Here you go after I don't even want to know how long. No excuses as usual.

-

Hinata watched as Naruto was dragged out of her sight, her mind refusing to believe her current situation. Until a low voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Hinata, eh? That's a weird name." Hinata quickly tensed up feeling the arm around her shoulders coil tighter. The unfamiliar boy's voice next her ear. Kiba looked up at the ceiling with a raised brow, scratching his chin. In a quick flash, the weight was lifted off her shoulders and Kiba was abruptly tossed on the floor. She glanced wearily at the boy before setting her sights at the stranger beside her.

"I apologize for my friend's stupidity. He doesn't understand the concept of personal space," Her savior said, bowing his head slightly. Hinata tilted her head likewise, feeling more comfortable. "We haven't been properly introduced. I'm Shino Aburame."

"It's nice to meet you, Aburame-san," Hinata replied nervously. "My name is Hinata..." she paused. She didn't know if she should give away her family name.

"Yeah, yeah, we know." Kiba said getting up from the ground. He coughed up a laugh and grinned widely. "That's really fun..." He caught a glimpse of Shino beside him and cringed slightly, the smile still present on his face. "I mean, my name is Kiba. Kiba Inuzuka." He said profusely, closing his eyes snuggly. His friend beside him slowly shook his head, unable to keep in his sigh.

"This big guy here," Kiba continued, patting the top of the large, white dog beside him. " His name is Akamaru." The canine gave a large bark, shaking a few contents nearby. Hinata nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. A small, nervous giggled followed afterward. She didn't even notice the strange looks she was receiving from her new acquaintances.

"It's nice to meet you both, too," Hinata said, giving another anxious nod of the head. She glanced around nervously, as if hoping Naruto would pop up any second and save her from this awkward predicament she was placed in.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Shino said. "But how did you actually meet Naruto. He seems pretty close to you." Hinata could feel the heat rush to her face. She had to admit, less than two days and she did feel a little too friendly too quickly. But under her circumstances, and with her knowledge, in her view, it didn't seem as bad as it looked.

"Uh, well," Hinata stuttered. Her mind was a loss for words. She was expecting to converse with the locals, but her she is. "It's been nice talking with you, but I have...something to look for." She laughed nervously, took one step towards the maps.

"Why don't we help you?" Shino quickly asked, before she could take another step. She quickly shook her head. She really wasn't planning for this.

"No, that's okay. I think I'll manage on my-"

"Nonsense," Kiba quickly interrupted, walking past her, towards the maps as well. "We really can't leave you alone till Naruto gets back. That would be bad manners. Yes. Yes it would." Hinata silently gulped.

"Alright, I guess ," Hinata said nearly in a whisper. She weighted the thought in her mind. It would speed up the process. "I think I need to look for the sea maps." She figured that would be the best layout to find her way home at the moment.

"Alright, this way," Shino said turning towards said direction, leading the way down one of the many isles. Hinata followed behind him. Kiba and Akamaru trailing along behind Hinata. She couldn't help but feel uneasy, knowing that his stare was glued to the back of her head.

"So, are you a sailor or something?" Kiba asked making his way to Hinata's side. She could see from the corner of her eye that he was looking curiously at her.

"No. No, I just lost my way. That's all," Hinata answered, slightly tilting her head away. "I need to find my way back home." She couldn't help but frown at the sad thought. She didn't know how far from home she was with only a direction as a clue. The thought of her family and her friends flashed in her mind. The life she nearly forgot with the new discoveries being thrown from every direction.

She quickly snapped out of her thoughts as her guide came to a halt in a secluded part of the library, where the bookshelves connected to create a corner.

"Is there any particular layout you were looking for?" Shino asked, scanning the scroll sockets that gathered layers of dust. Hinata thought for a moment.

"Do you happen to know where Naruto lives,?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, we know where he lives," Kiba answered enthusiastically. "Out by that forest just outside of town right?" He turned towards Shino with a questionable look.

"I believe so," Shino confirmed with a simple nod."What about it?"

"I think I need a layout of the sea beyond that forest where he lives," Hinata said, scanning the mountain of scrolls occupying the many sockets. Her eyes began to strain from squinting to make out the darkness through her shades. She turned back around for a reply, only to receive an awkward silence. She could help but frown. "Is there something wrong." The two boys shifted uncomfortably.

"From what we know," Shino explained, "There isn't any kind of water beyond that forest. Actually, quite the opposite."

"The only thing behind that forest is an endless land of sand," Kiba said scrunching up his face in disgust at the thought. It was now Hinata's turn to look confused.

"Here," Shino said already making his way down a few feet away, stepping in front of another set of shelves filled with scrolls. He seemed to be scanning the wall before picking out a particular one. He swiftly pulled the map out of its socket in one swing, ignoring the layers of dust that inhabited the cub hole.

"Wow, talk about you dust bunnies," Kiba commented waving away the dust that filled the air. Shino carried the rather large scroll under his arm and made his way to a table. In one swoop he flipped open the scroll with ease, letting it roll slowly across the table to a stop.

"Take a look," Shino said stepping to the side. Hinata stooped over the middle of the table, her eyes examine the map. She could barely distinguished the colors that represented the area in the dim lighting but she could immediately recall the layout from before. It was the route that Naruto and her took to get into the city.

The town at the left side of the map can easily be recognized as the town. To be specific, the edge of the town. Leading out was the trail going in between the many rice fields that occupied the majority of the map. Next up was the unnamed forest. She could quickly assume that Naruto's home was at the entrance of the forest. When her eyes laid upon the ending of the forest, that is where her puzzlement came back. Right where some sort of a body of water should be, laid a light tan color that in no way could have been mistaken for the beginning of a desert.

"That should be the entrance of the Great Suna Desert," Shino explained. "If you continue right through it, you would eventually reach the city of Suna. No man uses that route thought because of the intense heat, and constant whirlwinds. It's impossible to survive out there."

She blinked a few times before checking repeatedly if it was just her eyes playing a trick on her. But sure enough, it was recorded as a desert on the map. She knew that was an absolute lie. There was no way that there could be a desert where the seashore she woke up on could be. Curiosity then struck at that moment. Why would this map betray the actual layout of the land?

She was quickly snapped out of her thoughts once she felt a nudge on her calf. She looked down to see Akamaru by her side, his head tilted to the side, softly whining.

"Hey, don't get so down all of sudden," Kiba asked worriedly, walking next to her. "Let me guess. Naruto told you something along the lines of a sea of treasure beyond the forest, right." Hinata didn't answer. "He was always talking about that every now and then."

"Speaking of Naruto, shouldn't he be back by now," Shino said. Hinata hopefully looked around as if he were about to pop up out of nowhere. "It shouldn't have taken his long."

"How about we wait outside for him," Kiba immediately said, almost overlapping Shino's finishing words. Hinata jolted at the sudden suggestion that it took her few second to respond. "This place is really getting to me. He shudder slightly turning and walking away.

"Okay," Hinata softly replied, turning away from the false information she was given and following close behind. Akamaru trailed right next to her side.

"You two head on ahead," Shino said grabbing the scroll from the table, rolling it back up and placing it back under his arm. "I still have business to do here." Kiba gave out a chuckle.

"Suit yourself," Kiba said with a shrug of his shoulders. Hinata looked over her shoulders one last time to catch a last glimpse of Shino. She saw no trace off him. She glance at Kiba to see him doing the same thing. He then swung his head back towards her giving her another scare.

"I know this might sound rude and all but," Kiba began, his voice dropping to a whisper. "What's the matter with your voice?" Hinata inhaled quickly but unnoticeably at the sudden realization. She had completely forgotten how she was suppose to talk.

"Uh," Hinata managed to stutter out. She searched inside her mind for a quick excuse. "I just have...a small cold, a sore throat." She mentally cursed herself for such a ridiculous reason, but it was the best she could think of quickly. Akamaru gave out a small whine.

"Oh," Kiba replied nodding his head slowly. "Okay." Hinata could see the suspicious look she was receiving, but choose to ignore it. She hoped he didn't question any further. He didn't. "You told me before that you weren't a sailor, so what do you do for a living?" Hinata could tell that he was trying to make small conversation but she wished it was about anything but her.

"I..." Hinata pause. She tried to think of all the other occupations out there, coming up short. "Cook." It wasn't a total lie. Akamaru seem to sense her distress because he quietly gave another whine right after.

"That's cool," Kiba said grinning, his eyes full of interest. "If you're a cook, then I know someone who might like to meet you." Hinata gave a small chuckle. Kiba quickly turned his head towards her, just as she laughed, somewhat surprised. Hinata quickly turned her face in the opposite direction, pretending that something else grabbed her attention. She made a mental note to herself not to laugh anymore. She returned her eyesight straight again once she saw that Kiba wasn't looking at her anymore."So, where are you from? Exactly."

Hinata gulped, her throat suddenly going extremely dry. She wondered why she didn't come up with an alibi earlier. They both walked outside the open doors of the library to greet the empty streets in front. The distant noises of the city quickly reminded her of where she actually was. They both stopped. Now all that has to happen was for Naruto to come and retrieve his guest.

"Well,..." She knew she had to come up with something fast but nothing came to her this time. "If I told you...you wouldn't believe me." Kiba gave her a funny look as she turned her head away once again.

"Really? Why no-" Kiba suddenly jerked in mid-sentence. Hinata looked at him curiously as a annoyed smirk appeared on his face. "Well guess who decided to show up?" Hinata turned towards where Kiba was looking. A sudden relief washed over her as she spotted blond hair ninja leaping across the rooftops.

"Thank goodness," Hinata whispered letting out a relieved sigh, placing a hand over her chest. Naruto quickly jumped down to ground level, up to the two of them in less than a second.

"Nothing bad happened right? I mean, you find everything you need," Naruto quickly said, almost stumbling over his words. He was noticeably in panic but held a stern calm face.

"Yes, I did," Hinata quickly replied.

"Wait a minute," Kiba interjected. "Didn't you mea..."

"I mean, no, I didn't find anything. We'll just have to try somewhere else," Hinata quickly answered with a shrug of her shoulders. The only thing on her mind right now was to escape as quickly as possible.

"Oh, that's too bad," Naruto replied, detecting the urgency in her voice. "Let's go somewhere else." Naruto firmly grabbed hold of Hinata's arm and guided her down the road from which they came from.

"Hey, wait a minute," Kiba said, utterly confused of what was happening.

"Thanks for looking after Hinata for me, Kiba. See you later," Naruto quickly said, waving a hand goodbye, finally letting go of Hinata once on their way down the road.

"It was really nice to meet you," Hinata quickly said, walking briskly by Naruto's side. After they were a good distance away, Hinata turned to see behind her as she continued walking. Kiba was still watching as Naruto and her were walking away. Shino then emerged out of the library, also turned to watch her leave. Neither of them tearing their eyes away. Somehow, she knew that, eventually, they were going to find out her secret.

-

I hoped you enjoyed it. Hopefully I can get started on the next one as quickly as posible.