Author's Note: Hello everyone; sorry for the delay once again, but I've been trying to think about where to take this fanfic, and in the process, came up with an entirely new fanfic! Don't worry, this one will continue on, but for those interested in some romance/drama/action keep your eyes peeled for "The Hyuuga Insurrection", which will flesh out Lorn's back story (he'll just be an OC, not a god-modding idiot, heh) and as such, Lorn will not make a repeat performance in this fic; I apologize to those disappointed by it. This fic, of course, will remain humorous and I've decided to heed some advice and begin supplying some more pairings (no crack). I'm also injecting some other genres (mostly drama). Well, that's enough ranting, onward!

Chapter Ten: Acceptable Circle Of Confusion

"Neji! I swear! I didn't do anything!" yelled Naruto in fright, dragging Hinata by the arm out of the restaurant.

"GET…BACK…HERE," breathed Neji, throwing several shuriken at Naruto; all of them missed in his blind fury.

"But I didn't do anything!" screamed back Naruto as he rounded a corner; technically, Hinata had caused this, but Naruto wasn't about to put down fresh confidence.

Naruto did not realize that he had run in a complete circle and ended back at the restaurant; nor did he realize that he bolted back inside. Almost subconsciously, he found his friends still at the table, all still a bit dazed at what Hinata had said. He dove under the table, letting go of Hinata's arm and hissing at her in a panic, "Shh!"

Hinata sat down in front of the hiding Genin and started talking to Tenten.

"How am I going to make him stop?" asked Hinata wearily.

Tenten looked at Hinata thoughtfully and suddenly lit up. Giggling she waved for Hinata to get closer and whispered her plan into her ear.

"Is that really going to work?" gasped Hinata.

"He's got to see the light of day sometime," said Tenten simply.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Sakura and Ino were doing their best to take advantage of how awkward Temari and Shikamaru looked. Sakura decided to pester the Sand kunoichi while Ino bothered the perpetually lethargic Nara.

"Come on Temari," began the strawberry-haired ninja, "Are you ever going to do something?"

Temari mumbled uncomfortably; for someone who was usually so tough, it was actually a bit unsettling. "W-why do you care?" she finally said.

"Because it's a bit like watching Naruto and Hinata before they were together, only worse, because you both like each other; in their case, one was just a dense idiot and the other was to shy to say anything," said Sakura pointedly.

Temari made an indistinct noise in her throat; Sakura was right, waiting wasn't the best course of action. But they both knew how they felt; how do you go about bringing it out and talking about it? 'Hi, I heard you like me and I like you too, let's go out,' sounded extremely stupid in Temari's head. "I'll do something about it," said Temari, "Just need the right circumstances."

Shikamaru, obviously, heard none of this because Ino was pestering him. "Look Ino, I'll do what I want," he droned.

"That's nothing! Literally!" said Ino angrily; she wasn't about to put up with his lethargy, he was going to do something even if she had to force him.

"So what?" said Shikamaru, a bit agitated now, "Women are troublesome anyway."

"Don't say that like you believe it," huffed Ino, "I've seen what you've done when she's not look-"

Shikamaru, with surprising speed, clamped his hand over Ino's mouth and said urgently, "Shhhh!"

Chouji chose this moment to put in his crunchy two chips…cents. "Listen to her Shikamaru," said Chouji idly, "It's better you get it done now then later; we all know how much you like her."

Ino removed Shikamaru's hand and said to him acidly, "See!?"

"Fine," he said, at last relenting, "But when do I start?"

"NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT!" yelled Ino and Sakura in perfect unison. As one, they grabbed Temari's and Shikamaru's heads and forced their lips together.

Neji bounded into the restaurant and stopped when he saw the scene. "They're together?"

Temari and Shikamaru initially tried to pull away at forcibly having their mouths pressed together, but eventually relented and were enjoying a thoroughly good kiss.

Sakura and Ino gave each other a high five and then turned their attention to what Neji was going to do to Naruto.

"IF YOU THINK FOR ONE SECOND I DON'T KNOW YOU'RE UNDER THAT TABLE-" screamed Neji at the quaking Genin under the table.

Tenten got up and turned Neji towards her, "Leave him alone will you?"

"Stay out of this Tenten," growled Neji.

"You need to relax," said Tenten softly.

Neji was taken when her lips met his; he was more taken aback when she pressed the kiss further. Perhaps it was because he was so busy trying to kill Naruto he never really put much attention into more important things; like the affection a teammate had for you. When at last they broke apart, Neji looked a bit bemused.

"Uh, s-sorry, Tenten," said Neji after a pause. Neji suddenly heard a low rumbling behind Tenten.

It was Hinata, and she looked demonic enough to have Itachi consider changing underwear. "Neji-nii-san…what are you doing?" she breathed.

Neji, needless to say, bolted.

After a pause, the group of ninja burst out laughing. Naruto crawled out from under the table and kissed Hinata on the cheek and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"That was amazing! Maybe he'll finally leave me alone now that he's had a taste of his own medicine!" said the blond enthusiastically.

"It was all Tenten's idea really," said Hinata softly, a smile on her lips.

Naruto thanked Tenten. She looked quite pleased with herself and blushed softly.

Unbeknownst to the group, a dark figure had been watching the group the entire time. It smirked to itself, its eyes resting particularly on the lavender-eyed kunoichi.

---

Neji lay on his bed, huffing and panting. He felt a mix of emotions at once: anger, excitement and a severe need for some tea. The excitement came from Tenten's kiss; he was glad she liked him. The anger came from the fact that realized that it was a plot to get a dose of his own medicine; granted, he would have to lay off now. "Only because I've got better things to do now," he growled somewhat softly, thinking of Tenten. He was thirsty because running like a fucking animal was thirsty work.

Neji got up to make himself some tea. Lemon perhaps. Yes, lemon. It was delicious tea to have. He would have lemon tea and then go to bed. Perhaps tomorrow he could strangle Naruto. No…Tenten would kill him. He would be forced to give up his pursuits.

"Damn her," he said audibly, "Women truly hold the power."

Hiashi had been walking by and heard Neji. He smirked and said aloud, "Sweet Kami, yes, they do."

Neji choked on his tea.

---

The following day dawned happy and bright. And the splendid mood promised Naruto a wonderful day with Hinata. Unfortunately, fate had something else in mind. He had scarcely set out for the Hyuuga compound when a very grim looking Neji appeared before him. This took Naruto aback; it looked as if someone had died.

"The Hokage wants to see you, Naruto," said Neji quietly.

"Why do you look so glum?" asked Naruto.

Neji sighed, "It'll be a tough mission Naruto." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"For Neji not to want to kill me, it must be serious," said Naruto aloud. He set off for the Hokage's office.

"Obaa-san," said Naruto worriedly as he walked into the Hokage's office, "What's going on?" Naruto pulled back the chair in front of the Hokage's desk but was promptly told to stop.

"You're going to jump back up again when I tell you anyway," said Tsunade darkly.

Naruto stared at her.

"Hinata's been abducted," said Tsunade.

"Wh-what?" said Naruto. He didn't understand.

"She's been abducted," repeated Tsunade.

"N-no, I…I just saw her yesterday." He paused. "This isn't a very funny joke," said the blond, managing an uneasy smile.

"I am not Naruto. You must find her and get her back, as I'm sure if I assigned anyone else, you would have forced yourself to go along," continued Tsunade, "A note was left." She produced the note from her drawer. "It simply asks for a ransom and gives a time and place." She handed it to Naruto, who took it from her, his movements jagged.

"Wh-when do I start?" asked Naruto, his voice trembling.

Tsunade stared at the figure before her; his chakra was amassing. It was best to let him set out and tell his teammates to simply follow his trail.

"Now," she replied simply.

"Good," said Naruto with finality. He disappeared, leaving behind only a strong gust of wind.

Somewhere outside of the village, he was racing towards the location detailed on the note.

"I'm going to kill the bastard. No excuses," growled Naruto, a tail of chakra swaying visibly behind him.

Deep inside him, the Kyuubi growled in affirmation.

---

"So you sent him out alone?" asked Neji.

"Yes, but naturally, you three are to follow him," said the Hokage matter-of-factly.

"Right," said Sakura, nodding with determination.

"Alright then," said Kakashi, looking over his book with mild interest.

"How should we track him?" asked Sakura.

"He'll have cleared a visible path," answered Kakashi.

Kakashi was right. Half an hour later, they were outside of the village, greeted by a sort of ravine created straight through the trees towards the cave the kidnapper had outlined in his ransom.

---

Naruto stopped outside the cave the perpetrator had described. He was not supposed to be there for another day or so; the assailant had deemed that sufficient time for the ninja to get things in order.

Naruto wasn't going to wait; he pressed on, the red aura of chakra around growing ever more sinister.

---

Hinata's eyes fluttered open. She was in a dark stone room. Her clothing was a bit ruffled and dirty. The room was utterly barren save a bottle of water in the corner. She activated her Byakugan; she was surprised to find she could not. She looked down at herself and could not figure out why she could not, until she noticed a strange symbol on the back of her left hand. It looked like a circle in another circle; inscribed in each was a triangle and surrounding the larger circle was a square that perfectly boxed it in. There was also strange lettering that she could not make out.

The terror set in instantly; was her captor after her bloodlimit? What if he was after her?

'I went to the bathroom…and then…that's all I remember,' she thought in horror.

She suddenly realized she had a pounding headache. The back of her head sported a large bump roughly the size of a golf ball. She winced when she touched it. She got up and went to the door of her cell and tentatively pushed; to her surprise it opened. She found herself in a dark hallway. Steeling her will, the kunoichi walked down it slowly and deliberately before finding herself in a large, cavernous room. In the center was a table that might seat five people, chairs, a tablecloth and lit candles.

"Ah, you're finally awake," said a voice from behind her suddenly. Hinata turned instantly and assumed a Jyuuken stance. The voice laughed softly, coldly, "Of course, a pitiful attempt at fighting me."

Hinata narrowed her eyes; she could not yet perfectly see the figure, but she knew it was wearing a cloak and hood and was roughly a foot taller than her. She prepared herself to strike, but her palms would not expel chakra. It seemed that the strange seal did more than seal her bloodlimit.

"Ah yes," crooned the shadow, "You can't defend yourself without your precious chakra or eyes can you?" In one swift motion, he backhanded Hinata.

Hinata hit the ground and tasted blood. She looked back at the shadow that had moved to the table and sat down.

'He's fast,' she thought, 'That's not good.'

"Sit down, you silly child," said the shadow.

Hinata remained rooted to the spot.

The captor sighed, "Perhaps some light would help?" Hinata heard a clapping noise and the cave was suddenly bathed in enough light to see her captor. He was a male, with black hair slathered on his face and dark gray eyes. They bore an almost wistful intellect. His mouth was twisted into a very slight smile, one that simultaneously gave off an aura of arrogance and pity. It was all very unsettling.

Hinata walked over tentatively to the table and sat down on the edge of her chair across from the unnamed captor.

"Excellent," he said placidly, "Now, your little friends should be coming by soon, which is just what I want. The Jinchuuriki…oh, when he gets here it shall be a sweet harvest."

"What are you talking about?" blurted out Hinata.

"That seal you have upon your hand is no ordinary seal; you do realize that yes?" began the assailant, "It not only seals your abilities: it lets me use them." His eyes suddenly gained the characteristics of the Byakugan.

Hinata gasped. "H-how can you do that?" She looked down at her seal and noticed it was glowing.

"Special seals of course," said the shadow matter-of-factly, "How else? No one in my memory can use these seals. And when that Jinchuuriki comes barging in for his girlfriend, I'll be able to sap the Kyuubi's power from him. I'll be unstoppable."

"If I had a bowl of ramen for every time I heard that one," growled a voice deep within the cave. Naruto appeared next to Hinata suddenly; his appearance was growing more and more like they Kyuubi's with each passing second. "I'm not going to give you that chance." Naruto shot towards him, a barely perceptible blur and slashed viciously. The shadow avoided the strike, but barely.

"Weren't you ever taught manners?" whispered the assailant maliciously, "I haven't even introduced myself."

"Fuck you," growled Naruto, lunging at the attacker and grabbing him by the throat. Within moments, the kidnapper was gasping for air. A horrible retching sound was suddenly heard behind the two, however. Naruto turned around, still throttling the attacker and let go in horror. Hinata was doubled over on the floor, clutching at invisible hands wrapped around her throat. The seal on her left hand was glowing blood red.

"You cannot hope to win as long as that seal is upon her hand. I am not called the Voodoo-nin for no reason," replied Voodoo, licking his lips hungrily. "Let us see how long you last before you kill me, and therefore her, or let me take the Kyuubi's power from your body."

Naruto began to look more like his usual self, his heart sinking and fear gripping his body; he might as well have been told he could only win by tearing out his own heart.

He turned to look at Hinata, who looked back at him with a terrified expression.

It was the perfect strategy; Naruto could not kill a part of his soul.

---

Well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I'm not completely proud of it...it feels to messy. I'll see how I can fix it up in the following chapter. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! Sorry for the delay! Review!