Hinata hastily pulled her mesh under shirt on and looked nervously around the room. The temperature in her room had rose she had left the bath. Tora was curled up comfortably on the new white sheets on Hinata's bed, looking at her new "mommy" with her big icy blue eyes.
"N-Neji-san must have t-turned on the heater." She smiled. Hinata put on her black leggings and close toe sandals and opened her window. She looked across the breath taking white grounds of the Hyuga main mansion. In the full moonlight made the snow look like a field of glittery crystals, untouched by the man made world. Then the strangest impulse hit Hinata. An urging that was unfamiliar to her. She thoughtlessly climbed onto the window sill and jumped out of the warmth of her room into the frigid landscape before her. She landed softly from her third floor bed room on the snow. She ran swiftly across the gardens and catapulted over the border gate. She looked across the road into a wood that she knew well. She walked slowly towards the wood; mind set on reaching her private retreat there. She picked up pace as she reached the wood. She could feel the urge pulling her closer and closer. She sprung in to the trees and travelled from branch to branch. Through the trees she could see the faint glow of what she was seeking. She jumped out of the trees, into a clearing. Hinata was captured by the mystifying lake before her. Of the many times that she had been there the beauty of the lake, so pure and clean, still took her breath away. She walked slowly towards the lake removing her cloths in the process. The moon reflected perfectly in the glassy water. She stepped slowly into the water, which engulfed her naked body with barely a ripple. The water, untouched by the winter weather, was warm and had a comforting effect on her. Her long indigo floated behind her. She smiled and welcomed the warming feeling the water gave her. Hinata felt so safe and home in the lake it seemed to wash way all the bad memories and negative thoughts that plagued her mind. She allowed chakra to move to her feet. Standing on water would have once been a surreal experience but now normality. Not only standing but dancing; moving fluid on the water's surface was second nature.
And her dance began. She moved, glided gracefully on the surface. Her dance made the most elegant of swans look like dying hens. Her dance was, so graceful, so beautiful, so natural and breath taking. She continued flawlessly. She smiled radiantly and the lake seemed to shin brighter to compliment her angelic face. Her chakra enlaced the water, making it dance around her in sync with her movements. Then, somewhere in the darkness to the left of Hinata, there was a noise. It was the sound of someone shifting their weight in the trees. Some one watching her.
Hinata plunged into the water. The magical and beauty, gone. She looked up form under the water. The moon looking like silvery ripples. She swam upward until her head broke the surface of the water. She looked around surveying the woods. She felt the urge to kick herself for leaving her weapons attached to her pants leg. She looked around again. Swallowing the fear she had first felt. Darkness, no movement. Everything looked completely normal. She exhaled loudly, choosing not activate her Byakugan. She cautiously walked out the water. Who or whatever was here was gone. She gathered her clothes in her arms. The sandals fell to the ground as she stood up. She sighed and stared at the shoe with loath. She bent over the pick up the sandal. Sudden, Hinata felt it. Hinata felt a spike of chakra. Chakra that was defiantly not her own.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Hinata jumped back with acute precision, her dark hair flying. She automatically threw a kunai up into the tree where she had felt this spike. She eyes darted up into the tree to her target. What she saw there knocked the air out of her lungs, frozen her body in blind fear. Above her, staring down with chilling turquoise eyes was the man from her nightmares, her one persistent fear. Gaara of the sand.
Hinata gasped and her mouth hung open.
"No way this is real, now way, now way." She thought franticly to herself. She blinked hard hoping the terrifying vision would disappear. She hoped and hoped and hoped that he was gone. Her eyes fluttered open. The red hair man was still there. Hinata had faced death and disease; destruction and emotional turmoil, but nothing had ever shaken her more than coming face to face with the man from every one of her nightmares.
Gaara stared at her with out any movement. Hinata felt as if she was going to cry. Fear had wiped all sense from her. Again she blinked. He was gone. She stood locked in place. The tension of the few seconds of her encounter seemed like hours. She finally slowly sank to he knees. The woods no longer had the calming effect it had when she arrived. It held an eerie atmosphere the chilled her to her bones. She became vaguely aware that it was probably the fact that she was naked. She jumped up, wide eyed and scrambled into her clothing. She sat on the ground, stunned.
"Oh, m-my g-gosh." She ran her hand through her damp hair.
"Did I-I just see G-Gaara, f-for real?" she muttered to herself as she got up. Sighing, she turned to leave and was grabbed at the shoulders by two strong male hands. Hinata screamed.
In the heart of the village
Tsunade slouched at her desk swamped by tons of paperwork. She scribble untidily on a document and paused. Her head nodded forward with fatigue and she started snoring lightly.
"…Excuse me," a deep voice called from the front of her desk. Tsunade woke with a snort.
"Hey wise ass," she started groggily, "What the hell do you think you doing in my office this time of morn…" she trailed off as she looked up into the face of the handsome man in front of her. She smiled up at him with a plastic smile.
"Why, my lord, what brings you took this fine village?" she asked sweetly.
"Let us not waste time with false pleasantries Tsunade," he said bluntly, wiping the smile off her face.
I need some of your best shinobi to come to Suna with in two days to assist the training of young ninja from my village."
Tsunade grinned again and picked up and every present glass of sake.
"Does Konaha get something out of this?" she asked with a smirk.
The man sighed and pressed his eyebrows together.
"You realize I am not an idiot?" He got up from the seat he had taken in front her desk and paced, "of course you're getting something out of this. Why what better was to train you shinobi than to have them teach themselves?"
Tsunade look over him with raised eyebrows.
"I'm not buying it but what ever it takes to get Naruto out of my hair. Alright deal kiddo." She stuck out her hand, the effects of the sake obviously now beginning to kick in.
Her visitor rolled his eyes and shook her hand disdainfully.
"Alright," Tsunade said with renewed energy,
"Well here is what I've got for you right now, the best new jonin I have. All pretty young, around your age I think." She laid several folders on the table. The man took them up and looked through them quickly, lingering on one.
"The Hyuga?" he questioned, pointing to the small picture of a beautiful indigo haired girl.
"Well, ya!" Tsunade rolled her eyes, "She is one of my best healers, taught herself she did, the talented." She laughed loudly. The man's eye twitched, visibly turned off by the Hokage's behavior.
"Well thank you, I will be expecting them in 2 days." He bowed and made his way to the door.
"Hell I could get them to you tomorrow, I swear!" Tsunade yelled
"…I'll keep you to that." He replied and disappeared out the door.
"Buh bye Gaara," Tsunade giggled and finally succumbed to the alcohol.
The Lake
Hinata pushed her capturer franticly and drew back her arm to attack. She pushed forward her chakra encased palm to the person's chest. One hit would kill him.
"Oh God Hinata, what the hell are you doing?" Neji caught her by the wrist before she could hit him.
"N-Neji?" Hinata stared up into her cousin's face. "Oh! I-I'm so s-sorry. I-I thought y-you were s-someone else." She pulled her wrist out of his grip.
"Hinata, what the hell are you doing out here, what demented you to leave the house at these kind of hours?" Neji yelled clearly absolutely pissed off at his younger cousin.
"I-I am s-sor-,"
"Oh trust me Hinata, you're not sorry yet. I will have to tell your father" Neji raged. Hinata's face drained of the little colour that was originally there.
"N-No! P-Please Neji-san. I'm so s-sorry. It will n-not happen again." Hinata's eyes brimmed with tears. Neji looked at her, anger still burning in his eyes. He sighed and smiled in resignation, his eyes softened as he wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Hina-chan, relax I'm not a rat," he embraced the weeping girl in his strong arms, "But do it again and I swear I'm going to pop a vein." He teased while rubbing the small of her back. Hinata started giggling into his white shirt. He laughed also and released her. Then something she had said before struck him.
"Who exactly did you think I was?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"W-What?" Hinata looked at him wide eyed.
"You said you thought I was someone else, who was it?"
Hinata looked at her cousin hesitantly.
"…Um…no one." Her gaze dropped.
"Are you certain?" Neji studied her face.
"Y-yep you just surprised me." Hinata looked up with a smile. "What time is it?"
"Well when I came after you it was 7:40 took me 30 mins to get here and I just blew a couple more minutes lecturing you so I would say about 8:15." Neji quickly rattled off maths.
"Oh my g-goodness, H-Hinabi, father I-I didn't make anything and there b-both off by n-now! They m-must have starved!" Hinata exclaimed panic clear in her voice. "C-Come on, we have to g-go; m-maybe if w-we hurry I-I can g-get them s-something decent." Hinata grabbed Neji's arm and pulled him.
"Hina-chan don't worry I made them something." Neji flashed her an angelic smile.
"W-What!?" Hinata said with wide eyes. Neji frowned.
"All I did was give them some Anko, rice and tea, chill I didn't actually cook anything just warmed it up." Neji said slightly insulted at what she was implying.
"O-Oh, I-I'm sorry I-I d-didn't mean anything." Hinata sighed. Her stomach made a funny noise, rumbling and squelching. Neji laughed and revealed a package from behind his back. Hinata sat on the ground again and ripped open the paper. Food! Oh she was famished; rice and tea never looked so good!
Hinata plopped to the ground and crossed her legs. She pulled out the rice and devoured it in a matter of seconds and drained the tea. Neji sat next her smiling. Hinata looked at him with question in her eyes since her mouth was already full.
"Adorable." He laughed and handed her another bowl.
"More rice?" Hinata attempted to say only it came out as "Mo wi?" Neji laughed even louder at Hinata. Her cheeks lit up a fantastic red as she sheepishly uncovered the bowl. Finally clearing her mouth Hinata cried "Anko!" and stuffed the sweet bean paste in her mouth. Neji just stared in amazement as the tiny girl gaffed down the food. Hinata washed it back with the tea and laid back and gazed at the sky which was now a brilliant light but covered with gray clouds.
"I-I guess w-we have go t-train now." Hinata sighed, sitting up."
"Nope," Neji, who was now lying on his back grabbed Hinata and pulled her down so her head was on his chest.
"B-But father will be u-upset." She replied, unwilling to leave his warm chest.
"Today we're going to hang out, relax."
Hinata shot up at what Neji said and looked at him like he grew another head.
"W-What? N-Neji-san are you alright?" Hinata asked particularly concerned.
"Of course I alright, any how I've arranged to meet the guys on the hill soon so let's go." Neji got to his feet and offered his hand to Hinata. Hinata got up with Neji's assistance and looked down at her clothes, a mesh shirt, leggings and sandals was really not suitable for the weather.
"Oh yeah forget about that." Neji produced her lilac jacket and black pants from in his white jacket.
"T-Thanks." Hinata took the clothes and slip them on over her under clothing, not even bothering to ask why Neji was in her stuff in the first place.
"Ok, let's go." Neji said as he leapt in a tree, Hinata right behind him and took off towards the rendezvous point for their friends.
Hokage Hill
Naruto stared at the sky in day dream with Ino at his side braiding winter flowers in to her blonde mane. He could vaguely hear Kiba, Shino and Shikamaru goofing off somewhere behind him. He sat up at looked behind him at his friends. Shikamaru was actually running behind Kiba with snowballs in hand and Ten Ten, who he hadn't noticed before was throwing at them with scary accuracy while Shino carefully sculpted the balls.
"Hey save some that for me, guys!" Naruto jogged up to Ten Ten and Shino with a big grin gracing his foxy face.
"So where do you want me?" he asked like they had called him. The two other shinobi exchanged glances and grinned at Naruto mischievously.
"Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be good?" Naruto said to himself just as an on slot of snowballs were thrown at him. He collapsed on to the snow laughing loudly. He saw a shadow fall on to him and look over to the person casting it. Neji. Had his hair gotten longer? Man what's up with that? He has woman hair. These thoughts rushed through Naruto's mind before he saw Hinata. Her dark hair was well past her waist and what a defined waist she had. If Naruto was a pervert he would have peeped on her. But he wasn't. So he wouldn't. Or so he says. Hinata's eyes were surrounded with long dark lashed that made her eyes stand out and her normally pale cheeks were flushed a little pink from the cold. Hinata caught Naruto staring and wave meekly. Naruto waved back dumbfounded. Hinata's gaze drifted away from Naruto and went to her friends. Her face broke out with a radiant smile and she ran some where behind Naruto. He sat idiotically in the snow for a while before he realized he was the only ass not having fun in the winter wonderland around them. He jumped up and ran to join the fun and laughs.
After a while the eight teens collapsed into a giggling heap on the ground. Head to head, they shared each other's warmth as they chatted excitedly. Suddenly they hear a girl shouting. Not in fright or horror but excitement. The cries were from someone familiar. They each sat up to see a pink haired girl run up the hill towards them. Sakura, of course. Naruto waved to her as she came closer. She slowed to a stop and dropped to her knees in front of them. Breathing heavily and smiling ear to ear, Sakura tried to speak but wasn't able because of the cold and fatigue. After a few seconds she blurted out in a loud, bubbly voice,
"We've got a mission. An A rank mission!"