A/N: School kept me quite busy but here's chapter two, finally! Reviews are welcome, as always! And as I said before, I don't own Naruto. If I did, I would totally skip school and write all the time, then I could update every day xD

Chapter 2 Ultimatum

Some bubbles reached the surface of the water. But even after a few minutes the person hadn't come out of the water again. I decided that he must be unconscious and that I had to rescue him. It might still be a trap but that was a risk I had to take. I left my hiding place, ran to the little lake and knelt beside the bank to take a look into the water. That dark shade over there must be the person I was looking for. I dived into the water, grabbed him under his arms and pulled him lifeguard style to the bank. I noticed at once that he didn't fake his unconsciousness. He was pale and barely breathing. To be sure that he was still alive I lifted his limp hand and felt for his pulse. Somehow, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that all this was my fault even though I had no idea how I could possibly have caused him to pass out.

A red glow illuminated his pale skin. And mine, as well. Astonished, I looked up at the sky and realized that the sun was about to set, painting the clouds and the treetops red and sending orange beams through the leaves. "It's already evening?" I thought "I'd... I'd better think of a way to wake this guy up so we can return to the village in time."

I took another look at the unconscious boy. I was pretty sure by now that he was from konoha. He seemed to be my age, maybe a little older. He was dressed in black shorts, a dark blue shirt with a big, wide collar and white cuffs. The red sunlight caused dark violet reflections on his raven black hair which was spiky despite the water still dripping from it. He would definitely be called handsome by girls like loud Sakura and Ino. My thoughts flicked to Naruto for second and I ended up in a blush... He would know what to do in a situation like this. Or, if he didn't, he would just pack this person on his back and carry him to the village without wasting too many thoughts on the whole thing. But that was impossible for me. A Hyuuga didn't simply rescue random people, carry them around when they where unconscious, and lay them on Hokage-sama's desk. And I was the HEIR to the Hyuuga clan! On the other hand, I couldn't go and get some help either, because it was too dangerous for any unconscious person to be left guardless in a place so far away from the safe village.

So my only chance was to wait until he woke up. Couldn't take him too long, could it? I sat down beside him and leaned my back against a rock. Gradually, the sky turned dark blue and the air became colder. And I still sat there and shivered from the cold... and the embarrassment. Because I knew I had to force myself to shake him so he would finally regain consciousness. But instead, I found myself not willing to touch any unfamiliar person, as usual. "Come on, you are the only person who could make a drama out of it" the voice in the back of my head complained. Slowly and hesitating, I reached out for his shoulder, nudged him lightly and then pulled back my hand instantly. Of course he didn't stir, he probably didn't even feel it.

It took me quite an effort to touch his shoulder again, shaking him a little. Doing so, I noticed a strange, dark spot on his neck which evoked my curiosity. He still didn't wake up, so I thought it was safe to check what it was. I pulled down the collar and a mark that looked like three commas with a circular seal around them caught my eye. Almost automatically my Byakugan activated and I sensed a disturbance of the normal chakra flow that was caused by this strange mark.

"Maybe it would help him if I released the seal" I wondered "But... but who knows why he has this seal. It might be very important..." Whatever it was, it seemed to hurt. The skin around it was reddish and sore. My caring side took over and I pulled a little jar of ointment out of my pocket to treat the wound. My fingers had hardly touched the skin with the mark when I suddenly felt my wrist being grabbed violently and I was dashed to the ground. A hand around my neck nearly choked me which made me unable to defend myself if I didn't want to suffocate. But I couldn't have moved anyway because the whirling red eyes paralyzed me in fear again even though I averted my gaze as fast as I could this time.

"Hyuuga Hinata" the boy said in a deep, hostile voice which matched his eyes. "If you tell ANY person about this thing on my neck, I will definitely kill you." I couldn't breathe or say anything because he still choked me. Instead, I was shocked so much (because he had woken up so suddenly, because of his burning eyes and because of his threat) that tears filled my eyes and started to run down my cheeks. The boy turned around and walked away while I gasped for breath. He added: "And if you keep me from training ever again, I'll make sure that you'll regret it!" The last thing I saw befor he vanished into the wood was the family emblem on the back of his shirt: Uchiha. Suddenly I couldn't restrain the tears any longer and I covered my face with my shaking hands.

.oOo.

"HYUUGA HINATA!!!" my furious father roared at me. He was looming over me with his arms akimbo. "G...gomenasai" I whispered in a barely audible voice and bowed as low as I could, sitting on my knees. Another tear fell on my kimono and left a little, wet stain. "I ordered you not to be late!!! Where have you been?" he screamed. "T...training..." was all I could manage to whisper. "Speak up! You are a shame to my family!!!" He slapped me so hard in the face that I fell. "I.. have b... been training" I said a little louder and clearer which made the shaking of my voice even more obvious and I bit my lip in self-contempt. "Training, is that so?! Then I will test your progress in exactly one week! And now, get out of my sight!"

A/N: Alesha: Damn, that Hyuuga Hiashi is in a bad mood, isn't he? But honestly, I can really imagine him treating Hinata-san like that...

Sasuke-kun: You still didn't explain why I fell into the water!

Alesha: That's right. You have to wait a little longer.

Sasuke-kun: I don't have enough time to wait!!! I want to kill a certain person!