Hinata and Haku sat in their prison of a room for three days. Hinata pulled her knees to her and sighed. Her stomach growled and she pulled her legs closer, "Hinata-san…" Haku said sadly.
Gatou never gave them much food, saying it was a complete waste of money. He only gave them enough for one person. Hinata always insisted that Haku eat instead of her, "Hinata-san," Hinata looked at Haku, "You should eat the next time we get food. I don't think your team is coming-"
"They will," Hinata stated, cutting Haku off.
"But it's been three days," Haku insisted, "If they were going to come for us, then they would've by now and-"
"Never doubt Naruto-kun, Haku-kun," Hinata smiled, "Naruto-kun may have made Rookie of the Year with Gaara-kun and Sasuke-kun, but he's not a genius like Hokage-sama," Haku blinked and Hinata smiled, "Naruto-kun trained and trained to get where he is. Sasuke-kun is a genius and maybe Gaara-kun is half of one, but Naruto-kun will fight for what he wants. Even if Kakashi-sensei doesn't decide to come for us, Naruto-kun will and-" Naruto was suddenly in front of them, "Naruto-kun!" Hinata jumped up and hugged Naruto tightly.
Naruto relaxed, "Hinata-chan…" he hugged her tightly, "You managed to keep the kunai."
Hinata smiled, and pulled away, "We need to go," Naruto said quietly, "There's a kunai back at Tazuna's house."
Hinata nodded and took Naruto's hand. She was proud at herself for not blushing like a school-spoke too soon, "Are you sick, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.
"I wouldn't doubt it," Haku stated standing up, "She hasn't eaten in three days, insisting that I eat instead."
"Hinata-chan," Naruto hissed.
Hinata blushed a little redder, "I'm fine, Naruto-kun, let's just get to Kakashi-sensei," she said, "How's Gaara-kun?"
Several screams and yelps were heard outside the door, "Uh…currently giving us our opening for escape," Naruto stated, "He wasn't too happy with them getting passed his sand."
Hinata smiled. Gaara was okay. Naruto grabbed Haku's hand, "I would close your eyes if I were you," Naruto warned Haku.
Haku didn't have time to question because he was suddenly in the dining room of a house. Haku lost his balance somewhat and bumped into something. He looked up, "Zabuza-san?" he asked shocked.
"I'm getting Gaara now," Naruto stated, "Hinata-chan hasn't eaten for three days," with that said, Naruto was gone again.
"What do you mean you haven't eat for three days?" Zabuza asked Haku.
"Just Hinata-san," Haku explained, "She insisted I eat instead of her. Gatou only gave us one meal."
"That sounds like you," Sasuke stated to Hinata, "Kind to a fault."
Hinata blushed. Naruto soon returned with Gaara, "Everyone okay?" Kakashi asked.
"Hai," Naruto stated, "Minus a few of Gatou's men, but…"
"Wasn't talking about them," Kakashi stated, "Now that we have Hinata and Haku back, Gatou has no leverage over us anymore. Tazuna can continue building his bridge and I'm pretty sure Gatou lost his ninja help," Kakashi looked at Zabuza and Haku.
"But this doesn't mean our mission's done," Sasuke stated.
"No, it doesn't," Kakashi stated, "But…I do have to tell Sensei now that there's no risk of Hinata or Haku being hurt."
"Great…" Naruto said, "Gaara and I are going to be on house arrest."
"Has to be done," Kakashi stated, "I'll send a message as soon as we get food in Hinata."
"I'll fix something for her," Tazuna's daughter said going towards the stove.
"I'm fine, really-" Hinata was cut off when her stomach growled.
She blushed, "Right…" Sasuke stated and lead Hinata to the table, "Sit down and eat."
Hinata intertwined her fingers and messed with her thumbs, "Zabuza," said missing nin turned to Kakashi, "I'm going to need to know what you're going to do so I can tell Hokage-sama and he won't have a heart attack."
Zabuza was silent for a while, "In there," Zabuza walked into the bedroom.
Kakashi followed Zabuza and closed the door. Haku was confused. Zabuza was acting different. In the room, "Yes?" Kakashi asked.
"I want Haku to go with you," Zabuza stated.
Kakashi sighed, "I'm sorry, Zabuza, but we can't just take missing nins and-"
"Haku isn't a Kiri Nin," Kakashi narrowed his eyes, "He had the headband and mask, yes, but only because we took them. He's never entered Kiri other than when we met. He has a Kekkei Genkai, after all."
Kakashi pondered this, "Maybe," he said after a while, "I'll mention it to Sensei in the message and see if he can convince the Elders. I'm sure Sandaime-sama will be all for it. It's his teammates we need to worry about."
Zabuza nodded and left the room, "Haku," he stated.
"Yes, Zabuza-san?" Haku asked.
"We're helping put a stop to Gatou," Zabuza stated.
"Of course," Haku stated.
"After that, you'll be going with the brats to Konoha," Zabuza finished.
"Wh-what?" Haku was shocked, "Why?"
Naruto blinked in confusion, turning away from Hinata, who was eating some soup, "Because…" Zabuza sighed, "Because I think you'll have a better life there."
Haku blinked, "Huh?" he asked, "But I thought-"
"I was wrong, okay?" Zabuza stated, "After this you'll go with them."
"But I-"
"No buts," Zabuza walked out of the house.
Haku was confused and hurt, "He really just wants what's best for you," Kakashi walked out, "I've sent word to Sensei and no doubt he'll send back up. Probably consisting of Temari and Kankurou."
Naruto and Gaara groaned softly, "And maybe Neji," Hinata looked down, "I did have to mention what happened with you Hinata because I had to explain why I didn't send word right away."
"Hai…" Hinata stated.
"Eat," Naruto pushed the bowl closer to Hinata.
Hinata did as her friend said. Haku slowly took his bun out and let his long hair down. Haku could easily be mistaken for a girl. Naruto jumped when he felt something land on his shoulder, "Hinata-chan?" he asked worried.
"She's fine," Haku said, "I put a sleeping herb in her soup. She also didn't sleep much and had her Kekkei Genkai active most of the time."
Naruto looked at Hinata before picking her up, "She's certainly been through a lot," Tazuna stated as Naruto carried her to the room with the mat.
Haku followed Naruto into the room and closed the door softly, "You're Naruto-kun, correct?" Haku asked.
Naruto set Hinata on the mat, "Yes, why?" he asked.
Haku walked over and watched as Naruto put the blanket over her, "She believes strongly in you," he stated.
Naruto blinked and looked at Haku, "What?" he asked.
"Hinata-san," Haku sat down beside her on the mat, "No matter what happened, she never once believed you or your team would abandon her or your mission."
Naruto was silent for a while, "What did Gatou do to her to make her jacket look like that?" he asked, "Did he actually…"
Haku nodded sadly, "She provoked him so he would forget about hurting me to make Zabuza-san do what he wanted," he said, "The blood on her jacket was hers. She has a very strong will. Even after Gatou beat her up quite badly, she made sure she got that odd kunai out of her bag and hid it before Gatou took the bag, which caused her to get hurt more," Haku looked at Naruto, "Hinata-san truly believes in you, Naruto-kun."
Naruto's mouth was gaped slightly before slowly sitting down next to Haku, "Gatou didn't…didn't do anything else, did he?" he asked.
"Physically, no," Haku stated, "But I think when he said that if her eyes weren't so pale and lifeless that she might be pretty it kind of hurt her a bit."
"He said what," Naruto said dangerously.
"I'm guessing her eyes are a sensitive subject?" Haku asked.
"Hinata-chan is the Hyuuga Heiress," Haku's mouth dropped slightly, "Because of that she's been bullied not only for being the heiress, but being a Hyuuga in general. Which I still don't understand. Hinata-chan is nothing like those stuck up elders of her clan," Naruto sighed, "I just want to know why Gatou took her. There's no way he would know about her being the heiress. He doesn't know anything about the Shinobi World."
Haku blinked, "Your brother didn't tell you?" he asked.
Naruto blinked in confusion, "Hinata-san said Gatou was going to take your brother," Naruto's eyes widened, "But she knew you would…um…lose control if that happened so told them that she would go. Perhaps your brother lost too much blood and forgot?"
"Hinata-chan…she…wha…Gaara!" Naruto yelled running out.
Haku sweat dropped. Maybe he shouldn't have said that…. He looked at Hinata before shaking his head, "You have an odd boyfriend, Hinata-san," he stated.
Minato was sitting at his desk, just before night fell, finishing off his paperwork. Shizune suddenly came in, "Hokage-sama," she said.
Minato looked up and blinked, "Pakkun?" he asked confused.
Pakkun walked up and jumped onto Minato's desk, dropping a rolled up message, "Message from Kakashi," he stated, wagging his tail.
Minato blinked and unrolled the message. Shizune began to worry when she saw her Hokage become pale as a ghost, "Um…Hokage-sama?" Shizune asked.
"Get me Temari, Hana, Itachi, and Kankurou," Minato stated, "Kakashi's mission with his Genin team and Gaara turned into an A-rank mission."
Shizune went wide eyed and quickly ran off. Pakkun dropped another note, "This one is less urgent," Pakkun explained.
Minato took the note and read it. He set the paper down, "I'll handle this once I get this team off to help them," Minato stated, "Even if Zabuza is willingly helping them with this Haku boy, Gatou will just hire more ninjas with Zabuza's skill and rank. I know I'm probably going to get on Kushina's bad side by sending all of our children into this, but Kankurou needs to be there just in case the Bijuu try to take control and Temari will just demand she go to protect her brothers. Itachi is going because one: his younger brother is involved and two: this mission may require more than two Jounin and Hana is just as proficient in human medical ninjutsu as she is with animal. They're going to need a healer."
Pakkun nodded. The door opened, "Tou-chan?" Temari asked, walking in with Itachi, Hana, and Kankurou, "What's wrong?"
"I'm going to be very blunt," Minato stated, "The mission Kakashi went on with his team and Gaara…has turned A-rank, possibly S-rank."
Temari, Kankurou, Hana, and even Itachi showed shock, "I want you to leave as soon as possible," he gave Itachi the first letter, "This is all we know of the mission so far," Itachi scanned the letter, but Minato went ahead and gave a sum up to the rest of them, "Gaara and Hinata have already been hurt during this mission-but they're fine now," Minato stated when Temari opened her mouth, "And Naruto has somehow managed to get Momochi Zabuza and one of his apprentices on their side."
"Momochi Zabuza?" Kankurou asked shocked, "The Demon of the Mist? How the fuck did Naruto do that?"
"That wasn't stated in the letter," Minato stated, "However, his apprentice, Haku is his name, is of the Yuki Clan," this caught Itachi's attention, "Once this mission is complete, Haku will come back to Konoha. I will talk with the Elders tomorrow about this, but Haku is not of a village. He is a trained Shinobi, probably Chuunin level, but he was trained by Zabuza, not a village, so he is not part of one."
"I see," Itachi stated.
"Kankurou," Kankurou turned to his father, "While you are to help with the mission, the reason you're going-"
"I know," Kankurou stated, "Tenzou-san has already informed Hikari, Itsuki, and I about the seal and that the Bijuu Chakra can start seeping out."
Minato nodded, "I don't think I have to state this, but Itachi will be one of the ones in charge of this mission the other being Kakashi, and possibly Zabuza, but that is your decision on if you think he's trustworthy. Hana," Hana turned slightly, "You will probably be the only healer in this entire mission. Hinata has knowledge of herbs and such, but that probably won't help much. You must be careful not to let yourself get too hurt."
"Hai," Hana said softly.
"Itachi, before you leave, I would like you to inform Hinata's family of what has come to pass," Minato stated, "While I do not wish for them to worry, they deserve to know."
"Hai," Itachi stated.
"And make sure you inforce to Neji and Fuuki that they cannot go," Minato stated.
Itachi nodded again. Minato nodded, "Go, hurry," he stated, "We don't know when Gatou will get more help, but it's almost certain that he will."
"Hai!" the four quickly hurried out.
Once the team was gone, Minato took a deep breath through his nose and let it out through his mouth. As Hokage, he knew he made the right choice, but as a father, however, he felt like he just sent all his children to their death. Minato quickly shook his head and stood up. He better get home and help keep Kushina calm for fear of her hurting their daughter. Minato slowly walked out of his office and towards his house.
A/N Merry Christmas! Here's your present! I own nothing! Please leave reviews if you have the time!
