A/N: Gah!!! Gomen for the last chapter being sooo short... I didn't have a long time to write it.. sadly... and I was hoping I could make this chapter longer so that's what I'll aim for! nods And yeah sorry for it seeming like it ended so quickly... . ;; But yes, blame it all on the cursed cousins points to all 9 They never give me ATLEAST five minutes of peace ------ But anyways,

Enjoy!

((And Arigotu for the reviews guys!))


It was almost noon, the sun high and bright in the sky. The three shnobi were pretty cool, thanks to all of the trees from the forest blocking the hot rays. Sunlight was shining through the tree branches and leaves, spraying warmness on them every so often. You could hear the animals of the forest full of life. Birds singing happily, rabbits and small fox running around. A small smile crossed Hinata's lips as she looked around at the beauty of her land. The land that she belonged to and longed that she wasn't leaving it. Why did her team have to get picked? Why couldn't Sasuke's team go or Ino's? Why them? She sighed, letting her mind wonder to the wonderful sights that she'd get to see on the way.

Kiba was infront, leading the group while Shino was not to far behind Kiba, making Hinata fall behind the back. Every so often Kiba would look back, making sure Hinata was ok. And she'd just smile back saying "I'm all right." Shino never said much, but every so often you'd see him crack a smile. Oh. My. God. The world's gonna end soon. Hinata never seen Shino smile but she guessed it was something about the forest that made him happy. Maybe the bugs. Looking around once more, she saw many of the animals with more of it's type. Family and friends she assumed.

'They all have some one around them.. Some one with them..'

Which was true. Normally everyone had someone around them. Wether it was family, a friend, or a lover, they all had someone. People seemed to always have company around them. Hinata didn't mind Kiba and Shino as her company but they never said much, and usually if it was Kiba he was complaining about something. Shino, she was still surprised that he'd smile. And Akumaru, well, a dog. Not much conversation there now is there? Hell, she even liked Neji's company when normally when he talked he was complaining about something she did wrong. Even Ino or Sakura's company would be good at the moment. Even though all they'd talk about is Sasuke, at least it was another girl. But they weren't there. They were all back in Kohana. Where she really wanted to be. Sighing, she closed her eyes for a moment.

"Hinata. Are you alright?", asked Kiba, stopping and looking back.

"Hai Kiba-san. I'm fine..."

"Well you don't seem like it.."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, giving him a soft stare,"Kiba. I'm fine.."

Nodding Kiba turned around and continued walked. Shino didn't stop so he was ahead of them. Kiba soon caught up to him while Hinata resumed her spot at the back of the group. She looked up at the sky, seeing the sun was over head now. It was noon. They were told it would be about two days to five days to get there. Depending on how fast they moved, if no interuptions happened, and how much the rested. Which knowing Kiba, he'd want to get there soon. Much sooner they get there, the less they have to stay traveling.Up ahead there was a small clearing where the sun hit, warming the ground.

"We'll take a break up ahead..", Kiba yelled back.

Shino didn't say anything but Hinata nodded, not like Kiba had eyes in the back of his head. She was happy that they were going to take a break, they had been walking for a couple of hours. Her legs didn't hurt but she just wanted to sit and look around, time to take in her surroundings. When they reached the clearing, Hinata set her things by a tree as she sat down, leaning agaist the tree. Looking up, it was a tall tree. Branches didn't start forming until about half way up the tree. There was some small nests in the tree, birds sitting in them. Hinata smiled, seeing and hearing the baby words. Now looking back down, she looked over at Kiba who was sitting on a rock, taking a sip of water while Shino was standing in the shade with is backpack on his back.

Sighing slightly, she closed her eyes, letting her ears have a chance to listen. When it was all quite she could hear things better. One of the songs a bird was singing reminded her of a lullabuy song that she had heard some one singing. Kiba then stood up.

"Lets go.. We'll keep traveling until the sun goes down..."

Hinata opened her eyes, slightly nodding. She stood up, getting her things once more and walked forward. This time she was in the middle of the group while Shino was in the back.

Just.. a little bit longer.. then we'll be in Suna...


After about a days travel, they didn't stop and rest that much, they were only about a couple hours to a day away from Suna. The dense trees of the forest were long gone, the three shnobi unprotected from the bright sun. The sun was beating down on them, making sweat fall and roll off of their bodies. Hinata had taken her jacket off, only having on a black tank top and a long sleeved fishnet shirt over that. Kiba had a tee shirt on while Shino didn't change. How he could stand the heat who knew. Most of their water supply was gone since they drank some every so often to stay hydrated in the heat.

Sand. That was all there was. Sand. Sand. Hey look a lizard! Oh and did I mention some sand? There wasn't much but every so often you'd see a small lizard or another dessert animal run by. Even though it was sand, it was beautiful to Hinata. There were different shades all mixed together like one huge quilt. Some made designs while others didn't. Every so often she'd crack a smile at it's beauty, but soon it'd go away. She coughed lightly, placing her hand over her throat.

"Hinata. Are you ok?", Kiba asked from behind her.

She nodded lightly and grabbed her water bottle, taking a small sip of it. It had cooled her once dry and scratchy throat. Hinata wondered how Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro could live in this weather, much less the village of Suna. But I guess they'd ask the same thing about Kohana. Humans adapted to their surroundings. That's what made them different from animals. Animals would just die off if their needs couldn't be met. No. Humans had technology that could provide their needs. Wishing there was some shade, Hinata coughed once more, just harder this time. She stumbled slightly, but caught her self before she hit the ground. Hot and soft. That's all that would register in her mind as she landed on the sand.

"Hinata!"

She heard some one yell, and two figures running towards her. She tried focusing her eye sight, but it wouldn't work. Everything seemed to run together. Soon enough, it was black. Pitch black.

"Hinata!.. Come on.. Hinata.. Can you hear me... HINATA!"