need to vacate this area immediately' came Shinos voice, 'we cant be sure they didnt sense us'

' They didnt sense anything bug boy'

Kiba bristled 'besides , what if they did? We could take those losers any day!

'Ano Kiba kun, Shino kun? Shouldnt we leave now that we have the chance, Hokage-sama will be waiting for the report of our mission...' interjected Hinata before the fight could escalate any further ,her eyes nervously scouring the area for the slightest movement.

'Hinata's right. Lets go.'

Said Shino curtly, turning away and leaping into the trees without a backward glance .

'Who died and made him leader?'seethed Kiba,'What are we? Cowards running away from from a fight?'

'Stupid bug boy' Kiba shook his head in disgust prepared to launch into another diatribe on Shinos many injustices.

Seeing the inordinately anxious expression on Hinatas face, he relented and brushed a hand roughly across his face 'Oh Fine! I don't know whats come over you two, lets go .C'mon Akamaru, Hinata.

'OYE,Wait up bug breath! 'Kiba yelled as they followed the now barely visible Shino into the trees.

After relentlessly racing towards Konoha for more than 18 straight hours they finally made camp at midnight and after briefly scouting the area collapsed on their bedrolls, with Kiba begrudgingly volunteering to keep first watch.

'Are you sure Kiba-kun? I -I can take the first watch if Kiba-kun is tired,'said Hinata blearily rubbing her now bloodshot eyes.

'Im sure hinata. After all I have Akamaru to keep me awake. Right,boy? 'Kiba said earning only a pathetic whine from the large dog as a response.

What felt like minutes later Hinata awoke to Shino gently nudging her shoulder , his own voice hoarse with exhaustion as he told her there was just an hour left till sunrise.

Guiltily Hinata shook out the last vestiges of drowsiness . The boys had once again let her oversleep at the cost of their own comfort. She couldn't afford to be careless, they were just a short distance away from Konohas gates now. Activating her blood line limit she settled in to wait.

Time seemed to stretch and slowly, very slowly Hinata felt her posture shift from rigid back alertness to a slouch barely supported by her backpack. The veins on her temples thinned out as her eyes lost their focus . Just as sleep was about to overtake her completely she woke up as if stung .

'Was that-No. It cant be. Not this close to konoha. Itcantitcantitcant'. The thought raced around her mind as she teetered on the brink of hysteria. Should she wake up her teamates? They were so tired,she was too ,she had been half asleep when it happened, she must have imagined it. She couldnt disturb them without being sure, not when they were so very tired. '

Muttering a fervent prayer before reactivating her now almost chakra exhausted bloodline limit she advanced slowly towards the cluster of trees through which the light had flashed.

'Light. Light, not eyes. They weren't eyes' 'Hinata assured herself , raising her hands in her family's fighting stance as she stepped carefully forward. Because if it were true, if she had really seen what she thought she had seen , then waking her teammates wouldn't help, nothing ,she was sure, would help.

Suddenly, terror, sheer unadulterated terror tore through her being and her mind latched on to one last thought before it became entrapped by one of the three most powerful Doujutsus in the Ninja world-the Sharingan.

'He's back, he's found me...'

'Sasuke'