Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor any of the characters. I'm just a poor college student.

A note to all my readers: I want to apologize for my long absence. College has been one hectic ride and writing stories has always been at the back of my mind. It was never my intention to leave you all hanging onto my other story for so long but sometimes life just happens. But rest assured, I am back and I will try my best to push out some good content. I love reviews and messages so please don't be shy. Please give me a while to catch myself up on everything. As always, thanks for reading.

Chapter 1: Darkness

Hinata's vision blurred as she ran through the forest. She clutched her side, a weak green glow emitting from her hand as she tried to patch up the tear in her side with as much chakra as she could afford. Prying her hand away, she grimaced as the drops of blood trickled down her palm and trailed her. She had managed to fend off the group of rogue nin, but the battle had caused enough ruckus in the nearby vicinity to attract the attention of a few unanticipated leaf nin. She could sense the hidden leaf trackers steadily on her trail. She had a good few miles advantage, but her wound would need immediate attention and her chakra supply was dropping rapidly. Dry blood and sweat covered her skin and she could only hope that the scent wasn't enough for the tracking team. The dense forest blurred as she concentrated more chakra to the soles of her feet, pushing off the ground as quickly as possible. She needed to find a way out. She needed to escape.

Hinata's eyes widened. Another chakra had just entered her vicinity. Attempting to mask her own without slowing down too much, Hinata continued running. She hoped to go unnoticed. Her senses had dulled down due to the strain of the last fight. How long had that chakra signature gone unnoticed by her? She decided to take a sharp turn to test whether or not the additional chakra signature was following her.

Hinata swore underneath her breath. The chakra was following her direction, and it was gaining speed. She couldn't afford to lose her speed for too long. The hidden leaf nin would sure to catch up soon.

Byakugan.

She extended her range sharply. The holder of the chakra was skilled. The chakra signature was still present, but the user masked themselves well. Hinata couldn't gauge the exact power level of the user. Either the user was not too powerful, or just extremely adept at concealing their signature. For her own sake, Hinata hoped against the latter option. Whoever they were, they were gaining speed at an alarming rate. Hinata winced and clutched her side, coughing up blood. She couldn't afford this chakra usage and she couldn't outrun two parties, not in this condition. With no possibility of flight, the only remaining option was fight. She didn't know how much fight she had left, but what other option did she have. Wiping the blood from her mouth, she stopped in the middle of a small clearing and faced the direction of the chakra signature. Taking a deep breath, she prepared her fighting stance and waited.

The wind whistled through the calm forest. Byakugan activated and scanning, she could sense the signature drawing closer. Suddenly, as it approached the edge of the clearing, the signature disappeared. Shit.

Hinata was on guard. Whoever they were, they were good enough to hide their chakra at this close of a distance. But she was a Hyuuga, and it's not easy to hide from a Hyuga. A faint chakra signature to her left. She threw an array of shuriken at the tree.

"Not fast enough."

Hinata gasped and spun around, grabbing a kunai, ready to strike.

A strong grip grabbed her wrist and flung her across the clearing and against a tree. Hinata coughed up blood on impact and sunk to the floor. Gasping for air and clutching her side, Hinata stared up at her attacker. No, it couldn't be.

Those black, empty eyes. Sasuke Uchiha stood across the small clearing, his face expressionless.

"W-what do you want?" The Hyuga asked, breathlessly. Hinata tried to hide her condition desperately but even she knew it was of no use. Anyone can see that she was in no condition to put up a fight.

"Why are you tracking me?" It wasn't a question more so of a simple accusation.

"W-what?" In the few seconds that followed, Hinata put the pieces together. He must have sensed the leaf nin, which means they were getting close. There would be no escape at this rate. Heart beating erratically, the Hyuga forced herself up into a fighting stance. This was it. After two years of flight, this is the way she will meet her end. She couldn't flee. He would catch up. She wouldn't win the fight, but she could try. But if she had to choose, she would go down fighting until the end. Her end. And at realizing her fate did the Hyuuga experience the greatest onslaught of repressed emotions. And in the end did she wish to feel the most alive. And so she cried.

"Get out of my way, Uchiha." She almost whispered, tears rolling down her face.

Sasuke remained expressionless. So she did know who he was. But, who was she? A Hyuga, clearly, from the looks of her white pupils. But was she from the branch or the main house? Her dark bangs clung to her forehead with sweat and obscured his sight of where the Hyuuga brand would be.

Sasuke merely stared at the woman in front of him. Blood and dirt smeared all over and a gaping wound to the side, and yet, she still had the audacity to fight him? To what avail?

Too much time was being wasted. Hinata couldn't afford to lose any more. It was obvious that the man had no intentions of letting her go so easily. Seeing an opening, she launched herself forward, aiming the gentle fist squarely at his chest.

Sasuke blocked her attacks and countered with his own set of taijutsu. He admitted she was fast, given her current condition. But he was faster, and stronger. He grabbed her wrist as she directed another punch at him and swung her to the ground.

I'm losing too much time.

Hinata Hyuga looked to the sky from her sprawled out position. Weakly, she maneuvered herself up to her fighting stance.

Why did this woman want to fight him? White eyes met black as the forest winds stopped their travels to witness the two warriors.

"I'm out of time." He heard her whisper, before she launched at him again.

Eight trigrams sixty-four palms.

Hinata Hyuga unleashed an array of gentle fists upon Sasuke, exhausting her remaining supply of chakra.

Sasuke couldn't believe it. How much longer could she last? Why was she still fighting? She was fast, but still not fast en-

The Uchiha's eyes widened as he felt a blow to his left shoulder. Shit. She had hit his chakra point. He could no longer feel his left arm as he continued to dodge the set of punches. That's enough.

Sharingan.

A blow directly to the chest and Hinata found herself being held up by the neck against a tree. Blood began to swim at the edge of her vision. His hand squeezed harder and she found herself both coughing up blood and scrambling for air.

Hinata Hyuga weakly lifted her head to the sky. It was over now. But there was still one more thing she needed to do. She felt the cold metal of her remaining kunai pressed up against her thigh. Reaching for it slowly, she lowered her gaze to meet his. With the remainder of her vision, she could just barely make out the reds of his eyes. It was just like looking into death itself. Empty and cold. But perhaps she would finally find her peace. Hinata smiled. This is her end.

"Why are you tracking me?"

"They're not tracking you. They're tracking me."

Hinata Hyuga grasped the icy blade her kunai and plunged it through her eyes. A faint intake of breath was the last thing she heard before succumbing to darkness.