A/N: Hey guys, here's an update! Thank you all SO much for your reviews! They help to motivate me and they really do mean a lot to me! I read them all, even if I don't respond!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters.
Hinata sighed with relief as she and her teammates were able to finally rest. Kiba sprawled himself out on the ground, taking in a deep breath. "Bleh. I hate how Iwagakure's surroundings smell."
Shino rested himself against a tree, shrugging. "That's quite unfortunate for you, considering we aren't even fully in their territory yet. We're just now reaching it, considering there are a few trees still around. Once we reach the rocky terrain, we're going to have to be very cautious."
"R-right," Hinata agreed. "We're here to help the smaller villages, but if we're caught by Iwa ninja, we're g-going to be in a lot of trouble."
Kiba grunted, before stopping and sitting up. "Wait . . . I have a question."
Shino turned to him silently, while Akamaru lifted his head curiously. Hinata's pearl orbs glanced at him, too. "Y-yes?"
"Why didn't they hire Iwa ninjas?"
"Maybe they were asking too much," Shino stated quietly. "Or perhaps they know that Konoha shinobi are more efficient."
Kiba laughed. "Well, duh. Everyone knows that Konoha shinobi are the best of the best! I mean, c'mon! When you've got a clan as awesome as the Inuzuka clan, you can't go wrong!" he smirked, earning an agreeing bark from Akamaru.
Hinata smiled at the conversation as she began to set up camp, finding sticks that would work for firewood. Her thoughts shifted to a different subject, however, as she recalled just how far away they were from home. They had traveled all day and were tired, and they had a little while left to go before they could actually begin their mission. She really hoped that it would end soon, because she didn't like the fact that she wouldn't be able to meet up with Itachi.
Almost immediately after the thought processed itself, Hinata's face began to heat up. She couldn't believe that she, of all people, had actually kissed an S-class criminal, and intended to see him again despite the dangers of it. It was so unlike her, especially considering her demeanor, and the fact that she'd never done anything like this before. Still, she was excited about it, and she couldn't deny it at all. Just the thought of the man, and their intimate moment, made her heart flutter in a way she'd never felt before.
"Hey, Hinata, you okay? Your face is flushed. You didn't exert yourself, did you?" Kiba asked, staring at her cautiously from where he stood, helping set up camp. Hinata's face turned a few shades darker and she quickly smiled at her teammate awkwardly. "N-no! I'm okay. I-I just need something to drink and I'll b-be okay is all. Just tired."
Shino raised an eyebrow behind his sunglasses, but didn't comment as Kiba shrugged, seemingly satisfied with her answer. The former returned to opening his sleeping bag, aware of the fact that the Hyuuga had seemed quite cheerful, despite the fact that it hadn't been too long since she'd gotten out of the hospital in tears due to a certain Uzumaki. He sat on the sleeping bag, curious as to what could have caused such a drastic change in the shy woman.
Itachi awoke the next day in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He could hear Konan walking upstairs, albeit faintly, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the woman. It was no secret in the Akatsuki base that she and Pein had been a couple, but she was still currently acting as though he was around. Itachi wasn't sure if it was because she didn't know if she'd be able to run the Akatsuki on her own without using Pein as a crutch, or if it was a coping mechanism for her, but he did know that it was odd when she said 'we' instead of 'I' now.
Not that it particularly mattered, though. He was a little more worried about the fact that Hinata hadn't shown up to their meeting place the night before like she usually did. Yes, he was upset that she hadn't come—had he scared her away?—but he was more worried about whether she was actually okay or not. Had something happened to her? He frowned. He certainly hoped not.
Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes in a futile attempt to make the blurriness go away. This had become a morning ritual of sorts, regardless of the fact that it didn't work at all. He gathered his thoughts and got himself dressed before wandering further into the base, looking for something to eat. He didn't expect to see Zetsu, however, who was seated at the table. The plant-like man glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
"Hm, how fortunate for you, Itachi-san. You just missed Tobi."
"Not that you particularly care, I suppose," the plant man's white half added to the darker side's comment. Itachi made his way to the refrigerator, opening it to peruse the items inside. "I see. Thank you for the information."
Itachi never did particularly like the plant-like shinobi, but was usually cordial to him regardless. He wasn't really fond of the rather unusual things that came out of his mouth. He wasn't looking forward to having a conversation with him, however, and was sure that it was going to end up just as weird as every other one had been.
"Ah, Itachi-san," Kisame said from the doorway, leering into the kitchen. "I was going to go to town and get a few more supplies. Want to come?"
Itachi looked over at him, offering him a nod. He gave Zetsu a parting statement before following Kisame out of the base, thankful for the opportunity to get away.
"How long were you stuck there with Zetsu?" Kisame asked passively.
"Not very," Itachi replied calmly. "I appreciate you inviting me along, though."
"No problem. I really just want to stop and get some food, but I do need some weapon supplies," Kisame muttered. "I can't wait until we get a real mission again. I'm so bored hanging out around here."
Itachi remained silent, allowing the man to ramble on. The Uchiha let his mind wander, although unsurprisingly it ended up focused back on the Hyuuga he hadn't gotten to meet with the night before. He sighed quietly to himself. However, Kisame's comment had caught his attention. Maybe she had been called off to go on a mission? That wouldn't surprise him, although if it was the case it was a little surprising that the Hokage was allowing missions already during the reconstruction of the village.
Yeah, that was probably what had happened. He decided that he would go back to the meeting place tonight, just in case she had been sent on a mission and would be returning.
"Itachi-san, hurry up. We're close to food," Kisame stated, his stomach releasing an audible growl. Itachi sighed, walking a little faster. He was hungry.
Hinata woke up the next morning to her face being covered in Akamaru's slobber. She pulled away quickly, grumbling a bit and wiping her face off with her sleeve. That had been one habit Kiba hadn't been able to break the dog of, but it wasn't too bad, just messy. She sighed, petting him on the head before standing up and looking around. The camp wasn't any different than it had been before they'd fallen asleep, except that the fire had gone out. She figured Kiba or Shino had woken up and extinguished it at some point before morning, considering it was no longer smoking.
Shino was already awake, gathering his things for the rest of their journey. He glanced over in her direction, offering her a nod of acknowledgment. She returned with a greeting before turning and gathering her own things, knowing that the insect using shinobi would most likely take care of waking Kiba.
"Ah! Damn it, Shino, your bugs are all over m—gah!" Kiba snapped, flinging his sleeping bag open and jumping up, wiping the bugs off of him. Hinata smiled softly to herself. To an outsider, it would appear that Kiba was smashing Shino's bugs, but she knew that despite his rapid movements, the dog-shinobi was using special care with them. The thought made her miss the older days, when they were always going on missions together. Nowadays it wasn't as frequent, so she cherished the time she got to spend with them.
She shoved her sleeping bag into her pack, allowing her mind to drift to Itachi. She wondered if he had come back last night, and if he had come to meet her or not. She sighed, hoping he hadn't been offended by her lack of appearance. It wasn't like she didn't want to go, or anything. She simply—
"Hey, Hinata! You ready to head out?" Kiba asked, snapping Hinata out of her train of thought. She smiled awkwardly and nodded, walking over to them. "Y-yes."
Shino nodded to them both before they began to dash to their next location.
It was close to noon by the time Hinata and the others arrived at the town they were supposed to be at. Once they had met up with the man that was supposed to further instruct their mission, they received the information they would need to complete their mission.
Hinata was relieved that it wouldn't take too much, but she was hoping it wouldn't take a lot of time. All that they would need to do was take the same trail that the cargo-carriers took, carrying a fake-cargo shipment, and wait to be attacked. According to the man, it was usually evening that they were attacked, which meant that they had come at the right time. If they left now, they would be making perfect timing to line up with an attack.
So, after getting the fake-cargo shipment that had been prepared prior, the ninja team began their trek, all hoping for a quick battle with bandits, and not shinobi.
Itachi sighed softly as he landed in the clearing, making his way toward the koi pond. He had a feeling that, again, the Hyuuga wouldn't be coming. He wasn't sure what brought this on, but he didn't believe that he was wrong. So, he took the piece of bread he had stashed in his cloak and broke it up, feeding the koi with it so that they had something to eat. He smiled a little, remembering the second night that he and Hinata and met up, she had fed the fish as well.
He stretched, deciding that he was going to allow himself to relax here regardless of whether or not Hinata would come today. He couldn't help but hope that she would come, though, because he really did enjoy her company.
Hinata's eyes scanned the surrounding area, Byakugan blaring as she waited to see if they were going to be ambushed or not. So far, despite the hours that they had been travelling, she hadn't caught sight of anything unusual. She was beginning to get a headache, however, and had to resort to shutting off her kekkei genkai every so often in order to ward it off a little better. She sighed, growing very tired of waiting to be attacked. It wasn't something she particularly liked anticipating, and after going for so long without missions, this was becoming rather difficult on her nerves.
Kiba groaned audibly. "Man, this sucks!" he hissed for the fourth time since they'd left. Shino remained silent, but Hinata had known him long enough to know that he was just as irritated as they were. Hinata prayed that they would be done soon. After just one night out she was missing the comfort of her own bed, and her nightly walks.
The team walked in silence again for about an hour, as the evening hours slowly closed in on early morning hours. Hinata frowned. Surely no one had leaked information about them out?
"I am so bored," Kiba muttered, running a hand through his hair. "All this walking around pulling this cargo shipment is getting on my nerves, and I'm tired."
"Oh? Then please, allow us to take care of that cargo for you," a voice stated from behind them. Hinata's eyes widened, her Byakugan activating immediately. She spotted a shinobi directly behind the cargo shipment, but he appeared to be alone. Even at a mile away, he had no backup. What kind of person came out on their own for a raid?
Spinning around, she glared at the foreign person, her eyes widening as she saw the Iwagakure symbol emblazoned on his forehead protector. She frowned.
"Man, really? Just one of you?" Kiba asked, raising a brow as he watched the ninja carefully, curious to see if he was a talker or a fighter.
"Don't be so sure," another voice said haughtily, and Hinata spun around again, eyes landing on a figure in front of their shipment. She was confused. She knew she hadn't seen him!
When her Byakugan picked up on another shinobi to their left all of a sudden, she felt her heart sink in dread.
"K-Kiba! Shino! They have chakra suppressing jutsu!"
Shino and Kiba turned to look at her, and Hinata paled immediately as she came to a realization as her Byakugan continued to scan the area for more ninja.
They were outnumbered and surrounded.
A/N:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review and let me know what you think! Feel free to ask any questions, and as long as they don't spoil the story I will answer. :)
And to clear up any confusion there might have been, the beginning part with Hinata was still the same day that she got the mission briefing.
Thank you!
Shebby
