Important Author's Note

Chapter Nine

The Girls Fight Back!

Wow…it's been so long since my last update that I've almost forgotten what this story's about! I'm so sorry to keep you waiting guys…busy, busy, busy! I'd like to dedicate this chapter to: Tomato-Vampire-Countess, sasukeluv22, cherrysaki-chan, jungle525, uchihagenius4.0, and hollywood-135. Thankiez for reviewing, you guys! :D Oh, and thanks for correcting my mistake with Hinata's dad! That was very helpful! :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing in this chapter! :D

-Recap-

And with that, Hisashi and Ino parted. Ino, to go rest her friend, and Hisashi to go help his daughter.

-End Recap-

-With Ino-

Click. Click. Click. Ino's footsteps sounded against the marble floor as she hurriedly ran up the stairs searching for the specified room.

In her arms, a collapsed TenTen stirred a little.

Ino looked down worriedly at her friend and remembered Sakura's words. 'If this is going to be a fight…I'm going to need all the help I can get!' Sakura had said before she and Ino had parted. The words echoed in Ino's mind, warning her to go help Sakura.

But in order to help Sakura, Ino had to help TenTen first.

All around her, maids and butlers swung brooms at Ino while yelling curse words at her, telling her to leave. Ino only ran past them, still hoping that her friends would be okay.

After another minute of running, Ino came to a door, and kicked it open with her foot. She fast-walked to the side of the bed and gently placed TenTen on top of it. At the sudden change of positions, TenTen moved a little, and her face held an expression like she was having a horrible nightmare. Ino wanted to wake her up, but then she'd have to explain the whole story which could cost her some time.

And time was the last thing that Ino had.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ino saw a pen and some paper lying on the nightstand next to the bed. She quickly, picked up the pen and began scribbling words on the pad:

--You're safe up here. Do not leave or else the same thing that happened to Hinata could happen to you. Don't try to look for me. Stay Here!

Ino

Ino finished the letter, and laid it on the nightstand before leaving to go catch up with Hisashi and Sakura.

-With Sakura-

He took a step forward.

She took a step back.

He took a step forward.

Again, she took another step back.

Sakura and the mysterious male had been doing this for the past 10 minutes, but Sakura wasn't sure how much longer she could keep going. Why was he playing these silly little games with her? If he was going to hurt her…why didn't he just do it already?!

Sakura was about to take another step backward until her back made contact with something dry and hard.

A single redwood was standing in the way of Sakura and freedom.

She was trapped.

'So this was his plan, huh?' Sakura began to think to herself. 'To get me cornered so that I wouldn't try to escape. Clever.'

But now it was Sakura's turn to smirk.

"But not clever, enough!" Sakura yelled as she began to run full speed at the outline of the figure.

"Take this!" She yelled, focusing all of her chakra to her arm. She went to hit the man in a pressure point knowing that this would knock him out.

Poof!

Sakura stood there bedazzled at what just happened. Her most powerful punch was wasted on a stupid clone.

Now, she was practically defenseless.

'Ugh, I just have to be in training to become a medic-nin! Why didn't I choose to be a very powerful ninja like every other normal person in Konoha?! If I did, maybe I'd actually stand a chance against this guy!' Sakura thought angrily to herself.

'If I were you, I'd be more worried about where that creep went rather than what career choice I picked…' Her inner countered.

'Why do you always join in at the negative times?!' Sakura asked herself, but she didn't get to hear the answer because, warm hot breath was breathing in her ear.

"Behind you, pinky." The voice said, as Sakura whirled around to come face-to-face with the stranger.

A feeling of De ja vu swept over her.

-With Hinata-

Hinata's eyes were locked with Neji's. One pair held fearness...The other held hatred.

I'm sure you can tell what pair went with whom.

Hinata finally broke the stare, and looked down at the ground. She gulped before she began to speak. "W-what is it you want, Neji-san?" She said feebly, her voice cracking under his intense gaze.

Neji shook his head and looked down at her with a disgusted look on his face. "Still stuttering like always…pathetic."

Hinata found hot tears form in her eyes but she forced herself to keep them back. She didn't want to look any more pathetic in front of her older cousin.

"I know your trying not to cry." Neji said looking bored. "You can't hide that from me, Hinata. No matter how hard you try."

Hinata finally let the tears fall, knowing that her cousin was right.

Neji shook his head. "See…you're so predictable."

Hinata continued to look at the ground. She remembered the time when she was about four and her cousin was five. Back then they had gotten along really well…she wondered what had gone wrong.

-Flashback-

"You can't catch me, Neji-kun!" A 4 year-old Hinata yelled, as she ran in the field, followed by an exhausted looking 5 year-old Neji.

"I'll tag you…sooner or later!" Neji called back.

Hinata only began running backwards, so that she was now facing Neji. "Give it up! I run faster than you! Plus I-"

"Hinata, Watch out!" Neji yelled his eyes wide. He reached out and grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her towards him, just in time so that Hinata didn't run backwards into a tree.

"Whoa…thanks Neji-kun. That was a close one!" Hinata said as she bowed her head a little. Out of the corner of their eyes, Hinata and Neji both saw a figure walking towards them. They turned around to see Neji's dad walking with a small smile on his face.

"Hinata…your father wishes to speak with you." Said the man looking at Hinata with a grin. She nodded her head and began walking towards the house. Neji, out of habit, began to walk after her but was stopped by a hand that was put in front of him.

Neji's gaze turned to see his father whose arm was outstretched in front of Neji, preventing him from going any further. "Sorry son…that meeting's only for the main branch."

Neji looked confused for a moment unsure of what his father was talking about. "Main branch?"

"Yeah…the main branch is…well…you'll understand when you're older." Said Neji's father smiling a bit.

From that moment Neji felt a little bit out of place. Like he didn't matter. Like he wasn't important. And that awkwardness only grew and grew as time went on.

Finally, his hatred for the entire main branch erupted when his father sacrificed himself.

-End Flashback-

That Hinata…is what went wrong.

Hinata knew that Neji hated her. Every chance he got, Neji would try to get even with Hinata. His insults and harsh felt words pierced her heart like a thousand needles.

But now, Hinata was going to pull those needles out.

One by One.

Starting now.

Hinata clenched her fists, and stood up. This was the last time. The last time that she was going to be ridiculed by her oh-so-powerful cousin. The last time that she was going to look like a coward. And definitely the last time that Neji would mess with her.

Neji narrowed his eyes and begin thinking. 'The look in her eyes. It's changed…she's more…determined.'

Neji watched half-shocked as Hinata took a fighting pose. He then smirked and also took a fighting pose.

"Well, well, well Hinata! I've got to hand it to you. I didn't think you'd ever be stupid enough to try to fight me." Neji said half-amused. Hinata said nothing, letting her eyes talk for her.

Her eyes were saying a lot.

"You just make sure that you don't let your guard down." Hinata finally said breaking the awkward silence that she had just developed.

Notice how she's not stuttering.

"Because after tonight…only one of us is going to walk out of this forest alive." Hinata said in ready position.

They both narrowed their eyes…it was going to be a fight till the death.

"Byakugan!"

-With TenTen-

TenTen groaned and stirred a little as she lay in the comfortable bed. Slowly, her eyes began to flutter open, her vision was blurry, but she could tell that she was in an unfamiliar place.

She sat herself up and began rubbing her eyes. "Where am I?" TenTen asked herself.

Suddenly, soft footsteps were heard from the doorway and a maid walked in with a tray. She smiled softly and walked toward TenTen, placed the tray down, and took a step back.

"Gomen…I didn't mean to wake you." The maid muttered softly, an apologetic smile on her face. TenTen shook her head and returned the smile. "It's fine…I was already awake."

"You're probably wondering where you are, ne? Would you like me to tell you?" The maid asked.

TenTen nodded her head. "Please."

"May I?" the maid asked pointing to a chair that was on the side of the bed. TenTen gestured for her to sit down and the maid obliged.

"Well," the maid began "I'm not really sure of the whole story, but I'll tell you what I know. I was in the hallway, cleaning when I heard a woman's voice shouting outside. I could tell she wasn't a part of the Hyuuga family because, she had blonde hair."

"…Ino…" TenTen muttered softly. The maid looked curiously at her.

"Ino? Is that her name?" She asked.

"Blonde hair…blue eyes…lots of make-up? Yeah…that's her alright." TenTen said while watching the maid nod at every one of Ino's traits.

"Well…Ino was shouting outside and my first instinct was to call security, but then I saw Hisashi walk up to her, and point towards the house. Apparently, he either knew you or your friend." The maid continued.

TenTen was confused…neither her nor Ino had ever met Hinata's dad before…and she was pretty sure that Hisashi wasn't the type to just let strangers sleep in his house.

Something wasn't right here.

The maid must've noticed TenTen's confused expression, because she began to talk again. "Anyway, after Ino went inside the house, Hisashi ran into the forest. Not long after that, so did your blonde friend. And I'm not quiet sure what happened to the pinkette."

TenTen's ears perked up at the maid's last words. She was definitely talking about Sakura…but what did she mean by not knowing what happened to her?

The maid spoke up once more. "You know…it's funny. Ino, Hisashi, and the pink-head disappeared at about the same time that Hinata and Neji did."

TenTen's eyes widened. That last sentence couldn't have been good at all! TenTen remembered what Hinata had said before they all came to the family reunion. 'He hates me!' was basically what Hinata had said.

She wasn't kidding.

"Gomen…I have to go!" TenTen said before pulling the covers off of her. Just as she was about to get off of the bed, the maid grabbed TenTen's arm preventing her from leaving.

"You mustn't go. It's dangerous in those forests and you're energy is not fully back yet. You're in no shape to do anything!" The maid said with a stay-here look on her face.

TenTen narrowed her eyes. "I can take care of myself!" She yelled, snapping her hand away forcefully. TenTen took one step on the ground, and all of a sudden the room started spinning.

TenTen sat back down on the bed and rubbed her temples. "Man…what a headache." She muttered weakly. The maid took the bottles of water and pills from the tray and handed them to TenTen who took them thankfully.

"Well…I have much more chores to fulfill, so if that will be all, m'lady." The maid said while standing up and bowing slightly. She smiled before speaking for the last time. "If you need anything…don't fret to call. Get better soon madam!" The maid said before turning on her heel and walking out the door.

TenTen just sat there for a minute, letting the head-ache relievers kick in. The wind from the open window blew in causing something on the nightstand to move. TenTen turned to find a piece of paper floating in the air, being carried by the wind. As the wind died down, the paper came to a halt on TenTen's lap as if it were a sign from Kami.

TenTen opened it curiously to find Ino's sloppy handwriting. She re-read the letter twice to make sure that the medicine wasn't making her misunderstand the words. A million questions raced through her mind as she looked at the letter from Ino.

What had happened to Hinata?

What happened while she was passed out?

And why wasn't she supposed to look for them?

TenTen tried to piece together the puzzle that had just been laid out in front of her. For some reason, all of her theories kept on leading back to Hinata.

After all…the maid did say that Hinata had disappeared.

And in the letter, Ino had put that something had happened to Hinata and was afraid that the same thing was going to happen to her.

But was it really that serious?

TenTen sat in her confused state for a minute before realization hit her. She remembered what the maid had said about Neji and Hinata. 'Ino, Hisashi, and the pink-head disappeared at about the same time that Hinata and Neji did.' She had said.

TenTen's eyes went wide again, as she figured out the puzzle at last.

"OH no…this isn't good…no, not good at all!" TenTen said as she mustered up all of her adrenaline and jumped out of the bed. Quick as lightening, TenTen rushed out of the room, out of the house, and finally into the forest.

She was going to get her friends back.

-With Ino-

'I can't find them anywhere!' Ino thought angrily to herself. She was jumping from tree to tree, and whipping her head in all directions. It couldn't be that hard to find at least one person! Were Sakura, Hisashi, and Hinata all in the same place? Or was one of them kidnapped? Or were they all just hiding somewhere?

Those are the questions that continue to haunt Ino's mind.

She stopped on a random branch and crouched down. Slowly, she pressed her ear against the branch, listening for footsteps. Ino crinkled her eyebrows, as she heard something that made her uneasy.

Something was following her…

Well, more like someone.

Ino turned around, and saw nothing but trees and leaves all crowding around her.

"You can't hide forever you know! You might as well just come out now! It'll save you the trouble of following me!" Ino shouted, forgetting that she was supposed to be sneaky.

In the distance, a bush rustled as a male walked out of hiding, hands buried in his pockets.

Ino immediately recognized him and narrowed her eyes. "Why do you always cause me so much trouble?"

The man just shook his head and sighed.

"Trust me…I'm not the troublesome one…"

Author's Box :D!

So how's that for a long chapter?! Hehe…eh more cliffys. Oh mi gosh, I need to hurry and get to the plot already! But don't worry….it's coming soon…very soon! And it'll be hilarious! Anyway, I don't think that I'll be updating anymore the week…stupid laptop and stupid school is being…stupid! Sorry for any inconvience!

(Hey you…with the face! There's a button at the bottom of the page that says 'Submit Review'…apparently it's trying to tell you something!)

With Muchos Koi,

MomoUchiha