Hinata's big white eyes copied my own widened ones.

"Hinata?! What the hell are you doing here? You shouldn't be here! Go before the police finds out—" She crashed against me and I glanced at the forest floor to see a simple white bag by her feet. My eyes widened even more when I put two and two together.

"Hina-chan…don't tell me…" But I was cut off.

"Why didn't N-Naruto-kun tell me that he was leaving?" She gripped me tighter. "I was worried when otou-sama went running out of the house with his police uniform on. I was so worried that something happened to Naruto-kun so I asked my otou-sama what was going on. He told me that you escaped and murdered seven police officers…" She paused and I felt her tears through my clothes. "I-I thought you'll keep your promise…wha-what happened?"

"Hinata, listen to me, you don't have time. What you're doing—you can't do this! You have a chance to live a normal life…" I stared at her eyes, my eyes stinging with overwhelming emotions. "Why choose to follow me?"

Hinata cupped my cheek and kissed my lips. "Because I love you. I never understood why people in love will go to such lengths for the person they care deeply for. They'll sometimes do such weird and incredible things for the person they love. Why would they do it? My mind never wrapped around it because I've never experienced love…till now." She held my gaze. "I'll go to the end of the world for you. I-I'll risk my life as long as yours is parted. I'll face against the world by your side. I'll never leave you…I can't…just thinking about you leaving makes my chest tighten and my heart becomes weak." Her hand rested on top of her left breast, clenching her shirt. "That's why I chose to follow you. I'll go into the darkness with you. As long as I'm by your side, I'll protect you."

I hugged her tightly, her words reaching my soul. It was a warm liquid that left my body in tingles. My hand began to tangle itself in her soft hair and I kissed her temple.

"Hinata…let's go then. I'll protect you too and that's a promise of a life time. I love you so much because of everything that makes you, you. C'mon, I'll explain what happened while we run." Hinata beamed a wide smile and grabbed her bag. Before we started our trek to the cabin, I kissed her deeply. "Whatever happens tonight, I'll protect you from it. Let's go." As we ran, I began to discuss my plan. I retold her how I made the choice on killing those innocent officers because I decided to leave everything behind. The police were close to solving the case, I told her, and I panicked. I apologized to her that I broke my promise after all but with a hesitant nod, Hinata forgave me. I grabbed her hand and pulled her along; afraid that I'll lose her in the darkness. Our steps synched and our breathing mingled with Konoha's cold air.

After a while, I heard howling from a good mile away from us and I stopped dead in my tracks. I turned to Hinata and my eyebrows furrowed. Hinata's eyes widened and her lips parted.

It wasn't a howl from a wild animal.

Barking came afterwards and I saw in the distance the flashing of white lights and the sounds of heavy steps growing louder and louder. I gripped Hinata's hand and ran. "Hinata, try not to lag behind!"

"H-Hai!"

The sounds of barking and shouts grew in my ears, making me run faster. I turned momentarily to see a group of police men running in our direction.

"Stay there!"

"Don't run!"

"You can't escape us!"

"Don't move or we'll shoot!"

The last threat made me falter in a step before picking it up double. I had never felt so scared in my life before. The fatigue was catching up to me and my legs were beginning to cramp up again. Every cell on my body was on fire, telling me to stop, but my instincts screamed to keep going or die trying. I heard the sound of a gun going off and I knew that they were serious.

I glanced behind me to see Hinata following my every step, her eyes focused on ahead. I wouldn't have been so worried if I was alone but now I had someone very precious to me and the chance of her getting killed tonight was becoming more of a reality than a possibility. I made a sharp right turn, trying to lose our pursuers. My blue eyes darted everywhere, trying to see if there's a hiding place but another gun goes off and it made me flinch, unknowingly making my feet run faster. I turned left and right every once in a while but I still knew where I was going. Try to get to the cabin, try to get to the cabin was the mantra I was repeating in my head, trying to distract myself from the pain firing up and down my legs and the tightness of my chest.

Another bullet was fired and shouts were heard in every direction. I told Hinata to run beside me. Fear clawed its way into my mind and the darkness of the forest was making it harder to see. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I saw her beside me. More shots were heard, echoing within the lonely forest. The barking of the police dogs were heard close by but as I glanced around I saw nothing but the thick trees. Flashes of white lights were seen a mile away and the police officers were barking orders. Suddenly, I felt a rush of wind that passed right by my ear. The trunk of a tree that was in front of me shattered into a million pieces.

In the darkness, I failed to see a large root of a tree. My foot got caught and I landed painfully on the dirt floor, rocks stabbing my skin and the pain pulsing through my body. I heard Hinata gasp and felt her small hand grip my forearms, picking me up. She tugged me along, her eyebrows furrowing when she saw me limping. I waved it off and resumed our fast pace. Another bullet whizzed by us and I knew this shooter can shot accurately.

Suddenly, my leg muscles spasm painfully and I fell, groaning at the throbbing pain. I stretched my foot and cried out when my muscles twisted painfully. "Naruto-kun, are you okay?!" Hinata came to my side immediately, her hands reaching for my arms. Another bullet went off and I tried to stand with the help of Hinata only to crumble back down. From the shadows, I saw a figure with a gun pointed towards us. My ears pulsed and I gulped. I reached for Hinata and grabbed her hand to pull her back but she gently removed my hand from her own. I heard the gun go off and Hinata jumped up, her body shielding my own. "Hinata, don't—!" A scream broke through the night. My eyes followed Hinata's body as it landed on the dirt. "Hinata!" I watched as the shadow retreated and all fell silent as my eyes never left Hinata's unmoving body. I crawled my way to her. "Hinata, answer me, please, Hinata—!" Her body quivered and I bit back my tears, desperate to help her in anyway. Her hands clutched her stomach and I gently moved away her hands. I saw a blotch of red, the dot slowly growing bigger and bigger. I knew the bullet was imbedded in her flesh, a bullet meant for me. "No, no, no, no, no!" I kept repeating as I hugged her closer. "No, Hinata, you can't die here. Okay? You promised we'll live forever and ever. Hinata!" I jolt her awake, her eyelids opening momentarily before closing. "Hinata! Damn it! Hinata, don't die!" I shakily kissed her now cold lips. I felt her smile and the taste of iron left a bitter taste on my tongue.

"N-Naruto-kun isn't hurt…i-i-is he?" she asked weakly, eyelids slowly moving up.

"No, no, I'm not. Hinata why did you do that? Why? I could've taken the god damn bullet, Hinata! You didn't have to—"

"N-Naruto-kun isn't alone anymore…" she barely said before closing her eyes.

"Hinata, wake up!" I cried to her, my tears landing on her pale cheeks. She opened her eyes and smiled, a trail of blood forming from the corner of her lips.

"H-Hai, Naruto-kun, I'll try…to stay…a…wake…"

I nodded, the tears still descending down. I grabbed her bag and picked her up gently. My knee almost gave out and pain fired up and down my legs but I ignored it. Anger coursed through my veins and I looked where the shadow once stood. "I'll kill you, you bastard! If you show your face, I'll kill you!" I didn't have much time left and Hinata's life was slowly slipping away. I ran to the direction where I knew the cabin laid hidden.

My heartbeat slowed to dangerous levels when I heard small hearable pants coming from Hinata. Her body was icily cold and I picked up the pace, nearly tripping with every step that I took. A wooden cabin came into view and I cried, pushing my limits. I slammed the door open and closed it with my foot. I glanced around and saw a very old looking bed at the far corner, a wooden table in the middle that was painted with moonlight, and a fireplace behind it. I gently laid Hinata down on the table and it groaned under the weight. I dropped our bags to the floor and looked around, my eyes stopping to see a sink, the rusted faucet looking more brown than silver. I ran to the sheets on the bed and opened the faucet. A few seconds went by before water rushed out, the pipes groaning from the unused work. I shook with nervousness and fear. When I noticed the cloth was thoroughly wet I ran back to Hinata's side and slowly rolled up her shirt. I placed the cloth on her wound and applied pressure. I cooed to her when I heard her moan in pain and I let out a few tears when her face scrunched up. I furrowed my brows, trying to recall what Sakura said about treating open wounds. I ran to the faucet again and repeated the same action, cleansing the cloth every time I made a round. Ten minutes went by before I saw that her blood wasn't gushing out so much like the beginning. I knew that the horrible part was about to come.

I opened my bag, looking for my Swiss knife. I grabbed it and went back to the table. I placed it near Hinata's hand and checked her pulse. I sighed when I felt a slight throbbing underneath my index and middle finger. I saw the rise and fall of her chest just to reassure myself. I snapped my knife open and apologized to Hinata before digging the knife inside the wound. Hinata's eyes snapped open and screamed, nearly sitting up if it wasn't for my elbow that knocked her back down. It hurt seeing her wither in pain but the faster I take out the bullet the better. I wedged out the bullet, blood oozing out of the now more open wound. I repeated the water on cloth routine and rinsed out the blood with cold water. I grabbed my clothes from my bag and tied them up hurriedly. I wrapped the tied clothes on her wound, firmly but not too tight. I sighed slowly, wiping away the sweat from my brow. I kissed her unconscious form and sighed once again.

"You'll be okay, Hina-chan. We're going to be okay…" I didn't dare move her anymore; afraid I'll open up the wound again.

I pressed my back against the wall and smiled a small, grateful smile. I turned to the only window and glanced outside.

I saw something that I didn't expect.