Here is the second chapter of this story, which I finished a little sooner than I planned. The next chapter might take me a week and a half to complete, though, since it's going to be hectic for me. But we'll see, I guess. And for the record, even though I like HidaHina, this story does not involve that pairing. Went NaruHina this time, and that is how I intend to keep it ^_^

Game of Death

Chapter 2

Naruto looked at his surroundings, hearing the gate lock shut behind him. He scanned the area cautiously, noting that he didn't see anyone else. They would be close, however. Is this really happening? Are we really being forced to kill each other off? He tugged at his collar with irritation, constantly looking around to make sure no one could sneak up on him. He didn't trust those other students, and the last thing he wanted was to be attacked while his guard was down. It then dawned to him that he might have something useful and that damn backpack he'd taken, and he quickly rummaged through it. To his dismay, other than the food, water, map, and compass, the only item left in the bag was a black, cloth headband.

"This is it? Damn, I got screwed," he muttered to himself, annoyed that he was without anything actually useful for protection. Or killing, for that matter. I could always steal one from someone else, but then that would mean that I'd have to- Naruto prevented himself from finishing that chilling thought. Instead, he tied the headband around his forehead, figuring that if nothing else, the stupid thing could keep any sweat out of his eyes. It was still rather warm out, after all.

Naruto briefly looked over the map, though it didn't prove to be of much use to him. He didn't even know where the hell he was, much less where to find anyone else for that matter. All he could do now was just wander around until he found Hinata, hopefully without getting attacked in the process. He knew that his friends would never do such a thing, but those other students...he wouldn't put anything past them. Especially that silver-haired guy, Hidan.

Quit screwing around, he mentally chastised himself as he stuffed the map into his back pocket. He didn't even bother with the compass, knowing it wouldn't exactly direct him to Hinata or his other friends for that matter. Without any further delay, Naruto set off deeper into the gaming area, which gradually grew thicker with trees as it transitioned into a forest. It would be more difficult for him to find anyone, but at the same time, it would be harder for anyone else to find him. Or so he hoped.

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Hinata could practically hear her own heartbeat pounding away in her chest in a terrified frenzy. Unlike Naruto, she'd received an item that was actually helpful. She tightly clutched the handle of the butterfly knife, her hand trembling. It disturbed her to think that she'd might have to use it on someone. Six hours. We have six hours to kill each other off... She shuddered, gripping the knife even harder. I don't think I could do it. I really don't think I can bring myself to kill anyone...

The indigo-haired girl warily scanned the area, hoping to catch a glimpse of one of her friends. Where was everyone? Hinata suddenly stiffened, noticing movement from the corner of her eye. However, before she had time to react, she felt a cold blade press up against the side of her neck. She held her breath, too petrified to move.

"Well, look who I found. Lucky me," a male growled from behind her.

Hinata felt her blood run cold as she recognized Hidan's voice. The Akatsuki student was holding what appeared to be a short-handled sickle against her neck.

"I noticed that you've got yourself a nice little blade," Hidan mused. "Unfortunately mine's bigger, so I wouldn't go try using it. I'll slit your throat before you even get the chance to move."

Hinata whimpered softly, her entire body trembling. She was still gripping the knife, but couldn't find the strength to do anything. Even if she could, Hidan already stated that he'd kill her the moment she moved. All she could do was stand there and pray he did it quickly.

"I'm not gonna lie; this sickle right here wasn't mine to begin with," he told her as he forced her down onto the ground. This caused Hinata to snap out of her daze and she tried to slash at him with her knife.

"No!" she exclaimed as he forcefully locked both of her wrists in one of his hands.

"That was a cute attempt," he quipped, pinning her arms above her head as he crouched down over her much smaller form. "Makes it that much more thrilling." He squeezed her wrists harshly in his vice-grip, causing her to cry out and let go of her knife. It landed softly on the ground in a patch of grass.

Hinata winced as she felt the tip of his sickle lightly press against the side of her face, just centimeters away from her left eye.

"As I was saying before, this nice toy I have here wasn't actually mine to begin with. I originally had a stupid fucking umbrella, which is not the greatest object to use to kill someone," Hidan continued. "But I killed the girl who had this and took it from her."

She gazed up at him with horror. "Y-you killed someone? Who?"

"Ah, I really don't remember her fucking name. All I know is that she had the same uniform as you, so I'm assuming that she was one of your friends. All I had to do was sneak up behind her and snap her neck like a fucking twig," the silver-haired male boasted. "And I plan on killing you as well." The blade traveled down her cheek lightly enough where it didn't cut into her. It stopped right at her throat, the point hardly making contact with that tender spot. "But not yet. I have something special in mind for you later."

Hinata watched with disbelief as he got off of her and took a step back. "W-what...?"

"If I were you, I'd get the hell outta here and run. Do it before I change my fucking mind and slaughter you right now. You have ten seconds," he warned her.

The girl frantically grabbed hold of her knife and scrambled up when she heard him begin to count backwards from ten. She took off in a sprint, peering over her shoulder to make sure he wasn't coming after her. Hidan remained in his spot, but the malicious grin on his face sent a shiver down Hinata's spine as she continued to run.

"Don't fucking die in the meantime!" he called after her as the distance between them increased. Within the seconds Hinata was completely out of sight and, for now, out of immediate danger. "Because I plan on carving that sweet little body up so slowly that you'll be wishing that I killed you earlier..."

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"Where the hell is everyone?" Naruto wondered aloud. "This is starting to kind of freak me out." So far he hadn't come across a single person, which was more than a little unnerving. Sure, he didn't want to get attacked by any of those mentally unstable students, but being alone was making him that much more apprehensive. He wanted to find someone. Anyone at this point.

"Naruto?"

The blond male abruptly spun around upon hearing his name spoken, nearly falling over himself. "Oh, Sai! Damn, I glad to see you," he sighed with relief as he recognized his classmate.

"I wasn't expecting to bump into you," the raven-haired boy responded. "But I guess it could be worse."

Naruto bristled at the implied insult. "Hey, what the hell do you mean by that?"

"I'm looking for Ino," Sai continued, changing the subject. "Are you searching for anyone in particular?"

"Yeah, I am," Naruto admitted with concern. "I'm trying to find Hinata. You haven't seen her, have you?"

Sai shook his head. "You're the first person I've run into so far. But if you don't mind, I really need to find Ino, so if you'll excuse me." With that, he began to walk away.

Naruto took a step forward to stop the other teen. "Hey, wait a minute! Don't you think it'll be smarter and safer if we stick together? We can both look for Hinata and Ino and-"

"I highly doubt that Ino and Hinata are together. We're better off going our separate ways," Sai told him before taking off in a much quicker pace.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Naruto deadpanned, then huffed with irritation when he noticed the item that Sai was holding. "Hey, why the hell did he get a crossbow and I only got a damn headband!? That's messed up!"

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Hinata ran until she thought her lungs were going to explode and she leaned on a nearby tree for support. She looked around frantically to make sure Hidan hadn't followed her, fearful that he'd plan on attacking her while she had her guard down. He was nowhere in sight, but that didn't make her feel any better. Even if he isn't here, he said that he'd finish me off later... And that was if someone else hadn't killed her first. She choked back a sob, tightly clutching onto her butterfly knife as she struggled not to break down. Having a meltdown wasn't going to fix her situation and would only make things worse. She had to remain as calm as she could, no matter what.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata continued on her way through the winding forest, her lavender eyes scanning the area with caution. Her hand trembled slightly, aware of her paranoia gradually increasing. She desperately wished she could find Naruto. Or anyone else for that matter. Well, anyone but Hidan. In her state of distraction, she didn't notice the other girl until they'd almost bumped into each other. They both jumped back with a yelp, startled by one another.

"Shion," Hinata gasped as she recognized her classmate.

"Oh, Hinata, I didn't even see you coming," the blonde female replied, clearly flustered. "This whole thing is messing with my head and I can't think straight. I'm about two seconds away from having a panic attack."

Hinata nodded grimly. "I know exactly how you feel. I already ran into Hidan and I thought he was going to kill me. He told me that he's already killed one of our friends. B-but I don't know who."

Shion's eyes widened with shock. "You're kidding, right?"

"I don't want to believe it, but..." The indigo-haired girl trailed off as tears welled in her eyes.

"So how did you get away then?" Shion questioned, clearly puzzled.

Hinata swallowed the lump in her throat. "He let me go. He told me that he has something special in mind for me later. I...I don't even want to know what."

"In that case, we should stick together. I think it'll be safer in case someone attacks us. Two is better than one, right? Unfortunately all I have to work with is this piece of rope," Shion remarked with a disappointed sigh. "I hope you made out better than I did."

Hinata showed her the small butterfly knife in her possession. "It's not very big, but it's pretty sharp."

The blonde girl shrugged nonchalantly. "Better than what I have. Let's get going."

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"Hey, Shikamaru!" Immediately recognizing the voice that had called his name, Shikamaru spun around to find Temari rushing towards him. "Temari!" He pulled her into a hug as soon as she reached him, holding her close. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. We're lucky that we found each other," Temari said, pulling back slightly. "I still can't believe this is happening. Madara's completely lost it!"

Shikamaru nodded gravely. "It's hard for me to swallow, too. I knew he was shady, but I never expected him to pull anything like this. It's completely insane."

"What are we going to do? All hell is going to break lose and we're going to get caught up in it if we're not smart. But then again, even if we do hide, the collars will detonate after six hours," the blonde pointed out with dismay.

"Hold on a sec..." The ponytailed male squinted as something in the distance caught his eye. "Temari...do you see that?" He took out a pair of binoculars, which was the special item he'd received in his backpack.

Puzzled, Temari gazed towards the direction that he was focused on. "Is that what I think it is?"

"It looks like an old shack of some sort," Shikamaru murmured. "Maybe there's something useful inside. Let's go look."

The two teens carefully made their way over towards the shack, making sure to keep a lookout for anyone that could be lurking around. The small hut appeared to be rather old and was steadily decaying with wood rot. However, the door was unlocked and allowed the couple access to the inside.

"I sure hope this place has something that might help us," Temari mumbled. "Madara wasn't joking when he said that one of use might get a paper fan." She held it up with contempt. "I doubt I can protect myself with something like this."

The hut contained what used to be a kitchen, a filthy bathroom, and some type of bedroom or living room. Although the shack was mostly empty, it contained a few miscellaneous items that didn't seem to be of much help. However, there was a single object in the living room area that caught both of their attention.

"There's a computer here," Shikamaru mumbled with shock. "I wonder if it works."

"I doubt there's any power here," Temari pointed out as she looked around with disgust. "But we might as well look around to see if there's something that connects to a power source."

Shikamaru walked up to the computer, the wheels in his head spinning as an idea began to conduct itself. "If I can get this thing to work, maybe, just maybe, I can find a way to..."

"Find away to what?"

"If I can get this to work and somehow hack into the system that Madara is controlling, there might be a way for me to disable these collars," he told her.

Temari gaped at him. "But that's crazy. There's no way that we can get this old thing running well enough for you to do something like that. Besides, how are you going to hack into the system just like that? It's impossible."

"I won't know until I try."

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"Is this some sort of cruel joke?" Chouji muttered to himself as he incredulously stared at the item he'd received. "What the hell am I supposed to do with just a fork? Stab someone in the eye with it?" He shuddered with disgust at the thought, trying to discard the image from his mind. "What else is in this bag anyway?" After rummaging through its contents, his face lit up when he noticed the small bundle of food. "Oh, yeah, I forgot that we got some food and water. At least that's something useful..." He wasted no time tearing the package open, figuring that he might as well eat now to keep his strength up.

"Only crazy people talk to themselves like that, ya know."

Chouji jumped in surprise and whirled around just in time for the blade of Hidan's sickle to pierce through his stomach. He gaped at the older male with shock, the rations of food dropping onto the ground. Blood dribbled down the corners of his mouth and he numbly looked down to see the blade buried in his torso.

"If it makes you feel any better, I talk to myself all the fucking time," Hidan remarked with a laugh, then brutally tore his sickle out of Chouji, drenching them both with blood. He watched with glee as the younger teen fell to his knees, gagging and coughing up blood.

Chouji held his hand over his gushing wound, then toppled over onto his side in a growing puddle of blood.

"Sorry, Fat Ass, but I don't plan on dying in this shit hole."

Shaking and shuddering, the brunette felt blood spurt through his fingers as he let out another choked cough. Seconds later he went still and his hand fell from his wound as he succumbed to his injury.

"Two down." Hidan smirked with satisfaction as he wandered off, leaving behind Chouji's corpse. "Only twenty-two left to go."

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"I wonder if anyone is down this way," Hinata murmured, her eyes narrowed as she tried to get a clearer look. The forest had become much less dense, so it would be easier to spot someone.

Shion shifted from one foot to the other anxiously. "I don't know. Let's keep looking." She waited for Hinata to start walking again and followed her, purposely lagging behind just a bit. Her eyes locked onto the butterfly knife that was clutched in the other girl's hand. She was angry about that. While she had been given a useless piece of rope, Hinata had been lucky enough to receive an actual weapon. It's not fair! If I have any hope of surviving this this stupid thing then I'm going to need something like that. She doubted that Hinata would willingly hand if over, however, as she would need it to protect herself. All but one are going to die anyway, Shion reasoned with herself. She looked down at the rope she was holding, suddenly coming up with an idea.

Hinata paused for a moment, stopping dead in her tracks. She thought that maybe if she waited and listened for a few seconds, maybe they might hear someone. It was then that Shion took that opportunity to lunge towards the unsuspecting Hyuga and attack her from behind. The rope, which she'd formed into a noose, went down over Hinata's head and around her neck right above her collar. Startled by the assault, Hinata's grip on the knife faltered and she was yanked backward by Shion, the noose tight around her throat. She frantically tried to resist, using her fingers to try to loosen the rope.

"Sorry, but I need that knife," Shion told her with a small demented smile as she tried to yank her to the ground.

Hinata resisted, but found it futile to loosen the noose as long as the blonde girl had a grip on it. She then grabbed onto the rope with both hands, intending to rip it out of Shion's grasp.

Shion glowered at her, furious that Hinata wasn't going down as easily as she'd anticipated. If anything, Hinata was starting to gain the upper hand as she started to pull the rope from Shion's hold. "Why, you-!" Shion rushed forward and tackled Hinata to the ground, trying to pin her down while continuing to strangle her.

Hinata gasped breathlessly, her supply of oxygen completely cut off. She continued to struggle for several seconds, unable to reach the knife she'd dropped onto the ground. I can't get it! she thought to herself with a panic.

"Stop struggling already," Shion snarled, taking advantage of Hinata's weakened state by looping extra slack on the rope around her throat a second time.

Squirming desperately, Hinata managed to roll over onto her stomach, trying to wrench herself free from her crazed classmate's assault. Her vision began to blur and Shion pulled the rope even tighter as she forced Hinata up onto her knees.

"Damn, you're persistent," the blonde growled, irritated that Hinata hadn't passed out yet.

Hinata once again attempted to tug at the tight noose, unable to even budge it. It chafed into her soft skin, brushing up against the metal collar. Blurred vision soon distorted into colored spots and Hinata could feel herself growing more and more light-headed. The pressure from the strangulation sent an agonizing pain into her skull, making it feel as though it was about to be crushed. The colored spots soon began to fade into darkness and her arms fell limply to her sides.

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"I can't believe Sai just ran off like that," Naruto complained to himself. "It would've been a hell of a lot smarter if he'd just-" He cut himself off as a strange noise reached his ears. It sounded like a female muttering something. "Someone else is around here?" Elated, he rushed off towards the voice, glad that he'd finally found someone else. However, his glee immediately turned into horror as he made a chilling discovery.

"Come on, die already!" Shion hissed maliciously.

Hinata was on her knees, a noose around her neck and her head slumped down. She appeared to be unconscious, but Shion did not let her fall to the ground as she continued to choke her. It was then that Naruto realized that Shion was going for the kill. The fact that they were classmates made it that much more disturbing.

Naruto felt himself overcome with intense rage and he rushed forward to intervene. Hitting a girl was one of the last things he'd ever wanted to do, but at that particular point in time, none of that mattered. He swung his fist directly at Shion's head, effectively knocking her out and sending her to the ground.

With the rope no longer in Shion's grasp, Hinata slumped forward, her body limp. In a panic, Naruto quickly knelt down beside her and turned her over, unwrapping the rope from her throat as he did so. He pulled the noose away and tossed it aside, noticing the rope burns that marred her neck.

"Hinata!" Naruto lightly shook her, his mind in a complete frenzy. His fingers fumbled to her neck as he tried to feel a pulse, praying that he wasn't too late. He found one, but it was so faint that he hardly felt it at all. "Hinata, wake up! Come on! Hinata!"

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Sasuke growled softly as he trudged through the forests, getting more and more irritated as the minutes passed. The only person he'd actually run into since this 'game' started was a hysterical red-haired girl with glasses. He couldn't remember her name, and he honestly didn't care. All that mattered to him was finding Sakura. The redhead had more or less begged him to protect her, but the last thing he needed was some random girl slowing him down. Why the hell should he care about some complete stranger in the first place?

I'll find Sakura and then we'll figure out a way to get out of here, one way or another. No way in hell am I going to allow us to die in this place, he bitterly thought to himself.

So Chouji and Hinata both had a rough start, and things are only going to get worse. I understand that this chapter only focused on a few people, but seriously, there's 25 that I had to work with and I couldn't incorporate every single person in one chapter. There will be more characters in the spotlight in the next chapter. Anyway, pretend that you liked it and leave me a review. Next chapter will be out in a week or so.