"We can take a break when we get to the tower" Hinata murmured when Sasuke stumbled on a tree branch. She figured that he needed to take a break, but she wanted to feel safe in the tower.

A glare met her eyes. "I tripped on something. I'm fine."

Hinata stopped short, landing easily on a tree branch.

"Shit."

And explosion went off on that tree, and Hinata whipped around in a circle, trying to find who was ambushing them. Naruto and Sasuke got into two different battle stances, eyes searching the area as well.

And then a single person appeared. Hinata reached behind her back and fingered the sword lying across her back. She didn't have the best of skills with it, but her father had made sure she was quick enough with it to defend herself.

"Leave now and we won't hurt you" Sasuke sneered.

The figure just smiled. It seemed to be a female ninja from grass.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, I'm not after your scroll."

Hinata blinked a few times. She figured that the ninja was after one of their scrolls, since that was what the task was.

"Then what do you want?" he continued to leer, ignoring Naruto's frantic signals to get away.

"You"

Hinata drew out her sword and ran at the woman. She faked right but stabbed left, her other hand shooting chakra out through her fingers. The woman kept up her smile. She sank down into the ground, made out of mud.

"Shit."

--

Naruto and Sasuke had been on the lookout for some time now. Every so often a mud clone would pop up and start talking about power, but Hinata always tapped some chakra points. Naruto hadn't done anything to help yet, and neither had Sasuke.

Hinata was tired, but she needed to find the real grass ninja and get rid of her so that they could escape. Suddenly, when the three genin were back to back, the foreign shinobi appeared.

Her frame was tense, and her eyes were narrowed.

"You are an annoyance. Get out of my way or die."

Hinata shook her head and the person raised an arm. She whipped her sword in front of her for protection. A smile marred the woman's face and she peeled off a mask of some sorts to reveal that it had been a he, not a she.

"Then prepare to die, weakling!"

Hinata barely had time to block as a sword appeared in the ninja's mouth, the man right in front of her. She felt her heart break as the sword that her father had gotten her for her birthday shattered. The man was going to pay.

Hinata flung the hilt at the man, not hitting but missing by a fraction of an inch. She charged and managed to hit a chakra point in the person's leg. This time it wasn't a mud clone. Satisfied that the ninja would be slowed down, she backed off and started to flash through some handseals.

Naruto took up the place that Hinata occupied and flood the man with clones, kicking and punching. Not one hit its mark, but they distracted the man long enough for Hinata to create another attack.

She threw one kunai at the long haired man, which soon turned into thousands as the jutsu took affect. Only a few hit, but he didn't seem affected. She gaped as he sank into the ground, effectively hiding from them.

"Jump!" she yelled to them. Naruto lunged for a tree, but Sasuke hesitated. In that hesitation he was pulled under the ground up to his head. He struggled, desperate for help, but Hinata had other things to worry about.

"Naruto! Get him out with clones! Use a double around!"

Naruto charged to do what she told him, accepting her as the team leader for the moment. Sasuke cursed loudly, and Hinata looked around for the man. His neck was stretching out, reaching closer to Sasuke…

Hinata charged, using a shushin to get there faster. She whipped out a kunai and used it as a makeshift sword, slashing for the long neck. The man, agitated, pulled away from Sasuke and started back on her.

"Don't know how to quit?" he taunted, locked in a dance with her. She tried to blast him with chakra, but he kept flaring his up as a makeshift shield.

Frustrated, she tried to distract him.

"What do you want with Sasuke??"

"I want to make him mine" his eyes gleamed as he managed to get many consecutive hits on her open side. "I can give him the power he wants."

Hinata, disgusted and bruised, just wanted this battle to be over right now. She heard Naruto panting with the effort of digging Sasuke out. She grimaced as she lost her focus. The ninja lashed out with a foot and she went flying into a tree. She landed awkwardly, her back throbbing. She knew she had broken some ribs.

As he advanced on her, she knew she was almost done. She knew she was going to die. She just wished she had time to tell her dad that she loved him. She shut her eyes and leaned her head back upon the tree trunk.

And then she could see. Her mind was flooded with images of black and white, trees and people different colors. She could see the chakra!

The grass ninja was a large mass of blue chakra, as was Sasuke. Sasuke didn't have as much chakra as the sanin, though. Naruto was the most different, as he had two chakras. His seemingly main source of chakra was the normal blue, but he also had red chakra swirling through his body. Hinata, suddenly feeling more energy than before, used a kunai to block the mans blade.

Since the blade he wielded broke through anything, her flimsy weapon only lasted for a few seconds. But it was all she needed, because he was surprised that she was still fighting. In a move that would have made her father proud, she smiled before she executed it.

Since he was in the perfect spot for her to attack, she shoved most of her still remaining chakra into it. She took a deep breath from her spot on the ground, Orochimaru's blade through her arm now.

"Chidori!" she screamed, her long hair fluttering around her. Her chakra could only support one of these, and she saved it for this occasion.

In her right hand was a ball of pale purple chakra, and she aimed the best she could. It had taken her two years to perfect this, and she only had one shot. The sphere had time to tear through the shocked ninjas stomach before he withdrew his blade from her body.

Blood spattered over both of them as Orochimaru thrust the blade into her own stomach. His wounds seemed to be healing already, but he looked slightly tired. He gave a sneer that was worthy of Sasuke and then licked his lips with a long tongue.

"If you survive this, my little butterfly, I'll make you the queen" he whispered to her, making his neck longer and placing a single bite onto her pale and bleeding throat. It was halfway inbetween her neck and shoulder.

From the pain of her whole body and now the bite, she cried out the first time the whole battle and fainted, falling mercifully into blackness.

--

Naruto and Sasuke watched in horror as the man turned from her and faced them. Naruto fought the urge to throw up. This man might have just killed his team mate. His friend.

His eyes turned red, and he wondered what was going on. Beside him, Sasuke shifted a little. Naruto could now scent the fear coming off of the raven, along with the smugness rolling off of Orochimaru in waves. He could hear the rise and fall of Hinata's short breaths, and the heavy scent of blood.

He roared and lost control, still fighting the tide of red that swam over his vision. This man was not going to hurt anyone else! He couldn't! A hatred of snakes washed over him and he attacked.

--

Sasuke watched as his other team mate got bathed in red. A strong feeling of dread overtook him. He was back in Wave, and he was getting pummeled by a boy not much older than him. He was useless, and he could only watch as Sakura and Ino left their positions guarding Tazuna to get to him. He felt two girls next to him and he cried out as they got hit too.

They weren't supposed to die!

Frozen in his spot, his mind replayed that scene over and over again in slow motion. He couldn't do a thing to save them from his anger. He was weak. Couldn't save them. Weak.

Naruto got tossed back into him, and he was mercifully saved from himself. Naruto let out a growl and sliced his face.

"You're not hurt are you…scaredy-cat?"

Sasuke glared and jumped up. His Sharingan was spinning in his eyes, and he watched as the snake-bastard ran for him, his sword in hand now. He didn't bother keeping it in his mouth anymore.

Naruto and Sasuke charged as one at the man, speed on their side. They overtook him and managed to get a few kicks in. Sasuke had to backpedal once when the sword almost nicked him. He made a few handseals and let a stream of flame burst out of his mouth.

Orochimaru got excited when the blond made thousands of clones. He used some of his blood and hit the ground with it, summoning something huge. Hundreds of Naruto clones poofed away, causing the smoke to linger longer.

--

Naruto couldn't control his body. He just felt like he should get revenge on the man who killed his Hinata-chan. When he thought of something to attack the bastard with, his body just…did it. Suddenly he realized that it was the Kyuubi, who was reading his mind and carrying out attacks against the snake.

Naruto made a promise to ask the fox why he didn't just take over his body instead of helping him. He kicked the snake in the head before getting out of the way of the fire ball Sasuke sent at them. He sent a wind Jutsu through as well, combining with the hot fire, making the attack even better.

Naruto forgot the handseals right as he thought to remember them for later. That somehow made him even angrier than before and he redoubled his efforts.

--

Sasuke bit his lip as the wires surrounding his body tightened. He was pinned to a tree, and the pain was too much.

And then Naruto was there, kicking the man in the head. Now distracted, Sasuke had time to get free. As he struggled, a Naruto clone, still decked out in the creepy red chakra appeared in front of him. He struggled even harder until the clone rested a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

A burning sensation spread through his arm. He fought to cry out, thinking of how much stronger he thought he had been. A clawed hand ripped through the wires easily and Sasuke was free.

--

Naruto was so tired, and he collapsed right after the red chakra was released. The Kyuubi had decided that enough was enough. He fainted after seeing a purple haired woman jump in front of him, attacking with great force.

--

Sasuke ran to pick up his team mates after the woman told him to run. He wasn't going to leave anyone behind this time. Naruto didn't shift at all when he tossed him over his shoulder. Since he still had chakra left, he handed the blond to a shadow clone after it was created. He told him to get to the tower as quickly and safely as he could and then found Hinata.

--

Hinata was in bad shape. He cursed at the thought of no medical Justus. He had the small one that Hinata taught him for cuts, but he didn't think that would help. With no other choice, he ran chakra into his eyes again, revealing his Sharingan to the world.

He focused and brought up the Jutsu in his mind. His body reacted quickly, making the handseals needed. The faint glow of green chakra lit up the darkening sky, and he forced more chakra into the Jutsu.

Since the wound could kill her the fastest, he worked on the stomach wound first. He had to rip apart the bottom of her shirt to get at it, and he laid his hands on her. He pushed his chakra into her, smiling a little when he saw the slow process of healing.

When her stomach was closed up, he hurriedly checked the rest of her body. He somehow managed to fix three ribs before he decided she was alright to move. Her breathing was mostly normal, but now he needed real help.

--

Sasuke finally caught up to his clone, who was waiting outside the tower door. They couldn't get in without the rest of their team. Sasuke closed his eyes and dug out their two scrolls, making sure not to go near the girls chest.

He ran in and opened the scrolls after reading the message on the wall. He grinned slightly as he saw smoke, and then a person was there. It just happened to be their sensei.

"Help" he managed to get out before he passed out, still gripping Hinata as he too fell into the darkness.

--

Kakashi had been prepared to give them the best welcome he could muster.

But when he saw how they looked, horror washed over him. They were a mess. He ran towards them, catching Hinata and Sasuke at the same time. He just barely heard what Sasuke muttered, and he picked up Naruto as well.

He ran for the medical section. He didn't know too many medical Justus, and they had been hurt too badly to not receive medical attention. He guessed it had something to do with that 'genin' on the loose in the forest.

As he handed over his daughter and then the two boys, he hoped with his entire heart that they would be okay.

--

Hours later, Sasuke woke up. He was the first of them.

His first thought was about Hinata. He desperately hoped she was okay. If he hadn't been able to save her because of his own weakness, he felt like he would lose himself. He ripped the covers off the bed he was in and happened to glance across the room. Naruto was sleeping deeply in his bed, not even snoring.

Satisfied that Naruto was alright, he slipped out the door. Kakashi was waiting for him. He had never seen the man this hopeless. Even with a mask, Sasuke could tell this man was hurting.

"I'm so sorry" Sasuke murmured.

Kakashi slowly turned his head to look at him. He lifted a hand to point to the double doors that Sasuke realized Hinata was behind.

"I should have fought him myself…I should have made her stay back" the desperation flooded out in his voice. "It's my fault, I didn't mean for her to get hurt. She was so strong"

Sasuke heard sobbing and found that it was him. Kakashi was drawing him into a hug and sitting him down on the bench with the man. He couldn't understand why he was crying his heart out for this girl that he had known for a week. She had never quit, though, even when she was at deaths door.

He hadn't cried like this since Itachi had left him alone.

--

Kakashi was so scared for his daughter. He wished he had learned some important medical Jutsus so that he could be helping. They had been in there for over ten hours now. No word on her. And then Sasuke had come out of the room. At first he had looked sane, but when he spotted Kakashi he had gone ballistic.

Kakashi noted the change in additide. Maybe there was hope for Sasuke yet.

If they could save Hinata, that is.

--

Naruto woke up next, still feeling horrible. He checked his chakra stores and felt only a fourth of them. He didn't care too much, however. He too raced out of the room. Kakashi and Sasuke were sitting on a bench outside two double doors. The light that signaled they were still working on the girl was lit up.

When he looked back to Kakashi, he saw something that he never wished to see for the rest of his life. Kakashi, who had never shown any emotion to them other than anger and indifference…was crying.


...Enjoy?