CC Note: Alrighty then! Here is the latest chapter of DESERTED. Thank you very much for all of your kind reviews! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for this idea. This story is rated M for language, violence, and sexual themes. Don't like don't read.
Convergence
"Do you see anything Lee?" Naruto shouted.
"Yea we are getting closer!" Lee called back.
"Shouldn't we be more careful? What if these people don't want to help us?" Ino asked but Naruto just smiled.
"Anything is better than sitting around. I'm sure whoever it is will help us. Believe it!"
Ino rolled her eyes but did not respond. Even in the worst of circumstances, Naruto was still an unrelenting optimist. They waited for Rock Lee to climb down before heading off into the direction he indicated was the correct way.
"We aren't far!" He said. "We should be there in just a few more yards!"
Hinata squirmed as the sun's rays beat down uncomfortably against her skin. Why was it so warm? Why was it so bright? Her room was never normally this bright in the morning. Maybe Hanabi was trying to play a prank on her. Hanabi. Hanabi. The thought of her sister made her heart tug painfully. Her eyes flew open at the realization but she quickly squeezed them back closed from the brightness of her surroundings. The sun burned her pale eyes and made bright spots dance behind her eyelids. She let out as a small groan from the pain and tried to orient herself in an upright position. Unfortunately, a heavy limb was keeping her from moving. She felt the familiar blush of embarrassment creep up her cheeks as the owner of the limb pulled her closer and nestled their face into the back of her neck. As he pressed his body flush against hers, she felt something hard poking into the space between her thighs.
"U-u-u-uchiha!" Hinata squeaked softly but her protest did not seem to register, he only seemed to cuddle closer than she thought possible.
Her body was incredibly sore from the crash and her subsequent suicide attempt. Moving Sasuke Uchiha in this state felt like an impossible feat of strength she did not possess. If Neji woke up and found them in this position there would be hell to pay. Hinata felt her heart rate quicken as she tried to figure a way out of this predicament.
"HEY, THEY SURVIVED! THEY SURVIVED!"
The sound of a familiar voice in the distance got her attention and she gingerly opened her eyes again. She felt Sasuke grunt and shift behind her. The man sat up and looked down at her with cold dark eyes as if the dare her to say anything. She turned her gaze downward and focused her energy on sitting up. Around them, Neji, Tenten, Shino, and Kiba were waking up as well. In the distance, Hinata could see four figures rapidly approaching them.
"Oh my god! Sasuke!" Shrieked a distinctly feminine voice.
Hinata had no time to register who the voice belong to before a blur of pink zoomed past her and tackled the Uchiha to the ground.
"Sakura?" A tinge of disbelief tinged Sasuke's usually even tone.
The pink haired woman sobbed in his chest as she held on to him as though he'd disappear. Hinata was surprised, she'd never seen Sakura so undone before. Sasuke appeared to be equally surprised and had no idea what to do about the woman in his lap.
"I-I I thought you were dead!" She said through her tears.
"Yo bastard!"
Hinata's head jerked away from Sasuke and Sakura to see Naruto jogging towards them. She let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Naruto was alive and, from the looks of it, unscathed. He smiled brightly at Sakura and Sasuke. Even in the midst of all this, it amazed her that Naruto could smile.
"I see you're alive." Sasuke said as he tried his best to stand with Sakura glued to his hip.
"It'll take more than that for you to get rid of me!" Naruto laughed. "You can let go of him now Sakura. You might kill him if you hold too tightly!"
"Sh-shut up idiot!" Sakura sniffed but did not ease her grip.
"Really though Sakura-oh hey Hinata! I didn't see you down there!"
Hinata gave a small smile from her spot on the ground. She felt even smaller with the three of them looking down at her.
"H-h-h-hi."
"Why are you on the ground? Do ya need help getting up?" Naruto asked curiously.
Without waiting for a response the blonde grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to a standing position. The change made all of her blood rush from her head and the world around her started to blur. As she closed her eyes and wished for the nausea to pass. She felt her body begin to descend back down but was caught by a pair of strong arms. She stopped breathing. The world stopped spinning.
"Whoa there!" Naruto said gently and Hinata's eyes fluttered open to meet his. "I got you."
Cerulean blue. His eyes were as blue and as deep as the ocean that surrounded him. She'd never looked directly into his eyes before until now. Now she felt like she was drowning.
"Hey there lover boy, I got her!" Interjected Tenten.
Upon seeing the warning signs of a fainting spell, the quickly came up and steadied her friend. This was not the time and place for Hinata to fall into her old habits. Hinata felt her blush receding as Naruto turned his attention to scrapping Sakura off of Sasuke and yet her heart continued to pound incessantly.
"It's ok, Hina." Tenten whispered as she put a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Just keep breathing."
Temari always considered herself to be a take-charge kind of person. Her fierce independence was a trait that she valued above all else. The only way to do something right was to do it herself. Unfortunately getting rescued was not something that one could accomplish on their own. She looked around at the small reunion taking place. None of the people she'd met before seemed to have any overt talents to speak of and this new gathering didn't look promising either. While it was 'nice' that they were all happy to see each other they had more important things to take care of. Unless they got to work quickly, they were going to die on this island.
"Have you met any others from the plane?" Temari asked. All eyes turned to her in surprise. Apparently, the others had forgotten that she existed.
"Who are you?" Asked a man with pale eyes and ridiculously long brown hair.
"Oh, yea!" The obnoxious blonde Naruto yelled as he put an arm around her shoulders. "We forgot to introduce ya! This is-"
"Sand. Temari Sand." Temari interrupted as she slid out from under Naruto's arm. The brunette who'd inquired about her identity narrowed his eyes.
"Sand huh? That name sounds familiar."
"Now Neji don't give her the third degree!" Rock Lee as he gave Neji a rough pat on the back. "She's stuck here just like the rest of us."
"Don't mind him. He's a prick." Said a woman with two large buns on her head. "I'm Tenten. This is Hinata. As I'm sure you heard from Sakura's screams, that moody guy is two over there are Kiba and Shino."
The two men in question waved while the one named Sasuke just stared her down. It took every fiber in her being to not roll her eyes at this extended introduction.
"To answer your question from before, we haven't met any other survivors. You guys are the only ones we've seen." Tenten said.
Temari felt her shoulders slump slightly at the news. If this was all she had to work with, she was going to have her work cut out for her.
"Hey guys, sorry to break up the reunion but I think we should get back to Shikamaru." said Ino. "I don't think it's safe to leave anyone alone for long."
The others nodded in agreement to the proposal and followed her in the direction of where their section of the plane was.
The light of the flames danced before her eyes and the heat kissed her skin. She stared into the flames that engulfed the bodies of the other passengers that had not be able to survive the impact. The kindling of their bodies crackled loudly in her ears. Dead. They were all dead. Mothers and fathers would not return to their children. Husbands and wives had been ripped apart from each other. So many lives had be struck down in but an instant. Yet somehow their small group had survived. Hinata could not determine if that was a blessing or a curse. How they ended up here made no sense and how they would continue to survive was a mystery.
"Hey, Hina lets go join the others."
Hinata turned her head to see Tenten softly smiling down at her. She then quickly looked around at their surroundings to find the two of them alone with only the funeral pyre for light. Tenten chuckled at her bewilderment.
"The others have called it a night. We should head back as well."
Hinata weakly nodded her head and allowed Tenten to lead her down the silent beach.
"T-t-tenten-" Hinata stammered.
"Hmm?"
"W-w-whats, going t-to ha-happen to us?"
"Well we could die. Or we could live. I'd like to think that we will choose to live."
"T-to live..."
CC Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Things will start to pick up in the next chapter. Don't forget to leave a review!
