A/N: Hey guys, me again! Look, an update-and not after a year of nothing, haha! I figured I kind of owed you guys since you had to wait so long on the last one, and I got so many reviews from the last chapter that I felt guilty when I wasn't writing, haha! So, this is an extra long chapter, so I hope you enjoy! I'm still trying to keep everyone in character as much as possible, so bear with me.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters.

"You're going to have to kill me."

Hinata's eyes bulged, staring at the man as if he were insane. "K-kill you?!"

Itachi frowned, "Yes; or, at least, it has to appear as though you've killed me."

"I don't understand," Hinata stated, trying to comprehend what he was telling her. "How will t-that work?"

"Listen carefully, because I'll only be able to explain this once before Kisame returns," he replied, his tone serious. "And then we wait until it's time."

"And that's all of the information you can give me?"

"For the last time, yes!" Kiba snapped, not even caring at this point that he was yelling at the Hokage. "Now put a squad together so we can go find her!"

Tsunade narrowed her eyes on the Inuzuka. She understood his frustrations—the Hyuuga's disappearance was troubling, especially without the information she needed to figure out who had abducted her—but she was in no mood to be yelled at. "I intend to. However, I still need to make sure that this is all the information before I go making rash decisions, Kiba."

The dog-nin clenched his teeth and fists, trying his best not to explode. Shino stood next to him, his demeanor calm, but the manner of which the Aburame held himself spoke volumes as far as how he was actually feeling.

"We both understand that, Hokage-sama, but please take into consideration that this is our teammate and the longer we wait, the less of a chance we have finding her. We are merely concerned for her well-being."

Tsunade sighed, "I am well aware of that, Shino. I have no intention of downplaying your emotions on the subject; I'm just as worried as you are. Unfortunately, until we can pinpoint a starting point for our trackers, we would be running out blindly and pointlessly. I may very well send out hunter-nin, but until I can put everything together, you will wait. Go to your homes and try to relax as best you can. I will summon you to my tower when the time has arrived and give you the rundown on my decision."

Both shinobi nodded, offering her a respectful bow as they recognized the polite dismissal. Kiba seethed slightly, but refused to say anything more as he followed Shino out of the Godaime Hokage's office.

Tsunade watched them leave, heaving a tired sigh once they had gone. She frowned, looking out the window. Being Hokage was just as much trouble as she'd thought it would be, and more. Why? Why does it have to be Hinata of all people that this happened to?

She turned back to her desk, grabbing some papers as she prepared a summons. She had to get a hold of Hiashi; seeing as Hinata was a member of a Clan, the Hokage was required to allow the Clan head to have some say in what was done to retrieve his daughter.

Unfortunately, Tsunade had very little faith in what the man would choose.

It was late afternoon by the time that Kisame joined them just outside of the town that their target was located. Hinata was leaned against a large rock that was granting her some relief from the hot sun, although her stature still betrayed her nervousness. Itachi was seated a little further away from the Hyuuga, his expression disinterested as per usual. Kisame smirked at them. "Looks like you kept the little mouse in line, Itachi-san."

Itachi's face betrayed none of the irritation he felt. "Yes. Were you able to acquire food?"

"Of course," Kisame grinned, holding up a bag. "Rice balls and dango—nothing but the best before a fight. I even got some for the mouse."

Hinata frowned at the nickname, not fond of the idea of being compared to a rodent. Well, honestly, she was genuinely just terrified of the shark, but she distracted herself with the idea of food. She was starving, and re-healing her wound while Kisame was gone had only made it worse due to the chakra use. She watched as the blue-skinned shinobi tossed Itachi some food before turning and tossing her a pack as well. She caught it easily, opening it up to reveal her meal. She had to admit that she was a little excited that it was still warm and would taste better than the flavorless ration bars she'd been eating on her mission.

"Well? Are you going to eat it or sit there staring at it?" Kisame asked, eyeing her curiously. "If you don't want to eat it, I will, so hurry up and make up your mind."

Itachi glanced over at his partner as he took a bite out of his dango before looking back at the Hyuuga. He didn't like the fact that Kisame was teasing Hinata so much, considering he usually just threatened hostages and went about his business. He'd caught himself having to refrain from snapping at the shark-man several times.

He paused.

At what point had he become so protective over the Hyuuga, anyway? He was about to do something entirely irrational just for a girl he didn't even know that well. It was insanity at its best, and he knew it.

He briefly wondered if his mother would be cooing over the situation in the way he could picture only her doing.

He quickly rid himself of the embarrassing thought, looking back at Kisame. "Does the town appear to be guarded otherwise from what you could see?"

Kisame shrugged a little, taking another bite out of his rice ball. "Nothing out of the ordinary for an ignorant informant, honestly. Maybe even a little less, which is disappointing. I'd hoped for a better fight than what we'll probably get."

Hinata watched the two out of her peripheral vision as they spoke. She was nibbling on her own food, thankful for Itachi's distracting Kisame as she ate. She'd always hated eating in front of people, and the fact that Kisame had been downright staring at her made her more uncomfortable than words could describe. She got a strange feeling from the man every time he looked in her direction, but she had yet to be able to place what it was.

Still, in her current situation, that was the least of her worries. She looked over to Itachi, wondering if his plan was going to work. She hoped so, but she was concerned about the man. She sighed quietly to herself, wondering if this was going to be the last time she was ever going to get to see him. She looked him over a bit more thoroughly, taking all of the details that she'd never been able to at night.

He really was a very handsome man, having all of the good looks the Uchiha Clan was renowned for. His nose was long but not too large for his face, and although he was looking away from her, his eyes were still sharp and held intelligence far beyond his years in them. He was paler than she had expected, but even so didn't appear sickly like some people tended to be. She couldn't help but blush a little as her eyes trailed down to his mouth and she quickly ducked her head back down to continue to appearance of eating and not draw attention to herself. She remembered the kiss quite vividly—it had been her first, after all—and couldn't help but feel a little ashamed of herself for thinking of such a thing at a time like this.

She finished her meal and set the wrappers aside, looking out at the barren wasteland that surrounded them other than the wall of the town that they would be invading again later in the evening. She gulped, knowing full well what would happen if anything were to fail when the time came.

She really hoped she'd get to see her family again.

"Hey, mouse, wake up."

Hinata's eyes snapped open and she found herself jerking into an awkward fighting stance while attempting to stand and wake up at the same time. Kisame's towering form merely stared down at her with an odd mixture of disbelief and amusement on his face. After a moment, he grinned. "Not too bad, mouse. I've seen better wake up reactions, though."

Hinata stared at him, mortified, wondering when she'd even fallen asleep and why he hadn't tried to kill her when she'd gotten ready to fight. She released a shaky breath, forcing herself the rest of the way into a standing position and backing a little bit further away from the Hoshigaki. "S-sorry about t-that . . ." she muttered.

"Kisame, don't toy with her. We need her focused to help us and shaking her up before our mission will accomplish just the opposite," Itachi stated monotonously. Kisame smirked, but obeyed his partner. "Perform your henge, we're getting ready to go inside the town."

Hinata nodded, doing a quick array of hand seals and focusing chakra in her eyes, turning them into a shade of bright blue. Itachi inspected her from afar, nodding in satisfaction before he and Kisame performed their own henges, taking on the appearance of fairly normal-looking shinobi. Kisame huffed.

"It figures that this guy hired the most boring-looking body guards," Kisame grunted. It had been a while since he'd gotten to have a good fight, and he figured the impending one would be just as boring as any of the others.

Hinata remained quiet, although couldn't help but wonder why the shark-like shinobi appeared to be so relaxed despite his words. Compared to his bingo book entry, he seemed very . . . Human, despite his appearances. She wasn't sure if this was normal for his behavior, seeing as Itachi had never spoken of his partner and his blank expression was telling her nothing. She took a deep breath, looking at her companions, steeling herself for what was about to happen.

"All right," Kisame stated, his expression (or rather, the expression of the man he was currently portraying) becoming extremely serious all of a sudden. "It's time. Let's go."

"What did you say?"

"I do not believe that I stammered, Hokage-sama," Hiashi sneered, looking defiantly at the woman seated in the chair across the desk from him. "I will not concern myself or my clan in the retrieval of my eldest daughter. It is perfectly normal for a shinobi to be killed on a mission, and if my daughter did not return with the boys on her team then it is unlikely that she is alive based upon her skill level. If you are wise, Hokage-sama, you will not concern yourself, either."

Tsunade felt her blood boiling at the indifference in the man's tone. Her fists were clenched beneath the table, and it was taking everything she had not to punch a hole through the Clan Head's skull. She took a deep breath, matching the man's gaze. Fine, she would play this little game of his if she had to in order to get a Hyuuga to join the search party. "Aren't you even concerned about the secrets of the Byakugan? What if her captor is another village?"

Hiashi's eyes hardened at this suggestion. "I return to my original statement that my daughter is most likely dead," he scowled. "However, you may have a point . . . Another village getting a hold of the Byakugan is unacceptable. If nothing else, I suppose we should recover the body to seal it."

Tsunade kept her best poker face on, nodding to him. "I will need the assistance of a Hyuuga on the retrieval squad in order to guarantee she is returned."

"You may have Neji," Hiashi stated matter-of-factly. "He will be the best suited for your needs. I cannot afford to spare any other of my clansmen on this ludicrousness."

"Neji will do just fine," Tsunade replied evenly. "I appreciate your generosity, Hiashi-san."

Hiashi merely raised a brow. "Understand that I am merely doing this as a precaution," he stated, standing. "My clan does not tolerate weakness or failure, and with this, perhaps a stain has finally been removed."

With that, the man offered her a stiff bow before turning and departing the office. Once he was gone, Tsunade slammed her fist on the desk, cracking it. How could one man treat his own daughter so horribly? To refer to her as only a body when there was no confirmation on her current status? The thought infuriated her beyond belief. If the Hyuuga miraculously turned up alive, the Hokage would be having a long talk with her father.

Taking a deep breath, the Hokage tried to force herself to calm down, wishing for nothing more than a cup of her strongest sake. Damn Shizune for getting rid of her stash. Picking up her pen, she began to fill out a mission, gathering the names of those she had chosen. The current irony didn't escape her as she looked down at the names she'd written.

Hyuuga Neji. Nara Shikamaru. Inuzuka Kiba. Aburame Shino. Yamanaka Ino.

Other than the Yamanaka and Aburame, they were all original members of the Sasuke retrieval squad she had once sent out. She sighed.

I hope this time the mission turns out to be a success . . .

It didn't take long for the unusual squad to be gathered in her office. Kiba was looking at the others skeptically as they waited for the Hokage to instruct them. The blonde waited until Shizune had exited and shut the door behind her before speaking up.

"I have gathered you all here for a very important B-rank mission," she stated seriously. "Hyuuga Hinata has been captured by unknown enemies, and I am charging all of you with the responsibility of returning her home safely if it is possible. We currently don't have any leads, but that's why I have assembled you all specifically. Neji, you are the captain of this mission. Your Byakugan will allow you to see what the others cannot. Kiba, you and Shino have been assigned because you were around when she was captured, and your squad specializes in tracking. Shikamaru, your strategizing and keen eye will be invaluable depending upon who you will be up against. Ino, there is a good chance Hinata will be hurt when you find her. I'm sending you both as the medic and as another tracker. You can see into the minds of anyone who may be able to help and are refusing to cooperate. I'm trusting all of you to be able to retrieve her."

All of the shinobi that stood before her wore somber expressions. They all had different thoughts racing through their heads, but they all had one thing in common: They were worried about the former Hyuuga heiress. Finally, it was Neji who spoke up.

"Do not worry, Hokage-sama. We will do everything humanly possible to ensure Hinata-sama's safe return."

No one disputed as they exited the office, immediately departing to locate the Hyuuga.

Hinata had to give her companions credit; if it weren't for the fact that she was with them and her kekkei genkai, she would have no idea that they were even here. They were running silently along the rooftops in the town, making their way to the tallest structure under the cover of darkness. The moon was mostly covered by clouds, occasionally breaking through enough to cast a faint shadow, but as they landed in front of their target's home, not a trace of the three was visible to any non-shinobi eyes. Itachi slid into the shadow of the building, disappearing entirely with it as he stealthily made his way behind the two guards in front of the side door. Hinata's Byakugan was blaring behind her henge, and she nodded to Kisame before they approached the Uchiha who was wiping fresh blood off of his kunai.

"There are guards stationed at the doors inside," Hinata whispered. "I can see their c-chakra patterns. It will be d-difficult to approach them, almost impossible to d-do so without being seen."

"Coming up with a different plan is going to take too much time," Kisame growled. "How many are there?"

"T-two more," she replied quietly.

"Shizuka," Itachi stated, looking at Hinata seriously. "Give me your jacket."

Hinata's eyes widened. "W-what?"

"I said," he said, a little more forcefully this time. "Give me your jacket, and your kunai holster."

Hinata stared at him in confusion, but quickly unzipped her jacket, feeling more self conscious now than she could remember ever being. She passed the garment to the Uchiha, before removing her holster and tossing it to him. The red-eyed shinobi quickly dug through the holster, tossing her a few senbon. "Pin up your hair."

Kisame eyed his partner curiously, not quite sure where Itachi was going with this. He'd never known the man to be overly confrontational like this, but he was beyond amused right now. It was a little fun to watch him order a girl around—especially because she was so nervous. He could smell the fear on her due to his heightened senses, but he had to give her credit for keeping it together like she was.

Hinata returned her hands to her sides as she finished pinning up her hair, having wound the senbon into it to make as tight a bun as she could manage. She stared at the man, trying to figure out where he was going with this.

Itachi looked her over for a moment before nodding. "Okay," he stated, setting the weapons and Hinata's jacket down. "Shizuka, you're our prisoner. Do not forget that."

Hinata's brow furrowed. Of course she knew that she was their prisoner—she certainly wasn't here by choice. She frowned, getting the feeling that she was missing something vital that he was trying to say.

The Uchiha turned to his partner. "Come, Kisame, let us escort our prisoner inside for Hideki-sama."

Oh, Hinata realized, that was what it was. She apparently wasn't just the Akatsuki duo's prisoner right now.

Kisame grinned. "Of course, Itachi-san. Or, rather, Shou-san."

Itachi nodded, glad his partner understood. He pulled out one of his own kunai, pointing it at Hinata. "Go inside."

Hinata took a deep breath, realizing that this was mostly just for show. She turned, beginning the trek inside. As they turned the corner, they were spotted by the other guards that were present. "Shou? Who's the girl?"

Itachi merely stared at him. "We were instructed to get a girl for Hideki-sama suiting his tastes. This is the best we could do."

One of the guards scowled. "Figures he gets all of the hot ones," he muttered. "You'd think he'd at least leave one or two for the rest of us."

The other rolled his eyes, "Oh shut up. Complaining isn't going to change anything."

He turned and opened the door. "Better hurry before the boss gets too testy."

'Shou' nodded, pushing Hinata towards the two. She wished she could say that her shaking was just acting, but she was genuinely terrified as she passed the two guards. They seemed oblivious until Kisame went to walk by them. The one who'd opened the door turned suddenly. "Hey, wait a minute, your chakr—"

The man was cut off as a kunai suddenly sliced through his neck, Kisame grinning gleefully before turning and stabbing the same kunai through the other one's throat before he could realize what was going on. He scoffed, shaking his head. "Too easy."

"It is a shame when someone can't even recognize a simple henge," Itachi frowned. "These shinobi were not well trained."

"Did you expect otherwise?" Kisame stated, glancing at his partner. He turned to Hinata. "Where's our target, mouse?"

Hinata nodded, reactivating her Byakugan and scanning the house. "This way."

She began to lead them further down the hall before taking a left, following her eyes until they reached another door. "On the other side of this door is our t-target and four guards."

"He sleeps with guards in his room? Someone's paranoid," Kisame snickered. "Well, five against three should be fun, regardless."

Itachi merely walked forward and grabbed the handle on the door, opening it.

Their target was seated on his bed, staring directly at them while his guards all stood holding various weapons around them. Kisame raised a brow.

"Were you expecting company?"

"Yes," Hideki scowled. "I see I was correct, imposters. Reveal yourselves!"

Kisame laughed dangerously. "Well, Itachi-san, it looks as though we've been caught."

With that, both shinobi dropped their henges. Hinata left hers intact as instructed, not wanting the man to realize a Hyuuga was assisting the Akatsuki. Hideki immediately paled upon seeing the cloaks, realizing what was going on. "You dare double cross me?!"

"Heh, it's not us doing the double crossing," Kisame stated, grabbing the hilt of Samehada. "Looks like you've been trying to sell our secrets, Hideki, and our boss doesn't seem to take too kindly to that, even if any information you have on us is useless."

"If you don't fight, your death will be quick," Itachi added simply. "Surrender."

"Never!" Hideki growled, his voice more defiant than his expression. "Guards, kill them!"

Immediately the guards ran forward, attempting to fight the Akatsuki members. One of the guards shifted to make a jab at Hinata with a tonto, slicing dangerously at her. Hinata quickly dodged out of the way, her Byakugan allowing her to see it in time. She slid into her Jyuuken stance, preparing to defend herself. She effortlessly moved to the side as one of the swipes was aimed at her neck, and she drew back to slam her hand into her opponent's side. He was quick, though, and was able to dodge most of the blow, allowing her to only land a small hit on one of his lower ribs. She frowned, dodging several more blows. Why did Itachi have to take my weapon's pouch?!

She scowled as she missed another fatal attempt, this time aimed for her chest. She diverted to the left, allowing herself to slide in further and land a blow on the man's bicep. He seethed in pain, feeling the muscle locking up due to the chakra point being shut down. Hinata watched him cautiously as he got into a more careful stance, sizing her up a little more seriously this time. She couldn't help but feel a little bitter towards him; he'd gone after her thinking she was the weakest (granted, she was due to the fact that she was fighting beside two Akatsuki, but that wasn't the point), and she didn't appreciate it.

Before she could attempt to attack him first, a movement in the field of her Byakugan caught her attention. She frowned. "The target is escaping out t-through the window!"

Kisame parried his opponent's sword as Hinata called out, and turned to see that she was indeed correct. He sighed, having enjoyed a little spar with a fellow sword user, who was apparently the original Shou. He pulled away, sliding back across the ground before launching himself at his opponent, using his actual strength this time to overpower and tear through the man's neck with ease. He jumped over the corpse, dashing towards the window to catch up to the target.

Hinata turned back to her opponent just in time to see him lunge at her again. She gasped, jumping back, dodging the once more fatal blow. She didn't move fast enough to entirely avoid his attack, however, and cried out as the weapon sliced from the right side of her collarbone down to just across her right bicep. She reacted on instinct, her body jerking to slam her palm straight into the man's chest. She felt the surge of chakra flow out of her hand, and didn't even have to guess if the man's heart had been affected as he suddenly slumped against her before falling straight onto the ground

Itachi was finishing off his two opponents, slicing their throats as they stood, minds shattered by what she assumed had to be the effects of the Tsukuyomi. She was breathing heavily, her wound stinging. She and the Uchiha locked gazes for a long moment, before Itachi walked over to her.

"Hinata, I'm sorry," he frowned, eyeing the cut unhappily. "I wish I could give you the time to heal that properly, but we are running out."

He suddenly reached up behind his head, untying his hitai-ate. He stared at it for a moment before gripping his kunai and dragging it across his hand, only to grip part of the hitai-ate's cloth and metal to allow the blood to soak into it. "You remember what you are to tell them?"

"Y-yes," Hinata replied, not liking the fact that he was harming himself. "Are you s-sure?"

"I do not wish to see harm befall you," he stated seriously, looking her in the eyes. "You cannot falter on this; you have to convince them that you believe me to be dead."

With that, he released the hitai-ate, which was now covered in a decent amount of blood, before removing his Akatsuki ring as well. He held them both out to Hinata. The blue-haired woman frowned, accepting them both cautiously, before feeling her hand get caught by Itachi's other one. She looked up at him, realizing he was closer to her now. She felt her heartbeat increase at his proximity.

"I do not know if we will see each other again after this," he stated seriously. "And if we do, I don't know how long it will be before then. I apologize that you were dragged into this."

He didn't give her the chance to respond before he suddenly leaned down and kissed her. Hinata was caught off guard, but didn't pull away. Instead, she returned the kiss a little more confidently this time. For a moment, she forgot what was going on and reveled in the warmth radiating off of him. She took a deep breath as he pulled away. He nodded to her, hiding the pain he felt. "Go, run. Get away as fast as you can and go home."

She nodded, turning and bolting out the window, hoping he hadn't seen the tears that were threatening to fall.

Itachi watched her leave, ignoring the ache in his chest as he did so. He and Kisame were going to have to lie low for a while after this if the plan was going to work. He turned after a few minutes had passed, heading back down the hallway they'd originally come from after tossing some kunai around the inside of the building. Once outside, he picked up the Hyuuga's discarded jacket and weapons pouch before creating a hand seal, detonating the explosive tags attached to the kunai within the base, effectively destroying it as he raced away on top of the buildings, trying to focus on locating his partner instead of a certain woman.

Hinata raced through the rocks as fast as she could with her leg throbbing the way it was. She clutched the hitai-ate and ring tightly against her chest, her eyes gleaming with her unshed tears as she avoided colliding with anything that would slow her down. She winced as her newest wound flared up with pain once more, but she pushed through it, stopping only once she was a good mile and a half or so out of range from where she'd been. She looked down at her hands, the sight of Itachi's blood making her queasy. Blood didn't usually bother her, but for some reason, his did.

She hoped he would be okay. She didn't want to admit how worried about the man she was, but she didn't know what else to do right now. Of course she would be the one person to fall for a nuke-nin instead of someone reachable.

She frowned, shaking the thought from her head. Now was not the time to reflect on her complicated relationship with an infamous rogue shinobi. She looked back up, determined to make it back to her village so that she could explain what had happened. She shifted, getting ready to begin running again.

A blur of white suddenly flashed past her face and she froze in shock, a familiar sense of dread and panic filling her as she recognized the bandage covered sword that was pinning her between it and the daunting figure standing behind her. She stiffened further as she felt the man's chakra flare dangerously.

"Hello again, mouse. Interesting choice of souvenirs you've got there."

A/N: Please don't shoot me! You guys know I'm bad about cliff-hangers, haha! Read and review, please-it genuinely does help get my motivation up to write! And I am eager to see what you guys think will happen next, so feel free to toss some theories around! They're really cool to read. :) Anyway, until next time! ;)