Don't think I forgot again, just had some holiday fun for the past few days. Let's get to it.

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Sploosh!

A splash erupted from the lake as Hinata threw another rock. Rings rippled out from where the rock landed, disrupting the normally still waters.

It hadn't been too long since she was shown around the place; maybe an hour or two at most. Once she was unpacked, she had spent some times getting a little better acquainted with her new… "friends". And while she was certainly still a little nervous around them, she at least managed to feel comfortable enough to stop stuttering so much when they were all in a room together.

She still couldn't get over how… Human they all were. Hinata had heard practically nothing about them except for stories of how horrific they were. And while Kakuzu, Hidan, and Itachi certainly seemed a bit cold (Although Hidan at least showed some emotion…), she may have never guessed any of them were such notorious criminals.

Much friendly than father anyways.

Hinata paused at her own thought, and then sighed. This was the reason she had come over to the forest… Home was still on her mind.

While she wouldn't quite say she was unhappy here as of yet, she was finally starting to realize how rash of a decision she had made to run away… She had been sitting at the lake for awhile, reflecting on everything that had happened.

And wondering if she had made the right choice in running…

Her father had certainly been the major factor… Not just for kicking her out of her own home, but for the stress and strain he had been putting on her for a while. It had caused her to start acting differently around her friends, which was likely why many of them were beginning to lose some patience with her.

Tenten, for example, would often make fun of her about her "Daddy Issues" and how she should try to deal with real problems some time. Even her relationship with Neji had suffered a bit. Kiba and Shino were especially affected due to her mission performance…

It all came back to her father… Could she really have kept living with him, even if she hadn't been kicked out? Maybe it was for the best…

But… Naruto…

What happened with Naruto had nothing to do with her father. It was just about her. How long had he thought that about her? Had he been friendly just out of pity? Did he think something was wrong with her and felt bad for her or something?

Hinata felt her eyes water. She quickly rubbed them, not wanting to cry at the moment.

He inspired you so much, and that's all he thought of you?

And what if some of her other friends felt that way too? Was she a weirdo to them to?

Sploosh!

Hinata yelped as a sudden splash broke the silence of her thoughts. She frantically looked around, trying to find the source.

She nearly fainted when he turned to see 2 bright red eyes staring at her.

"I-Itachi…!" She squeaked, backing up. "When…"

"My apologies, Miss Hyuga," The Uchiha calmly excused himself as he backed up a bit. You're your rock throwing interrupted my meditation," Hinata blushed a bit.

"S-sorry, I…"

"It's no trouble… But it seems I am interrupting you as well,"

"Oh, n-no you… I was just…"

"Thinking of home?"

Hinata paused, looking towards the lake.

"…Yes… How did you-

"It's clearly been on your mind since you got here…"

Well, he is also from Konoha… He may understand.

"I just… I'm not sure if I miss it or not…"

"Well, you certainly have more reason than most of us," Hinata looked at him, trying to avoid his eyes. "You see, most of us left our villages because we were against our villages themselves. We did not regret our actions because we were often branded traitors or outcasts… You, though… You ran because of more personal reasons, not because of Konoha itself,"

Hinata thought about this for a moment.

"That may be, but… My house, my father… They were a lot of the village to me…"

"Them and Naruto,"

Hinata shut her eyes.

"…Yes, and him," She paused again. "But… I'm wondering if I made a mistake running from it all. I… Wasn't thinking clearly when I did,"

"You were under a great deal of emotional strain,"

"…To put it lightly, yes," She suddenly looked him in the eye. "What did you feel when you left?"

"Hmph. You know we left under very different circumstances," Itachi reminded her. "But, to answer your question… It took some time to really know what to think. In your case… Did you make a rash and impulsive decision? Yes. But you had no way of knowing this would happen," He suddenly turned to go. As he began walking, he turned back. "Whether or not you made the wrong choice will ultimately be up to you to decide… But ask yourself: Would you truly have been happy if you had stayed?"

With that, the Uchiha left Hinata to her thoughts. The Hyuga looked back at the lake.

"Would I really have been happy...?"

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"Look, she could still be somewhere around here. We'll have some people take a look around, but let's not jump to conclusions. If you absolutely cannot find her, we'll begin to form search parties immediately,"

"Got it grandma!"

Tsunade sighed deeply as Kiba and Naruto left her office.

Hinata Hyuga… Missing?

The two had recently come to her office proclaiming that Hinata had possibly run away. After explaining the events of yesterday and how she was nowhere to be found, Tsunade could see why she might run…

"Shizune!" She suddenly called out.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade!" Tsunade's attendant, quickly appeared in the doorway.

"Send for Hiashi Hyuga if you would… I'd like a word with him," Shizune nodded, having heard the conversation, and left without a word.

Tsunade went back to her paperwork for the moment. If Hinata really had run off, there's no telling what danger she could be in… There were plenty of rogue ninja who would easily see the value in a Hyuga heiress…

Including them…

Tsunade paused as she thought of this. While there was still no recent evidence or information, they couldn't be too sure… Konoha teams were still investigating wherever they could.

While the rest of Konoha didn't know, Tsunade and other high-ranking officials had secret teams out there, searching for anything leading to the Akatsuki. No evidence had been found to indicate the others were dead… But the village didn't need to know that.

Even Naruto didn't know…

"Well, what are the chances of her running into them…" She said to herself. For all she knew, they really could be gone.

But still… It was a possibility. Very unlikely, but possible…

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Hinata didn't stay in the forest much longer once Itachi left.

Ultimately, she had come to the conclusion that she likely wouldn't have been happy in Konoha… At least, not for a while.

But still, would she end up being happier here? Would she have been happier anywhere? That she didn't know. Whether or not she had made the right choice would remain to be seen…

As she exited the room, she heard what sounded like arguing from the living room. As she got closer, she began to realize what it was about.

She was thankful she was so sick of crying, because as the argument continued, she began to see worse and worse about herself…

Well, they were right…

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"Wait, you want us to what?"

"I thought it was pretty clear, hm…"

"You know what I meant!"

"Look, Hidan…"

"No, he's right… You could have asked us first,"

"See? You even got Kakuzu agreeing with me!"

"Look, I thought…"

"We don't exactly have teaching experience, you know," Sasori cut in, an annoyed tone in his voice. "Didn't that occur to you at all?"

It had been a few hours since Deidara had showed Hinata around. According to Itachi, who had recently entered the room, she was in the forest room at the moment. As long as she wasn't around to listen, he had decided to bring up the idea of training her to the others.

Needless to say, it hadn't gone over as well as he had hoped.

"Well… Of course it did! But come on, how hard could it be?"

"It's not a question of whether or not we can do it," Sasori said. "We've got enough to worry about as it is just trying to survive and stay hidden,"

"We've been hidden for over a year, hm. What makes you think we'll suddenly be found now?"

"Because…" Itachi suddenly spoke, causing everyone to look over. "Hinata's absence will surely spark a reaction from Konoha,"

"Konoha? So what?" Deidara shrugged. "It's not like we've had any problems-

"Oh come on Deidara," Hidan groaned "You know as well as any of us that they've still got people out there searching for us. We hit their village hard; they have no evidence to suggest any of us are really dead,"

Deidara sighed.

"I… I get that, hm," He flopped down into a chair, shaking his head a bit. "But what makes you think they'll link that to us?"

"Nothing in particular, but we can't count the possibility out," Sasori pointed out. "Look, the point is we've got enough on our plates right now,"

There was a small pause. Deidara looked around, trying to see if anyone was on his side. His eyes set on Tobi and Kisame, who were both sitting on one of the couches, their postures implying boredom.

"Well, what about you two? You haven't said anything yet, hm,"

The pair looked at each other.

"No comments here. I'm not getting dragged into this," Kisame said, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.

"Thanks, you guys are a big help," Deidara rolled his eyes as Kisame just grinned.

"Well, I don't see why we can't," Tobi said. "I mean, don't you guys want to spend some time with a girl for once?"

EVERYONE rolled their eyes at this.

"If you're not going to take this seriously…" Deidara decided to ignore the two, diverting his attention to the others. "Look, I'm not asking to devote all our time to her, damn it, just…"

"Look, it was tough enough convincing everyone here to even let her stay and you know it," Sasori interrupted. "And we're all still on board with that, don't get me wrong… But this?"

"Yeah, this is a bit too much," Hidan said in agreement. Deidara growled a bit, his patience running out. "Oh don't give me that look! You heard her before. The whole reason she got kicked out of her home was because she wasn't good enough!"

"He's right," Kakuzu spoke again. "It's half the reason she ran away, remember? She simply can't seem to keep up with her training,"

"Exactly! If it's really as bad as she says she is…"

"Guys, don't be so hard on her…"

"I'm being realistic, damn it!" Hidan shouted.

"We can't just ignore what she said, Deidara," Sasori paused. "I mean, you're completely welcome to do it yourself…"

"I… I can't teach her some things as well as some of you," Deidara admitted. Sasori smirked.

"Never thought I'd see you be so humble," He joked. "But you need to be realistic; if she really has that much trouble, training her will be a long and difficult process. And we simply can't take the time to do that,"

"Now hold on," Kisame suddenly spoke up. "You're saying the only reason we're not going to help her is because she might be too difficult to train?"

Hidan, Kakuzu, and Sasori all looked at each other.

"Well… Yes. I saw her fight myself; she wasn't completely helpless, but… It wasn't great,"

"Well, why not say it to her?" Kisame said, nodding towards the doorway.

Everyone looked over to see Hinata reluctantly standing in the doorway to the training area. A look of melancholy on her face.

"…How long were you standing there…?" Sasori sighed as he turned to face her.

"…L-long enough…" Hinata anwered quietly. Deidara took a step towards her.

"Look, Hinata, I…"

"N-no, don't…" She cut him off as she came down the stairs. "…Yo-You're all right about me…"

"Look, sorry we… It's nothing personal, we just…" Hidan paused, trying to find a less blunt way of explaining.

"Don't apologize, please," Hinata interrupted. "Look, Deidara… I-I really appreciate you doing this… But I don't want to get in the way of everyone here…"

Hinata had been looking forward to training, true… But the realities of her abilities and the progress (Or lack thereof) she had been making lately couldn't be ignored.

"Hinata, don't talk like that, hm," Deidara looked at the others as if to say "Don't say anything".

"And why shouldn't I?" Hinata's voice rose a bit. "I know my own strength, Deidara. You don't have to pretend like you think I'm a good fighter,"

"That's where you're wrong,"

Everyone turned to look at Itachi.

"Wh-what?"

"I said you're wrong," Itachi rose. "See, I don't actually think you DO know your own strength…" He continued. "I think you're father's talk has made you doubt yourself more than you should,"

"What are you going on about now?" Hidan groaned.

"Oh shut up for once, Hidan," Kisame said sternly. "He's right. Look, Sasori and Deidara are the only ones here who have actually seen her fight… And that was a 3 on 1 where she got taken by surprise. Not exactly fair to judge,"

"What are you trying to say?" Sasori mirrored Hidan's question.

"I'm trying to say that we should allow Miss Hyuga to show us what she is capable of before we make any decisions,"

There was a pause as he looked at Hinata.

"…H-how would I do that…?"

"Well, there are many wa-

"Simple! I'll fight you,"

Everyone quickly looked at Kisame as he said this, a grin on his face. "Yeah, we'll have a little fight to test you!" Hinata's face was completely flushed of color, her eyes wide. "Don't look so frightened," He chuckled. "I won't go all out or anything. Just a friendly little spar to see what you can do,"

"Now Kisame, do you think-

"Hey, you all said you were worried she'd be too difficult to train. I say if she can do well enough against me, you've got no excuses,"

Hinata was silent as she processed the idea.

Fight… Fight an Akatsuki? Spar with one of the most dangerous ninja ever? Just to show them how awful she was?

No…

A sudden confident voice rang out in her head.

Maybe he's right… Maybe Father has kept you down…

Hinata was still unsure about whether or not she had made the right choice in running, but… Perhaps doing this would give her an answer?

If she could actually show them she was worth something…

"Kisame…" Deidara started to protest. "Her injuries haven't completely healed, don't you think…"

"N-no…"

Everyone turned to look at Hinata, who was now looking at the floor. Her hands clenched into fists. "I…I feel fine," She looked Kisame straight in the eye, a look of determination in her eyes. "I'll do it,"

Kisame laughed, clapping his hands together.

"Excellent! We can do it right now!" He exclaimed as he headed for the training area. The rest of the Akatsuki murmured a bit as they all followed.

Hinata was close behind. True, her wounds were still hurting a little, but she couldn't let that keep her down. She had to prove to these men that she was worth training, that she was strong enough.

…But more importantly, she had to prove it to herself!

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Few! That was a bit longer than the others. Hope you all enjoyed! Next time, action starts!