Chapter two is up!! Yosh! You might have noticed that I in fact do NOT have 20 reviews. In reality, I only have 3! But since the few who did comment loved the story so much, I am continuing it!

I will use some Japanese throughout the story, so I will add translations of the new words introduced in each chapter at the end of that chapter. Words that you might not remember but were in previous chapters will not be listed again, because after a while the list gets really long and it's a pain to deal with. Oh, and I don't own Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, etc, etc, blah blah blah. If I did, I'd be a rich biotch and living on my own private island in the San Juan Islands. And now, without further ado, read on!

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Victims of Manipulation

Chapter Two: Realizations

I awoke to the usual sounds of morning in the forest. Small birds called out from the branches of the tall pines surrounding me, their voices clear but their locations obscured by the thick mist. I blinked slowly, the brightness of the grey morning hurting my eyes and causing my vision to blur slightly while I grew accustomed to the light. Once I regained the ability to see properly I sat up, slowly because I was so stiff. It seemed that every muscle in my body was sore, feeling like I had been beaten repeatedly. It was then that I realized how cold I was. I looked down at myself. My clothes were almost soaked through, and my long raven hair was plastered wetly to my neck and face. 'It must have been a combination of the mist and dew…or maybe it rained last night' I thought, 'In any case, I need to get warm'.

I got to my knees and, ignoring my protesting muscles, stood up and stretched. I hurt, but I would be worried if I didn't after pushing myself so much. Besides, I'd had worse. Feeling more relaxed, I walked around the clearing I had apparently passed out in last night, looking for some dry wood to make a fire. There wasn't any. I made a small noise of frustration before settling down on a somewhat-but-not-really dry log to think things through.

The first question at hand was my location, and that was an easy one to answer. From the look of forest surrounding me, I would say that I was in the Water country, somewhere in the vicinity of the Hidden Mist village. This in turn meant that I was a good distance from Konoha. I estimated that it would take me about two days to walk back. That is, however, if I went back. At that thought I sighed. It had been cowardly to run away, but at the moment I hadn't known what else to do. I knew that I had to go back to the village soon, but that didn't mean I wanted to, just the opposite in fact. I feared what I would find upon my arrival.

Naruto had said he loved me, but would he stay true to his words or leap into Sakura's arms like the rest of the boys? The pink-haired Haruno may not have been the best kunoichi, but she was a woman, and a beautiful one at that. I sighed. Maybe that was it, maybe I wasn't pretty enough for Naruto, maybe I was too plain.

I knew that wasn't true though. With my pale violet eyes and midnight black, hip-length hair, I was anything but plain. I smile softly, remembering all the times Neji had chased different suitors away. He can be very overprotective at times, but it's only because he sees me more as his sister than his cousin. He had gotten over his dislike of the main house a while back and we became very close. My thoughts go back to Naruto and my smile fades into a frown. 'No, Naruto couldn't have changed his mind because of my appearance, there has to be something more'.

And that's when it hit me. The great Uzumaki Naruto was not one to be swayed simply by a pretty girl's feminine charms. No, there was more to this than I had originally though, much more. There had to be something else that Sakura was doing, or saying, to make the men of the village her playthings. Something was definitely awry, and I was determined to find out. No one steals or tries to steal my man and gets away with it, and I mean no one.

Nodding once to myself, I stood up and straightened my shirt. I guessed that it was around noon by the sun's position as it glowed weakly through the stubborn mist, which meant that I had been resting for just long enough to regain enough chakra to run as fast as I would need to reach Konoha by nightfall. I took a deep breath and got my bearings, then took off in the direction of home.

As I ran I went over what I might do once I arrived back to the village but, unable to decide, I dropped that train of thought in favor of concentrating on conserving my chakra. It was going to be a long trek, and I needed all the energy I have.

- - Some Time Later - -

It was about two hours past sunset when I finally reached the gates leading into Konoha. I looked up the wall and called out to the sentry. "H-hello?" I steadied my voice before continuing, "Could you please open the gate for me?" A chunin boy with hair in a spiky ponytail stuck his head over the edge and peered down at me. "Ah! Konbanwa Hinata-san!" he said, a wide grin on his face. I smiled tiredly back at him. "Anata ni mo, Konohamaru-kun. The gate please." He nodded and disappeared behind the wall, though I could hear him hurrying down the steps, tripping a few times before the noise stopped and the door creaked open enough to allow me to slip through.

Once I was safely inside, Konohamaru closed the gate and turned back to me. "Where've you been Hinata-san? Even Naruto-niisan said he didn't know where you were." The look of concern in the younger boy's eyes made me smile. "I was…thinking. I needed some time to myself so I decided the best way to do that was to get out of town for a while. I camped out." It wasn't a total lie, but it certainly wasn't the whole truth. I stifled a yawn and gave Konohamaru an apologetic look. "Sorry Konohamaru-kun, but I am very tired and need to go home and rest", I said. He shrugged and smiled reassuringly at me. "No problem. I should be getting back to my post anyway", he gestured behind him at the gate. I turned around and waved, "Oyasumi Konohamaru-kun". He waved back, "Oyasumi nasai, Hinata-san".

With that I turned my back on the gate and its young guard and headed through the well-lit streets toward the Hyuuga complex. I was extremely tired from running all day, but my sore feet led me swiftly to and through the front door of my house. I closed the door silently, hoping that everyone was already asleep. They were and no one came to investigate. I crept into my bedroom and, changing quickly into a white sleeping yukata, crawled under the covers. I just barely had time to lay my head on the pillow before slipping into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

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- - Translations - -

Konbanwa -- "Good Evening"

Oyasumi (nasai) -- "Good night (formal)"

Chunin -- 2nd level of ninja

Anata ni mo -- "Same to you"

Sleeping Yukata -- a kimono-like garment; Japanese sleepwear

There you go folks! Chapter two! It took me almost six hours, but I did it!

Please review! It means a great deal to me!

See you next chapter!

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Mistress of the Wolf Clan