Hey guys! Sorry for not updating in forever, I've just been really stressed out with everything lately. But hopefully now I can get back on track and update like I'm supposed to. XD Anyway, enough of that. On with the story!

PS: To the guest reviewer who told me to go kill myself, I just have to say thanks for the advice, but you're a little too late. I've already tried a couple years ago, thanks. ;) But seriously, stop telling people to kill themselves. It's not even remotely funny or okay and someone might actually go through with it due to low self-esteem. Be kind, that's all I have to say.

Xxx Disclaimer: Naruto does not belong to me, but to the great Masashi Kishimoto xxX

… Gangnam Style …

Two and a half hours.

Two and a half hours is how long she's been walking around in the forest.

Two and a half hours is how long she's spent in this downpour.

Two and a half hours yet still no sign of the half demon teen.

When she had decided to follow through with what Minato had told her to do, she hadn't expected it to be this hard. She honestly thought it would be fairly easy to spot a patch of bright blonde hair in a forest full of green and brown. Apparently she thought wrong.

There were a few times where Hinata thought that maybe calling out his name might help speed up the process, but then the possible consequences of doing such a thing would always come flooding into her mind and stop her from doing so. Like, what if she called out to him, but something else showed up in his place? It might be something small and harmless like a bunny, or it could be something big and dangerous like a wolf. Hinata didn't really have anything on her to defend herself if she were to encounter a wolf, so being silent was her best bet.

With a heavy sigh, the bluenette trudges forward, careful not to slip in any more puddles. She's pretty sure that she slipped about five times already.

Crossing under a heavy leaf, Hinata scans her surrounding area, being extra keen so she can spot anything yellow or orange. She's also making sure to keep her ears open for any sound of movement near by. Even if she can't see him, maybe she can hear him.

After about a minute of standing there and getting nothing, she pulls her hood over her face some more and keeps moving. As she walks onward, Hinata can't help but think about her situation.

Maybe I'm just wandering aimlessly now. Maybe Naruto-kun is already back at the cave and I'm just lost. It has been about three hours now since I've been looking for him. He wouldn't be out in the rain for this long, now would he?

Just then, a sudden realization hit her like a slap to the face.

"Oh no! I'm lost!" Hinata panics, placing her hands on her cheeks and coming to a halt. "I have no idea where I am! How do I get back to the cave?!"

Hinata's breathing starts to become erratic as she looks every which way around her. She knows that she can't just go straight back because she had been taking some turns along the way due to some misleading noises she heard coming up to this point. Her eyes grow wide and her heart beats faster as panic starts to take over.

"I-I don't know where I am! I-I'm all a-alone! W-What am I-I going to to do!"

In her frantic state of mind, Hinata starts to think up possible ways of dealing with this predicament.

"I-I could try my luck with just walking straight back and hope that I make it to the cave." Pause. "But-But what if I just get even more lost? What will I do then?"

"What if Minato-san and Jiraiya-san come looking for me? How will they know how to find me?" Hinata starts to hyperventilate. She places a hand on her chest while she holds onto a nearby tree for support.

"I-I can't c-call out, something else might h-hear me…" Pause. "What d-do I do?"

Just then, Hinata hears something crunch behind her. Ceasing her panic, the bluenette becomes stock-still and opens her ears to listen for the sound once more. Not even a second later she hears the same crunch behind her, causing her to panic once more.

Daring to take a glance at whatever may be at her back, she cautiously turns her head to the side with wide eyes. What she sees is enough to strike fear into her heart and have her sprinting through the forest like a cheetah on the hunt.

Upon glancing behind herself, Hinata's eyes meet with nothing but red cross slitted irises that seemed to glow in the misty rain.

Not bothering to fully check out the owner of such eyes, Hinata dashes forward without so much as a peek at her back to see if the being is following after her. Just when she thought that she was about to lose the thing behind her, she hears the crunching of fallen leaves and twigs coming up behind her.

With a silent scream, Hinata quickens her pace and keeps running forward, not daring to take any turns encase she finds herself even more lost. She's praying that she will find something to save her from whatever is hunting her down before she runs out of stamina.

Tears start to drip from her eyes as she continues to hear the footsteps of whatever is pursuing her. She doesn't dare to look back at it in fear that she might trip on something and lose her momentum.

Running as fast and carefully as she can, Hinata leaps over a large tree root that was blocking her route of possible escape. As soon as her feet land on the wet ground, Hinata hears something that sends a cold shiver running down her spine.

Almost right behind her, Hinata hears an inhuman growl come from the thing chasing her. Hearing that makes Hinata certain that she is dealing with a dangerous animal that is trying to make her their next meal.

With yet another silent scream, Hinata presses on, nearly tripping over her own feel. She didn't make it this far in life only for her to become chow for some forest animal.

As she continues to run away from the animal on her tail, Hinata soon sees a possible clearing ahead of her. Growing closer to the clearing, Hinata's eyes widen in surprise at what she sees.

Right there, before her very eyes is her grandmother's house standing tall in the pouring rain.

With tears brimming at the corners of her eyes, Hinata pushes herself even harder in hopes of making it to the house before the beast behind her catches her. As she grows closer to the house, she realizes that she is staring at her grandmother's backyard. And upon closer inspection, she can just make out a figure making their way onto the porch, most likely heading inside.

Getting even closer to the house, she can finally see who the person is and a wide smile stretches on her face upon noticing him. Coming onto a dirt path hidden by the bushes surrounding her grandmother's home, Hinata outstretches her hand in hopes that her green jumpsuit wearing friend will notice her and come help her. Noticing that his back is turned to her, Hinata decides to call out to her friend instead.

"Le-aah!"

… Gangnam Style …

Lee had been outside long before the rain had started to fall. He had been going through his daily training routine with Tenten and Neji joining him for the time being. All three of them pushed themselves real hard before the couple went back inside for a shower due to the feeling of the rain.

Not being one to quit even when the weather decides that it wants to shed some water onto the earth, Lee continues his training until he is all burnt out. After relaxing in the rain for a few minutes, Lee gathers his things and begins to head inside.

Stopping on the porch for a brief moment, the green-clad teen grabs onto the towel he set down on the porch chair and starts to dry himself off moderately before entering the house. He did not wish to bring mud and water into the house of his friends' grandmother's home. That would be quite rude of him.

It was as he draped the towel around his neck and went to turn the knob did he hear what sounded like someone calling his name. Halting in his movements, Lee turns towards the forest surrounding the home with a curious look. Waiting patiently for any further sounds to come out of the forest, Lee's gaze hardens.

No matter how hard he tries not to believe it, he could have sworn that it was Hinata who had called out to him.

"But that cannot be. Hinata-san was taken by the fox. Right?" Lee inquires to himself as he continues to stare out into the forest.

After about three minutes of hearing nothing else, Lee shakes his head and turns back towards the back door with his head down. "Perhaps I am just imagining things. No matter how badly I wish I was not."

Releasing a sigh, Lee finally enters the house, not noticing the pair of eyes carefully watching him do so.

… Gangnam Style …

"Le-aah!"

Just as she called out to him, Hinata feels something large, soft, and wet wrap around her midsection which proceeds to pull back on her roughly, causing her to lose her breath.

Suddenly the soft thing unwraps from her body, causing her to land on the wet ground with a harsh thud. With the wind knocked out of her, Hinata struggles to catch her breath as she tries to sit up from the ground. But just as she sits up on her elbows, she is pushed back flat on her back with a clawed hand slapped over her mouth and a body stationed firmly above her.

Hinata's eyes enlarge and a muffled gasp escapes her lips when she sees those same glowing red eyes staring right into her own. But then she notices something off. Only one of the eyes is glowing red. The other eye was the brilliant blue color that she had come to know quite well.

"Na-"

"Shut up." The half demon whispers harshly, interrupting the girl's astonished gasp. Instantly his mismatched eyes shifted from her towards the odd looking boy clad in an even weirder green suit.

The blonde fox teen keeps completely still as he watches the other teen standing on the porch look out into the forest. He even stalls his breathing as to not make a single sound so that they don't get caught.

After about three long minutes, the bowl-haired teen finally gives in and enters the house. Naruto waits another minute before finally turning his attention back to the wide-eyed girl beneath him.

Removing his hand from her mouth, he places his hands on either side of her head as he straddles her waist. Hinata lays still with her hands placed on her chest as she locks eyes with a stone-faced Naruto.

They stay like that for what seems like a lifetime in the rain before Hinata decides that she's not liking the silence nor the fact that he's on top of her.

"Naru-"

"So you think that you can just run back to your family despite what my dad and Pervy Sage said?!" Seethes Naruto, baring his fangs at a shocked looking Hinata.

"W-Wha-?"

"Don't even bother trying to deny it either, Ms. Flexible!" Naruto interrupts yet again, leaning in closer to the confused girl.

Hinata shakes her, not really sure what the blonde was talking about. "I-I have no clue what you're talking about Naruto-"

"Liar!" Naruto cuts her off, both eyes now glowing red, which in turn frightens the bluenette.

Before Hinata can say anything else in her defense, Naruto swiftly lifts off of her and grips her by the collar of her dress. Lifting her off of the ground, Naruto slams her back into a nearby tree, causing Hinata to gasp in pain.

Wincing in pain, Hinata takes her chances with looking the heated blonde in the eyes. "I honestly don't k-know what you're talking about. I didn't mean to find this place-"

"Why do you feel the need to keep lying to me?" Naruto interjects, jerking her back into the tree.

"B-But I'm not lying…" Tears brim at the corners of Hinata's eyes due to the pain in her back.

"Oh really now?" Taunts Naruto, twisting his head to the side with a sneer. "How can you say that after I watched you leave the cave, huh? You seemed to be thinking about something really hard back there, Ms. Flexible."

Hinata's eyes widen at his words. He watched me leave the cave? He was that close by?!

Naruto smirks a twisted grin as he grips tighter onto the collar of her dress. "Yeah, didn't think I'd notice that you left the way that Pervy Sage usually comes through, huh?"

Blinking away her confusion, Hinata looks Naruto straight in his eyes. "T-That's not it. I just didn't know you were that c-close by! I was looking for yo-"

Naruto presses her back even further against the tree. "Oh sure! I'm so gonna believe you after Pervy Sage told me and dad that he told you how he got from Granny Tsunade's house to mine. Nice try, princess, but I ain't gullible like dad is."

Hinata's brow quirks in confusion at the blonde's statement. When did Jiraiya-san tell them this?

"Did y-you go back to the cave after I left?" Hinata asks, hoping that he will answer her honestly and not abuse her physically nor verbally.

Raising his own brow, Naruto looks at her suspiciously, his tail swinging lazily behind him. "Yeah, what of it?"

The bluenette's eyes widen in astonishment as she gains a faraway look. "So… So I've…"

Looking even more confused, he jerks the girl in frustration. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Blinking away her daze, Hinata looks back at Naruto with sad eyes. "I've been o-out here for hours looking for you w-when you were already back in the c-cave…"

"What?" Now Naruto's eyes are wide and back to being their natural blue color. "You were looking for me?"

Hinata nods. "Minato-san asked m-me to after you jumped out of the cave."

Naruto's eyes harden. "Well, you didn't try very hard if this is true." Hinata gasps. "You didn't even try calling out for me! How the hell are you supposed to find me if you don't call out for me?!"

"I didn't want to attract p-possible predators by making noise." Hinata answers while twiddling her thumbs timidly. "I thought it'd be better if I just watched out for any signs of blonde or orange. I-I always waited and listened encase you made a sound."

"Then why did you run away from me when I finally did come out?" Counters Naruto, loosening his tight grip on her dress.

Naruto cocks his head to the side when he notices her cheeks begin to redden as she places her gaze on the dirt floor.

"I-I didn't know i-it was you." Hinata answers, somewhat embarrassed to admit this to him. "I'm u-used to seeing blue when I-I look into your eyes, so when I s-saw red instead, I got really scared."

Now it was Naruto's turn to turn red from embarrassment. Finally releasing Hinata's collar from his grip, he rests his hands at his sides as he turns his head away from the girl. Hinata takes in a deep breath after being released from his hold.

Both teens stand there in awkward silence for a moment. Hinata fiddles with her hood and brings it up over her head to keep from getting any wetter, while Naruto rubs his arm trying to think of something to say.

He starts to grind his teeth together as his eyes harden towards the ground. Stupid girl… Why couldn't you just let me be mad at you..?

"Such a sap." Naruto mutters turning his head to the side with a pout. Part of him was hoping that Hinata wouldn't hear him, but as soon as he saw her stunned, blushing face, he knew she did.

Just as Hinata was about to say something back to the blonde, both quickly turn their heads towards the sudden sound of someone slamming the backdoor open. Both of their eyes grow to the size of saucers when they see a ton of people rushing from the house with a blonde and pinkette in the lead.

"Damn it, Lee! Why didn't you tell us sooner!" The blonde one yells, searching frantically around the yard.

"It could have been her for all we know!" The pinkette shouts, looking just as frantically as her blonde sister.

"Shit!" Naruto curses under his breath as he and Hinata watch the girls search through the yard. After a second of watching them, Naruto turns back to Hinata with mild panic in his eyes. "We have to go, now!"

Without waiting for a response, the blond turns his back to her and kneels on the ground. He brings his arms behind him and turns his head to see her look at him with a questioning stare. "Get on."

Hinata is hesitant at first as she looks back to her sisters. Sakura seems to be talking to Lee while Ino and the others are looking around. It's only when she sees Temari and her crush coming closer to where she and Naruto are hidden that she makes haste.

As quickly as she possibly can, Hinata timidly straddles Naruto's back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She releases a squeak sound when she feels Naruto's clawed hands grip her thighs tightly as he stands up with her securely on his back.

"Hold on tight." He whispers to her. With a red face, Hinata presses her cheek against the back of Naruto's head and grips her wrist tightly so that she doesn't end up choking Naruto.

Not even a second after, Naruto sprints off into the forest at such a high speed that it nearly knocks the breath out of her lungs. Hinata was sure that if they kept up this pace, they'd be back at the cave in no time. But little do she or Naruto know, both of them left a little memento for her family to hold onto to keep their spirits high.

… Gangnam Style …

After entering the house, Lee went to check if the bathroom was open so that he could take a much needed shower. After knocking on the door and getting no response, Lee goes inside and takes his shower.

Once he's done with his shower, Lee heads to his given room to change. Just as he finishes getting dressed, Sai enters the room carrying with him his art supplies. Lee watches Sai put his supplies away with a solemn look on his face.

"You could not draw anything again today?" Lee asks, earning him a fake smile from his companion.

"Unfortunately." Sai responds. "It's hard to work on a such a… gloomy day."

Lee nods in understanding. "I see."

A moment of silence passes between the two before Sai notices something off about his comrade. "Is something the matter?"

Lee looks up with a perplexed stare. "Huh?"

"You, how do I put this? You look as if someone has just… um…" Sai fiddles with his hands as he tries to come up with the right words. Giving in, Sai releases a frustrated sigh before looking at Lee with a serious gaze. "You look upset. Did something happen while you were out training?"

Lee's eyes widen in surprise. "What… I, um, it…" Lee turns silent when he looks into Sai's stern coal eyes. He realized that there is no use in lying to him. He'd be able to tell if he was.

"It is just that… I believe that I heard Hinata-san call for me when I was about to enter the house after training." Lee confesses, earning him a gasp from someone that was not Sai.

Both boys turn towards the bedroom door only to slightly panic upon seeing who was there. There in the doorway stood not one, but two of the sisters. Sakura and Ino.

"Are you serious?!" Both girls yell at the boy with fire in their eyes.

Soon everyone comes rushing towards the room, only to have some of them be pushed out of the way as Ino and Sakura rush towards the backdoor. Everyone quickly follows after them as they hear the door slam open as the two girls rush out into the rain without so much as a second thought.

Tsunade was the first to follow her granddaughters outside, followed by the rest of the teens. "What the hell is going on?" She questions, only for her words to be drowned out by the sound of her granddaughters screaming.

"Damn it, Lee! Why didn't you tell us sooner!" Ino yells, searching frantically around the yard.

"It could have been her for all we know!" Sakura shouts, looking just as frantically as her blonde sister. This earns the girls even more quizzical looks from their friends.

Coming out of the house along with the group, Lee stops before the pinkette with an apologetic frown.

"I am sorry, Sakura-san. I just did not want to get everyone's hopes up over something that could have been my wishful think-" Lee tries to explain, but is halted by the sudden turn of Sakura staring at him with a heated glare.

"I don't care if you think it's just your 'wishful thinking'! The next time you or anyone else hears, sees, feels, smells, or even taste anything that could possibly be Hinata, you let me and the others know as soon as possible!"

Stomping her foot to the ground to emphasize her point, she goes back to desperately looking around the backyard with her blonde sister.

"You see anything Ino?!" The pinkette questions, not even minding that she is getting soaked by the rain.

"Nothing yet!" Ino replies whilst peeling back some bushes and poking her head inside.

Coming up behind Lee, Tenten places a hand on his shoulder. "What the hell is she talking about? What would have gotten our hopes up, Lee?"

Before he can even get a word out, Sakura turns back to Tenten and points an angry finger at Lee. "He said that he heard Hinata call out for him while he was training!"

"What?!" Tenten, as well as all of the others, gasp in shock and stare at Lee and Sakura, who went back to searching around the backyard, with incredulousness.

"Are you for real?!" Tenten shouts at Lee, pushing pass him to aid her sisters in search of something related to their missing sibling.

Looking hurt, Lee barely notices when Neji approaches him until he is right in his face. His brows are furrowed and his pale eyes are hard. "You should have told us, Lee."

Without waiting for a response, Neji rushes towards some bushes and scours through them. Not even a second after, the rest of the teens are searching carefully around the backyard area desperately hoping to find any kind of sign that Hinata might have been there.

Lee stands in front of the porch with a sorrowful look with Tsunade standing behind him with a look of pity.

"I am sorry everyone."

Halting in her movements, Sakura turns back towards Lee and approaches him. She stops when she is a little less than an arm's length away. She stares at him for a moment before releasing a sigh. Tsunade watches her granddaughter carefully.

"I understand you're sorry Lee, but it just doesn't cut it this time. Maybe later it will, but you fucked up." Lee's round eyes downcast as he grips his arm tight.

"You are supposed to be a trained shinobi, a protector of the village and its people, someone who is trained to spot the smallest of details, trained to take every sound into consideration, trained to be able to deal with sensitive and difficult situations and so much more. For whatever reason, you failed to do as you were taught. You didn't take the sound of Hinata calling out for you into consideration, you didn't pay attention to the details around you. You failed to protect her. You fucked up."

"Sakura." Tsunade suddenly interjects sternly, causing both teens to look up at her. "That's enough."

Sakura's eyes widen as do Lee's. But soon her eye's are back to being sharp. "But he screwed up! He could have possibly put Hinata back at risk of losing her li-"

"I said enough!" Tsunade nearly screams, her arms folded under her bust. "People make mistakes; it happens. You shouldn't talk down to your friend because of a simple mistake."

Sakura opened her mouth to retort but instantly closed it, knowing that one, she shouldn't argue with her grandmother, and two, she was right.

She's just so frustrated with their entire situation that she was taking it out on Lee. She's so upset at the fact that the sister that she lost might have found her way back to them and they could have had her back, but now she may never get that chance again. Why couldn't she have been outside with Lee when this happened? What if she really was here and called out to him? What if this all wasn't in his head like he'd wish it was? What if-

"Oh my gosh! Guys we found something!"

Suddenly, everyone is looking towards where Temari and Shikamaru were calling from. Tsunade's mouth slightly drops when she sees where both teens are coming from.

Both Temari and Shikamaru emerge from behind some thick bushes with haste and are immediately surrounded by everyone.

"What did you find Temari-san?" Lee questions eagerly, hoping that whatever they found will ease his worry and guilt.

"I don't know how to feel about this…" Shikamaru states as Temari holds out what she found to the others. There is a deep frown on her face, almost as if she's trying to hold back tears.

When the group lay their eyes on what's in the blonde's hands, both Sakura and Ino instantly start to cry with Lee and Sai respectively trying to console them. Tenten gasps and huddles closer to Neji, who stares intensely at the item in Temari's hand. Both Konohamaru and Shikamaru stare blankly at it, trying to hide the relief that they feel inside. Tsunade, on the other hand, just stood there with a mildly stunned expression. No one in the group cared for the moment that they were all being drenched by the rain that was starting to let up.

In Temari's hands was a soaked piece of Hinata's purple cloak with small strands of bright blonde hair sticking to it. It appears to have been torn off by some branch or something, perhaps during a run or fall or something like that.

All were silent as they stared at the piece of fabric in the girl's hands. Most of them held mixed feelings about the piece of cloth, but the one thing that they knew for certain because of it was that…

"Hinata was here." Ino states through her sobbing. "She's alive."

After about two minutes of standing in the rain, everyone heads back inside of the house and each waits for their turn to take a hot shower. While all of the teens sat in the living room talking about what they found, Tsunade sits in the kitchen with the piece of cloth, staring closely at it. Her amber eyes focus more on the blonde strands more than the fabric itself. She knows exactly who these hairs belong to.

Naruto.

… Gangnam Style …

The area was dark and held an ominous feeling around it; the only light illuminating the area coming from monitors and large human sized tubes attached to them. The large tubes were filled to the brim with some kind of liquid with bubbles occasionally raising to the surface. Elsewhere in the room were lab tables and chairs and all types of medical supplies fit for a mad science lab.

Light dripping could be heard echoing in the room along with the sound of heavy breathing. Machines were beeping and more bubbles were rising in the tubes. Soon soft groans started to join the panting as well as the sound of fingernails clawing at a wooden surface.

Suddenly the sound of a heavy metal door opening sounded throughout the area. Shortly after the sound of footsteps echoed followed by the pushing of buttons on the monitors.

Behind the monitors stood a man dressed in a white lab coat and some deep purple rubber gloves. Looking up from the blinking monitors, he stares into a corner of the room located next to the tubes of liquid. A devilish grin raises on lips.

"How are you holding up, my dear?" The man questions clasping his hands together while walking over to the corner he was staring at.

In the corner sat a woman with vivid red hair strewn over her shoulders. She was wearing nothing but a hospital gown and a blue bracelet. Attached to her arm were two IV bags, one filled with a red liquid, the other filled with clear. She sat in a splintered wooden chair with steel armbands keeping her arms and legs in place. Her head was hung as sweat dripped onto the stone floor and her tails were chained to the wall behind her to keep them from moving.

Lifting up her head partly the woman's fiery red eyes glowered at the man and her large canines snarled at him. Her nostrils flared as she tries to steady her breathing for a brief, but hoarse response.

"I-I'm fine."

"Good."

… Gangnam Style …

Again sorry for the long wait. I hope that I made this chapter long and juicy enough for you guys. I also hope that I made it decent enough for those of you that are reading this.

Anyway, to those of you reading, thank you for reading this story and if you'd like to please leave a review, follow and/or fave! I'd really appreciate it! Hearing what you guys have to say is what keeps me going strong! Thanks again and have a great day or night!