A/N: My muse found me. And so here's the long awaited Chapter 14. I apologize for my severe lack of updates. Anyway, in this chapter, Neji came face to face with someone he did not expect, while Team Gaara had to deal with a slow progress due to Hinata's injury. And Temari seemed to be planning something on her own.

Chapter 14: Temari's scheme

Neji frowned. Something was not right. Either his eyes were playing tricks on him, or the little boy, who held a small doll in his hand, had an immense amount of Chakra.

For someone so young, it seemed almost unlikely.

What's going on?

Byakugan never fooled him. Not even once. It took Neji a second to realize there was something unnatural about this fisherman and his son.

The mountain path was nowhere near any lake, nor did it have any residential housing.

It was strange that the two of them would wander this far out here.

Unless…

The young boy suddenly glanced up. His silky eyes met Neji's.

Impossible! He shouldn't have been able to see me!

Something light, yet distinctively tough wrapped around Neji's ankles. The Hyugga turned around to see what it was, but only saw two thin white threads.

Before he could understand what was happening, a strong and powerful force pulled him down from his hiding place and he landed ungracefully in front of the fisherman and the son.

"Hi there, are you lost?" the young boy asked, walking nearer towards him. His eyes were wide and his voice was almost innocent-like.

Almost.

Neji frowned. Something was definitely wrong with this boy. He realized the boy had thin white strings wound around his small wrists. A smile broke from him and it shattered his angelic features.

Because that smile was evil.

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"We can't let you leave." He said, seriously, moving to block the entrance of the cave.

"Is that how you treat someone who just save your teammate?"

Gaara shrugged, as if to say that he does not care. "If you leave this place, chances are the Akatsuki will be after you. If you stick with us, we can ensure your safety, as well as our own."

The White Nin nodded respectfully. "Spoken like a true Kazekage." She said, "Unfortunately, you cannot stop me."

Gaara frowned. His stance changed slightly but it was apparent to Rin's sharp eyes.

So he will fight in order to stop me…interesting…

"You cannot beat me yet. Not in your current state." Rin said simply.

Her words seemed to agitate the Kazekage. His eyes grown darker than usual. "If you make me, I will."

Rin did not doubt that he meant what he said. Sabaku no Gaara was truly a man worthy of her respect. Yet he was a courageous fool if he thought he could defeat her.

But she guessed no one knew about her yet. No one except the world leaders knew about her secret.

A secret she would guard with every ounce of her life. A secret she would let it die inside her.

"Rin!" Temari's voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Even if you won't come with us back to Konoha, can you at least stay at our side first?"

Gaara turned to look at his sister. What was she up to, this time?

"Because Hinata is still gravely ill." Temari replied. "If you could lend us your strength, just for a couple of days till Hinata fully recovered, we'll never disturb you again."

The White Nin glanced at the sleeping form of the young girl, and paused, thinking about the proposal Temari had just made.

In front of her, Gaara's stance relaxed considerably because he knew he wouldn't have to fight the White Nin to make her stay. He already knew that Rin wasn't going to leave them just yet.

Because of Hinata.

His green eyes shifted hesitantly at the Hyuuga girl. She still looked pale, though her wound was already closing. How long was she going to stay sleeping like that?

Finally, the White Nin nodded faintly. "Fine. " she muttered thinly, almost grudgingly. She didn't know why but she felt softer than usual today. Companionship, even for a flitting moment, did not seem so bad.

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Hinata's wound healed quickly and she was able to walk with the help of Temari, but progress was slow because she had to take frequent rests and was often quickly out of breath.

"I'm so sorry…" The petite girl muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Somehow, despite the fact that she had tried to protect the Kazekage from Kisame's blade, she ended up slowing down everyone's progress.

When will I stopped being a burden?

The White Nin seemed to have read her mind, for she suddenly said, "It was very brave, what you did back there."

Hinata saw shining green eyes smiling warmly at her, and the Hyuuga had to smile back weakly. She didn't know the White Nin very well. Only knew that their mission was to escort her back to Konoha. Tsunade-sama had made it sounded like Rin was a very strong and almost invincible warrior. But now that Hinata could take a closer look at her, she thought the White Nin was just a very pleasant and beautiful young girl.

"Thank you…" Hinata replied, with a smile.

Rin nodded and turned her attention back to the road ahead. Infront of her, was Gaara.

For a moment, Hinata suddenly wondered if Gaara was angry at her, for slowing everyone down. The Kazekage hadn't spoken a word to her ever since she had woken up. Hadn't even bothered to glance at her.

He must be angry at me…

"We will cross this mountain path." Rin's voice broke the Hyuuga girl's thoughts. "There'll be plenty of villages at the other side." She glanced at Hinata, "And there'll be medical inns there. It'll be safe there and that's where we will part our ways."

"Sure." Temari said quickly. "Thanks for all your help."

Hinata glanced at Temari curiosly. The Sand Nin caught her glance and gave her a sharp look, as if to tell her not to question anything for now. Hinata shut up, but she knew Temari had something up her sleeve.

Something the White Nin did not expect.

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Thank you for reading and reviewing:)