AN: What is it now, three chapters in a row? I'm not sure, all I know is that I have been struck from the gods above with such a creative rush, writing this is the only thing I've been doing XD I don't know what's wrong with me, I mean, I have barely slept lmao I'm not complaining though. I have a question to ask, how many of you are from Sweden? And a second question, What do you guys think of this chapter? We will be jumping forward in the story from now on, to age Hinata up a little. Please give me your thoughts on the development between Sasori and Hinata. I intend to slowly wake her up and do some detective work around who Sasori truly is. I completely forgot that her byakugan can probably see the odd stuff about Sasori's anatomy... So in this chapter, I'm trying to save that XD Anyways, enough of this rambling!

Happy reading! xoxo

Chapter 16

She was running, her boots jumping over logs and rivers, faring deeper and deeper into the forests of Konoha. Fleeing. Hiding from her problems. Hiding from what she had become.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins, her heart hammered away in her ears. It felt completely out of place that she would have this energy, this chakra in her feet to keep her going. That her instincts would be so heightened, so keen to react to every tree and bush that stood in her way. Yet through all of this, her byakugan had deactivated itself, since it drew too much chakra in her weakened state.

In the end, she came to a crashing halt, though not of her own volition. So far, she'd been able to ignore it and completely block out the searing pain in her arm. The adrenaline no doubt, helped with that. But now, it flared up in protest and stung so horribly so that she tripped on a branch and promptly fell over.

Hinata leaned her back against a tree, sweat making her clothes cling to her like a snakeskin would. Slowly, as if she was afraid of what she might find, she looked at her arm and a bile rose in her throat. She had stabbed herself with one of the poisoned kunais…

The wound was a long scar, bleeding red, though in a slightly more darker shade. It almost looked brown in her eyes, she knew it was the poison's doing. The edges of the flesh wound had turned into a sickly green shade, she knew what fate awaited her. Soon the effects would show themselves and she would enter into the first stage. This poison was one of Sasori's favourites because of its slow nature, dragging out the pain and the torment.

Opening her pouch, Hinata dug around for the antidote. She found lots of them… just not the right one. She let out a frustrated scream, throwing away the useless bag in a nearby bush.

"Shut it. You don't want to draw more attention to yourself at this moment," a voice could be heard over her shoulder.

Startled, she drew a kunai from her belt and got to her feet, albeit unsteadily so. Biting her lip, she faced the intruder, her byakugan once again activated. Sweet relief suddenly washed over her though. Her clammy fingers let go of the weapon and she unceremoniously crashed into Sasori.

"I-I don't have the antidote o-on me…"

Her arms locked themselves around his shoulders as her knees lost all of their strength. In turn, his arms circled around her trembling form, as he guided her down to sit once more on the damp grass. Without a word, he inspected her arm with disapproval written all over his tanned face.

"Did you have to stab yourself with one of your poisoned kunais?" he muttered, shaking his head as he dug around in his pocket.

He fished up a small, red bottle and quickly opened it.

"Drink this."

She happily did, draining it all in one gulp, grimacing at the bitter taste.

"Why did you run away? You forced me to leave before I could see the Uchiha fight the Ichibi," Sasori went on to say, clearly not in the best mood.

Hinata could care less about his mood though.

"Ichibi?!" she blurted out in alarm.

Her mentor gave her a secretive grin.

"Yes. The kid known as Sabaku Gaara, has the one-tail sealed inside of him, which explains his antisocial nature. This will become known to you in due time I'm sure."

Hinata's eyes grew even wider.

"S-Sealed?"

Her thoughts immediately went to Naruto. Naruto, who had the Kyuubi inside of him, sealed away just like Gaara's Ichibi.

"Just like your friend Naruto, yes," Sasori, conceded, as if he had read her very thoughts.

"H-How can you know this?" she asked, her dark brows furrowed.

"Oh, I know everything," he simply said, shrugging his shoulders casually, but his eyes were as intense as ever before. "Now tell me why you had to run away? The moment you left the arena, was the same moment that Uchiha reappeared. Seemed awfully synchronized to me."

"I assure you it had nothing to do with Sasuke-kun…" Hinata drawled out, her teeth once again finding her lip to chew on.

"Then what was it?"

She took a deep breath, feeling a headache forming. Hinata looked down, her byakugan had long since deactivated itself.

"I nearly killed Haruko…"

Sasori sighed, rolling his eyes a bit. "It's a pity you didn't go through with it."

"Don't say that!" she hissed out, her jaw clenched.

"Why not? It's the truth and you know it. You wanted to kill her, that much was obvious. The question is why?"

Sasori cocked his head to the side, observing her with great intensity. Hinata wanted to avoid his scrutinizing gaze but she couldn't look away from his suddenly too dark eyes. The anger she had felt inside of her, came once more to the surface. Maybe it had never left.

"So what?! I wanted to make her pay, she trapped me in a genjutsu and forced me to watch the decapitation of my sister, forcing me to endure the horrid sight of my risen mother. She tried to use my family against me!" Hinata blurted out, feeling a sob rise in her throat, yet she determinedly swallowed it down.

Remembering what Temari had said, she shut her eyes, trying to dispel the appalling memories.

"S-She tried to use trauma against me…"

Hiccuping slightly, she refused her tears to spill and angrily blinked them away, her eyes puffy.

"You did nothing wrong Hinata, your reaction was perfectly reasonable given the circumstances. Really, you have nothing to be ashamed of," Sasori explained, his voice adapting to a softer tone, his gloved hand, caressing her face. "I'm proud of you."

She leaned into his touch, not willing to succumb to bitter tears but finding it harder to resist.

"B-But I l-liked it… I liked watching her suffer, knowing I held her f-fate in my hands," she whispered out, wanting so dearly to disappear within the tree behind her, shy away from what she had become.

Sasori took her face in both his hands and tilted it up, their eyes meeting.

"Revenge is sweet, what you are describing is normal. Not everything has to be doom and gloom Hinata. This is new for you, foreign in a sense, that's why it feels the way it does. Yet, there is no use in being afraid of yourself. Take that fear and uncertainty and channel it into strength and resolve. Power is never a bad thing," he breathed out, an askew smirk on his lean lips.

His chestnut eyes seemed to simmer with a deep redness, dancing with a concentrated vigor. Her voice laid trapped inside her throat, she felt speechless.

"Besides, Haruko got what she deserved. She took pleasure in watching you suffer as well you know," he followed up with, his hands leaving her cheeks.

One hand went to the back of her head and another to her eyebrows, then his fingers snapped her forehead and Hinata let out an uneasy giggle.

"Alright, alright…" she uttered, chewing on her lip. "But I still don't want to return to the arena, I left because I couldn't s-stand their stares…"

Sasori nodded at her, his hands taking her arm and inspecting the wound. It looked more healthy now, thanks to the antidote.

"The arena is not the ideal place for you to be in anyway," he said almost casually as he took off his gloves and began healing her wound.

"What do you-" Hinata began asking him, confused at the statement.

"There is a conspiracy going on, a coup you might say."

He healed her fast, nearly done with the wound. Hinata got the distinct feeling that he was hurrying up for a reason.

"A coup?!" she bellowed out in rising alarm.

"I'm going to show you something," he replied with a grin, his eyes even darker than before.

…

She was stuck on his back as they jumped through the trees. The wind whipped her hair back and she ducked down behind Sasori's broad shoulders to escape it. He hadn't told her where they would be going, only saying that it wouldn't be far. She supposed there was some truth to that as they suddenly came to a halt, perched up high in a tree top.

She climbed off him and knelt down by his side. Sasori made a "hush hush" gesture as he slowly peeled away the leaves and branches, to reveal what they were spying on. A company of seven shinobi's were gathered in the clearing down below. Six of them were standing in a wide, big circle, doing hand signs. All six of them held scrolls in their mouth. The seventh stood off to the side, overlooking the process, he was probably their boss.

Complex lines were drawn between the six shinobi's, looking much like a rune formation.

"Are they…? "

"Summoning something? Yes," Sasori answered her question before she even had a chance at asking it.

His arm came around her shoulders.

"Activate your byakugan and look at their headband," he whispered in her ear, his breath ghosting over her face and smelling briefly of peppermint.

She did as she was told and thick roots bulged out at the edges of her big, white eyes.

"They're from Suna! I thought their uniform looked familiar-" she let out, her surprise making her temporarily forget that she was supposed to be quiet.

A hand clamped down upon her mouth, muffling her little voice. Her eyes met his hard gaze and he wasn't joking around this time. Something he very rarely did anyway...

"Be quiet Hinata," he hissed at her, his voice stern with impatience.

"S-Sorry…" she mumbled out beneath his hand, looking back at the Shinboi's.

All of sudden, the six shinobi's bent down and slammed their palms down upon the ground. The sharp lines of their circle formation started to glow in a sapphire light and at the centre of it, a big cloud of smoke erupted with an ear-splitting boom. The force of it made the ground shake, as well as the tree they were hiding in and Hinata drew a startled gasp, her hands clutching Sasori's black jacket.

"It's time. Begin!" the seventh shinobi yelled out and on cue, the six men, took their scrolls from their mouths and slammed them down on the ground.

An even larger boom echoed across the clearing and the ground began to shake once more. Smoke manifested out of the circle, growing more and more like a big mushroom cloud. The ninjas disappeared and with her byakugan, Hinata could clearly see the detailed shape they had summoned, hiding behind the smoke.

A giant, monstrous snake rose up, equipped with three vile heads. A basilisk… A boa… Whatever it was, it loomed before them, bigger than anything she had ever seen. Its scales were in light bronze shade with black spots over it. It's three necks had a red cloth around them and its eyes were that of blazing green colour with slit pupils.

She froze like a rabbit would, trembling in fear at the creature. Sasori's hand clamped down even more on her lips, pushing her up to his side. They dissolved into smoke as he teleported them away, right before the tail of the massive snake brought their tree down.

He appeared with her in another tree, some good meters away. She started to struggle against his bruising hold. Pushing him away, she freed herself from his grasp and the look on his face could at best be described as incredulous.

"W-what was that?!"

Sasori almost lazily raised an eyebrow at her.

"A summoning jutsu?" he drawled out sardonically so.

Shaking her head Hinata looked towards the snake again, only to see it plow down the wall around Konoha, making a big opening in it.

"It-It's attacking the village," she whispered out, disbelief coating her words.

"Of course it is. There is nothing else of value around here after all, though I wouldn't go so far as to call Konohagakure a thing of value..." Sasori said and she tensed up at the utter… was it malevolence she could detect in his voice?

She turned back to him, a look of revulsion, confusion and betrayal upon her pale face. Cold sweat started to drip down her back. A sudden, terrible realisation settled in.

"Y-You are a sand ninja," she gasped out, feeling how dread settled around her limbs like shackles would, keeping her frozen in place.

Her mentor, her oldest friend gave her a wide-eyed stare, his jaw clenching. He took a step towards her and she backed away, not being able to look away from his eyes. His eyes which used to be so familiar, now looked beyond strange to her.

"Hinata-" he began but she didn't want to hear it.

With tears in her eyes, she turned around and bolted for the village. Her heart jumped to her throat when she felt sturdy chakra strings close in around her legs, making her drop to the ground and dragging her back to him.

"Let me go!" she shouted, thrashing around wildly and getting leaves stuck in her hair.

Sasori bent down to her level and harshly took a hold of her arms, his nails digging into her flesh. A bile rose in her throat as she took in the wild look in his eyes.

"I had nothing to do with this operation! I haven't served my country for years," he snapped at her, his face impossibly close, too close. "I came here because I wanted to keep an eye on you, I just recently learned about their plans and it was too late for me to do anything about it!"

She turned her head away, how could she believe anything he said? Now that she really thought about it, what made her so sure that he wasn't lying?

"P-Prove it," she stammered out, looking back at him with a dubious look in her eye.

He leaned back a bit.

"I will tell you everything I know then," he simply said as he lifted her up and put her against a tree.

Hinata immediately reared back from his touch, keeping her hand on her kunais.

Sasori sat crouched down in front of her, he looked nearly offended and absolutely enraged at her obvious rejection of him. Sharply inhaling through his nose, his eyes narrowed a bit.

"For years, Sunagakura suffered a series of budget cuts by the daimyo of the Land of Wind, weakening the village and thus re-routing ninja missions to Konoha. They obviously saw this invasion as a means to get back on your village and to enrich themselves. They are allied with Otogakure you see."

Hinata became still, allowing the information to sink in.

"The attack was meant to be fought on two fronts: Sunagakure's Jinchuriki Gaara would make it to the final rounds of the chunin exams and release his tailed beast Shukaku from the centre of the village. While Konoha was preoccupied with the one tail, Suna and Sound forces would break through the walls of the village. Something you and I just witnessed," Sasori explained, he seemed to be done with his tale.

Hinata was still suspicious, something he took keen notice of.

"How do you know all this?" she asked, biting on her lip once again.

"It's in my job description to know stuff, I use sleeper agents for a reason."

She took a deep breath but it got interrupted as he placed a gloved hand on her own, the one resting on the kunais.

"What happened to the trust you used to have for me? I wouldn't do a thing to hurt you Hinata," he said, his fingers closing in around her wrist.

"Y-You're hurting me right now…" she retorted, obviously on edge.

It was true as well. His chakra strings had yet to leave her legs and they had started to draw blood at this point. Sasori seemed a bit curious at that.

"Sorry doll, I didn't realise," he responded and severed the strings with a flick of his wrist.

Sasori of the red sands took in the uncertain girl before him, her bruised and bloodied legs. All that trust he had so carefully built up over the years… surely he hadn't wasted it all? Digging around in his bag, he brought forth another smaller bag.

"Nemuri for your trouble. Next time I'll see you, you'll be a chunin," he told her and put the bag in her lap.

She was quiet and watched him closely like a hawk. In the end, her shoulders sagged and she exhaled. The tension seemed to melt off of her.

"S-Sasori-san," she stammered out, "I guess I'm glad you're here."

Good, he thought. She had given up and given in, though he would need to spoil her in the near future. The seed of distrust wasn't so easy to uproot after all. Especially after what he was about to do...

"It's a pity that I need to leave then. Please know that I only do this because I would rather not have you getting into any trouble. This is an invasion after all and Konoha is filled with enemy jounins," he explained to her as his hand once more dug into his bag.

Before she even had the chance to react, he blew a snow white powder in her face. She coughed and sputtered, blinking rapidly. Her eyes became red and puffy, most of the powder she had inhaled. Slowly but surely, her eyes became unfocused and dropped low.

"Sas-" her voice was but a whisper as it suddenly died off.

Soon his naive little girl was fast asleep and would remain so in the coming two hours. Now he just needed to hide her sufficiently, so that no one stumbled upon her. Easier said than done.

…

She woke up with a confused moan, her bleary eyes opening with great difficulty. Where was she? What happened…?

She had a headache blooming behind her ivory eyes, leaves and twigs stuck in her hair. She had been tucked away in a rather cavernous bush, hiding her from sight. Her legs were healed, probably Sasori's doing. He had probably put her there as well. As memories started to flow back to her, the bitterness came with them. So much for "keeping her out of trouble" huh? He could say what he wanted, she wouldn't forget about this.

Crawling out of the bush and getting her knees dirty, she unsteadily stood up. She could see smoke rising from the direction of the village. An ominous, anxious feeling coiled around in her stomach. Swallowing thickly, Hinata tried not to think of her friends or their potential fates. Without further ado, she pumped chakra to her feet and catapulted herself up into the nearest tree.

When she arrived at the village, they were in the process of putting out fires, tending to the unfortunate. One of the unfortunate had been their dear Hokage, killed by his former student. A funeral was held for him, two days later. Late in the afternoon, even the skies wept then. Everyone dressed in black with their white flowers and black umbrellas. It reminded her of the blurry memories she had from her own mother's funeral. It had rained that day too.

The distrust that flourished that day, didn't exactly go away with time. It was always there, breeding and brooding in the back of her mind. She was 14 when it came back with full force, stealing away her peace.

Isn't it strange how we get so used to seeing certain things, that we completely overlook the abnormalities? The deformities, the flaws, the oddities. She had looked at him hundreds of times through her byakugan, but she had never really studied him, she never paid any attention to... those things. She never fully noticed it. Had she been in denial for so long? Possibly so.

However, now it only took one single look with her activated bloodline to notice... everything. Maybe it was because she was much more scrutinising than before, more sceptical. Because by now, Hinata has grown tired of all the lies, all the explanations.

His anatomy wasn't normal. It wasn't human. And it had never been so. Hinata had a fair guess as to why he didn't age now. She also had a fair guess as to why she'd never seen him with a headband on. Plain and simple, he was a rogue. An immortal, inhuman one as well. Akira and Daigo were probably rogues as well. She had never seen either of them with a headband...

Mechanically, she stirred her tea. Sasori would be here soon. She wore a white yukata, her outgrown hair held back in pearly hairnet. Ivory like her skin, ivory like her eyes and painted nails. She felt... almost hollow inside. Nearly numb.

Before long, his handsome face appeared on her doorstep, leading out into the garden. Just the sight of him made her feel betrayed. It dug up the ugliness she had tried so hard to bury and forget. Now, Hinata looked at him with a saddened coldness. It was a tragic look she had on her face.