A/N: Here is chapter four! Sorry for not having it up sooner! I tend to get distracted with YouTube,Facebook and Spotify XP. Not sure how long it'll be before I have the next chapter up. I haven't even written it yet, so we'll see. I have an idea where I want this story to go, the hard part is just getting there interestingly. Haha, anyways enjoy chapter four! Shoot me a review and rate it please!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, just Mina and the plot.

Happy reading everyone! :]

She gasped and recoiled, taking several steps back. Staring wide-eyed with fear, she watched the figure that was engulfed in the shadows cast by the rising sun as whoever they were started walking toward her. She couldn't stop herself from trembling as she took steps back with every forward step they made. In her haste to keep distance between herself and the unknown person, she tripped over something—most likely her own feet since she's a klutz—and fell backwards on her butt. Her injured leg screamed at her, making her wince and cover the wound in a futile attempt to ease the pain. She couldn't find the strength the get back up and it wouldn't have done any good anyways. The figure was already upon her.

"Are you all right?" Asked a deep male voice. A voice that sounded familiar. But, why did that voice sound so familiar?

She remained silent, still trembling. From blood loss, or fear, she couldn't say for sure. All she could do was watch this mystery man as he slowly crouched down level with her face. In doing so, he pulled his face out of the shadows and her heart skipped a beat as she instantly recognized him.

From his jet black hair that framed his porcelain face, to the onyx eyes he shared with his brother, she had never been happier to see Itachi Uchiha in all her life than she was at that moment.

"Itachi?!" She couldn't believe her eyes. Was she dreaming?! Stretching out her hand, she placed it on his cheek.

Warmth and smoothness. This wasn't an illusion. He was really there!

He covered her hand with his and she gasped, shocked.

"Oh my god, "She breathed. "This isn't a dream! You're really here!" She threw her arms around his neck, forgetting about her leg, and cried pure tears of joy.

He was really there!

He embraced her tightly saying, "Mina! Thank god you're all right." He hugged her like she would disappear any moment and she found herself clutching to him tighter in return. It was so nice to see him again.

After a few minutes, she pulled away to look him in the eyes. Her voice and hands trembled slightly when she spoke. "We have to get out of here, Itachi. Please get me out of here! I want to go home!"

She probably sounded like a five year old, but she didn't care. Even though she went the opposite direction as Kye, he was bound to come back around. Yeah, she'd been fortunate so far, but she didn't want to risk having her luck run out.

Luckily for her, he noticed her desperation and became concerned. He frowned and his eyebrows pulled together.

"What's wrong, Mina?"

"Kye is looking for me. Please, let's just go. I want to go home." She repeated. She really was desperate.

"Kye? Who's that?"

"He's the guy who kidnapped me a year ago. Can we please go now?!" She replied urgently. She didn't want to talk about this right now. She just wanted to get out of there.

He nodded, smoothing down her long brown hair affectionately. Her hair had to of grown at least two feet since she last seen everyone. Kye never really took her out anywhere, so it hasn't been cut in a year. Hopefully it didn't look too unkempt.

"Don't worry," He said, helping her to her feet. "I'll protect you and he won't ever get you again." He has always been like a big brother to her and she found great comfort in his words. She believed that he could protect her.

"The others are probably waiting for me by the car by now," He said, pulling her out of her thoughts. Her heart skipped a beat.

Others? Did I hear him correctly?

"Let's go home, Mina." He offered her his hand, smiling.

She nodded vigorously, taking his hand. God, was she ever ready to get the hell out of here. As she went to take her first step, her leg throbbed, and she stumbled in pain. She winced, clutching it.

Thankfully, Itachi was there to keep her from tumbling to the ground. He looked at her, concern clearly etched onto his face.

"Mina? Are you hurt?"

All she could do was nod at him. Itachi's face contorted with worry as he crouched down to look at her leg. He pushed away her blood stained hand and she noticed that he clenched his fist tightly by his side.

"It looks like a gunshot," He observed, moving to look at the front of her leg. "No exit wound either."

Yeah, that was just her luck.

He looked up at her and she wasn't surprised to see anger in his eyes. They almost looked red from where she stood.

"I'll have to carry you," He stated. His voice was soft, not even a hint of the anger that she could so clearly see in his dark eyes.

She nodded, feeling sudden fatigue go through out her body. He grimaced a little. "But, the easiest way would be piggy back style. It might put strain on your leg and I don't want to hurt you, Mina. I'll go get the car an-"

"No!" She interrupted him, grabbing his hand tightly. "Please don't leave me alone Itachi! Just carry me. I can handle the pain!" He looked at her, seeming to search her face for something. She didn't know if he found what he was looking for, but he sighed and palmed his forehead.

After a moment more he said, "All right. Hop on."

She smiled and did her best to get on his back without hurting herself. Upon doing so successfully, she found that the position didn't put strain on her wounded leg at all. It was actually really nice to take a load of and not have to walk. She still had no idea how long she'd been running earlier that morning.

They walked on in silence for a little while before she spoke. "Itachi?"

"Hmm?"

She laid her head down on his shoulder, a slight smile on her lips. "Thank you."

He turned his head to look at her as he kept walking. "Don't thank me, Koibito. Naruto was the one who pushed us all to this point. He wouldn't give up, even when the police did. You know how he is when he sets his mind to something."

She chuckled. That was her Naruto. Stubborn as an ass. "Yeah, that's my Naruto. Well, thank you for not losing hope then...I know there were times where I almost did."

Her face fell as she told him that. She felt ashamed of herself, but one of the few reasons she didn't lose hope was because deep down in her heart she knew that Naruto was looking for her. He was her best friend. And she was delighted that her feeling was right.

As they rounded another corner, Itachi let her know that the car was about a mile away.

"Everyone is probably wondering what happened to me. I was supposed to rendezvous ten minutes ago," He shifted her higher on his back, sending a smirk her way. "They'll sure be happy to see you though."

She smiled at him. "I know, I can't wait. I've missed them all so much."

"All of them?" He glanced back at her, surprised. She nodded. It was no lie that there were a few certain people who she couldn't stand.

"Sounds odd, but yes. I've missed all of them. That includes Sai, Lee and your grumpy brother." He chuckled, shaking his head at her statement. It wasn't that she couldn't stand Sasuke, the exact opposite really, he just irritated her sometimes. He was actually one of her closest friends. The two started getting closer six months before her abduction. And in that time, her and Itachi also became close. Ever since her and Sasuke's friendship grew, her relationship with Itachi seemed to also. She considered Itachi to be her older brother, even though he isn't by blood.

"Speaking of Sasuke," She began. "Do you two still live together?"

He sighed, shaking his head. "No. Things started to get bad between us a couple months after you were taken." He seemed sad at the fact.

"It didn't help that he probably felt a little awkward and like a third wheel with me having Sakura over all the time."

Now that was news.

Mina gave him a quizzical look. Even though he couldn't see it, he must've felt it because he continued on as if she had asked him out loud.

"She and I kind of hit it off after you disappeared. I could feel the tension between them the first time I invited her over. To be honest, I didn't expect her to show up," He smiled to himself. "I was really glad she did though. We've been together now for a year."

Mina smiled. "Congratulations. I'm glad you found happiness. You both deserve it."

He thanked her and then suddenly said, "I can see the car from here."

Her eyes darted up and sure enough there sat Kiba's black Suburban. Unshed tears started to blur her vision, but she hastily wiped them away. There was no time to cry. She was too excited to see everyone. Crying could wait until later.

"Itachi, where have you been?!" That was Kiba's voice. Her heartbeat accelerated, tears threatening to cascade down her cheeks.

Kiba!

"Yeah! We've been waiting for you for fifteen minutes!" Her breathing stopped.

Naruto!

"What took you so long, man? Waiting is so troublesome. Mina could be anywhere by now." Her eyes softened.

Shikamaru...How many people did you recruit Naruto?

"Did everyone else hear that gunshot earlier?"

Hinata!

"Itachi," Mina whispered. "Put me down."

He stopped walking and glanced at her over his shoulder. "What about your leg? What if you collapse?"

"Is he talking to himself?" Someone asked over by the car.

"Itachi, what's the hold up? Let's go." Her eyes widened. Sasuke was here too? And he sounded as impatient as ever. She found herself smirking.

Sasuke...

"I'll be fine." She held on to Itachi's shoulders as he lowered her to the ground.

"I'll be right by your side if you need me." He insisted, ever the older brother she deemed him to be. She smiled at him and took a deep breath.

"Am I going crazy, or do you all see someone standing next to him too?"

There was one person at that moment that Mina absolutely needed to see. Her being gone had to have eaten him up inside. He probably blamed himself for what happened to her. Especially since she was with him when Kye grabbed her.

"Naruto?" She called out, unable to clearly see him through the still darkened streets. The sun was rising, slowly, but there still wasn't enough light to see clearly.

"M-Mina?!"He exclaimed after a few tense minutes, surprised. His voice cracked a little bit at the end and if it hadn't of been a serious moment, she might have laughed.

After a few tense moments, he ran to her. She smiled, running to meet him halfway. When they collided, the tears she had willed away now fell down her cheeks freely. "Oh my god, it's really you!"

She hugged him as tight as she could; her voice trembling with emotion when she spoke. "I've missed you so much, Naruto."

He held her like Itachi did. As if she would disappear at any moment. Itachi walked up to the pair as Naruto called out to everyone else, raw emotion making his voice hoarse. "Guys, it's really her! We found her!"

"You're safe now," Itachi said to her, affectionately caressing her hair for the second time that morning. She had yet to let go of Naruto, but she beamed up at Itachi through her happy tears.

It felt good to be safe finally.

Everyone rushed up to them and a chorus of 'Thank god' and 'I'm so happy you're all right' met her ears. She glanced to their surrounding faces and smiled once more, reluctantly pulling away from Naruto.

The first person she pulled into a hug was Kiba, followed by Shikamaru. Both men were so happy to see her and she was just as happy to see them. Next was Sakura. The pinkette had tears streaming down her cheeks and a great big smile as she embraced Mina. She had always considered Sakura a sister, just as she did Hinata. Mina helped Sakura get back on her feet when her and Sasuke broke up. Let's just say, it wasn't a pretty sight. The poor girl was a wreck.

Hell, look at the man. Of course Sakura was devastated over Sasuke. He's a stud muffin!

Shut up!

She pushed the voice back in to its' corner in her mind. Stupid thing. To be honest, she was a little surprised to find out that Sakura was with Itachi now. She really meant what she told Itachi earlier though. The both of them deserved happiness. It made her heart warm to know that they found it in each other.

She moved on to Neji with a small smile. He may not have said much to her before, but she was still happy to see him. She appreciated that he came along, seeing as how they sometimes didn't see eye to eye. All that mattered was that he came, despite their differences.

Sai was next in line and he almost plowed her over with the force of his hug. Had it not been for Itachi, who has been shadowing her—for her protection no doubt—she might have fallen over. Even though he wasn't one of her favorite people, she was kind of happy to see Sai.

"Easy Sai," She chuckled out. Poor guy still isn't used to stuff like this. He had a...difficult childhood. After he apologized several times and she insisted that it was all right, she moved on.

"Hinata." She embraced the lavender eyed woman as she started crying again. Hinata cried with her, the girl's tears dripping on Mina's shoulder. She alternated between rubbing calming circles on Hinata's back and squeezing the girl tightly as they cried together.

Lastly was Sasuke. Her expression softened when her brown eyes landed on his form. He was standing back from everyone else, watching. She noticed that his hair was longer, the ends almost to his collarbone now, but it still stuck up in odd places like always. He wore the same black trench coat that everyone else seemed to have, with black jeans and a pair of red Chuck Taylors. Her heartbeat accelerated the longer she looked at him, which confused her.

What's wrong with me? I've never reacted this way to him before, so what's the deal?

She was so grateful though. He didn't have to come along with everyone else to save her and she would be in debt to every single one of them for a long time. Just the fact that he was in front of her meant that he valued their friendship at least a little. Sasuke was a hard card to decipher sometimes.

Wiping away her remaining tears, Mina's stomach started doing somersaults as she made her way to him with a smile. She was limping slightly and really hoped it wasn't noticeable because she knew that she needed medical attention to get the bullet out, but she didn't want to deal with it right now. She just wanted to go home and take a nice hot shower...after she was done hugging Sasuke of course.

She probably smelled like shit and that made her a little self-conscious. She ignored it though. Surely Naruto—or even Sai—would've said something if she smelled that bad. Even though Naruto was her best friend, he had a tendency to say things he shouldn't. She still loved him, regardless.

As she came to a stop in front of Sasuke, their eyes met and she had to stop herself from gasping in shock. There was relief and a tinge of joy in his onyx orbs. He hardly ever showed emotion and the fact that he was showing some at that moment made Mina smile wider. Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck tightly and buried her face into he crook of his neck. To add on to her shock, he wrapped his arms around her just as tight and buried his face in her hair. Embarrassingly, she found herself inhaling his scent.

Mmmmm he smells really good...

She mentally slapped herself, trying to just focus on the hug itself and not on the body and smell of the immensely attractive, five foot ten, walking hottie hugging her.

Hottie? Since when do I refer to him as a hottie?

"-hurt." He said.

She pulled back to look him in the eyes, not having heard him over the battle going on between her head and body. "What?"

"You're hurt."

Well fuck. I was really hoping you wouldn't notice.

Who would've thought that Sasuke was the observant type?

"I'm fine, Sasuke." She insisted. His eyes hardened and she sighed to herself. So much for the tender moment.

"No you're not 'fine'. You're limping. What happened?" He emphasized the word 'fine'. It sounded as if he had been insulted.

Did she say something?

Ugh. Just great. Everyone was looking at them now. She really didn't feel like explaining everything at the moment, so she remained silent as she stared into his eyes.

"You're hurt? Did he do that to you?" Naruto asked, infuriated. "I'll kill that mother—"

"You've got to be exhausted Mina," Itachi swiftly interrupted. Good timing. "Why don't we just head home and discuss it another time? She needs to rest."

Naruto's anger dissipated almost instantaneously and everyone voiced their agreements, heading for the Suburban. Mina went to follow, but Sasuke stopped her, grabbing her wrist. Confused, she looked into his eyes to see cold hard determination.

"Let me help you." Was all he said. She knew there was no way he was going to let her walk by herself, she could see that much just by the way he was looking at her. Persistent bastard.

She sighed, not wanting to unintentionally insult him again. She wasn't up for the fight that would most likely follow if she refused either. Giving in and letting him have his way for now was the only option.

"All right."

He pulled her flush to his side and put her arm around his neck. "Put your weight on me…there you go."

It was a little awkward being so close to Sasuke after so long, especially with the thoughts that have been going through her head today. But, damn if he didn't just smell amazing!

Mina blushed fiercely.

Stupid hormones. Knock it off! Ugh...I really hope he doesn't see me blushing. How embarrassing would THAT be...just calm down, jeez.

When they approached the vehicle, Itachi smiled at her from the seats that were farthest in the back, beckoning her with his hand. Sasuke lifted her inside effortlessly, causing the blush that stained her cheeks to deepen. He lifted her as if she was weightless and she couldn't figure out why she felt a little breathless afterwards.

When her hand clasped around Itachi's, he gently helped her sit down on his lap since there wasn't another seats. He was careful not to cause her any pain and it warmed Mina's heart. Everyone was talking amongst themselves as they started getting in to the vehicle. Naruto sat between Hinata and Sakura, who were seated directly in front of her, Itachi and Sasuke. Hinata was in front of her and Itachi while Sakura was in front of Sasuke. In front of Sakura and Hinata sat Neji and Sai. Then came Shikamaru, who was riding shot gun, and Kiba, who was obviously the driver.

Kiba put the keys in the ignition, revving the engine before taking off after everyone was buckled up. The ride was silent for the most part, aside from the friendly chatter between Naruto and Kiba.

About twenty minutes later Mina started to feel strange. She was starting to sweat profusely, but she felt cold. She kind of felt a little dizzy too. Her body started to quake, rattling her teeth slightly. Itachi pulled her a little closer and started rubbing her back comfortingly. Her chattering teeth didn't stop, however.

"You okay?" He whispered, concern lacing his voice. She swallowed hard and braced her hand on the back of the seat in front of her. Nausea could be added to the list. She felt like she could yak all over at any moment. She didn't trust herself to speak, in fear of doing just that, so she shook her head 'no' to answer Itachi's question.

He brought his hand up to her forehead, checking for a fever most likely, but she didn't have one. She felt cool as a cucumber, aside from the clamminess.

"Is she okay?" Sasuke asked Itachi, having heard and seen everything. How could she forget that he was sitting over there? God, what was wrong with her? Her breathing started to accelerate as Itachi talked with Sasuke. It was almost like she was hyperventilating. It made her nervous. When she looked up, her gaze locked with Sasuke's for a few moments and whatever expression she had caused him to sit up straighter and halfway turn towards her in his seat.

"Sakura," He put one of his hands on the pinkette's shoulder, causing the girl to jump and turn to look at him. "Something's wrong with Mina."

Sakura's eyes snapped to Mina to see that her skin looked gray, that she was shivering and it also looked like she was sweating.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Does she have a fever?"

Itachi shook his head. "No, she feels fine. A little clammy, but no fever. Her breathing just accelerated about two minutes ago. It's almost like she's hyperventilating."

"I feel really dizzy," Mina mumbled, bowing her head as she fought the waves of nausea.

Clammy. Gray colored skin. Accelerated breathing. And dizziness...Fuck!

Mina was going into shock. Shit! Fuck! Not good!

"Lay her down immediately and lift her feet about twelve inches high!" Sakura instructed urgently. The two did so as Itachi swiveled to face Sasuke, gently but urgently placing Mina's head in Sasuke's lap while Itachi lifted her feet up and held them there. Her lower back was braced on Itachi's long legs, so it was almost like she was lying across another seat. It was pretty comfortable despite how it sounds.

"Keep her warm and remove any tight clothing!" Sakura instructed again.

Sasuke tugged on Mina's sweater, but found that it wasn't that tight and that it would help to keep her warm. He carefully shimmied out of his trench coat and draped it over her trembling form.

"She's going into shock, so don't move her around much and just make sure you guys keep her warm." Sakura said. Mina faintly noticed that the urgency in her voice seemed to be gone now.

Sasuke said something to Sakura, but Mina was already half asleep. Man, she was so tired. Sasuke's lap was actually very comfortable.

The last thing that went through her head was a single thought...

He still smells good...Mmmmmm

A/N: Wow! Over 3,000 words! :]

I hope you are all still enjoying this story. I'm sure having a lot of fun writing it.

So, I haven't received very many reviews. Thank you again to those of you that have reviewed. And I would also like to thank those of you who have favorited and followed my story. That makes me very happy :]. And a happy me, is a getting-chapters-out-more-often me. Just an FYI. Hahahahaha.

Anywho...so that was chapter four! Please let me know what you all thought about it!

Until next chapter!

Au revoir! :D

~XAngelicWallflowerX