AN: Aaaaaaand I'm back! Hi everyone! Look! I am alive :) I'm sorry about the huge long wait, but my exams are finally over! I've missed you all! A quick update on where this story is going:
I've already written half of an epilogue to this story, and I know how I want it to end. It's getting there that's the problem 0.o I also know sort of the basic plotline, but there are details that I need to establish. Thanks for your support guys!
DISCLAIMER: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This story is the property of me. Now excuse me, I have a craving for evil tea…


Chapter 12 – The Art of Avoidance

We still live in the same town now don't we
But I don't see you around anymore
I go to all the same places
Not even a trace of you
- Paramore


It was a slow day at the hospital, which is why one of Konoha's undisputed best medics was sitting on an empty bed in an empty room, staring blankly out the window.

Or at least, that's what Sakura told herself.

It had nothing to do with the fact that, for the second time in three days, Sakura was tired of work. Tired of doing nothing with her time but eat, sleep and show up at the hospital.

She never thought she'd ever get sick of it. Heck, for the last four years, she'd done practically nothing but work, never once stopping to ask herself whether she wanted anything more. It was only in the last few days that she'd gotten restless.

"Taking a break?"

Startled, Sakura whipped her head around to see who had interrupted her moment of peace.

"Oh." she said in relief. "It's just you."

The blond shinobi leaned against the doorway and grinned.

"Nice to see you too Sakura. Working hard I see."

Sakura snorted.

"We're not exactly swamped with work right now."

Naruto nodded, but didn't answer. Awkwardness hung in the air.

Sakura sat, suddenly tense. The unease in the room unnerved her. It surprised her as well. Naruto as her old teammate, and friend. They'd known each other for years. Logically, there shouldn't be any sense of discomfort left in their relationship.

Too bad logic was kind of failing for Sakura right now.

Finally, Naruto spoke.

"How's the hangover?" he asked, with the hint of a smirk.

"Non-existent. Being a medic-nin has its perks you know. How's yours?"

"I don't get hangovers. It's a jinchuuriki thing. Being the human container for a psychotic demon has its perks you know."

To her surprise, the line was not delivered with bitterness or anger, but in a joking, very Naruto way. It was strange hearing him talking about the Kyuubi so light heartedly. A few years ago, it would have been a different story.

It seemed like a lot of things had been surprising Sakura about Naruto lately.

"Right." Sakura stood quickly, brushing non-existent dust off her spotless uniform. She looked up at Naruto. He didn't move, just stayed where he was, completely casual.

"Why are you here? To lecture me on the consequences of drinking?" she asked bluntly,second question laced with sarcasm. The words came out sounding a little too harsh, even to her ears. Sakura saw Naruto react to her statement, a quick flash of surprise crossing his face.

"Do I need a reason to visit?" he asked, crossing his arms and raising a blond eyebrow.

Sakura opted not to reply. They stood, in a silent standoff again, faces serious. Sakura found herself wishing that one of them would say something, anything to stop this conversation heading downhill.

He broke the silence.

"Is it that hard to think that maybe I just wanted to say hello to an old team mate?"

His expression softened a fraction, but only a little. Sakura winced inwardly, but remained silent.

"What happened last night?" he asked.

Sakura raised both her eyebrows. That had not been what she was expecting him to say.

"What do you mean?" she finally said.

"I don't remember most of it. It's a side effect of, well, the whole no hangover thing."

Sakura nodded.

"Right. I see."

"That's why you have to tell me what happened? I was reading that tabloid, the Konoha Letter, this morning. You know the one right?"

"Of course I do."

"Right, yeah. Well, I don't know, but it said things. It said, well, a lot of things. Like a fight between Ino and Temari and Shikamaru, and you passing out drunk, and there was also some stuff about Hinata and m- just some other things about break ups and 'scandals'."

Naruto brought a hand up to brush his hair from his eyes, in an almost nervous gesture.

"How much… how much of that stuff is actually true?"

Sakura sighed. She'd already had this conversation with Ino.

"All of it."

His eyes went wide, reminding Sakura of a younger Naruto. Sakura suddenly felt the urge to laugh, whether it was at his shocked expression, or just at this nervous situation. For her, the mood seemed to have lightened with that one facial movement

"Everything's true. Ino and Temari destroying a five-star restaurant over Shikamaru… that might be something you want to talk to someone else about. All that other stuff, that's probably true, though it's also probably completely over-exaggerated and overblown. As for me passing out… well I guess medical ninjutsu isn't the only thing I learnt from Lady Tsunade."

She smiled at her attempt at a joke. He didn't.

"Right… How long?"

Sakura furrowed her brow, confused.

"What do you mean, 'how long?"

"I mean, how long has all this stuff been going on? Shikamaru and Temari, Ino and Chouji, Neji and Tenten… all of this 'stuff'?"

Sakura paused to think.

"I guess… it probably started just after you…" her voice trailed off. She looked towards him apprehensively, not wanting to broach the subject.

"After I left. Of course." Naruto's face seemed to darken a bit. He looked towards the far wall, staring past Sakura.

"Do you ever…" he said, voice taking on a… wistful?... tone. "Do you ever think that everyone has changed so much? It's strange to think…"

"You've grown too Naruto." Sakura said, though she wasn't sure whether he was still talking to her. "You've changed, so much from that brat that you used to be back when we were younger."

"I guess so… but it's different, you know?" he replied. "It's like everyone has grown up, yet I've stayed the same. Just me. Alone."

He lifted his gaze till he was staring out the window.

"Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I'd stayed in the village. If I'd chosen to live my life instead of chasing after a lost cause. Would I have been Hokage by now? Would I have been happily engaged, like Neji? Can you believe that I used to be so sure that one day I'd marry you Sakura? God, I was naïve."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, but Naruto continued.

"But now everything, everyone, has changed. They've all moved on with their lives, and I'm still stuck in the past, not sure what my place is here now. I bet you all hated me for leaving, didn't you?"

His voice was quieter now, but faster, like he couldn't stop the words from leaving his mouth.

"Don't you ever wish we could go back? Just, go back to when we were all genin, with absolutely no idea how life was going to turn out?"

"I…"

"I miss how things used to be."

His statement hung in the air, tainting the atmosphere of the room with its mixture of regret and longing. She could feel it, almost see it.

Everything he'd just said, had been absolutely correct. That was exactly what Sakura wanted, yet at the same time, it was exactly the opposite of what she wanted. But that was the problem.

Sakura was smart. And she knew that there was no point reliving the past, as you couldn't go back, no matter how hard you tried. Unfortunately, this didn't stop her from reminiscing, nor did it stop her from only remembering the bad.

She saw them. All the negative memories. The day he had almost died at the hands of Haku. The day he had left them, forever. The day he had tried to kill her. And then finally, that day in the rain, when the last shred of herself had seemed to disappear into the dull, grey air.

How she hated being reminded of these moments.

Again, Naruto broke the silence. He looked up properly at Sakura, and smiled that old, fake, Naruto smile.

"Sorry about that." he said. "Uh, I guess I just majorly bummed you out, didn't I?"

Sakura shook herself out of her memories, out of her transfixed state. She returned his smile with a blank stare.

"You know, at least not everyone has changed, right?" he said to her vacant face. "I mean, when I cam back, it felt like everything was different. But, you're still the same, aren't you Sakura?"

"I…I…"

No. That was a lie. Or was it? Yes. No. Ugh. She wasn't going to talk about this.

"I think you should go now." This was said in a monotone, no trace of emotion.

When Naruto didn't move, she fled the room herself, leaving the blond ninja behind.


Sakura was not proud of the way she had acted yesterday. It had been… out of character. She prided herself on being composed. A medic-nin had to be. They had to practise control, of their chakra, and to some extent, of their emotion. Otherwise, well, bad things could happen.

Her mastery of control was almost perfect. In the seven years in which she had been a medic-nin, she had developed and honed her chakra control, until it was completely precise. She'd always been good at control. Back when she was a genin, it had been the only thing that she was better at than the rest of her team.

Over the past few years, Sakura had extended that chakra control over her feelings. Four years ago, she had still been emotional, letting sadness and anger take control sometimes. But now, these emotions had no place in her work. She'd learned to distance herself from her patients, feel nothing but the direction of her chakra streaming through her system. Eventually this emotional lockdown had spread to her everyday life as well, to the point where sometimes, Sakura was no longer sure if she could really feel at all.

Yes, Sakura was the epitome of control. But running away because a question made her feel uncomfortable? That had not, in any sense of the word, been controlled.

So of course she was regretting it now. Her grip on herself had weakened, and she had just… run. It was unusual to say the least.

But why had her control slipped?

This was the question that was running through the mind of one of Konoha's undisputed best medic-nins, who sat on an empty bed, in an empty room, avoiding the world in Konoha Hospital.

In this part of the Land of Fire, the wind oft


en blew, scattering leaves along makeshift paths in the forest. The trees here were thick, creating an effective border between the Land of Fire, and its small neighbour, the Land of Rivers.

Not many ever dared to set foot into the forest here. Rumours, rumours of terrible things spread about this particular patch of land. Those who came across, looking for access in, or out of the Land of Fire, usually chose to leave it alone, in favour of much more easily crossable border checkpoints. However, there were those who weren't afraid. Some though, only the bravest, most foolish of people, ventured in.

It was said they those who went in, never came out.

The woods were a world unto their own, teeming with unknown qualities and undiscovered wildlife. Here, amongst the deep foliage, that many things were hidden. Some were small, like a squirrels winter nut stash, or a well hidden bird's nest. Some were larger, like the charred, gutted remains of an old abandoned base, that used to belong to a madman.

It was into this isolated world that he stepped into, after weeks of darkness. The dappled sunlight glinted on his pale skin, but he moved more quickly into the shadows. He felt the breeze blow, gently caressing his face. He stretched, exercising the muscles which had remained in stasis for too long. He felt his body respond, and the faintest hint of a smile touched his lips.

It felt… good… to be free.


Neji walked down the long hallway of the Hyuuga estate, cream coloured scroll clutched tightly in his hand. The almost silent sound of his footsteps seemed to echo, amplified by the lack of people in this part of the hallway.

As Neji approached his destination, he glanced down at the document in his hand. He'd received it from the Hokage yesterday, and he'd been instructed to deliver it to Hiashi immediately. Unfortunately, after receiving the document, he'd met up with Tenten and gotten a little… distracted. So here he was, delivering it a day late.

He heard his uncle's voice drifting down the hallway. Faintly at first, but it grew louder the closer he got.

".. She shone again. But out of the blue, she started waning again, and in a week, her light went out. She just… faded away."

It was a strange tone, one that Neji had never really heard before. Unusually gentle, and emotional, nothing like the stoic tone he normally used. Neji was not one to pry, but he wondered who his uncle was talking to, and who he was talking about.

"I…I'm so sorry father."

Neji recognized the soft voice of his cousin, and stopped. Hinata was in her father's office? Now that was something that did not often happen. A hushed catching of breath was heard from the office, and Neji felt like he was intruding.

Maybe he should come back later?

"Do not be ashamed to cry Hinata."

Neji could hear actual tenderness in his uncle's voice, not something usually associated with the icy head of the Hyuuga clan.

"You are her spitting image, you know? You both possess this kindness, a need for other people. She was gentle and calm, just as you are. You share all her strength Hinata, but you also share her one weakness."

"What do you mean father?"

The voices were louder now. Neji realised that he had walked all the way down the rest of the hallway without noticing, and was now standing outside Hiashi's office. The heavy wooden door was slightly ajar.

Neji was transfixed by the goings on in the office. He'd barely ever heard Hiashi like this before, especially not with Hinata. The only time he remembered Hiashi sounding sad was... With a start, he realised that his uncle was talking about his aunt.

Aunt Hikari had died when he was seven years old. She'd always been nice to Neji, but in a way, she had always been a mystery to him. She'd been the one to comfort him over his father's death, hugging him and telling him that he would always have a place with herself and Hiashi. She'd been like a mother, albeit one that disappeared occasionally with no warning. Neji knew, now that he was older, that Aunt Hikari had been fragile, not as strong as he had thought.

His aunt was the only one that had been able to bring a smile to Hiashi's face after Hizashi's death. In the 14 years since her death, Neji had seen his uncle smile but once. That had been when Hinata had recovered from her 'breakdown'. Even then, the smile had been small, and barely noticeable.

From the little that he'd heard drifting from the interior of the office, Neji had deduced a lot about the nature of why Hiashi acted the way he did towards Hinata. It seemed that Hinata was like her mother in more ways than one.

"It may not seem it sometimes, but I worry about you Hinata. You are too much like her. I worry that you will end up like her too."

Sorrow. It was ingrained deeply in that statement. Sorrow and regret.

Neji heard the voices stop. He reached to knock, when something made him stop again.

"I'll try father."

Hinata 's voice was so quiet, so quiet.

"I'll try."

Silence followed the exchange, but this time, Neji knew better than to interrupt.

A few moments later, Hinata slowly left the office. She started at the sight of Neji, who nodded in greeting.

"Neji… how long have you been standing there?" she asked, uncertain.

Neji shook his head.

"Not long." Neji decided against letting Hinata know what he'd heard. He beckoned towards the door "Is your father free now?"

Hinata nodded, and Neji thanked her. She turned to leave, when Neji realised that he had something to tell her. It seemed he was playing messenger for more than one person today.

"Hinata. Wait for a moment."

She whipped around quickly, eyes wide.

"Kiba came by yesterday. Hanabi was supposed to tell you, but she forgot. I saw him in the village yesterday as well. It seems that he's looking for you."

Neji watched Hinata's reaction carefully for any signs of distress. When he said Kiba's name, Hinata furrowed her eyebrows, just a little bit. She seemed uneasy.

His cousin nodded once more, a precise, almost clinical nod, before turning and heading down the hall, faster than before.

Neji watched after her intently. There was something wrong with the way she was acting today, the way she positioned herself, the way she moved. Small things, nothing too serious.

Quieter than usual, staying in her room longer, an upset air around her. Just little things, all of which could be explained by a bad day, or a headache.

But the last time he'd seen these signs…

As he watched Hinata disappear down the hall, his thoughts were interrupted.

"Neji. You may come in."

Neji stepped into the office and closed the door.


So Kiba was looking for her? Of course he was.

Hinata sighed, stepping into her room and sitting down on her bed. The spot was still rumpled from earlier this morning.

She stared at the opposite wall. Hung there was her genin team photo.

Kurenai-sensei was standing behind the three genin of Team 8, kindly smile gracing her beautiful features. She looked not directly at the camera, but was rather watching her young team.

Hinata stood in the middle. Her hair was short, her eyes glancing slightly to the left. She was blushing lightly, but she was smiling. She was twiddling her fingers, like she was wont to do back then. Hinata was glad that she had grown out of that particular habit.

Shino, the unofficial leader of Team 8, stood to Hinata's right, distancing himself a little. The light was glinting of his dark glasses, adding a certain air to his already mysterious appearance. In this picture, Shino was clearly uncomfortable. It looked like he was attempting to shrink even deeper into the cowl of his coat.

In contrast, Kiba, on Hinata's right, looked completely at ease. He was grinning widely, like he was the happiest, most relaxed guy in the world. Akamaru sat on his head. Gosh, he had been so small back then. Akamaru too.

Kiba was probably worried about her. For years they'd been practically inseparable. Even before they had started dating, they'd been good friends and teammates. Excluding that year , they had trained with each other (and Shino) at least once a day. Shino had left their training sessions after he joined ANBU, but Kiba and Hinata had kept it up.

Hinata knew it was unusual for her to not even talk to him for two days. He was probably worried that something was wrong.

Was something wrong?

Hinata knew the answer, but for some strange reason, she didn't want to admit it. So instead, she pushed the question out of her mind, and thought of the talk she'd had with her father.

"…We Hyuuga didn't need our Byakugan to see that she was fading, that whatever light remained in her was dimming... You share all her strength Hinata, but you also share her one weakness..."

"…You are too much like her. I worry that you will end up like her too."

Her mother… the light of her father's life… the light that had been extinguished much too soon.

"She was just like me…" Hinata whispered quietly, though there was no one to hear her.

"…She started to get better, coming out of her room… She shone again…"

Fragments of her father's words haunted her, drifting in a loop through her mind.

"…out of the blue, she started waning again, and in a week, her light went out."

Hinata turned her head left, and looked out the window. The sun was at its peak, high in the sky. . It was later than she thought, maybe mid-afternoon.

But not too late to visit her mother.


"Ino? Ino, come on, come out already!"

"Chouji, I can never come out! I'm so humiliated!"

Chouji sighed as he stood over his girlfriend. Ino sat despondently on her couch, clutching a pillow.

"Ino, seriously. Your dad wants to see you!"

Ino shook her head.

"He just wants to lecture me about that stupid restaurant incident! I know it!"

"…" Chouji sighed yet again, this time in frustration.

"I'm sure everyone's forgotten about it by now Ino… Come on, you don't see Shikamaru and Te-"

"DON'T. MENTION. THEM!" Ino exclaimed, throwing down the pillow. "Not a word!"

Chouji bent down to pick it up, and placed it back onto the couch.

"Ino…"

Ino sniffed dramatically, and looked up at Chouji.

"Yes Chouji?"

Choujii took a deep breath in, and steeled himself for Ino's reaction.

"Don't you think you might be overreacting a tiny-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence before being hit by a Mind-Body Swap Jutsu. The next thing he knew, Chouji was slamming the door to Ino's apartment, locking himself out.


The Hyuuga estate was on the opposite side of Konoha from the Konoha cemetery. Hinata didn't feel the need to hurry, so it would be a long, peaceful walk.

It was another typical summer afternoon. It was not as hot as yesterday, or the day before, but it was still quite warm. As Hinata walked the busy streets, she saw familiar faces everywhere.

A bewildered looking Chouji waved to her as she walked past Ino's apartment. She waved softly in return . It seemed that either Ino wasn't home, or Ino was mad.

Passing a small café, she noticed Shikamaru and Temari dining inside. She didn't stop to say hello, nor did they see her.

She caught a glimpse of pink in one of Konoha Hospital's windows. After walking past there, Hinata felt like she was being watched. The feeling made her turn back, to look up at the Hospital again.

It was only Sakura. The medic-nin shot her a tense smile in response to Hinata's relieved wave, and shut the curtains on the room she was in. Strange…

Outside the Academy, Tenten was taking a class. It seemed that she had managed to rope Neji into showing her students the Byakugan. Neji looked somewhat frazzled. It was obvious he wasn't good around kids.

Hinata smiled when she saw that. It was so… sweet seeing Neji and Tenten together like that. Her cousin and future cousin-in-law did not notice her passing, too absorbed in their lesson.

The last major landmark in Konoha which Hinata passed before reaching the cemetery was the Hokage's office. Here the sensation of paranoia returned to Hinata. She walked quicker, just a fraction.

"Hinata!"

For a moment she stopped dead, whirling around to find the voice. She knew who it was, and god, hearing their voice made her uneasy. Quickly, she turned again, choosing to leap into the trees for the rest of her journey.

Having left the hustles-bustle of Konoha's main streets , she felt calmer. The quiet, isolation of the outskirts appealed to Hinata, considering her state of mind. Her sense of anxiety had all but faded once she finally reached the cemetery.

There weren't a lot of people there. Mostly civilians, but a few that Hinata recognised. There was that purple-haired ANBU captain. Yugao? She had loved Hayate Gekko, the proctor that had been killed during Hinata's first Chunin Exam. Hinata did not know the details, but she knew that the coughing exam proctor's death had been caused by a ninja from Sunagakure.

There were one or two Academy students tending to the gravestones, cleaning and dusting them, and adding fresh flowers to the graves.

Hinata walked through the cemetery, passing the gravestones with care.

"Hinata?"

Startle, Hinata turned around, to see a smiling face.

"Kurenai-sensei!" she exclaimed quietly. She looked around. "Is little Kasumi with you?"

The crimson eyed woman shook her head.

"Konohamaru is watching her for me. He offered, and I was glad to have a day to myself."

She glanced forlornly at the grave behind her, a bunch of red carnations lying on the headstone.

"Visiting Asuma-sensei?" Hinata followed her former sensei's gaze. Kurenai nodded.

"I wish he could see Kasumi now. She looks just like him." Kurenai smiled, crouching down and gently brushing the headstone with her hand.

"He would have been proud of her, I'm sure." replied Hinata softly.

Kurenai straightened up, and gave Hinata a questioning look.

"Visiting your mother?" she asked. Hinata nodded. "Any particular reason?"

"Not really, Kurenai-sensei." Hinata shook her head, as if waking herself up. "I mean, I just… um… I've just got some things on my mind."

"I see." replied Kurenai, a slight frown on her face. "Kiba came to look for you yesterday."

Kurenai watched her former student's response, noting the subtle changes in her face and posture. Hinata's delicate features crumpled ever so slightly at the mention of her boyfriend's name. Kurenai raised an eyebrow.

"Is everything ok with you two?" asked Kurenai kindly. She would hate for something to have happened with Kiba and Hinata. She had seen what happened to the dynamics of Asuma's old team once Ino and Shikamaru had split up. The team had been completely broken up, unable to work successfully with each other. To think, they had once been the next generation of the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho group. With Shino off in ANBU, Kurenai's team was already split. It may have been sentimental, but Kurenai wanted to keep the rest of her team together.

The atmosphere in the cemetery was quiet, made quieter still by Kurenai's question. Hinata bit her lip, and shook her head.

"There is nothing wrong with Kiba and I." she said, assertiveness creeping back into her voice. Hinata's pale eyes flicked towards the right quickly, looking out into the trees that surrounded the cemetery. Looking back at her former sensei, Hinata decided to change the subject.

"Naruto Uzumaki's back." The words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Saying his name brought a tidal wave of thoughts crashing through her brain.

"Is he now?" Kurenai raised an eyebrow, contemplating the thought. Hinata pressed her fingers together in that all too familiar nervous position. The movement caught Kurenai's eye, and Hinata saw the woman's expression change.

"Kurenai-sensei?"

Quickly, like the ninja she was, Kurenai's broke into a relaxed smile. Hinata sensed something off, but nothing seemed obviously wrong.

"Look at the time! I've got to go pick up Kasumi!"

Startled by her sudden change of mood, Hinata could do nothing but nod. The older women said her goodbyes, and left the cemetery.

Hinata stood, a little confused for a moment, before returning to her former goal.


The sky in this part of Fire Country was a blank blue canvas, not a smear of white tainting it, aside from the large ink bird that soared at high speed.

On it, sat four ANBU members, a cat, a bear, a bug and a bird.

They had been travelling for a day now, but had covered twice the distance they would have on foot. Soon, they would reach their destination.

The members sat in silence, each contemplating the mission ahead of them.

The cat-masked ANBU, who was captain of this particular team, spoke up.

"Sai, how long until we reach our destination?"

The bird-masked ANBU turned from his position at the head of the ink bird.

"It should only be a minute or so Captain Yamato."

The cat nodded, and the silence returned, save for the sound of the wind rushing past them, and the quiet buzzing of some parasitic insects, which had just returned to the bug-masked ANBU.

The bug-masked ANBU was sitting, parasitic insect perched on his finger. After a few seconds, the insect returned to within his coat sleeves, and the bug looked down.

He could see nothing below the thick canopy of tree tops. It was an expanse of green, nothing interesting except for – wait. What? A quick burst of smoke, and a piercing cry.

The bear-masked ANBU looked up. His face wasn't visible, but he was clearly nervous.

"Did anyone else see that?" he asked. His three companions all nodded. "The mission briefing said that this section of Konoha is uninhabited though?"

Again, all three nodded.

"That's why Naruto chose here." said the cat, who looked down again. That cry had not been from any animal native to this forest. It hadn't been human either.

"It was a bird, but not one that I am familiar with." said the bird-masked ANBU.

The bug-masked ANBU simply nodded, preferring not to answer. Talking was not one of his strong points, but he knew when to trust his instinct.

The bug had a feeling that something was very wrong in this forest.


So I'm desperately hoping that I haven't lost too many readers! Drop a review if you're still here :) Hopefully updates will get more regular from now on!