(A/N: Umm… I'm really sorry guys. It's gonna have to be a rather short chapter this time. Although I wish I could keep it going, this is just going to be a connector chapter to what I want to happen between Hinata and the Konoha nins. It was either this chapter the way it is, or wait another week to gather my thoughts and place all of them online and make the chapter around twenty pages, instead of the ten I usually write. Again, I'm sorry, but it'll have to work like this to keep me on schedule.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.)
Mysterious Captivation: Chapter 11
Neji watched as his cousin leapt into the trees, wondering how he would be able to help her convince the others to leave him without seeming to be a traitor.
Quickly making his way back to camp, the chocolate haired Hyuuga reentered his one-person tent without a sound. He belated realized that his team hadn't even missed him; neither of the other two were even awake.
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"Itachi-san, Deidara-san, he's gone now," Hinata called quietly into the forest. She watched the two appear from opposite sides of her, glancing around to make sure the boy was truly gone.
"And, hm?" The blonde explosives artist wanted to know what had happened, clearly expressed in his two words.
"He told me he would try to find a way to help me," she admitted, though her voice had an undertone of worry.
"What's wrong with that?" Itachi asked, beating his rival to the question and throwing a small smirk to the blonde.
"What if they realize he's trying to get them to abandon me? Will he be considered a traitor? What will they do to him?"
Both men took a step toward her, then glared at each other. "Don't worry too much. It will only look as though he's given up on you," the raven haired man spoke after a moment's thought.
"Baka! He's been frantically searching for this hideout, trying to find her, yeah. He has exhausted himself and another of her friends looking for information that is not supposed to be attainable to him, mm. Her cousin has done everything short of killing himself in order to get to where he is right now. Do you really think it will be that easy for him, hm? The only part you are right about is that Hinata-san shouldn't worry." The blonde's eyes narrowed, unhappy about having to agree with him.
The young Hyuuga woman shivered, only now realizing the trouble in which she had placed her cousin. "I can't believe I did that. I have to go back and tell him to forget I ever said anything!" Turning, she ran directly into Itachi's chest. She hadn't seen him move, but should have expected it of him.
"You can't go back. Hinata-san, you already told us he's gone back to camp. The other two could catch you if you return to him. Then what would you do? You just have to trust your cousin to come up with the best way possible to win the others over without seeming traitorous. Trust him in this like you do in everything else." Itachi calmly spoke in a low voice. His eyes, even with the Sharingan active, were a softer color than they usually were.
Hinata recognized the truth in his statement, letting her tensed muscles relax. "But what if we're wrong, and he can't do this? What am I going to do if he gets killed or exiled because of my favor?"
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Her whispered worries met with unhappy ears. Neither man knew how to explain to her that worry was not an option in Akatsuki. She would have to learn that on her own, but they didn't want to make her learn her lesson alone.
Finally, as her eyes began to water, Deidara sighed. "Itachi, you go on and take her back to the hideout. I'll be there in a little bit, yeah. There's something I forgot about that needs doing, hm."
Itachi allowed a small bit of shock to enter his eyes at the blonde's order. Is he really going to tell me to walk back, alone, with Hinata-chan while he goes somewhere else?
Deidara watched the elder Uchiha brother's eyes narrow in thought before that man came to a decision. "Fine. Run along, then, while we return home," the impassive statement sounded with a mix of superiority and suspicion.
Deidara glared before turning his back and leaping into the undergrowth. I'll go find that boy and let him know that he'd better not die, he thought as a smirk trailed across his face.
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A rustle in the brush startled Neji from his planning. All had been quiet, and his watch had just begun.
What could that be? Hinata isn't stupid enough to come here, to camp, where she could be captured! Maybe the other Akatsukis didn't get the message? He stood, activating his Byakugan silently.
Just as he was about to give the signal to wake the others, he realized that he Akatsuki he saw was the blonde one from earlier. That man, the Hyuuga boy knew, had something to say to him.
Neji knew his team was asleep by the calmness of their chakra, meaning he could freely move about until they awoke. Narrowing his all-seeing eyes, Neji motioned for the man to lead the way somewhere else.
Once out of hearing the distance of the others, the blonde stopped. "What's your plan to help Hinata-ch, ano, -san?" Neji's eyes narrowed at the slip of the explosive artist's tongue. It meant Deidara was closer to the Hyuuga heiress than he'd like to let the girl's protector know.
Stepping back and suspiciously observing the blonde, Neji chose not to speak. "I asked you a question, yeah!" Anger was nearly palpable in the air.
"Why should I tell you? Why are you even here, Akatsuki?" Neji spat, wondering not for the first time how it was that Hinata had chosen the criminals over her own family.
"Your cousin is worried about you. After you left, she shared with us exactly how much so. She nearly cried. Hinata-san needs to know something of your plans or she will worry all night long. She doesn't even know I'm here, so spill it because I have to return to base soon." The order, given without a threat in the words, was still menacing.
Sizing up the blonde, the young Hyuuga man activated his Byakugan. "Repeat your claim," he urged. As the older man did so, the younger found the truth in his words. "Do I need to explain in depth, or should I just skim over the details?"
The ex-Iwa nin chose the latter, but was surprised when Neji reached into his bag of ninja supplies and withdrew a scroll. "You didn't seriously think I would tell you, did you? I will write and place a seal that only Hinata-sama can remove on it. You will deliver it, I assume," Neji predicted based on what he knew about the blonde.
Growling, Deidara spoke. "I'm not your errand boy!"
Neji raised an eyebrow at the older man. "That either leaves you Hinata-sama's 'errand boy' or here on your own business. Which is it?" He mocked.
Grimacing and taking a threatening step forward, the missing nin quibbled, "I was going to tell her, not give her a letter."
"Still a message," Neji gloated, wondering why he was brave enough to mock the S-class murderer. Maybe it was because the blonde hadn't killed him yet. He didn't really know.
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Hinata followed Itachi through the undergrowth, leaping silently behind him. "Where do you think Deidara-san went?" She wondered aloud.
"Does it really matter? He has abandoned us for the night. I'd imagine he's off looking for something to blow up after being forced to spend so much time near me," the Uchiha smirked. "He probably won't be back at the hideout tonight."
Hinata looked doubtful for a moment, but let it pass, preferring not to argue. "Konan's week with me is up. Do you think you could take me back to Deidara's room to sleep tonight?"
"Since Deidara's not going to be there, I don't see why not."
Soon, they arrived home, and Hinata was dropped off in her room for the night. She watched Itachi leave for his own room before closing the slightly squeaky door and crawling under the covers of Deidara's bed. She knew that his comforting smell would help her sleep, and soon drifted off into a peaceful rest.
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Deidara glared at the chocolate haired boy in front of him. How dare that brat insult him! If he hadn't been Hinata-chan's cousin, then the Hyuuga boy would have been dead long ago, along with his other two friends. "You're a lucky little brat, yeah," he muttered, waiting for the boy to write his plans.
Laying down, the blonde Akatsuki folded his hands across his stomach and closed his eyes to wait.
When the moon had moved closer to the horizon, mere hours before the morning's twilight, Deidara was jerked awake when he felt something moving through the air. He hadn't remembered falling asleep, but he supposed it didn't matter.
Catching the flying object, he found the scroll on which Neji had been writing. It was already rolled and sealed.
"There. Give that to Hinata-sama. It should relieve her to know my plans. What's your name, by the way?" The curious tone in his voice clearly stated that he had to know exactly to whom he was leaving his cousin.
He's probably going to return to Konoha and research everything they know about my life. The blonde snorted. "Deidara, yeah. Remember it well."
"Only if you treat my cousin well. If I hear that she has died before you, I shall find and kill you myself,"
Deidara knew that the threat was not empty, but it didn't scare him. Honestly, if he admitted it to himself, he knew in the back of his mind that he would die with her, before her Hyuuga protector could ever learn of her death. Nodding seriously to that young man, Deidara spun on the ball of his foot and leapt into the trees to return to base.
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Neji watched the clouded nin leave the clearing, sighing before returning to his lookout spot. He made sure the other two were still sleeping before he entered the campsite.
Hoping he made the right decision, Neji looked to the moon, only to see that his time on watch was nearing its end. He moved to wake Kakashi for the final watch, then curled into his sleeping bag, longing for the respite of sleep.
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Hinata leapt to her feet from the bed with an accompanying jingle when the door to Deidara's room suddenly swung open, emitting a high pitched squeak. "Who's there?" She questioned firmly.
With that question, the intruder glanced up sharply before flicking on the light. Momentarily blinded, Hinata threw her hands in front of her body, hoping to fend off whatever attack the prowler had in mind to throw at her.
When that person laughed, however, it threw her off. Blinking to ward off the transitory blindness, she saw that the intruder was the owner of the room. "Deidara," she quietly exclaimed, "where have you been?"
He merely tossed a scroll in her direction. When she caught and stared confusedly at it, he spoke. "I went to warn Neji for you, hm. He wrote down what he planned to do to help tomorrow. I hope it helps you feel more confident in him, un," the blonde admitted somewhat shyly. "He said it has a seal that only you can break. Seems he doesn't trust me, yeah."
She giggled at his antics. Of all the things that would make him shy, it's this! She turned her attention from the ex-Iwa nin to the scroll. A Hyuuga gyoji.* Channeling her chakra into it, the seal faded and allowed the scroll to be unrolled.
Her eyes scanned the page, eager to take in her cousin's words of comfort.
Upon reaching the end, Hinata's eyes closed until Deidara's words broke into her thoughts. "Is it viable, un?"
She nodded. "It's been a long time since I've seen my friends, that's all. It has worn on me, along with worrying for Neji-nii-san."
"What are you doing back in here, tonight, hm?" the blonde asked, as though hoping to get her mind away from depressing thoughts.
"Konan-san's week to stay with me was up, so she went back to her other room. I didn't want to sleep in there alone, so I asked Itachi-san to bring me here. If you'd rather me not be here, I can find somewhere else," she hurriedly added, on the off chance that her roommate was angry.
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"No! I would like it if you stayed. I was just curious. How did you manage to convince the U- ano, Itachi to bring you here?" He said, nearly making the mistake of insulting Itachi in front of the soon-to-be-ex-Hyuuga heiress.
Said young woman smiled sweetly, supposedly at his uninsulting name for her friend. "I told that you weren't with us, so he said you probably wouldn't come back tonight. He's letting me stay since he didn't think you'd come back. I knew you would, though."
Deidara smirked at Itachi's lack of faith in him. "Let's go to sleep while we can. I'm exhausted," he suggested, rolling into bed on the side opposite Hinata.
She nodded, moving to flick the light switch to the off position before slipping back beneath the covers. It was going to be a long day when she woke.
(A/N: I really hope this wasn't too short for you guys. It was seven pages (only three short) but it still seems really short to me. I dunno. I hope you enjoyed this installment of MC! Come back soon!)
