Neji would be damned if he let Sasuke get ahead of him. But likewise it seemed Sasuke would be damned if he let Neji beat him
Juugo, that giant of a man, had rejected Neji's offer to track Itachi in favor of their other choice--much to Suigetsu's dismay. The Hyuuga had made a note to find out who they were recruiting that he would prefer Neji to him. But the fact of the matter was that Neji was once again on his own, following Sasuke just because he knew that he could keep up with him and he would hunt down Itachi like a nin-dog. It was the easiest way to the Akatsuki at the moment.
The Uchiha's team was always just at the edges of his Byakugan, flitting in and out of his vision. He made sure that he stayed that far behind, because although Sasuke knew he was being followed, he was far enough away that he couldn't do a thing about it without a full blown fight. And for some reason, the arrogant missing-nin didn't want that. (Neji wasn't complaining.)
But lately Sasuke had been traveling faster, as if he had a renewed purpose. The only logical reason Neji ever came up with was that they'd gotten a tip-off as to where his brother may be. (Though he didn't dismiss the idea that they were closing in on their other target: whoever else was to be part of their group.)
Then, suddenly, Neji spotted a foreign chakra coming towards them, aiming for Sasuke's group. Though whoever it was, their path to Sasuke was going to intersect with Neji; whether this was accidental or intentional the Hyuuga didn't know, and he didn't plan on sticking around to find out. He veered off to his left, away from the foreign ninja, keeping his targets in range. The shinobi following him adjusted his course accordingly, and Neji now knew that he had a pursuer.
As far as speed went, they seemed about even. So whoever it was wasn't going to catch him in the current situation. But what worried the jounin was that someone could spot him, even at the Byakugan's farthest limits. That was a kilometer away. Is this their tracker? He couldn't help thinking, grimacing as he leapt down from a branch onto the ground. Weaving in between trees, Neji sped up, as much as he could manage. The ninja behind him changed course again, this time making a beeline straight for Sasuke's group.
So it was a race.
Neji didn't want it to come to that, naturally, but the only other options were to let whoever it was meet up with his only link to the Akatsuki, or attack whoever it was. The Konoha-nin decided on the second option, using a nearby branch to swing himself around, pushing off of it with his feet and back into the treetops. The added momentum gave him a speed boost, which obviously caught the other ninja off guard. They swerved, trying to avoid him, but he was closing in. Sasuke's position ahead of them was actually helping him; the shinobi couldn't get to the target without circling around and wasting time and energy.
Finally, the other seemed to grasp the futility of continuing to try to outrun him, and changed course to face him. Neji smirked to himself. This would be easy. With this tracker out of the way, they would have no choice but to turn to the Hyuuga for help tracking down Itachi.
When the other ninja got into actual sight, however, he wasn't exactly what Neji expected.
For one, he was a she.
Neji halted himself on a tree, frowning (though more in shock than dismay). The kunoichi standing across the clearing obviously knew where he was as well, but she didn't may any moves toward him. Instead, she just wiped a long lock of her bright red hair off of her shoulder, glaring at him.
"Who the hell are you, and what do you want?!" She demanded quite rudely, pushing her glasses up on her nose. She placed her other hand on her hip, still glaring daggers at him. "What are you trying to do here?!"
She has quite the temper, he noted, wondering if he should try to use that to his advantage. Instead Neji cleared his throat. "I am a fellow Konoha ninja, an old ally of Sasuke's. And I assume you are heading up to meet with him, and you are the tracker he was talking about."
The woman obviously hadn't expected him to know anything about Sasuke, even if it would have been evident that he had been following him. She closed her mouth, seemingly at a loss for words. Then, finally, she resumed sneering at him, replying, "Damn straight. Sasuke-kun and I are a team." The way she emphasized the last word gave him the impression that she had a different definition of team than he.
"Even so, I can't allow you to meet up with him. You're in the way of my plan." The Hyuuga bent low into his traditional Juuken stance, focusing his Byakugan on her.
Unfortunately, just as he did that, he noticed Sasuke and the other two change direction suddenly--back towards them. He was forced to widen his gaze again, wondering why they were turning around, and whether or not they'd noticed them. The woman seemed likewise distracted by the Uchiha's sudden alteration in route.
"Looks like it won't matter whether or not your plans work out with me. Juugo must've spotted me and now they're coming back here to pick me up. There's no way you can take me out before they arrive--even if you could take me out. Ha!" She laughed snidely, crossing her arms over her chest. Regrettably she had a point. Neji had no idea what her skill level was, but if she was strong enough to be noticed by Uchiha Sasuke, she probably wouldn't be an easy kill.
Time to change tactics. Neji hated doing such a thing, but drastic times called for drastic measures. "Kunoichi-san, I won't attack you and save us both the trouble. But could you just tell me one thing?"
"The name is Karin." She snapped, narrowing her eyes suspiciously behind her glasses. "…And what do you want to know?"
"How do you track? And how far is the range in which you can track someone?" Sasuke and the other two were closing in, so he had to get this information quickly.
"I track by sensing chakra, of course," She replied as if it were the most obvious thing ever. Then, with a sly grin, she said, "And I can sense people for a few good kilometers."
"How far?" He repeated urgently, tired of her games.
"Fifteen kilometer radius, from where I am standing now. I am the best chakra tracker in the world, and there's no way you could beat me with just your eyes."
Neji remained quiet, the only thought running through his head being So she knows I'm a Hyuuga…
"Sasuke-kun is coming." Karin said sweetly, a vivid blush rising into her cheeks. "He isn't going to be happy with you, is he?"
"He won't be happy, but he won't dare stop me." His eyes drifted down to his feet, and unconsciously he balled his hands into fists. "I'm not interested in stopping or hindering him in his quest for vengeance. It's none of my concern. I just…I just want Hinata back. Please," Neji turned back up to face the redheaded tracker, the three ninja coming ever closer in his Byakugan's peripheral vision, desperation slipping into his voice. "Please, if you see a Hyuuga girl, with long, dark blue hair and a permanent blush, please don't harm her."
Karin seemed taken aback by the request, and more importantly, his sincerity. Neji knew as a shinobi that such desperate emotions were some of the strongest tools one could have, but he also knew that it was true. He just wanted his cousin back, back from the Akatsuki. It was an insane appeal to a total stranger, a rival no less, but he felt the need to do so. Maybe she could feel a small stab of compassion. Because if Hinata was found in the presence of Itachi when Sasuke finally caught up…
…She would undoubtedly die.
Neji stared levelly at the woman, and she stared back at him. Her face was a complete mask. But then, so slowly, she nodded.
Then Sasuke, Suigetsu and Juugo burst into the clearing, and the Konoha jounin was heading in the opposite direction as fast as he could. With his all-seeing eyes, Neji saw Suigetsu and Karin immediately get into an argument, but Sasuke's Sharingan were on the exact spot that the Hyuuga had departed from.
-.-.-
Admittedly, the Rain had much better living arrangements than they had been in previously. Not to say it was perfect--it was far from it. For example, hiding Iwa-nin couldn't hide in the stone any more. And wood and plaster were much less durable than that same stone.
And it always rained.
Of course, it had its moments, as living in the Akatsuki tended to do. Such as the actual process of moving their things. It became almost a game to see how many things someone could hold at any given point, though Kakuzu and Sasori quickly trumped most of the others due to their enhanced strength. (At one point, Kakuzu was managing to lift his bed, his desk, all of his papers and money, the two females and Hidan. And carried them all the way out of the hideout. His streak ended, however, when Deidara and Sasori conspired to trip him.) Moving into their very own country gave everyone's mood a lift.
It was still somewhat unnerving to see the Leader at any given point without his shadows to mask him, but the younger members soon enough got used to the sight.
What was even weirder, however, were the civilians of the Rain. They were strong, durable people and ninja, but their population was small and tired due to the ongoing war. Moreover, they were scared and unsure of these new leaders of their country. Every time an Akatsuki member was seen in uniform, they were hastily bowed to and then avoided at all costs. It had gotten so bad that several had taken to leaving their cloaks in their room when going out for personal reasons.
Rumors were spreading like wildfire, too. Pein was moving up the ranks in the public's collective eye. First he was some ninja, then an Akatsuki member, then he was the Akatsuki's leader. But it didn't stop there, oh, no. He was their savior, their redeemer…their god.
It created tension in the ranks, though no one would admit to it. Pein, of course, was soaking it up like a sponge. He was seen regularly giving speeches to groups of people or giving laws to Konan to put into motion with the Rain Lord.
Deidara didn't particularly like all of the sudden changes in the Akatsuki. He hadn't thought it would be this…fluctuating. He was of course expecting some instability, because it was a group of S-ranked missing-nin. But what he wasn't expecting was the severe instability at the beginning, and now this placid solidity that living in Amegakure brought about. His Hyuuga partner, on the other hand, was loving it.
Her spirits had increased drastically, even when Itachi worked her like a dog or Sasori shouted at her. She was constantly cheerful, helping any of the other members willingly and always with a smile on her face. She had even taken to cooking for a lot of them. It seemed that having a stable 'home' environment was just what she needed after all of her previous stress.
The oddest thing, above all else, was that it really was becoming a home. When they weren't on missions, or just out on the town, the members chatted, joked, and started to treat each other as a bit more than allies or comrades. They shared stories, battles, missions gone awry. They sparred. They pulled pranks on each other. It was an almost feeble attempt to lighten the mood of the whole organization, but it made the place feel much more…humane.
Of course, mostly it just meant that Deidara had an audience when he had to do his running. (Now it was around the entire city of Amegakure.)
The track was much more difficult than the normal mountain he was used to, too. There was an uphill part, and the only 'downhill' to balance it out was a sudden cliff. There were trees and puddles and a small lake and there was always the constant rain. Deidara definitely preferred the mountain. At least it was dry.
Sneezing and coughing, he completed his eighth lap, with forty-three seconds over the time limit. Today he was being watched by not only the ever-present Sasori, but embarrassingly enough, the two women, Itachi, and Kisame. The blonde gave them all a dirty look--save the Hyuuga--and flopped down into a puddle at Sasori's feet. "I…I liked…the mountain better…danna, yeah…" He panted, trying not to inhale the rain.
The redhead prodded him with a foot, raising an eyebrow. "The distance around Amegakure is shorter. You've just gotten lazy."
"I don't…see you…running that!" He snapped, grabbing Sasori's ankle and trying to throw him off balance. No such luck.
"I could in half the time you run it, I'm sure." He replied dryly, crossing his arms and trying to shake Deidara off.
"L-Leave Deidara-kun alone." The Hyuuga piped up, almost in an irritated tone. Deidara let go of his partner's foot and rolled over, surprised. "He's the only one I ever see doing any sort of training around here, so you have n-no right to talk down like that to him."
"I don't see you running that track, either." Itachi stated dispassionately, turning toward her. She gave a squeak and hid behind Konan and Kisame.
"I-I-I would, b-but you wo-wouldn't want me-me anywhere near y-your speed, w-would you…?" She stuttered, peeking out from behind Konan's shoulder.
"I think your speed could use some work. Who says we wouldn't welcome a bit of out-of-organization competition, eh?" Kisame asked, grinning at her. The meek girl shrunk back, visibly not liking where this was going.
"Hey, hey, leave Bya-chan alone, yeah! You all know that if she even got close to as fast as you you'd get jealous and maim her, anyway." Deidara shouted, glaring at Kisame. He then turned to look back at Sasori, even though he was still sitting at his feet in a puddle. "But as for you, Sasori-danna…"
"You can't goad me into anything, brat." He replied in a deadpan. "You may be able to push other members' buttons, but not mine."
"I think Sasori-san is just scared because Deidara-san's progress is amazing." Konan said lightly, folding her hands in front of her stomach. "I can't remember the last time he ran for anything. Perhaps he is the one who is getting lazy?"
Sasori's eyes flashed as his head snapped up to glare at the blunette. Kisame snorted into his hand, trying not to laugh at the obvious attempt at leveling the playing field. "I can't recall the last time you didn't use those paper wings of yours, either, Konan-san."
That appeared to have hit home, and the woman narrowed her eyes at him. Itachi, however, stepped in between them, turning to glare at each of them in turn. The Uchiha sighed, saying, "If you two want to race, don't get into a fight about it. Amegakure is still unstable and seeing two Akatsuki members fighting right outside the gates may be the final straw."
"So just race, right? Because Itachi-san doesn't want to upset all of the little civilians?" Kisame ruffled his shorter partner's hair, chuckling.
"Kisame,you will be in it as well."
"What? Why?"
"Because you are going to be trying to outrun me. And if I catch you, you can only hope that I'll show you more mercy than I am currently feeling towards you right now." Itachi snarled, glaring sideways up at the Kiri-nin.
Kisame looked taken aback, and more than a bit afraid. "Y-Yeah. Right."
The Hyuuga, meanwhile, was slowly trying to slip away before things either got violent or she got dragged back into the spotlight. Deidara noticed this, and decided to copy the strategic move, inching away from Sasori and towards the gates of the city. Without even looking at him, however, the puppeteer reached out a hand and snagged the back of his collar, keeping him there. "It has been awhile since we've gauged how fast all of the members are. The last time was just after Hidan joined, wasn't it?"
Konan smiled blandly. "A race it is, then. Let's see how the ranking falls this time, shall we, Sasori-san?"
"Oh, yes, let's, Konan." Deidara looked back at Sasori to find him smiling in a way that could only be described as demonically. Deidara really wanted to get out of there now.
-.-.-
Hinata had gotten out of the race merely on Pein's good grace and the fact that she wasn't an official member. She could have kissed the man for how grateful she was, especially after hearing the rules he'd been called out to inform them off. (Of course she didn't kiss him; she had a feeling Konan wouldn't like that very much.)
"There will be two races. The first no jutsu or weapons will be allowed. The second you may use any means necessary to get ahead, take out another member, or set a trap. This will test both your speed, your ability to think on your feet, and your ingenuity and creativity in a situation against a skilled opponent." The man stated boredly, examining his painted nails. The leader didn't seem terribly thrilled with the whole idea, except as entertainment. No one questioned why he wasn't participating, and frankly, Hinata thought they all looked a bit glad that he wasn't.
Pein then turned one of his creepy ringed eyes on her, and she cringed. "So, what are you waiting for? Aren't you Deidara's cheerleader or something?" He asked. Hinata had no idea what that entailed, or even that she had been assigned that job. "Go start the race!"
"Y-Yes! Sir!" She squeaked, hurrying over to where the other nine members were standing in a row. The tension was thick between certain pairs, and she had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn't exactly going to be a friendly competition. Taking out a kunai, the heiress raised it above her head, calling, "Ready? Three…"
The group tensed, almost like a coiling spring--or snake.
"Two…"
Hidan elbowed Kakuzu, and the thread-user replied by throwing his partner across the trail and into a tree. Hinata watched silently, eyes wide and trying to resist the urge to run for it now. "You pansy-ass fucker! I'll get you--"
"Just start the race already!" The leader called sourly, interrupting the immortal. "You can take your problems out in the next part!"
"One!" Hinata hastily shouted, dropping the kunai at her feet. There was a rush of wind past her, whipping her hair around her face, and then the nine shinobi were gone. She hesitantly got off of the trail, making sure she was out of the way. It wouldn't take that long for nine highly skilled ninja to complete a lap around Amegakure.
About a minute had passed, and Pein glanced up at the clouds over head, mouthing, "Three…two…one…"
The second he finished 'one', Tobi skidded to a halt in front of them, chest heaving but undoubtedly grinning underneath the mask. Hinata was more than a bit awed that Tobi, of them all, was the fastest, but that was dispelled when a second later, Kakuzu arrived on the scene. Without stopping, he ran up and tackled Tobi to the ground, shouting, "HOW THE HELL DID YOU FINISH BEFORE ME YOU LITTLE MASKED ASS?!"
A moment later, Itachi and Konan arrived in a dead tie, looking mutinous. Konan left the Uchiha, however, to pull Kakuzu off of Tobi before something bad happened. The remaining members trickled in after that, most of them angry with Tobi for winning. Deidara was equally mad that Tobi, of all of them, beating him, and that he had placed seventh (only in front of Hidan and Zetsu).
"Well that had little entertainment value." The leader deadpanned, crossing his arms. "I hope the next race will be much more fun. Just try not to level my city." He then stared pointedly at Hinata, until she stepped up (avoiding random weapons and strikes thrown at the others) and held a kunai above her head again.
"Three--"
"Two-one-GO!" Hidan finished for her. Instead of starting off running, he just slung his scythe off of his back and swung it around, aiming for Kakuzu but obviously not caring if he decapitated anyone else. Most of the others avoided it, though it managed to embed itself in a tree. Hidan ignored it and left it there, tearing after his partner in a bloody rage.
Deidara likewise had created a clay bird, and was already out of sight. Zetsu and Konan were also nowhere to be seen. The rest of them were steadily disappearing, dodging attacks and throwing jutsus and weapons simultaneously.
It had only been about three seconds before Zetsu appeared out of the ground, stepping up beside Pein with a smirk on both halves of his face. An explosion cut short his gloating, however, already on the opposite side of the city.
"I told them not to level my city…" The leader growled dangerously, narrowing his eyes.
"They wouldn't dare harm Amegakure, Leader-sama." Zetsu's white half said complacently. His darker half grinned, though, adding, "They won't do much, at least."
A shadow passed overhead, and Deidara jumped down to the ground. With a dark snicker, he forced his bird back towards the other members, dive-bombing the forest. The resulting explosion demolished more than a few trees, but left the city untouched.
A moment later, Konan appeared in a flurry of paper, two great, angel-like wings sprouting from her back. She landed lightly beside Piin, the papers disappearing back into her shoulders. She didn't look pleased, but she appeared unharmed by either of the explosions. "That was stupid of you, Deidara." She said in a low voice, though her eyes were on the ginger-haired man beside her.
"Eh, whatever. Sasori-danna deserved it." He replied, chuckling darkly. After that rather ominous statement, however, he spotted Hinata and flounced over. Beaming, he asked, "Hey, did you see me, yeah? I'm the second fastest with my art! Sasori-danna is going to be so mad that my art beat his…yeah…"
"An-And you're happy that he's going to be mad at you…?" She asked. She could understand his joy at finally beating that Suna-nin at his own game, but Deidara's expression was a bit too chipper for that to be the complete story.
"W-Well yeah. Danna and I need to argue more, right?" Curiously, the blonde just gave her a blank look, almost looking embarrassed at her question. Why, however, she had no idea.
Because at that point Sasori arrived, looking slightly scorched and more than slightly livid.
-.-.-
"They're in the Rain." Neji almost gave a start at the sudden voice, but managed to ignore his suddenly racing heart. The one time he didn't have his Byakugan active, Sasuke had decided to take matters into his own hands. Typical.
"What?" The Hyuuga asked warily, unsure exactly what the dark-haired avenger was saying to him. As it was, Neji was still laying up against the tree trunk (having taken a slight break to think a few things over), and Sasuke was sitting in the branch directly above him, staring down at him with decidedly black eyes.
"The Akatsuki are in Amegakure, the Land of Rain. Evidently they have taken the whole country over and are now stationed there." The Uchiha repeated dully. He turned his face back upwards, staring at the leaves on the tree.
Neji wasn't going to beat around the bush, however. "Why are you telling me this?" He couldn't quite figure out what Sasuke could gain from sharing this information, unless he wanted him to beat him to Amegakure in a rather vain attempt to draw out his brother. Still, that didn't quite seem like Sasuke's style, no matter how much they despised each other.
"As far as I am concerned, my only target is Itachi. Hinata is a kind girl…and I'm giving you a chance to save her. Even if I'm only going after Itachi, Suigetsu isn't exactly as focused as I, and Juugo has a few…murderous tendencies occasionally. I will give you a week to get Hinata out of there. If you're in our way after seven days, I won't hesitate to kill you as well." With that solemn declaration, Sasuke stood up, and disappeared.
Though he was now alone again, Neji kept his eyes on the branch above him. "…Thank you." He muttered, standing up. No doubt the Uchiha had an ulterior motive to the proposition, but it was an almost kind gesture nonetheless. The Rain was only a few hours from where he was now. A week to rescue to rescue her from the deadliest organization in his generation?
Sure, why not.
-.-.-
Hinata spent the afternoon playing several roles, none of which was even remotely close to that of a princess. Bodyguard, cheerleader, negotiator, barrier, even a Jashinist at one point; she was begging for someone else to keep Sasori away from Deidara, and Hidan had been the closest.
It wasn't exactly a fun afternoon.
The craziest thing, however, was that no matter how many times Sasori caught up to them both (it seemed his bloodlust was spreading to anyone who even looked at Deidara), he never really did any harm. Scare the living daylights out of them, yes, but never hurt them. The blonde always seemed to escape, pulling a usually shocked Hyuuga behind him, just in time before certain death.
Until Sasori had gotten the bright idea to separate them.
They'd been about to disappear into Deidara's room and barricade the door with as much clay as possible, when the redhead showed up out of nowhere and effectively sent them both running in different directions. And as if that wasn't frightening enough, he had decided to pursue Hinata first.
She was now all the way outside of the city, ignoring the rain and hiding pitifully under a tree branch. Just because the puppeteer hadn't injured them yet definitely didn't mean he wouldn't. If anything, the afternoon-long chase had only added fuel to the fire. Hinata didn't know how long she'd have to hide, but she figured when Deidara or Hidan (he'd taken to being her protector after 'converting' her to his religion) came and found her the coast was probably clear.
The rain was starting to get irritating, however. Her hair had fallen out of its ponytail some time ago, and was now sticking wetly to the back of her neck and her shoulders. She wiped a lock out of her eyes, thoroughly annoyed. Just because Sasori didn't like her and because he was angry with his partner didn't mean he had to take it out on her!
Resolutely, the heiress stood up and squared her shoulders. She would not be left out in the rain just because an incensed Suna-nin decided to bully her. And if he would kill her, so be it. At least she would die in the inside of the Akatsuki building, warm and dry.
Just as Hinata turned around, however, someone stepped up to stand in her way. Choking back a scream, she turned and fled, courage fleeing faster than her feet could take her. An iron grip caught her arm, though, and held her there. "Wh-What--"
"Stupid. You're going to get yourself sick if you're in the rain." Itachi stated coldly, yanking her back a few steps. She perked up at the sound of his emotionless voice; he would save me from Sasori…wouldn't he?
"Y-Yes, sorry, Itachi-senpai." She smiled meekly as he let her go. "I was just running from--"
"There you are!" If one Akatsuki member could find her, logically it led to the statement that any of them could. Sasori leapt down from one of the nearest branches, his brown eyes narrowed and his fists clenched.
Hinata screamed and ran in the opposite direction, letting her teacher deal with the problem of Deidara's partner. Itachi could handle it; he could handle anything, really. She, on the other hand, couldn't, and instinctively decided to save herself instead. She didn't activate her Byakugan, but she could hear raised voices behind her--Sasori hadn't followed her.
"Andwhat was the purpose of that, Sasori-san?" Itachi asked loudly.
"If she grew a spine it wouldn't be a problem…" Sasori's voice drifted off as she got out of hearing range, and only then did she dare activate her bloodline limit. The world around her inverted, and she targeted the two men behind her. Itachi's chakra was slowly trickling up towards his eyes, what she had learned was a warning sign with him. Sasori's chakra, as always, was that fist-sized ball near his heart. Neither of them looked particularly interested in chasing after her in the rain in a muddy, dense forest.
Once they were out of the range of even her sight, Hinata let herself sag against a tree. She knew that Sasori didn't particularly like her, but why in god's name was he chasing her instead of Deidara? It may have been a selfish wish, but it also followed the logic of shinobi. Go for the tougher target first. She was just a lowly little chuunin kunoichi, the only outstanding aspect of her being her bizarre eyes. Deidara was already worlds ahead of her in skill.
She shut off her Byakugan, coughing slightly. Already she was catching a cold…no doubt it'd annoy the heck out of Itachi for the next few weeks or so. She sneezed as well, wiping her nose on her already soaked and muddy sleeve. Her current ensemble was totaled, completely destroyed by the rain, mud and branches. That was the least of her worries, of course.
If Sasori was still chasing after her, apparently he meant business. He was a member of the Akatsuki, so no doubt he could catch up to her if he really wanted to. So what was with the game of cat and mouse?
Unless that's just it, she thought sourly. He's just playing a game with me. Deidara would confront him, but I would run…so he wants to chase me instead. And I bet it's driving Deidara-kun mad, wherever he is…oh, I hope they don't get into a fight again. She started fretting, wondering if there was a way she could contact the blonde without Sasori knowing. Really, it was just plain cruel, the way the Suna-nin acted towards her.
Hinata pushed herself off of the tree, steadying herself on her wobbly legs. Maybe she had run farther than she'd thought. Or maybe the effects of the growing cold were having a heyday with her immune system. She scanned the area for something she could climb or burn--and then her eyes alighted on the mud beneath her sandals.
Mud was like clay, right…?
Nearly a half hour later, Hinata had miserably discovered that mud was not like clay, not at all. She was now alternating between sniffling, coughing and sneezing regularly, and if she thought she was soaked before, it was nothing compared to now. The rain was getting colder, too. But Sasori hadn't found her, so she decided that he had probably been chased off by Itachi (who had then probably been too lazy or busy to go looking for her to inform her of this). Wiping the remains of a mud bird off of her hands, she stood up, letting the raindrops rinse the rest of it off for her.
The heiress stood up, and, moving wet hair out of her eyes, she turned back to the rough direction of where Amegakure should be.
Only instead of the distant skyline of the city, she was met with stunned white eyes.
-.-.-
Deidara was getting bored of hiding. Sasori hadn't shown up for about an hour, though when he asked other members he didn't exactly get the answers he was looking for. Worse, he had no idea where his Hyuuga partner was. Hidan had even lost track of her, which was odd, considering how he'd acted after she supposedly converted to Jashinism in a vain attempt to keep Sasori away.
So both his partners were missing.
It left a rather melancholy Deidara in their wake.
He wandered around the headquarters that was now theirs, looking for any sign of white eyes or red hair. Instead he found blue hair and black eyes. Now, Deidara didn't particularly like Itachi, especially after he'd been so cruel to the Hyuuga, but he was also her teacher. He was most likely the best bet. (And if that failed, he could probably annoy Kisame into helping him search.) "Hey, uh, Itachi, yeah."
The Uchiha glanced up, stopping in mid-sentence with his conversation with his partner. "…Yes?"
"Have you seen Bya-chan?" Deidara's eyes were on Kisame, rather, because he had no idea what mood Itachi was in. He hadn't placed very well in either race, and he hadn't exactly been thrilled when dragged into the races to begin with.
"I haven't." The Kiri-nin replied with a shrug. "You, Itachi-san?"
"Is she still missing?" Itachi asked calmly, raising his eyebrow a fraction of a millimeter. He coolly ignored his partner's question.
"Yeah, obviously, if I'm asking about her." The blonde replied exasperatedly. "And if you see Sasori-danna, too, tell him he's a bastard, yeah."
"Will do." Kisame grinned at him, giving him a brief thumbs-up.
"I'll go find her." The Uchiha turned, rather suddenly, and stalked off as if Deidara hadn't said a word. Mouth agape (all three, actually), he was speechless at Itachi's…Itachi-ness. He had known where she was, and had the audacity to go fetch her?
"W-Wait, wait up--" He called, but a rather forceful hand on his shoulder held him in place. He looked up angrily at Kisame (the shark-nin, of course, just grinned back down at him).
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Itachi-san really isn't in a good mood; he and Sasori got in quite the fight earlier. Sasori's probably still hunting that poor chick down, and if he finds Itachi again it won't be pretty. Trust me, no matter how much you want to be that kunoichi's knight in shining armor, step down this time." He advised sagely, nodding to himself. Deidara frowned at him; he was making too much sense for his liking.
But then again, it might just be worth it to see Sasori and Itachi fight. They were both so stuck-up and arrogant, it would be entertaining to see who lost. (Of course, the winner probably wouldn't be too generous to anyone else--namely a specific art-loving Iwa-nin--afterwards if they caught anyone watching.) "Yeah, yeah…whatever. I'm gonna go find…Danna, or someone, yeah…" He yanked his shoulder away from the taller shinobi, letting his voice trail off as a wicked grin spread across his face. Itachi plus Sasori plus himself must equal…fun.
He disappeared down the hallway before Kisame could fit another word in edgewise. After a few moments' reaction time, he merely shrugged, mumbling something about not caring whether they massacred half the village and organization.
Deidara's plan, however, crashed and burned when he found Sasori near the Amegakure gates. The redhead was soaked, but didn't seem to mind the rain; instead, he was just staring out at the forest, leaning casually against the village's wall, arms crossed. He didn't glance up as the blonde approached, but instead, he remarked, "We have a mission."
"What?!" That caught him off guard, to say the least. Thoughts of the two Konoha ninja temporarily forgotten, Deidara's jaw dropped and he wondered how the leader could have gotten it into his pierced head that they needed another mission. Especially when he was running out of training time…he had less than a month left.
"We have. A mission." Sasori repeated, turning his eyes on him at last.
"To do what, yeah? We're running out of time before--"
"To capture the Ichibi." He cut him off with that one statement, effectively rendering Deidara speechless. "Leader-sama says your training has paid off--thanks to your performance in the race this afternoon--and has bumped the date up to today. He wants another tailed demon as soon as possible."
"Then…then why can't one of the other teams go out?" Deidara could feel himself going pale. True, he'd gotten faster, and true, he'd nearly perfected his C3...but was he really ready to face that monster again? Last time was disastrous, and this time they'd have tightened security as well. And it wouldn't be like the Kazekage had been sitting around, peacefully waiting for them, all this time.
"He wants to. But he wants the Ichibi first. Hidan and Kakuzu are to be sent out next for theirs--the Nibi--but they haven't quite tracked her down yet. He wants results now, and we're the only ones able to go." Sasori said scornfully, though Deidara didn't think that the anger was directed at him; more like at Pein. He got the feeling that there was more to it, but he didn't dare press the Suna-nin.
"But I need to find Bya-chan first--"
"No, you don't. She would only get in the way this time. This is going to be a quick mission--go in, take the Ichibi, get out. We don't need theatrics this time, Deidara." Sasori's voice was dropping lower and lower, almost at a growl now. Something was wrong here. Deidara couldn't even begin to fathom the rationale behind it, but something was definitely wrong.
Still, just because Sasori was in a pissy mood didn't mean he would willingly leave the Hyuuga kunoichi back here, alone. "I'm not leaving without Bya-chan, yeah. Leader-sama can go screw himself for all I care."
Up until that point, Sasori had been scowling at him. But with that last sentence, his mouth turned upwards…into a small smile. A sad smile. "You have no respect for Leader-sama, do you…?" Then, after a long pause (because Deidara didn't dare reply to him), the redheaded artist added, in the closest thing to a small voice that the Iwa-nin had ever heard him use, "You're not going to want to stay."
"Just let me find Bya-chan, yeah."
"You'll both die." There was such raw emotion in his voice (for a shinobi) that it yet again made Deidara pause. What was he talking about? He obviously had a few death-related problems to work out, but why would they die? Gaara might be a monster, but surely it wouldn't be that hard to capture him alive. If all else failed, Deidara could blow up Sunagakure or threaten it to get him to come along.
"Sasori-danna, I'm not going to die, and I am going to go find Bya-chan, yeah…" The explosives expert backed away carefully, keeping his eyes on Sasori. If he didn't understand the situation, it probably wasn't a good idea to stick around. Plus, if they really were leaving, he'dhave to find her. There was no way he'd leave her behind. "Give me an hour. I'll find her."
Sasori just watched him leave silently, an unreadable expression on his young face.
-.-.-
Neji and Hinata stared at each other for several long minutes. Excruciatingly long minutes. Neji felt he ought to say something, but his mouth couldn't move. He felt he ought to do something, but his legs wouldn't work. He felt shell-shocked.
Then, finally, Hinata was the one to break the silence. Her words weren't exactly kind. "What are you doing here?" She asked quietly, her colorless eyes still locked onto his and her body posture somewhat rigid. She wasn't happy to see him. Surprised, yes, but all signs pointed to anger.
Neji was confused. He'd been looking for her…and here she was, just a few kilometers from Amegakure. No one else in sight. Completely alone…it would be so easy to finally just take her away from this, from the Akatsuki. "I'm here for you, Hinata-sama."
"Don't call me that, Neji-niisan." He grimaced mentally.
"I'll stop calling you that when you stop calling me 'niisan'…" He replied quietly, dropping his eyes to her sandals. The last thing he wanted to be right now was a brother…
"How…how did you find me?" Now her voice sounded frightened, not angry. That would explain her stance; she wasn't angry at him, just scared of the sudden situation. That was much more like the Hinata he knew.
"…Sasuke told me. He's coming for Itachi."
"He can't. Itachi will kill him." He glanced up, back at her face. Her expression told him that there was something else concerning Itachi, but she didn't dare say it. She was still just as readable as before… Neji hadn't been aware that he had been this worried about how much several months with the companionship of the Akatsuki would have changed her.
"That isn't our business. Uchiha isn't alone, however. This will not be a pretty conflict, and I don't want you anywhere near it, Hinata-sama."
"Don't call me that…please…" Her voice shifted into desperation. Hinata was very clearly scared of the situation, and it made Neji feel horrible. Why was she scared of him?
"As you wish." He agreed monotonously. He seriously doubted he could break the habit at this point, but may as well agree with her. Frightened deer bolted at a moment's notice; he didn't want her doing the same. Seeing him probably upset her, at least seeing him so close to Amegakure. This would understandably disturb the balance she'd worked to gain during her time with the organization. She was unsure of his appearance, and her loyalties. It was written clear as day across her face.
"Sasuke will never make it past the gates…" She mumbled, looking down at her feet. She probably just caught on that she was giving so much away with her expressions. "He shouldn't be coming. …Neither should you."
"I missed you. My duty is to protect you, Hinata-sa--Hinata. The constant company of a large group of S-ranked criminals is hardly safe for you." He said stiffly. She didn't say anything for a long time, but then, she sniffed. When she looked back up at him, her white eyes were tinged pink and there were tears filling them.
"They'll kill you if they find you." She whispered in a fearful voice. Then, all of a sudden, she ran forward and wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Neji was taken aback, and had no idea how to react to the sudden hug. "I-I thought y-you we-were dead be-before…!! I d-don't want you to-to die a-again! Pl-Please don't do-do that t-to m-me!" Hinata sobbed, tightening her hold on him.
It clicked in his mind; she was scared for him, not of him. He slowly placed his own arms around her, rubbing her back comfortingly. "I won't do that to you, Hinata. …We could be as far as the border to the Rain before anyone noticed you were missing. Then they would have to contend with Uchiha and his team, so we could escape, together."
"N-No!" She looked up at him, distraught. "Sa-Sasori is looking fo-for me, right now…! He-He would kill us both if we d-did anything!"
"Who is Saso--" Neji felt the chakra too late. He instinctively dodged backwards, Hinata still in his arms, as the pair of kunai thudded into a tree where they had been standing just seconds before. His head snapped to the side where the weapons had come from, and he registered the black cloak emblazoned with red clouds before anything else.
Neji was expecting Deidara, but not who was standing there.
"Another Konoha shinobi. Are you trying to betray the Akatsuki, Hinata?" Uchiha Itachi asked flatly. His eyes were red, the pupils rotating slowly.
"N-No, Itachi-senpai!" Hinata replied at once, backing out of Neji's protective embrace. She shifted slightly, so that she was standing in between them. The movement wasn't lost on either of the shinobi. "He-He's--"
"I am Hyuuga Neji, Hinata-sama's cousin and protector. I can assure you, I am no longer affiliated with Konohagakure." Neji replied quietly, not daring to activate his Byakugan, for fear of a genjutsu or sneak attack. Itachi was also a Konoha-nin, so he knew exactly what the Byakugan did, and what techniques came with it. He probably even knew about the blind spot, too.
"Then why is your hitai-ate untouched?" Itachi asked, his face completely blank. The man was unreadable. No inflection in his voice, not the smallest expression or movement of his body.
Neji had no words to answer him. The best thing he could do was to very slowly reach up and take off his headband, revealing his Cursed Mark. Then he slipped a kunai out of his pouch, dragging the metal tip against the plate on the hitai-ate, cutting the leaf on it cleanly in half. The Hyuuga then replaced the weapon, and tied it back onto his forehead, almost defiantly. He caught a glance of Hinata's expression; it was shocked, with nearly a touch of sorrow.
Needless to say, this was not how he expected their reunion to go.
Itachi didn't say anything, and it looked like he was losing his patience. Evidently just scratching it wasn't going to do the trick. And while this was a low move, it was a shinobi-eat-shinobi world out there. Sasuke could deal with it. "Your little brother, Sasuke, is coming. He was the one who notified me of your whereabouts. He is coming to kill you, with a team of three other ninja."
"I've known he was coming for me. He won't succeed." Finally, the smallest hint of emotion entered his voice: arrogance. The Uchiha still remained unmoving, though. "Why are you here, Hyuuga-san?" The courtesy title was a bit unnerving.
"I am here to take Hinata-sama back with me."
"If you are a missing-nin, where do you plan on taking her back to?" He asked politely.
"Back to Konohagakure, if need be. We can make our own life elsewhere." Neji knew Itachi was backing him into a corner. He was fighting it, but he wasn't going to win this one without intervention. What the stoic Uchiha would do, then, was still a mystery.
"And what are your intentions towards my student?" The Uchiha inquired, the smallest, barest hint of a smirk present.
Neji remained impassive, though the student remark had surprised--and hurt--him. Hinata was training under this man? What reason had compelled her to do that? Worse, here was the proverbial corner he had just gotten himself into. "I…care about her." He replied carefully, fielding the question. Itachi didn't seem pleased with the answer, but he couldn't do very much about it.
"Itachi-senpai…pl-please don't." Hinata said suddenly, her back to her cousin. She probably could read Itachi's expressions (or lack of) better than he, but he didn't like her butting in like that. Neji looked past her towards the Uchiha, glancing up into his eyes. Still red, still Sharingan. "Don't look at his eyes!" She said forcefully, catching his attention as she looked back over her shoulder. He blinked in surprise. Itachi just snorted, almost scornfully.
"Use proper judgment, for once, little kunoichi. Hyuuga-san stands no chance against me in any sort of fight, so don't bother choosing sides." He deadpanned. "If I were any other Akatsuki member, would you have the luxury of pleading for his life?"
Her head bowed slightly; Neji could picture her biting her lip, staring down at her feet in embarrassment. "No…please, Itachi-senpai. Neji-niisan wouldn't do anything, he couldn't do anything." (He frowned slightly, his pride a bit stung by the comment.) "He just…I…"
Itachi half-turned, staring off into the forest, towards Amegakure. After a long while, he stated, "If I ever see him again, I will kill him without further thought. Get him out of here before Sasori finds you both."
With that final threat, the Uchiha jumped into a tree and disappeared from view. Just in case, Neji activated his Byakugan. True to his word, Itachi was heading back to the city. (And this time, Neji was going to keep his bloodline limit on. Whoever this Sasori person was, he didn't seem like the type of person he'd like to run in to anytime soon.)
Hinata's shoulders sagged in relief, and she sighed heavily. "…I'm sorry, I had thought he would kill you." She apologized for no significant reason, turning to face him with a falsely cheery smile.
"Since when are you Uchiha Itachi's student?" Neji asked harshly, crossing his arms. Her happy façade dropped instantly as she flushed.
"H-He's just teaching m-me some genjutsu s-so I don't…" She left off, hastily looking away, feigning interest in the forest around them. Her protector was quite curious as to what she would have finished that sentence with, but she was flustered enough without him having to pressure her for such things. Another time perhaps.
"Your father would have a heart attack to hear that you are learning anything from an Uchiha." He couldn't resist saying, the mental image of it a bit too good to pass up. She smiled slightly, the thought obviously having occurred to her before.
"Did you…d-did you really come all this way just because he assigned you to protect me…?" She asked quietly, furrowing her brow. She shyly tucked a lock of her dark hair behind her ear, still chewing on her bottom lip.
"My duty to protect you is second nature to me by now." He replied carelessly. Her reaction to it, however, nearly broke his heart. She sighed, frowned, and almost looked ready to cry. Quickly, he amended, "I care about you enough that I would follow you anywhere, Hinata-sama."
"Please don't call me that anymore, Neji-niisan. Father has probably already replaced me as heir, and as a runaway I'm lower in rank than you now."
"You didn't run away. You were kidnapped."
"But I haven't returned…I like it with Deidara-kun. He's funny and he cares about me. Itachi-senpai is…well, he isn't very kind, but he teaches me things and he keeps Hidan away. Konan-senpai is very kind to me as well. These people…I care about them as well. They are far nicer to me than the Hyuuga compound was. Oh, aside from you, of course!" She added hastily, red-faced.
"So you would rather stay with the Akatsuki than come with me?" He asked sadly, afraid of her answer. It was an impossible question to ask of her, but it had to be asked nonetheless. "Because…you heard Itachi. He will kill me if he ever sees me again. I can't stay here with you, or anywhere near here."
Me or the Akatsuki…your choice, Hinata-sama, he thought sullenly. The odds were against him. If she had really gotten this attached to a group of S-ranked killers…he was only her cousin. A protector assigned at birth.
Even if he cared about her.
Even if he would lay down his life for her.
Even if he would follow her to the ends of the world.
Even if he loved her.
"Please don't make me answer this." She said quietly. Neji just closed his eyes, Byakugan still active, though. He had lost his chance, the proverbial battle for her. If she couldn't outright decide, it was a lost cause. He couldn't become her white knight in shining armor; he was doomed to stay in that knight's shadow, dark and insignificant in her eyes.
Naruto may have started out as that white knight, but it seemed as if Deidara had replaced him. Neji stood no chance. Wordlessly, he turned on his heel, walking away from her.
She didn't say anything to stop him.
Instead, Hinata ran forward, hugging him again, this time from behind. Her arms were tight around his chest, and she didn't seem to want to let him go. He didn't say anything or respond in any way, just keeping his eyes about a foot in front of his feet, lidded and glazed.
"I'm so sorry, Neji…!" She cried into his back, shaking slightly. "I-I'm just so confused…and I don't know! I care about Deidara-kun, but I-I lo--"
This time, with his Byakugan, Neji saw him coming. Hinata must have noticed him as he stiffened, instinctively turning to look back, though he would have given his left arm to know what she would have finished that sentence with. Whoever it was was coming towards them at a high speed, chakra full and giving no clues as to who it was.
"Someone's coming." He said shortly.
"Wh-Who?" She asked, almost fearfully. No doubt she didn't want a repeat of just a few minutes ago.
"I don't know."
"What's the chakra look like? L-Like, is it a small ball…?"
Neji raised his eyebrow, wondering what she was talking about. No living creatures, let alone a ninja, could have chakra like a 'small ball'. "No, it is human-shaped and very decidedly a shinobi. Wait…the arms…there are some sort of anomalies on his hands, in his arms."
"Oh, so it's not Sasori," She sighed in immense relief. After a beat, though, she jerked her head back up, shouting, "It's Deidara!"
"Huh? …Oh damn, that's not good!" Neji ducked out of her grasp, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Deidara will not let you go, Hinata. You need to make this decision for yourself, right now. Me, or him?"
"I--Give me time?" She pleaded, looking somewhat frayed by the pressure. "I-I'll find you, and I can tell you then. Just--just stay away from Amegakure." There were so many holes in her plan it wasn't even funny. But the raw desperation he saw in her likewise wasn't funny.
Unfortunately, Deidara had apparently gotten faster. A lot faster. He was closing in quickly now, and they had a sparse few seconds before he would be within normal sight. Neji couldn't afford to be seen by another Akatsuki member, especially one he had a long-standing grudge with.
"Hinata, that won't work--"
"I'll find you, I promise!" She said in a high voice.
Then Neji was forced to flee, lest he fight a fully-fledged Akatsuki member. Just as he was darting into the undergrowth, he heard the overly-familiar voice call out, "Hey, Bya-chan…" Neji just closed his eyes, gritting his teeth.
The first time he had seen her in months…and it ended in disaster. The genius in him told him to face facts. She was lost to him now. It was just…perhaps the fool in him wouldn't let him give her up.
An hour later he was standing on the other side of the Rain border, staring at the sheet of rain approximately ten feet in front of him. It was only slightly amazing that it was raining only in the Land of Rain, but he had a sinking suspicion that the rain, if that particular about where it fell, wasn't that innocent. The Caged Bird had less than seven days left to convince Hinata to come with him--to wherever--before Sasuke and his crackpot team would move in and the bloodbath would begin.
He felt a shadow on him, and looked up.
A clay bird soared overhead, flapping its wings. Hinata, sitting on the tail feathers, glanced down as they passed, though whether or not she could have seen him was up for debate. Neji only groaned. Where is she going now…? The bird went on out of sight, heading southwest. The only country down there was the Land of Wind. Why are they heading there?
-.-.-
Next Chapter: The real mission to Sunagakure to capture Gaara is at hand! Will Deidara fare better this time around? And what about Hinata's sudden predicament with Neji?
