Disclaimer: See previous.
Author's Notes: I was all excited because I thought I was going to get back on my regular updating schedule last week. But no! fanfic was experiencing and "error" and refused to let me post. So, clearly, the wait for this chapter is not to be held against me.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
oOo
"Be safe, but if it's impossible, at the very least be mean." -Jiu Jitsu Instructor
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Hinata was angry.
"I told you, over and over again, how important this was to me. I made it clear that, for just one night, I really needed you to act respectful and calm. I made that clear. But could you do it? No! You had to go and knock Neji unconscious! Why couldn't you just be halfway—halfway normal? I mean—I mean—this was really important and—"
"Hinata…"
"Don't talk! I'm mad at you!"
"Hinata. Stop it, if you would just let me explain—"
"I don't want you to explain!" Hinata hollered. Her throat was tight and her face was hot. The party had been going well. She had talked to people she kind of knew, avoided The Pack, and even had an extremely yummy crab thing. Then, there had been a commotion in the corner, and by the time she had gotten there Neji's jaw was purple and Naruto was looking very, very guilty.
That, of course, had been followed by their immediate humiliation and expulsion and, coupled with her father's frosted glare, it had been enough to lose the air-tight hold she had on her temper.
It had only been pushed over the edge when she realized Naruto was her ride home.
"Hinata," Naruto snapped. "If you would just listen—"
"No!" She snapped back. "You haven't even apologized-"
"Then I'm sorry!"
"You certainly don't sound sorry!"
"Well I'm not!"
"That's it! Pull over!"
Naruto snorted. "I'm not just going to leave you someplace in New York."
"I'd rather be out there than in here with you."
"Like you're such great company right now! I mean—I don't even know why I spend all this time on a girl that's—that's completely incapable of feeling!"
"Well I'm feeling right now!"
"I mean, I tell you I love you—"
"You show it."
"And you say you need to think about it?"
"I just wanted to be sure!" Hinata yelled, and to her horror realized there were tears prickling at her eyes. "You said it was fine! You said you understood that—!"
"What was I supposed to understand? That you didn't love me?"
"No!"
"What then?"
"That I wanted to make sure!"
"Of what?"
"Oh, forget it!" Hinata spat, unlocking the door. "Just forget it!" She unbuckled her seatbelt as they neared a light, and all but kicked the door open, stepping out onto the cold pavement and stalking off.
She heard Naruto yell something at her, but she turned the corner and kept walking. Her feet hurt from the heels, but she ignored them. Her apartment was less than a block away, but Naruto wasn't going to come another half a block closer than he absolutely had to be.
Her eyes blurred, stinging with tears, and she sniffed to keep them in.
This is absolutely ridiculous, she thought, rubbing at her arms. The wind blew right through her thick coat. Figured. He behaves like an imbecile and then blames me for it? Always whining that I need his protection. Well I don't need his protection! I don't even want it!
"Ooh!" Hinata screeched, and kicked a can out of her way, nearly overbalancing in her ridiculous heels. This night, this whole—this whole thing was a debacle and she wasn't about to go back and apologize for yelling at him. He had deserved it, every last bit of it. So what if she hadn't told him she loved him? She wanted to be sure, and now she most certainly was. Naruto was the most pigheaded, ridiculous, controlling, annoying, overly-energetic, individual she had ever met without a brain in his head—
She never heard anyone moving up behind her, never saw the hand come down on the back of her neck or the sack being pulled over her head; never heard the roar of the truck engine as she was dumped in the back of a pick-up and driven away.
She only felt the sudden pain in the back of her neck, and then nothing.
oOo
Her head hurt.
Groaning, Hinata blinked open her eyes. They felt heavy and gummy, almost bruised, and throbbing. She blinked against bright light streaming in through dirty, broken windows, set high into a wet concrete wall. There were twisted shapes of rusted metal piled in a few corners, a few old pipes dripping down the wall, and huge steel girders ran from floor to ceiling every few feet. Chains dangled from the ceiling, ending in heavy hooks.
Confused and cold, Hinata pulled her head away from the wall with a squelch—her hair style must be ruined—and tried to lessen the strange ache in her arms. They rattled when she moved them.
A pair of handcuffs chained her to one of the pipes. She jiggled them uselessly for a few moments, but all that did was make her wrists hurt. The metal was tight on her wrists, tight enough to pinch.
Hinata's thoughts moved like they were flowing through chilled molasses, and she found it hard to piece together simple things like where she was and why. Her head hurt, her arms hurt, and her dress was too thin. She was so cold…
She woke up again with a start, not sure how much time had passed. It was darker in the room—warehouse, she realized—but there was still no one there. She was thirsty.
"Hello?" she called out, barely a squeak in that gloom. "Is anyone there?"
She had been kidnapped only once before in her life. She had been five years old then, snatched from the park and loaded in a car. She had spent three days in a room with some woman watching her. The woman had no tongue, and Hinata had seen the stump wriggling when the woman yelled at her. She had been terrified, but all they had wanted was money, and her father had been willing to give it. They hadn't hurt her.
If the bruise on her arm was any indication, these men had no such compunctions.
Okay, Hinata thought, stretching out her legs and standing on them shakily. The pipe rose up above her head to disappear in the gloom, and she was chained so that she could stand. At least they had left her that. I can stand, if I get desperate there is water here… but the plan is not to get desperate. The plan is to get out somehow.
Now I just need to figure out how.
She looked back at the pipe, at the handcuffs. There must be a weak spot in the chain or the pipe that she could exploit. It was like the jujitsu move Ino had taught her, how to pull away when someone had a grip on your hand. You didn't push at the fingers, but at the thumb—the weak spot.
There, Hinata thought, seeking eyes locking onto the sixth link of her handcuffs. The metal had tempered badly, more brittle than the rest, and half frozen from lying against the cold pipe. There was a chip in the pipe, so if she put the link there and applied pressure here—
Hinata winced at the noise as the link gave way, landing heavily on her bottom from the rebound. She blinked hard, her eyes watering from the landing, and when she opened them again the room seemed much darker. She wondered if one of the street lamps outside had died.
Okay, she thought, standing slowly and looking around. There was no change; no one was coming to investigate the noise. So I wake up too late this morning, have to go shoe shopping, have to get ready for the party, actually have to attend that miserable excuse for a social gathering of pre-pubescent monkeys, and then my boyfriend—former boyfriend—knocks out my cousin. After which I'm kidnapped and chained up in a warehouse where there is apparently no one to hear me scream.
I've had better days.
She sighed, and tried to loosen the tight hold of the cuffs. The metal still pinched her wrists, but not being chained to the pipe was a big step in The Plan. Technically, it was the only step in the plan so far, but it had worked. That was the important thing, wasn't it?
I can do this, Hinata thought determinedly, picking her way carefully across the dark floor. All I have to do is find a door, get out, and find a phone. Where's my purse, anyway? Gone. Maybe that's all they wanted?
Nearly tripping over a steel girder, Hinata finally made it to a tiny door rusted into the wall. It opened just before she reached it.
Wrong door, Hinata thought faintly, backing away slowly from the man that slithered through. He was tall, with dark lank hair and slitted yellow eyes. His skin was a chalky alabaster, with strange purple markings near his nose. His clothes looked expensive, a dark silk suit with a bright purple waistcoat. His step was graceful, slow, and sent a shivery feeling all through her.
Definitely not one of her best days.
The man clucked his tongue a few times, shaking his head sadly. His tongue was strangely long, and forked. "Well, well, well," he said, his voice a dry rasp. "This is an unexpected development."
Hinata backed away slowly as he approached, trying not to be cornered against a wall or fall over from the treacherous footing. Very poor choice of footwear, she thought, stumbling over a loose rock to the man's scornful laugh. I am never wearing heels ever again.
"Stay still," the man purred, trapping her eyes with his. Her muscles turned to steel, one foot half-lifted from the floor, frozen feet not even trembling. Panic started to creep up Hinata's throat, as the man stopped in front of her, drawing a dark, sharp nail across her throat. Goosebumps crawled along her skin.
I can't move, I can't move, I can't move. Okay, this is bad. This is very, very bad. Why can't I move?
"I am Orochimaru," the man said, pressing his nose to her neck and taking a deep breath. She couldn't even flinch away. "And you, my dear, are bait."
Hinata wanted to ask for who, but her tongue wasn't moving either. Complete paralysis, but her muscles were still rigid enough to keep her upright. She had never heard of something that could do this. Was it some kind of drug? Some trick?
"But," he said loudly, pulling away and smiling. His teeth were sharp, filed to points. "Bait is not interesting if it just sits around, is it? Hardly a point if it doesn't get the blood boiling, hmm?"
Hinata's heel hit the floor hard, and she gasped with relief as she could finally move, scrambling back from Orochimaru in terror. Her breath came in harsh gasps, and she stared at him with wide eyes. He's insane, she thought. Completely nuts.
"Run," Orochimaru ordered, glee evident as he took a step forward. "Go on. I'll give you a head start."
Hinata took a hesitant step backward, whirling as a door opened behind her. Orochimaru gestured for her to go through.
"Five seconds is fair, wouldn't you say?" he asked. Hinata took a step back, and he didn't follow. Another, another, another.
That was four seconds, she realized.
Orochimaru took a step toward her, smiling.
She turned and ran, and his laughter followed her into the hallway.
oOo
Author's Notes: And finally Orochimaru has been introduced!
I know, it's a little bit of a cliffie, but I've almost got the next part written. It just needs come major tweaking. So, please review and tell me what you think!