I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 13: A Frenzy of Fleeing

How much worse will our situation be if Temari is put under Chaita control?

The sudden nausea striking Shino's stomach gave him an answer. He muttered urgently to Kiba, "We can't let them get her."

The other boy nodded, understanding the immediate gravity of the situation. He stared at the small group as they approached, eyebrows contracting slightly. "You go and tell the others to move. Maybe into the forest would be the best place."

Leaving no time for Shino to disagree and offer himself as the sacrifice, Kiba continued sharply, "They need your brain more than my temper right now so don't waste your breath. Akamaru can smell me out later."

But before Kiba could march forward dramatically, every inch the sacrificial lamb, Shino was gone in a flash of grey. Kiba sighed, a small smirk tugging one corner of his mouth upward.

As the bug ninja turned the corner a moment later, he heard a small explosion behind him, immediately followed by shouts, screams, and the clash of metal. Knowing the clock was ticking, Shino darted off through the sparse, muddy streets.

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Akamaru greeted Shino at the door. Shino breezed by the dog and into the basement.

"We have to go. Now."

Ino and Chouji, huddled in the corner, jumped a foot in the air before scrabbling to their feet, clutching the toddler between them. Naruto turned to Shino from where he lay, sprawled in the middle of the floor.

"What happened?" He asked, leaping to his feet and hurrying to the door, small bits of rubble dropping from his clothes and chakra rushing to his antsy hands.

"We've had an unexpected visitor," Shino muttered quickly, turning and trotting down the hall towards Hanabi's room. Banging the door open, he said swiftly, "Hanabi-."

The startled girl sat up from her bed of miscellaneous blankets, rubbing swollen eyes with one hand while whipping out a kunai with the other. When she saw whom the invader was she relaxed, but Shino's urgent tone alerted her to further danger. In one fluid motion she was on her feet.

"What?"

"It's not safe here anymore," Shino resumed in a low, urgent tone. "You've got to leave."

Hanabi's fine eyebrows shot upward, disappearing into her messy black hair.

"Shino-."

The other three fugitives had followed him and now stood behind him, confusion evident on all faces.

"Temari arrived this morning," Shino said quietly. "The Chaita were taking her to the tower and we decided to get her on our side before she was forced onto theirs. Kiba was taking care of that, so the Chaita will know he's against them. Their next move should then be to search his house, which all of you outlaws currently occupy. Now let's go."

Although his mind still held unanswered questions, Naruto pushed them aside. "Where do should we go? The forest?"

Shino blinked, thinking rapidly, then nodded. "Grab some supplies."

"On it."

As Naruto dashed away, Ino said anxiously, "We should probably split up, right?"

Shino nodded again. "We'll meet by the Third's pond by sunrise tomorrow. Take your time; once we're out of here, we want stealth not speed."

In a matter of minutes, the five rebels, accompanied by baby and dog, stood in the entrance hall, shouldering small packs of supplies.

Shino studied Ino and Chouji for a moment, the latter securing their squirming charge into a sling on the former's back. Shino wondered if this would be the last time he saw his classmates of so many years. They had both become admirable shinobi, of course, having come this far. Even after losing the leader of their squad, they had stood strong. But at this moment, they were tired, emotionally distraught, and had their faces plastered on hundreds of wanted signs posted throughout the city. There was no way of knowing now who would help the fugitives and who would turn them in. No one could be trusted.

Shino mused quickly over mentioning this fact, but did not want to hurt their pride. Instead, he said briskly, "The Third's Pond."

They nodded, blue and black eyes gleaming.

Shino nodded in return, a small grimace on his face. "Alright."

As he and Akamaru turned to leave, he heard four sets of feet set off, Ino and Chouji out the back door through the kitchen, Hanabi and Naruto through an upstairs window. He would meet up with the Hyuuga and Naruto several blocks away behind a small grocery store.

Closing the solid, sturdy door, emblazoned with the Inuzuka symbol, behind him, Shino felt a small twinge. Kiba's house had been a constant safe-haven for the resistance group since the beginning. Shino almost felt guilty abandoning it to greedy Chaita hands.

Reluctantly, a light drizzle making his hair and glasses glisten, Shino walked out onto the dreary, muddy street.

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The Day Before Lord Kokuzoku's Meeting Was Called:

Hinata had no idea what time of day the guards had arrived at the cell, so she had no idea how long Shikamaru had actually been gone for. No explanation had been made for her companion's sudden removal; jerking him out of sleep, the guards had dragged him out of the cell and up the stairs before Hinata really knew what was happening. When a guard came down later with her bread and water, Hinata tried to ask him what was going on.

"Where did you bring Shikamaru?"

Luckily for her, it was the nice guard. He was kinder than the rest and never yelled at or punished her. Hinata had never gotten a clear look at his face due to the lack of light, but he seemed younger than the other guards.

The man hesitated when she asked him and Hinata thought she was not going to get an answer.

"Lord Kokuzoku wishes to use him for something," he said finally, slowly, cautiously.

Hinata sat up a little straighter, gripping the bars tightly and straining to see his face clearly. "Do you know what?"

The man shook his head. "No."

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out several slices of orange and handed them to Hinata through the bars. "I managed to get these for you. Don't let them go to waste."

Hinata's mouth watered as she took the precious slices of fruit into her grimy hands. She felt her throat tighten.

"Thank you," she said tightly.

With a brisk nod, the guard turned. At the foot of the stairs he stopped. Reaching down, he grabbed hold of a tiny metal ring and pulled, revealing the small opening beneath. A ghastly smell met his nose and the man recoiled slightly.

"Well, back again," sounded from out of the hole in a deep, weary male voice.

The guard reached into his robes and withdrew a flask of water and a bundle of food, which he lowered into the hole.

"Can you reach them?" he asked softly.

"Yes," said another voice, this one equally weary, though female. "Thank you."

Closing the latch again, the guard made his way up the stairs, throwing the lowest dungeon into complete darkness once again.

Light did not enter the dungeon again for a fair amount of time, during which Hinata was left with no company but her own. For a long time she sat against the bars, sucking the juice from the orange slices then slowly chewing the flesh. She waited for Shikamaru to return until her eyelids could remain open for no longer and she slumped into an uneasy slumber.

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"And why the hell should I believe anything you're telling me?"

A kunai whizzed within an inch of Temari's ear, rustling her hair. Unhooking her fan, she sent a terrible gush of wind behind her, slowing the pursuing Chaita. Kiba, several steps in front of her, veered sharply to the left. Temari followed, asking herself why she was following this wild chunin she barely knew. A few steps in, Kiba leapt skyward and landed with a small splash on the nearest roof. He traveled back the way they had originally lead the Chaita for several houses before dropping once again to the street below. Temari could hear the Chaita close behind them. Kiba and Temari landed in the middle of a long line of vendor stalls, many of which were empty. Kiba tossed two small, grey balls into the closest pair of stalls before diving into another, dragging the disgruntled sand shinobi with him. A moment later, their Chaita pursuers dropped to the street before them, startling away the few pedestrians braving the rain. Each of the four Chaita leapt to different stalls, two of which promptly erupted in explosions of wood and smoke.

Temari made to flee, but Kiba put a hand to her arm, gesturing her to remain hidden. The pair could hear the Chaita cursing and, an instant later, splashing away to find their prey.

As she crouched in the mud of a shoddy wooden vendor stand, Temari turned a glare to Kiba.

"I ask you once again, why the hell should I believe you? How do I know that you're not the bad guy?"

The boy glared at her with a face smeared in mud that almost obscured the red tattoos decorating both cheeks.

"They're chasing you, aren't they?" he said fiercely. "They're trying to capture you, aren't they?"

"Maybe it's because I'm with you! Maybe you're an outlaw and they were only after you! What the hell were you thinking, attacking them and trying to grab me? I barely know your name and you think you can try and stop me from completing my business as emissary from the Sand?"

Her voice remained low, but Kiba sensed her boiling anger.

He grimaced. "I wasn't an outlaw fifteen minutes ago, but because you decided to just waltz on in unannounced during the middle of a crisis, there weren't many options. And do you even care who those guys are? They certainly weren't here the last time you were. The only reason they were going after anyone is because they've taken control of the entire village and don't want anyone trying to take it back."

"We haven't had any word from your village speaking of trouble. In fact, we haven't heard from you in over two months; I was sent to see if you'd all been wiped out!"

The boy sneered and, voice dripping sarcasm, said, "Well, how nice of you check in. As you can see, we're just dandy. I mean, who needs to worry about an evil dictator and an army of enemy ninja living in the village, taking control of everything?"

Even as his lips moved, Kiba did not know why he was being so rude to this girl, who was supposed to be his ally. He could not stem the venom flooding his voice.

"Why don't you just go back to your sandbox and tell your beloved brother that everything's absolutely-."

Temari slammed him against the wall, fingers clutching his throat in an iron grip. The wood behind his head began to splinter.

"Just. Shut. Up. I don't give a shit about anything you're saying. If it weren't for the leaf on your forehead you would not be breathing; I don't know how they let someone with such an untamed tongue become a shinobi. Now, I don't want to hear another word from you, except to tell me where I can find Nara Shikamaru."

Her furious blue eyes locked with Kiba's raging dark ones, and for a long moment nothing moved except the rain falling around them.

Finally Temari loosened her grip, allowing Kiba to speak. All traces of humor vanished from Kiba's face. Weariness fell into sharp relief as well as pain. He snarled in a vicious whisper.

"If you wanted to see Shikamaru then I should have let them capture you, because right now he's probably rotting away in a dungeon. Or, for all we know, he could be dead."

Temari rocked back onto her heels, suspicion and shock evident on her face.

"We were trying to save the village from those Chaita bastards, and he was captured. Two days ago. Kokuzoku took over his mind and made it look like he tried to assassinate Lady Tsunade yesterday afternoon."

The young woman closed her eyes. They snapped open again at Kiba's next words.

"And he's not the only one they've taken."

Temari glanced at the boy, sprawled on his back and covered in mud, as he began to lose the battle with his emotions.

"A month ago they set fire to the Hyuuga estates, but blamed some other invader and claimed they were just trying to help. They also took Kurenai, Gai, Kakashi, and Asuma, and Anko and Ibiki and who knows how many others. Most of the high-ranking shinobi were sent away on missions. And now we find out that they've got all our sensei and freaking Neji Hyuuga under their control, but all the other Hyuuga, every freaking one, is dead."

Kiba closed his over-bright eyes, his clenched fists shaking. But Shino doesn't think she's dead. Shino thinks they're lying….but what does Shino know?

Temari watched as the Inuzuka fought with something within him, while she attempted to straighten her thoughts on this tumult of news.

When his face was still, she spoke quietly.

"You wanted Sand on your side, that's why you stopped me."

Kiba nodded, rubbing his face with his hands.

"And there are some of you trying to overthrow these Chaita. Who's your leader?"

"It was Shikamaru…now it's Shino." Kiba had regained control and was slowly sitting up. "Do you know Shino?"

Temari racked her brains. "Bugs? Yes."

Kiba nodded, shine coming back into his eyes. "Our hideout was blown, so he and the others were heading into the forest." He grimaced. "Most of our group have their faces on wanted posters. Mine'll join them in a few hours."

Temari sighed. Her years of being a shinobi had led her to the conclusion that nothing was ever easy and nothing ever went the way you expected it to. So, a simple informational trip to Leaf had become a battle for liberation from both oppressors and shackles. Fair enough.

Kiba stood, glancing up and down the empty street. He held out a hand to Temari, still crouching in the mud. "Will you come with me? Pl-."

Temari was already on her feet, leaping nimbly into the street.

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"Chouji, I think it's too dangerous keeping Maki with us."

Ino, Maki, and Chouji were currently hidden in the rear of Ichiraku's, crouched amongst the many barrels and boxes. The Ramen man, after a joyous reunion and a short explanation, had insisted they hide there as long as they needed.

At Ino's words Chouji dropped somber eyes to the little girl crawling as his feet. He said quietly, "I suppose so….We're lucky nothing's happened to her up until now." He raised anxious eyes to meet Ino's. "But where can we leave her?"

Ino's brow furrowed slightly. "I was thinking my mother's. She's alone since Dad was sent away. Maki will be a good distraction for her, and she'll be safe."

Chouji nodded slowly, thinking. He could see no other option, but…

"But, Ino, if you're a wanted shinobi, wouldn't the Chaita have gone to search your house already? What if they suspected your mother helped you or something?"

Ino bit her lip; she hadn't considered this, and mentally slapped herself for being so stupid. Her mother would be an obvious target for the Chaita since her daughter had revealed her true colors. However, they could trust no one else; anyone could be a Chaita spy. Ino gave a frustrated sigh.

"Let's check it out. Maybe you're right, but maybe not. It won't hurt to look."

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Sakura and Sasuke gazed out Sakura's open window down into the street below. A chilly breeze, still carrying a few droplets from that morning's showers, blew gently through, ruffling their hair. Word had reached their ears moments ago of Kiba's vicious attack on the Sand Ambassador and her Chaita escort. The woman who told Sakura this, as she was making the girl's dumplings, had seemed both terrified and thrilled; terrified that the wild young man was on the loose and thrilled that she had such exciting news to share. Now the dumplings sat untouched before the somber pair as they digested instead this fresh piece of news.

"He must have had a reason…" Sakura said slowly, cautiously, as though trying to convince herself of its truth. Sasuke said nothing. His pale fingers tapped lightly on the smooth windowsill.

"I mean," she continued, turning to look at Sasuke, eyes wide, a note of forced optimism in her voice, "He knows the seriousness of the situation. He knows what could happen if he's caught."

Sasuke's dark eyes moved slowly back and forth over the people below; his mouth remained shut.

"He's not stupid!" Sakura burst out, desperation beginning to show itself.

"We don't know what he was thinking, or what the circumstances of his actions were. All we can do is guess."

Sakura frowned. "I hate guessing."

Sasuke's mouth twitched slightly in the opposite direction for just a moment, but it did not stay that way very long. "But we can't be too optimistic. We know Kiba's temper, and we know he's taking her loss…hard."

Sakura felt her stomach ice over. She had tried very hard since the meeting not to think about Hinata. Goosebumps rose up her arms that were not due to the breeze.

Oh, Hinata…..Of everyone to die in this battle, why her?

They continued their silent watch over the street until, several minutes later, Sakura spoke again. "If the Chaita know Kiba's true colors now, won't they search his house?" She thought of the four fugitives taking shelter in the spacious Inuzuka basement. She turned sharply to her companion. "Do you think the others know?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I don't know. Do we risk going over there?"

Sakura straightened and closed the window with a small thud.

"Yes."

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Hey, guys. Yeah………..it's been a few months….but……I had many life-changing events and things take place, so I excuse myself a little bit. Hope you all remember what's going on in the story. I know it's hard when the updates are so spaced and everyone has other things going on. That's why I love those continuing readers SO MUCH. And I also love all the new people who keep stumbling upon this story. To all, I promise I'll finish it, because there's still so much I want to happen. It'll get there….eventually!!

Once again, thank you all my amazing readers and reviewers: ToastWeaselofDOOM, Katako-Chan, The Laughing Phoenix, Chinese-otakufan, Blacktangerine012, cash3055, FujixSaku0709, LilyLovesToSing, No one specific, sad little monkey, Akiko Raikou, Choco-Pocky-Usa-chan, Wandering Wonderer, Tensano Hyguuhi, DanteHyuuga, LixxyChan, Ferousha, M.O.N.S.T.E..POCKY.

Reading Maid, over and out.