Run Away and Pursue
Ch. 1 "Meeting."
I don't own Naruto, but I wish I did.
The wind howled, throwing ice and rain against the window and roof of Hinata Hyuuga's 'apartment'. She shivered as she grabbed a thick light purple flannel shirt and tossed it over her fitted dark purple T-shirt.
It was a good night to stay inside and snuggle in front of a warm glowing fire, read a book, drink hot cocoa, or maybe even watch a movie.
Too bad those weren't an option for her.
She took her duffel bag and the satchel that contained the day's ungraded tests, slipped on her coat and hurried out the door and down a flight of stairs that led to the small Victorian house's spacious entrance hall.
The tiny sound of the television set drifted from the living room, its flickering blue light splashed across the hardwood floor as Hinata tiptoed past the open door.
The old wood floor creaked beneath her feet and she hurried forward, turning the doorknob and pulling open the front door. Cold air blew in, carrying the icy rain and the sharp scent of pine needles.
"Hinata? Where in the world are you going?" Yuhi Kurenai peered out of the living room, her eyes flashed with curiosity.
"Out to my house," Hinata coolly said, closing the door and turned to face her landlady. She didn't have time to explain and converse, but trying to dodge them would raise a red flag to Kurenai. It was better to give the landlady a few answers inside the house than to be followed out into the rain on the front porch where everyone could see her.
"On a night like this? Are you sure that's a good idea?" Kurenai stepped into the hallway, her sharp red eyes taking in everything. The bulging duffel bag, her satchel, Hinata's faded jeans and wool coat, her gloves and hat; everything.
"It's a long weekend so I figured I can get quite a bit done on the house over the next four days."
Could Kurenai hear the slight tremble of Hinata's voice? Could she hear the fear in it?
"Maybe, but I still don't think going out there on a night like tonight is a good idea."
"If I don't get some work done on it, I won't be out of your hair by Christmas." It was a good reason to leave at nine o'clock at night during a winter storm.
The breaking news about Kai Matsumoto was an even better one.
No. Not Kai Matsumoto. Keiji Uzumaki. A child missing for five years now reunited with his father.
Keiji and the woman who had called herself his mother had shown up in town a month before school started. They made no friends, taken no interest in the community.
Until Keiji walked into the classroom where Hinata was working as a teacher's aide, he had been nobody to her.
It hadn't taken long for that to change.
There had been something about that solemn boy that tugged at Hinata's heart, and she spent extra time helping him with assignments and encouraging him to socialize and take part in class activities. She also listened, really listened, to what he said about his life before he moved to Sendai.
And now, Keiji's story was running on every local and national news station in the country.
Was that what Kurenai was watching?
Hinata didn't dare to even ask.
No one could ever know about her part in the ongoing drama. Not Kurenai. Not Hinata's friends and coworkers. And most definitely not the reporter who were scouring Sendai, searching for anyone willing to talk about the little boy and the woman who posted as his mother for five years.
"You've never been in my hair, and you know it. You're one of the best renters I've ever had. I'll be happy to extend your stay for a few weeks. Even months if you need the time." Kurenai smiled as Hinata blinked, trying to refocus her attention on the conversation.
"You're sweet, but we both know that you have another renter lined up the day I leave." They had discussed it many times in the month since Hinata purchased the property outside of the city.
"The renter is my nephew, and he can wait a few extra weeks. So why don't you stay home? We'll have popcorn and watch movies together. Every single station is running the story about the little boy who was taken five years ago. Can you believe he's been under our noses for months?"
"No. I can't."
"You've got to wonder how the police finally figured it out. One of the news stations said that there was an anonymous tip. Who stays anonymous? I mean, unless they have something to hide. That's what I'm wondering. Maybe—."
"I really have to go, Kurenai." Hinata cut in, her heart racing and her stomach churning. If Kurenai was asking questions, plenty of others would be also. Journalists, newspaper reporters, news anchors. People who would like to dig for answers till they found them.
Until they found Hinata.
"I guess you're right. If your mind is set on going, I shouldn't stall you. The storm is supposed to keep all night and the roads are going to get slippery. Be careful, you hear?" Kurenai stared intently into Hinata's eyes.
"I will." Hinata gave a soft smile. "Don't worry."
"When will you be back?"
"Sunday night."
Maybe.
Or maybe she would be half way to somewhere else by then. Some other town, another identity; living a new life and starting over.
Again.
Hot tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She'd been through a lot in the past few years, and she had survived. She would survive this too.
She hoped.
Hinata jogged to her car, ice bouncing off of her head and coat as she threw the duffle bag into the trunk. She brought the satchel with her to the front of the car. She opened the door and sat down, settling the satchel on the passenger seat.
Kurenai was right. It wasn't a good night to be out on the road.
Hinata wanted to tucked away in her attic apartment, grading tests. She wanted to accept Kurenai's offer of popcorn and T.V. More than anything, she wanted to go back in time and make good choices; be a better person she was now.
"But you can't, so get over it." She muttered as she pulled out into the road. "You made your mistakes and you're going to have to live with your consequences. Or die with them."
Ice pinged off the car windows and bounced on the road, settling on the grass and trees, covering the road with a layer of slippery moisture.
The car fishtailed on the slick surface and Hinata gripped the steering wheel with sweaty palms. She grew up in Okinawa and even after three years living in Sendai, she still wasn't used to driving in icy weather.
So why are you? Why not stay home instead of heading out into the storm to some place in the middle of nowhere? You think Sasuke's going to find you?
She didn't.
Of course, she didn't.
But there was no wrong in being cautious. That's what going to her property was. Caution. Not lack of faith.
Not fear.
"Right. Keep on telling yourself that, Hinata. Maybe by the end of the weekend, you'll believe it." She mumbled, her heart pounding frantically as the car fishtailed again.
It had been a long day. A long few days. No way she wanted to add a car accident to her stress. She needed to slow down, take a deep breath and concentrate on driving.
She eased her foot off the gas, barely coasting as she turned. Tall pine trees danced in the gusting wind and waved Hinata on.
The property was lonely, but Hinata didn't care.
The property was everything she ever wanted. Large and airy with big rooms and a certain charm to it. The place was abandoned years ago. It still would've been if Hinata hadn't gone on a drive and seen it. Run-down, used up and lonely. Those were things she thought when she looked at it, and she wanted to fix it up.
To give it a new life.
She thought she would have plenty of time to do that.
And she would have too, if Keiji hadn't walked into her life. But he had, and everything had changed.
The car slid to the left, the tires spinning uselessly on ice and slush. Hinata tried to steer into a turn, but this time, the car couldn't be righted. It slid across the road and nose-dived into a shallow ditch.
"Perfect." Hinata shoved open the door and scrambled out into the storm, shivering as the wind speared through her clothes and seeped into her bones.
The front end of the car was titled down, the wheels sunk deep into icy muck. If there was damage, Hinata couldn't see it. She couldn't see a way to get the car out either.
She pulled out her cell-phone, dialed the local garage that kept her aging Ford running for the past three years.
It took several tries before someone answered, and Hinata frowned when she was told it could take hours for a tow truck to come.
She could sit in her car and wait until then, or she could walk the rest of the way to the house. She stepped out into the street and stared down the road, trying to calculate the distance she was from the house.
There were no visible landmarks, just more pine and oak trees; more ice and silvery rain, but she was sure she had traveled a good few miles before she slid into the ditch. At most, she had another two miles to go.
And easy walk on any other night, but not on a slippery one during a late-fall storm.
Still, she would rather slip and slide on the way to the house than just sit and imagine shadowy figures sneaking up from behind.
Imagining him sneaking up from behind.
She shuddered, took her satchel and got her duffel bag from the trunk. The wind blew, shaking needles and branches. The sound shivering along Hinata's nerve as she walked along the dark road.
She'd never been afraid of the dark, but the storm gave life to the darkness, whipping shadows, bending pine boughs, whispering and whistling through the trees.
No matter how much she told herself otherwise, no matter how much she reminded herself that she was alone on the dark country road, Hinata was afraid.
Bright light appeared out of nowhere through the darkness as the sound of a car engine mixed with the howl of the wind and pinging ice. Hinata jumped to the side of the road, her feet slipping out from under her as she scrambled to move out of the way.
She went down hard, her breath leaving on a painful whoosh.
A car door slammed, footsteps crunched on ice and Hinata twisted and managed to push herself to her feet and face the person backlit by headlights.
Tall. Large muscular built. A man. She was sure of that. A hat covered hair that might have been any color, but Hinata imagined it was midnight black.
Black hair.
Black eyes.
Sinfully full lips that could smile or snarl depending on his mood.
Sasuke?
For a moment, Hinata let panic take her, let it spear through her stomach and her mind until the only thought she had was to escape. She took a step back, her feet slipping in ice and mud.
"Careful. You don't want to end up on the ground again."
The voice didn't belong to Sasuke, and the hand wrapped around her waist holding her steady as she regained balance was firm without being tight, controlled rather than cruel.
"You're right. Thanks." Her voice shook, and she cleared her throat, trying to quiet her frantic, panicked breathing.
"You're Hinata Hyuuga, right?"
A journalist. He had to be one. Somehow he had found out about her part in reuniting Keiji with his father and he had tracked her down. It wasn't good.
But it was better than the alternative— Sasuke standing in front of her, ready to take his vengeance that he promised more than three years ago.
"That's right."
"I thought so. Your landlady said you were heading to your home out the city. She seemed really concerned that you wouldn't make it. Something about threadbare tires and a lightweight car. Or something."
"I guess she was right to be worried, because the car ended up in a ditch." Hinata was surprised that Kurenai would give out information to a stranger.
Then again, Kurenai liked to be in the loop and she loved being part of one of Sendai's biggest-ever news stories.
"Fortunately, mine I made for this kind of weather. How about I give you a ride?"
"My mother always told me not to accept rides from strangers, and since I'm not that far, I think I'll listen to her advice. Thanks, though. I appreciate the offer." She kept her voice light as she started to turn away.
"Maybe it would help if I introduce myself. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Keiji's father."
Keiji's father—the man who'd been searching for his missing child for five years and whose plea for his son's return had been replaying in the news since they had been reunited—was standing on the country road that led to Hinata's house.
And Hinata wished desperately that he wasn't.
"I asked the sheriff not to tell who I was." Hinata could feel her jaw clench.
"And I told him that I needed to know. You brought me the miracle I've been praying for, and I wanted to thank you in person."
"I don't need thanks for doing the right thing, Mr. Uzumaki."
"Naruto. And you may not need thanks, but I need to give it. How about I start by making sure you get to your place in one piece?"
There was no sense in refusing the ride. No way to undo the fact that Naruto Uzumaki was standing in front of her, so she nodded, trying to smile past the nerves that knotted her stomach. "Thanks, it's not far."
"It would not matter if it was a thousand miles. I would still be happy to do it." The word were suave and easy, the kind of thing a player might say to impress a lady, but there was sincerity in Naruto's tone that she couldn't deny.
He opened the car door and the interior light went on, highlighting the black leather seats and the young boy who sat in the back.
As always, Keiji was still and watchful, his pale face was anxious and wary.
"Hello, Kai. Or do you want me to call you Keiji now?"
"Keiji, I guess." But he didn't look happy about it, and Hinata wondered how the transition was going for father and son.
"I missed you in school today." She said, sliding into the car and turning to face the nine-year-old boy.
"They said I couldn't go."
"Who said that?"
"My—," Keiji shot a look in Naruto's direction, who was putting Hinata's duffel and satchel in the back. "Father, aunt, and the police. They said there were too many people who wanted to talk to me and take my picture."
"They were right. You wouldn't want a bunch of stranger following you all over the school."
"I guess not, but now I'm going to have a lot of make-up work to do."
"Not so much. It is the day before Thanksgiving, after all. Mrs. Sato didn't even assign homework."
"She didn't?"
"No. So you can stop worrying and enjoy your vacation." Hinata leaned over the seat and ruffled Keiji's hair, then settled back into place as Naruto rounded the car and got behind the steering wheel. She caught a flash of a strong jaw and high cheekbones, tan skin and deep set eyes before the door closed and the lights went off.
"I don't think Keiji considers this as a vacation. It's more like a slow torture." Naruto' voice was light, but Hinata could hear the tension in it.
"Is it that bad, Keiji?" She glanced behind her shoulder, but Keiji was staring out the window and didn't respond.
"He had a rough couple of days. Haven't you, sport?" Naruto started the engine and drove down the road, the silence following his comment was thick and telling.
"It will get better." Hinata prayed she was right.
Keiji had been taken from his home the previous morning and was reunited with Naruto less than twenty-four hours later. It was going to take time to realize that he really was where he belonged.
"You're right. In the meantime, we thought it would be nice to come for a visit with one of his favorite teachers. Right, Keiji?"
"She's my only favorite teacher."
"That's very sweet, Keiji, and I'm happy for the visit, but it really isn't a good night to be out and about."
"I figured the weather would make it easier for me to get to you without bringing the press along. The sheriff said you'd like your role to be kept a secret."
"He's right." She had asked Sheriff Inuzuka not to mention her name to anyone. Including Naruto. Apparently, he hadn't respected her wishes.
"It took me a while to get the information out of him, but I think, being a father himself, he couldn't deny me the chance to thank the person who gave me my son back." His voice had gone gritty with emotion, and Hinata touched his shoulders, felt the muscle beneath his coat and let her hand fall away.
The last thing she wanted to do was make a connection, allow herself to be pulled into the drama of Naruto and Keiji's life.
"Like I said before, I don't need thanks. I did what anyone would have done."
"Then why didn't anyone? Why didn't—?" He glanced in the rearview mirror and frowned. "I guess now isn't the time to discuss this."
"No, I guess not." Not with Keiji sitting behind them, listening to every word.
"So, how about we discuss it over dinner Friday night?"
"I appreciate the offer, but I've got a busy weekend ahead of me." She looked outside the windshield. "My driveway is to the right. At the white mailbox."
"I'd say everyone has to eat, but that would be a cliché. So how about I suggest we do it another time?"
"I really can't, Naruto."
"Because you want to stay away from the press?"
"Yes."
He was silent for a moment and Hinata expected him to ask why it was important to her.
He finally nodded. "Okay. So how about we just meet out here once again next weekend? I'll bring dinner, and we can chat."
"Next weekend?" He was staying in town that long? She thought that Naruto and Keiji would fly to Naruto's Tokyo home soon after their reunion and take their entourage of reporters with them.
And Hinata would be safe again.
"Unless you would rather do it on a weeknight. We'll be moving to our rental on Monday—."
"Rental?" Hinata managed to squeak.
"A few blocks north of the school. I asked Keiji if he wanted to go back to Tokyo now or wait until the end of the school year. He wants to wait. Right, bud?"
"Right." Keiji's response was subdued and Hinata wondered if he wanted to leave Sendai at all.
He once told her that he lived in seven different states and attended the same number of schools. Shy and serious, he didn't make friends easily and Hinata was sure the frequent moves only made things difficult.
"I'm glad you're staying until the end of the school year."
Even if that meant Hinata would have to leave.
"Me too. I like it here. So, since I'm staying, will you have dinner with me and my father next weekend?"
"I—." Can't was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't say it without an excuse. Plus he gave her a puppy dog face. "I would love too. As long as nothing comes up between now and then."
Naruto stopped in front of a farm house and Hinata opened the car door, shivering as the cold wind slapped her cheeks. "I guess we're here. Thanks for the ride."
"I'll walk you up." Naruto got out of the car and walked around to escort her.
"I'm fine, Naruto. I think it's best if you and Keiji head back." Hinata fidgeted.
"We will, but before I leave, I wanted to tell you that there's a hundred-thousand-dollar reward for information leading to Keiji's recovery. It's yours."
"What?" Hinata gaped at him in disbelief.
"The money is yours. My lawyer will transfer the funds to your—."
"No."
"No?" Naruto raised a brow.
"I don't want the money. That's not the reason why I listened to Keiji's story about having a father in Tokyo and it's not why I contacted the sheriff when I realized what he was saying might've been true." She fished the key from her satchel that Naruto had given her along with her duffel. She opened the front door and stepped inside, flipping on the foyer lights.
"That doesn't mean the money isn't yours." The light spilling over him, highlighting a face that belonged on a magazine cover. High cheekbones, a square jaw shadowed with stubble, lips that were full and firm. The wide brim of his hat threw shadows over his eyes that were the same morning sky blue as his Keiji's. Was his hair copper like his son's?
"Look, I apprec—." Hinata's words were cut off as lights flashed at the end of her driveway. Someone was coming and she didn't plan to stand out in the doorway, waiting to find who it was. "I need to go. Tell Keiji I'll see him at school."
"Wait—!"
But Hinata couldn't afford to wait. Not when the headlights were moving closer and anyone with a good camera could get a picture of her standing in the threshold chatting with Naruto.
She slammed the door and turned the lock, stepping deeper into the house, wishing she could believe that would be enough to keep her hidden from the world.
To preserve the life she'd fought so hard for.
Please don't let it be a reporter, because I really don't want to leave Sendai. I really don't want to have to start all over again.
She didn't want to, but she would.
Because if a photo of her somehow ended up in the news; if Sasuke saw it, he'd come after her.
There was no doubt about it.
And there was absolutely no doubt about what he'd do if he found her.
Haha, yes, I noticed that even if they were in Japan, they celebrated Thanksgiving. I'm still not sure if they do celebrate it there…
This story was inspired by one of my mom's Lifetime movies. They are quite interesting.
Sorry if this story seems so novel-y.
This was supposed to be my homework, but I decided to write another story for that and ended up posting this instead because no one would've gotten to read this.
Tell me what you think of this one.
Leave me some sugar!
;D