Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Playing the Role of the Byakugan Princess

Blank Period

Chapter thirty-nine

As soon as I give the signal to start the match, Hanabi dashes forward and throws a roundhouse kick to my side. I block her attack with my arm and she spins around to strike my shoulder. I smack her hand away and she retaliates by ducking to get me in the stomach. I take a step backwards and she dances towards me with a series of palm thrusts. I dodge them all and then I grab her by the wrist on the last strike. She tries to jerk away, but when that doesn't work she drops to the ground and swings her leg around to sweep me off of my feet. I don't let go of her and I jump into the air, bringing her with me. She take her free arm to hit me away, but I grab that wrist, too. I feel her body tense up and then she sends out a tiny chakra blast. Catching me off guard, I release her. We both land on the ground and she jumps a few spaces away from me, breathing heavily.

When the hell did she learn how to do that? Our father didn't teach me that until I was training for the Chunin Exams! Maybe I'm going a little too easy on her. I should stop playing defense and go on the offensive.

I charge after her and I see her eyes widen in surprise at my change of tactics. She prepares herself by getting into a defensive stance as I swoop in with a palm to the gut. In a flash, she bats my hand away and cartwheels out of the way. She goes to kick me from behind, but I twirl out of the way and push off the ground to get closer to her. I come after her with a barrage of palm strikes, but she blocks or evades all of them and then performs a backflip to get some distance from me. I don't allow her to have any as I continue to zoom closer to her and attack.

Well, I can truly say that Hanabi is a better fighter than I was at seven years old. All of her strikes have been precise and sharp and her movements have been light and graceful. While I'm better at fighting on the defensive, she appears to be good at equally doing both. However, she seems to be thinking too much about her next move and is making silly mistakes like leaving herself open or attacking me in the wrong place.

After a few more minutes of sparring, I decide to end the match by easily finding an opening and gently knocking her to the ground. She lands directly onto her bottom and goes to get back up, but I shake my head.

"We are done," I inform her.

Hanabi narrows her eyes. "Why? We barely even sparred."

I arch an eyebrow. "We've been going at it for almost fifteen minutes straight and your breathing very heavily. I know you are tired so you need to rest."

Hanabi gives me an annoyed look, but doesn't protest anymore as she spreads apart her arms and legs to stretch them out.

"I'm still overthinking and second guessing myself when I fight," she says. "I need to continue to work on that."

I nod in agreement. "Other than that, you are pretty amazing for your age, Hanabi. Natsu must be very strict on you."

Hanabi shakes her head. "She actually goes too easy on me. Even though I know he's your caretaker, I tried to get Kō to train me. He was a little more stricter, but not by much. I settled back with Natsu, but Otou-san trains me occasionally when he is free. I just don't understand why he can't train me more often since you are going on more missions now and he isn't working with you as much."

I shrug. "Maybe he sees that you don't need as harsh of a training regimen as I had at your age because of your superb skills. I would take it as a compliment."

"Well, I don't take it as a compliment," Hanabi mumbles. "I know that I'm good for my age. That's why I'm in a more advanced class at the Academy. But, I also want my training to be more advanced. I want to be trained by Otou-san and not be babied by Natsu."

I tilt my head to the side. "Let me ask you this, who taught you the Gentle Fist Art: One Blow Body?"

"Natsu."

I give her a reassuring smile. "Well, I didn't learn that until a couple of months ago so obviously she isn't babying you too much. You may be advanced, but you're still a child, Hanabi. She's going to take it easy on you because your body can only handle so much at your age."

Hanabi gets up and slides into a fighting stance. "I'm ready to spar again, Hinata-nee-san!"

I sigh. "You didn't listen to a word I just said, did you? Alright, let's begin."

After three more sparring sessions, I call it a day and we quickly wash up to head out for lunch. Hanabi insists on having a picnic since it isn't too chilly outside today. So, we pack up a few things and are on our way to the Training Grounds. My little sister doesn't really venture out here too often so she wants to do some exploring after we eat. I told her I do not mind as long as we don't bother anybody who could be training. After relaxing and eating at the edge of the Training Grounds, I put on the backpack we carried our food in and we go deeper into the forest.

"Woah! These trees are so tall," Hanabi points out in amazement.

"Don't walk with your head up like that," I scold. "You're going to trip and fall."

"I have my Byakugan activated," she informs me without skipping a beat.

"Tch. Smartypants."

"I can't wait until I'm a little older so I can come out here and train," Hanabi tells me.

"You don't have to be older to come out here and train. I trained out here sometimes when I was younger," I say to her. "But, it is the perfect place to do all types of training. There are rocky areas if you want to build up stamina and endurance and there's plenty of trees and small ponds to practice chakra control. There is also plenty of open areas for sparring or practicing ninjutsu."

"I want to check out the rocky areas. I would like to start building up more stamina so I can train longer at home without taking too many breaks."

I roll my eyes. "You really didn't listen to a word I said earlier."

We change courses and I start to lead her to her desired spots. After a few minutes of walking, Hanabi abruptly stops.

"We should probably take another path. Neji and his team are training just up ahead," she warns me.

I tense up and start pushing Hanabi by her shoulders. "Yes, yes. We should hurry along."

"Hey! Let go of me!"

I really don't want Lee to see me right now. He told me when I was in the hospital that he wanted to spar with me after I get out, but I haven't been around him since. I've been too busy with training and with my mission to Yugakure, but now that I'm back I still would like to avoid him. I know I said I would be his rival back then, but I was in the hospital. I was injured and tired. I didn't know what I was thinking.

"Agh!" Hanabi suddenly squeals.

"What?!"

"The man is-"

A blur of green appears out of nowhere and a man blocks our path.

"Ah, Hinata! I thought that was you!"

Huh? Who's Hinata? I'm not Hinata!

Guy glances down at Hanabi and flashes a grin at her, but she is staring too intenstly at his eyebrows to be polite and smile back.

"I assume this must be your little sister. You two enjoying a nice stroll through the forest? It is a beautiful day today!"

I remember my manners and nod back. "We are. I'm just showing Hanabi around the Training Grounds since she was curious about them."

"That's kind of you. You must be a great older sister, Hinata!" Guy says to me.

I awkwardly rub the back of my head. "Mmm, yes. But, we should really be on our way. We didn't mean to disturb your training and-"

"Guy-sensei! What on earth are you doing?" I hear Lee yell.

Crap!

I hear some leaves rustle and then he emerges out of the bushes. Lee notices me and gasps. "My Eternal Rival #3! How convenient that you are here! I was just thinking about you the other day and I realized that we are overdue for our sparring match!"

The one that you decided to have for us while I was unable to talk, right?

Guy places a hand on Lee's shoulder. "Now, Lee. Hinata is spending the day with her sister. Why don't you two spar another time?"

Lee finally notices Hanabi and bows. "My apologies! I did not see you there. You are right, Guy-sensei. We can just do it another time."

Hanabi smirks. "Actually, I wouldn't mind watching the two of you spar."

I give Hanabi a betrayed look. "Now, Hanabi. I can spar with Lee some other time. You really wanted to explore the Training Grounds."

Hanabi shrugs. "That can wait. Besides, you've already beaten his other two teammates. Wouldn't you like to fight this guy and have a clean sweep? I bet you easily could."

Shut the hell up, Hanabi! Ugh, she can be so arrogant.

I give Lee an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for my sister's rudeness! Heh heh. You know how children can be."

Guy chuckles. "There is nothing wrong with what she just said. She does have a point. You have beaten Tenten and Neji. Can you defeat Lee as well or can he break your streak?"

Lee pumps his fists into the air. "I would like to know the answer to that now! Your sister doesn't mind if we spar so what do you say, Hinata?"

I arch an eyebrow at Hanabi and she gives me an innocent smile. I sigh and then I give Lee a determined look. "I'm in."

"Whoohoo!" Lee cheers and then he runs off.

Hanabi blinks in confusion. "Where is he going?"

"He is heading back to Training Ground Ten. We've been training there all morning so we're just going to have their match there," Guy explains as we start to follow Lee.

We come to a clearing and I see Lee is already doing pushups, while Tenten is spinning a kunai around her finger and Neji is leaning against a tree. As we got closer to them, Neji opens his eyes and his gaze flickers them to me.

"I tried not to say anything, but Guy sensed you," Neji tells me.

"You say that like it is a bad thing," Hanabi says to Neji.

Oh, just wait and see, Hanabi. They'll start overwhelming you sooner or later.

Lee springs up from the ground and gives me a thumbs up. "Are you ready, Hinata?"

No, I'm not ready. I'm not as fast as Lee and he is about to kick my ass with his speed alone.

I nod. "I am."

"Lee, what are you up to?" Tenten wonders as she continues to spin her her kunai.

"Hinata has agreed to spar with me!"

Tenten squints her eyes. "Did she really agree?"

I hold up my hands. "Ha, I really did!"

Tenten smirks. "Well, good luck, Eternal Rival #3."

I give her a mock annoyed look. "You know, I'm still bitter that I'm not Eternal Rival #1 or #2."

Tenten points at Neji with her thumb. "Blame him."

Hanabi looks up at Neji. "Are you #1 or #2?"

Neji crosses his arms and sticks his nose up. "Of course I'm #1."

Tenten sweatdrops. "A little proud, aren't you?"

Lee and I step a few paces away from the group to prepare ourselves for our match. Guy stands in the middle of us to act as the meditator. He raises his right arm and nods at the both of us. We nod back and we both slip into our fighting stances. Then, Guy waves his hand down.

"Begin!" Guy shouts.

I barely have time to activate my Byakugan before Lee basically disappears and then reappears by my side to throw a kick. I quickly lift up my arm to block the kick and I swear my bones rattle from the powerful force of the impact. Lee goes to hit me with his other leg, but I block that one as well. He bends backwards and places both hands on the ground to balance himself as he thrusts both of his legs towards me. I cross my arms out to protect myself and then I go to grab his legs, but he quickly finishes his backbend up with a backflip to prevent me from doing so. Lee charges in this time with a series of punches and I bat them all away before I drop to the ground and use the Substitution Jutsu to gain some distance from him.

Fuck, Lee is fast! I'm not going to be able to realitate at all if he keeps going like this! I'm going to need all of my chakra if I want to beat him so using Shadow Clones for the moment is out of the question.

I jump out from the tree near Lee that I am hiding behind and thrust out my palms to shoot out two chakra blades. Lee spins around in time to notice them coming and leaps up to evade them. I manipulate the blades and they follow him upwards. They start to wrap themselves around his ankles, but he slips out of them before they could get any tighter. He drops to the ground and zooms over towards me. I break my connection with the chakra blades and start to move my hands around to create a chakra barrier. He zips over to the side, but quickly backs off when he realizes that my Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms gives me 360 degree protection just like the Rotation does for Neji. I push my chakra barrier outwards to hit Lee and then I start to run along behind it as it continues forward. Lee leaps into the air once more to avoid the attack and I jump up there with him. I bring my palm out to strike his arm and then I quickly retreat back to the ground before he can hit me back. I hop a few paces back as Lee lands on the ground and he grabs his arm.

"Ngh, I can barely move it," Lee says. "Not bad, Hinata. I'm used to fighting Neji, and I know you fought somewhat differently than he does, but your fighting style is more on the defensive."

That's because you're too fast for me to go fully on the offensive!

"Now that I have felt you out I probably should fight more seriously, though."

Wait, what?

I don't even have time to blink before Lee crosses the field and is already in my face. I manage to barely block a punch to my face. Then, he tricks me by kicking me first so I can block that and then quickly punches me in the stomach with his bad arm. I widen my eyes in shock and I feel the air get knocked out of me. But, I don't remain still like that. I try to recover and ignore the pain as I grab Lee's arm to jerk him closer towards me. When our bodies touch, I exert out a small chakra blast infused with an extra dose of Lightning Release to send him flying. He collides with the ground and tries to stand up, but the electricity running through his body makes it difficult for him to.

There! That should slow him down.

"Woah! When did you learn how to do that, nee-san?" Hanabi calls out.

I cringe.

Shit! This was suppose to be a secret from Hanabi and the rest of the clan until I became better with the Lightning Release. I'll have to tell her to not tell anyone later. Neji is included, despite being so close, but Hanabi is more likely to run her mouth about what she just saw versus Neji. So, I'm not as worried about him knowing over her.

"Eh, we can talk about this later!" I say back and then I focus on the battle again.

While Lee struggles to stand up, I take this chance to hurry over towards him to prevent him from moving for good. I get into position and bring out my arms.

"Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!"

I leap towards him.

"Two pa-"

"Leaf Whirlwind!"

Lee brings his left around and knocks me off of my feet with a swift rotating kick. While I am in mid-air, Lee grabs both of my wrists and slings me into a tree. I tumble to the ground and then Lee drop down to kick me aside and I slam into another tree. At that point, the electricity gets too much for Lee again and he falls back down. Pain surges up and down my back and I arch it as I gasp for air.

Fuck, damn! That hurt! Lee is strong as hell!

I weave some handsigns and use the Substitution Jutsu once more to get away and hide. I appear behind another tree and I rest against it for a second while I rack my brain for an idea.

I can't lose to Lee in front of my sister! She looks up to me and I don't want to look stupid and weak in front of her! Plus, I need to defeat Lee so I can say I've performed a clean sweep on Team Guy!

I guess it is time to bring out the Shadow Clones!

I conjure up two Shadow Clones and send one of them out to act as me for Lee to fight while the other Shadow Clone and I climb up the tree and ambush him from above. As we climb the tree and creep our way slowly towards Lee, I watch with my Byakugan as my Shadow Clone tries her best to distract Lee without getting hit. It looks like Lee's body has recovered a bit as he is able to move around now without struggling and falling, but he is still sluggish. As my Shadow Clone and I get right above Lee, he suddenly makes contact with my Shadow Clone and she poofs away in smoke. Lee blinks in confusion for a second and I take the opportunity to throw down two smoke bombs. They hit the ground and create a smokescreen. I recall upon the Shadow Clone that just dissipated and the three of us land silently onto the ground.

My Shadow Clones charge after Lee, but he leaps into the air to get out of the smokescreen so he can see. Already anticipating he would do that, I jump into the air before he is able to jump out of the smoke and kick him back down. As he slams into the ground, my Shadow Clones get in between Lee and start waving their hands around to form a chakra barrier so it will be harder for him to escape. At this point, the smoke is starting to clear up and I hurry over to stand in front of Lee and get into my Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms position.

"You might as well go ahead and admit defeat, Lee," I say to him. "You're surrounded. Or, like Neji says, you're within my range."

Okay, I know that I just said he is surrounded, but I bet Lee could somehow get out of this if this was a real life or death battle. He still has a couple of other dangerous moves, something like Dancing Leaf Shadow, and then his Eight Inner Gates.

Lee looks around and then sighs. "It appears that you are right. I am glad I got to experience what you are capable of. Let us get stronger and fight again soon!"

I notice he didn't say the word "spar". Am I overthinking things or is he wanting to go all out next time?

I stare him down for a second, making sure he isn't trying to trick me and that this match is really over, and then I get rid of my clones so I can help him up. He brushes himself off, sticks his thumb out towards me, and grins, teeth gleaming.

"Good job, Hinata!"

I give him an awkward smile. "Heh, thank you."

Even though this match is over, I don't feel like I truly won. I was just able to trap Lee. With Tenten and Neji, I outsmarted and beat the crap out of them to win. My plan was good enough to ambush Lee, but I know he could've gotten out of my trap if he was going all out. I guess what I am saying is this is actually pumping me up to get stronger so I can truly beat Lee one day.

I wasn't serious into this whole rival thing earlier, but maybe I will be now!

Lee and I head back over to Guy and the others. Guy walks over to Lee and places his hands on his student's shoulders.

"You did very well, Lee," Guy tells him. "I'm proud of you."

Tears start to stream down Lee's face. "Oh, thank you, Guy-sensei!"

Tears start to stream down Guy's face. "Anytime, Lee!"

Hanabi inches over towards me and tugs on my shirt. "Let's get out of here while they're distracted."

I swat her hand away. "No way. This is your fault. You insisted on me sparring so we're staying until the end."

"But, why are they… acting like that?" Hanabi whispers.

"I always wonder that myself and I'm on their team," Tenten answers for me.

Hanabi and I turn around to see Tenten and Neji standing behind us.

"I didn't realize you followed me," Hanabi says.

"If you were going to sneak off, so were we," Tenten retorts back.

After Lee's and Guy's emotional moment is over, Guy walks over to me and I instinctively take a step back, hoping he wouldn't try to cry with me. Tenten about falls over from laughing because of my little action.

"Congratulations, Hinata," Guy says to me. "You had Lee surrounded and for that you have beaten him. It looks like you have made a clean sweep when it comes to my team. It looks like we are just going to have to train harder from now on! And, you, Hinata! You should make it your personal goal to try and make a clean sweep on Teams Seven and Eight!"

Flames burst into Lee's eyes. "Oh, yes! That would be a great goal to try and achieve, Hinata! Imagine if you can do that! I would surely have to bump you up to Eternal Rival #1 then!"

Guy looks over at Neji. "How would that make you feel if that happened?"

Neji narrows his eyes. "Don't drag me into this nonsense."

Guy crosses his arms. "Well, Hinata. If you truly want to say you've defeated Team Guy, you have to take me on, now."

I freeze on the spot. "T-take you on?"

Tenten shakes her head. "R.I.P, Hinata."

I shoot her a dirty look. "W-what are you trying to say?!"

Damn! Stop stuttering! I really sound like the original Hinata right now!

Guy chuckles. "Ha ha! I'm just joking with you!" I sweatdrop in response as he clears his throat. "In all seriousness, though, you did a really great job. Would you mind if I give you some pointers? I do so with my students after they spar with one another."

"No, I do not mind," I inform him.

Guy nods. "Excellent! I don't know if you've been told this before or not, but I think you should fight more offensively. You are a Hyūga and you have an amazing fighting style. I know you are just as talented as Neji with the Gentle Fist; I watched you fight him during the Chunin Exams. I would just like to see you show those skills off more often and be more confident in your offensive skills like you are with your defensive skills."

Yes, yes. I have been told many times that I should fight more offensively. Fighting defensively along with some offensive tactics here and there has always worked for me so why change things up? If I need to fight more offensively than Lee should fight more defensively. Lee is not the person to go solely offensive on. Gaara has his sand shield and it still was barely enough to protect himself from Lee's can of whoop ass. I'm not bound to be on the receiving end of that.

But, I know that I need to work on my offensive skills and probably the two best people to spar with at my level is Neji and Shikamaru. Neji because we fight the same fighting style and Shikamaru because he fights more on the defense like me so I can just go on the offense with him without worrying about getting hit as much.

I bow politely. "Thank you for your advice. I will work more on my offensive skills."

Guy sticks his thumb out. "That's the spirit!"

I open my mouth to announce Hanabi and I should probably get going and to thank Lee for sparring with me when an Anbu Black Op suddenly appears by my side. The sudden appearance causes everyone to grow tense and Neji instinctively takes a step in front of Hanabi and I while Guy's demeanor grows more serious.

"Yes? Is there something wrong?" Guy addresses the Anbu.

The Anbu looks over at me. "Hokage-sama is requesting to see you, Hyūga Hinata."

I relax a little when the Anbu says that. "Okay. Thank you for informing me. I will come by her office momentarily."

The Anbu nods in response and poofs away. When they do, I grab my chest and take a deep breathe.

I swear, these Anbu Black Ops are going to give someone a heart attack one day for appearing out of nowhere like that. If I am just being summoned, why can't they just make their presence known in a more normal way? Why be all mysterious and dramatic?

"Well, it looks like we have to cut our time together short," I say to Team Guy. I bow towards Lee. "Thank you for sparring with me. I truly enjoyed it! I can't wait until we do it again."

Lee bows back. "No, thank you for accepting my invite! It will always be a pleasure!"

Hanabi and I say our good-byes and we hurry out of the Training Grounds.

"What does Hokage-sama want with you?" Hanabi asks as we dash through the forest.

Huh. Hanabi's pretty good at keeping up with me.

"I really don't know," I reply back.

Hanabi knits her eyebrows together. "Well, I hope you're not going on another mission. I really want to spend the day with you."

"If I am being sent out on a mission, I can't really deny it just to spend the day with you," I tell her.

Hanabi sighs. "I know that. I'm just saying I hope it isn't. But, should I go with you?"

I shake my head. "No, you should just head on home once we get back to the village. I will swing by later and tell you what is going on."

Hanabi nods in understanding and we split up once we arrive back to the village. I make my way to Tsunade's office and knock on her door.

"Come in!" Tsunade calls out from the other side.

I walk into the room as Shizune closes the door behind me and I walk over to stand in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Good afternoon, Hinata," Tsunade greets me with a smile. "I apologize for calling you in on your day off."

I bow politely. "It is not a problem. I wasn't doing anything too important."

Tsunade nods. "Good. We have some things to discuss. First off, Kazyou has been found innocent."

Wow, that was quick! I figured it would take awhile to clear his name since we just got back three days ago.

I clasp my hands together. "Oh, that's great! I hoped that he would be. Where is he now?"

"I cannot disclose that to you," Tsunade replies. "Kazyou wants to be alone for awhile until he can gather his thoughts. He still needs time to come terms with the fact he's living in a different era."

I drop my hands. "Yes, that is understandable. I cannot imagine how he feels."

Tsunade gives out a dry laugh. "You can really say no one can."

"I know somebody who can cheer almost anybody up when Kazyou decides to not be left alone anymore," I say to Tsunade. "Naruto!"

Tsunade raises her eyebrows. "Ah, I see where you're getting at now. You want the two of them to meet because they have the same last name. I don't see a problem with that, but I should let you know they aren't from the same clan."

I blink in confusion. "Huh?"

"When Naruto was born, he was given the last name Uzumaki in honor of the fallen clan that Konoha was once close with," Tsunade explains. "Most orphans do not even get a last name, so I suppose Naruto was at least given one so he could have some identity not related to that damn Kyūbi."

Okay, is she lying to me or does she really not know who Naruto's parents really are? She wasn't in the village much after her lover died so that would make sense if she didn't know his true backstory. However, she is the Hokage. I would think the Third Hokage would've informed her about that.

Well, I will play along for now. But, I'm still going to introduce Kazyou and Naruto to each other. We don't have to tell Kazyou about Naruto's backstory.

I give her a disappointed look. "That's a shame. I was really excited for Naruto."

Tsunade gives me a sympathetic glance. "You're a good friend for caring for him like that, Hinata."

I give her a small smile. "Thank you."

"But, I didn't summon you here to just talk about Kazyou," Tsunade informs me. "That was just some news that I figured I share with you while you were here. The real reason you are here is because I need you to lead another mission. I know that you just got back from leading one, but this one calls for your skills and those of Team Eight."

Great. I have to team up with those guys? Kiba's probably not even going to listen to me, Choji will want to take frequent breaks to eat, and Shino doesn't bother me but his bugs do.

"Are we just waiting for them to come before you tell me the details of this mission?" I ask.

Tsunade nods. "Yes. They should be here any time now."

As if on cue, there is a series of knocks on the door and then Kiba bursts in without permission from Tsunade. Akamaru happily trots behind his master followed by Shino.

"I apologize," Shino says to Tsunade. "Kiba is… rather eager. Why? Because he believes he's about to go on a mission because you summoned us here."

"I can see that," Tsunade replies, looking highly irritated.

Kiba appears oblivious. "Alright! We're here so what's up?"

I sweatdrop. "I don't think you should speak to Tsunade-sama so casually, Kiba."

Kiba turns his head in my direction. "Oh, Hinata! You were called up here, too?"

"No, I just snuck up here but you just announced my presence so thanks," I tease, giving him a mock look of annoyance.

Kiba squints at me. "Whatever."

"Anyways!" Tsunade says loudly, her eyebrows twitching. "I called the three of you here because I am sending you off on a search and rescue mission. Choji would typically come along since he is apart of Team Eight, but he is currently busy partaking in some family affairs."

Awh, Choji's not coming? I haven't been on a mission with Team Eight before so it would've been cool to have all the members present. Well, if he isn't coming, maybe this is my chance to finally ask what role does Choji play in Team Eight.

Kiba bumps his fists together. "A search and rescue mission? Our specialty! What are the details?"

Tsunade shuffles some papers around and then picks one up to show us. "Your mission is to find this girl, Renzo Hanako. She was reported missing early this morning by her father, Renzo Oshiro, when she didn't come home. Oshiro is the leader of Iwazaki, a town that lies on the coast in the southwest. He suspects that she has been kidnapped."

There is a picture of the girl on the paper Tsunade is holding. She is a sixteen year old girl with shoulder length black hair, round dark eyes, and average looking facial features.

This girl is very plain looking.

"This could be a possible hostage situation where the girl is being held at ransom since her father is a town leader," Shino says.

Kiba shrugs. "Ah, it isn't the same as rescuing a princess in distress. But, she is the leader's daughter so I guess it is the same."

Tsunade shakes her head. "There were no proof that she was kidnapped for ransom. However, there has been a number of poor, orphaned or homeless girls and other young women being reported as missing lately. They have just simply vanished without a trace. Besides Hanako, another girl of her age named Tani was reported missing this morning. I do not have a photo of her, but she is the same age as Hanako and they were close friends. The thing is Tani is homeless and Hanako was last seen hanging out with her. It is possible Tani and Hanako were both captured with the kidnappers thinking that Hanako was of the same status as Tani."

"Being the leader's daughter, wouldn't people know who she is?" I ask.

I just imagine her looking clean and wearing nice clothes while Tani looks the complete opposite.

"One might think that, but you have to remember that this town is located on the coast," Tsunade replies. "It is a major port town so boats are coming in and out all the time. This gives the enemy a perfect chance to sail in, take some captives, and quickly sail out without anyone noticing until it is too late."

Kiba crosses his arms. "It appears to be some sort of pattern going on. Why would anyone want to kidnap a homeless chick anyways?"

Tsunade starts to tick off answers with her fingers. "Money, trade, slavery, marriage, etc. But, you are right, Kiba. There is a pattern going on. These people are carefully selecting these type of women for a reason and I believe I know why. As an example, no one is going to notice a homeless woman has gone missing until some townspeople realize they haven't seen her around in awhile. But, they're not going to report it because they don't know the woman and many things could've happened to her. She could've left town or gotten sick and died. However, when the same gender of the same status starts to go missing over and over again, then it will finally get reported and investigated. But, by that point, it is too late. Those women are long gone. Seeing this, the enemy keeps on taking over and over again since they are easy prey."

I narrow my eyes in annoyance. "So, the town is deciding to do something about it now because someone of "importance" has gone missing? How long has this been going on?"

"It is hard to determine since some of these missing women and girls weren't reported until a week ago," Tsunade inform us. "I have been told that an investigation was open on this case, but they couldn't find anything. Since the leader's daughter was kidnapped, he has imposed an immediate halt on anybody leaving or entering Iwazaki until they're boats, caravans, and belongings are properly searched because it is suspected that Hanako and Tani are still somewhere in town. Since the town is requesting our assistance, you three should be able to enter the town without much hassle."

Okay, well at least they started an investigation before the two girls went missing. I was about to go on a rant.

"It does seem like all signs point to a kidnapping, but what if the girls have simply just runaway?" Shino questions. "If Hanako was last seen with Tani, they could've ran off together last night before the halt on incoming and outgoing travelers."

Tsunade nods. "That is another possibility, but Oshiro swears up and down that his daughter would never run off like that. She is treated very well, lives a very lavish life, and isn't forbidden from being friends with Tani. In fact, Oshiro has offered many times for Tani to live with them until she can get on her feet, but she always refuses the offer. If Tani wanted to leave town to better her life, she has the option to just live with Hanako. If Hanako lives a great life, why would she run away? Unless Oshiro is keeping information from us that could give a real reason as to why they would run away, we are treating this as a search and rescue mission."

Tsunade looks over at me. "I know you are more than capable of handling yourself, Hinata. But, just be careful. We don't know if the enemy is just common thugs or rogue Shinobi. So, I am labeling this as a B-ranked mission. I am saying be careful because you could become a target despite the type of girls they've been capturing. Just from one glance and most people will know you are a member of the Hyūga clan."

Crap, that is true. I might want to transform my looks to avoid any problems.

I nod in understanding. "Okay."

Tsunade places the paper back onto the desk. "If you three do not have anymore questions or concerns then you are dismissed to go pack up for the mission and leave for it. It will take about a day and a half to get to Iwazaki so pack accordingly."

Not having anymore questions or concerns, the three of us leave the office and I instructed them to meet at the main gate in thirty minutes. I make it home to pack and I am about to leave a note in my father's office when I stumble upon Hanabi. She takes one look at my backpack and mission clothes and frowns.

"You're going away on another mission? You just got back," she complains, crossing her arms. "We were suppose to spend the day together."

I smoothe down her hair. "I'm sorry. Hokage-sama's orders. I promise to make it up to you when I get back, okay? Now, will you give this note to Otou-san? I'm in a hurry to leave."

Hanabi takes the note from me. "Yes, I will. How long do you think you'll be gone this time?"

I shrug. "I really don't know. I'm going on a search and rescue mission so whenever we find the victims."

"Oh, it shouldn't be too long, then," Hanabi says. "You'll find the victims very soon with our eyes."

I give her a half-smile. "Let's just hope it is only that simple. I really have to go now. I'll see you later, Hanabi. Love you!"

Hanabi's sour look is replaced with a sweet one and she gives me a quick hug. "Okay! I love you, too, nee-san!"

Awh. Hanabi is so adorable! Great, now I feel guilty for having to leave her.

I pull away and turn to leave when a thought hits me. "Oh, Hanabi. Don't mention that I can use Lightning Release to anybody."

Hanabi tilts her head to the side. "Why?"

"I just want to wait before I get better at it to show anyone within the clan," I lie. "I had totally forgot earlier when I did the lightning infused chakra blast in front of you and Neji."

Hanabi nods. "Oh, okay! I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you."

After saying one more good-bye to Hanabi, I rush out of the compound and make it to the gate just as Shino and Kiba are arriving.

"You look a little flushed," Shino points out.

I take a deep breathe. "Sorry, I thought I was going to be late."

Kiba snorts. "Late, huh? Does that happen very often? That isn't very becoming of a leader, you know."

I squint my eyes at him. "No."

Kiba waves his hand. "Oh, don't give me that look. I was just teasing with ya."

Woah. I feel like I'm having a conversation with myself when Kiba said that just now and I'm Neji. I know how Neji feels now… doesn't mean I'm going to stop teasing him.

I point at Kiba. "You can do all the teasing you want, but I'm sending you to the doghouse and allowing for just Akamaru to come along if you start to become annoying."

"Well, that shouldn't take long so I suppose I should say my good-byes to Kiba now," Shino chimes in.

I gawk at Shino and then I giggle.

Wow, Shino knows how to crack a joke?

Kiba snaps his head towards his teammate. "Hey! What's the big idea, Shino? You're suppose to be on my side!"

Shino remains silent from beyond his sunglasses.

I clap my hands together and grow more serious. "Alright, if we are done messing around, let's go! We have people to rescue!"

Shino and Kiba nod towards me while Akamaru barks in agreement and we head off.

Author's Note: It is time to start another arc! What awaits OC Hinata, Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru? Stay tuned!

P.S.: I'm really not trying to spoil Boruto for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, but who thought Hanabi was smoking hot for those who has watched the latest episode lol?

P.S.S: I'm going to break a mini hiatus for about two or three weeks. Summer classes is starting soon, I am basically working full time now instead of part time, and I am about to go on vacation so I'm going try to type up a bunch of chapters over the next few weeks so I can get ahead before I become to busy.