Chapter 1
Konoha Forest
An autumn dusk settled on Konoha, as dry leaves rustled around Hinata's ankles. A crisp breeze picked up and she looked towards the village blankly. It was time to head back for dinner. She'd been training since noon and she hadn't stopped to eat since then. Her stomach protested this with a low grumble and clenched with hunger.
She stared at the setting sun, motionless for a few moments, deep in thought, wondering what the other genins were up to. More than likely still training. She frowned guiltily. She should still be training, but she was so hungry.
"I'll start again right after dinner." She promised herself, crouching idly, wondering what she should have tonight. The idea of ramen flitted across her mind, and she blushed slightly, thinking of Naruto. She was almost certain he wouldn't have stopped to eat. She sat with her legs crossed while she gathered her water canteen and scattered kurenais.
'That's why he's so strong now' she thought to herself, recalling what Kiba told her about the chunnin exams. About Neji's defeat. She brought a hand to her chest remembering her own fight with Neji. Despite the damage, only a dull distant pain resided.
She finished putting her weapons neatly in her pack and looked up at the full moon. She had no idea she spent that much time packing her things up. Hiashii was right, she did spend too much time thinking about other things and not on the situations at hand.
With a sigh she rose to her feet and started the journey back home. Her ankle hurt a little bit, and she was sure she sprained it slightly. This wasn't the first time, and she felt stupid for letting it happen again. But as usual, she wouldn't let anyone know. When you're the runt of the family, things like this didn't earn you sympathy.
She was still deep in thought as she walked through a particularly thick part of the forest. She didn't notice the rustling of the leaves when there was no wind, or the fact that the rustling was getting closer. But she did notice an arrow whiz right past her eyes and land with a hard thud in the tree to her left. Shrieking, she threw herself to the ground, forming seals as she fell.
"Byakugan!" She kept her hands in the last seal formation and pressed her two index fingers against her lips, forcing herself to calm her breathing. She felt the blood pounding in her ears as her white eyes darted around, looking and searching for anything.
Three people surrounded her in a triangular formation, they were motionless for a while. Hinata was sure they were waiting for her next move. Panic streaked across her abdomen in clenching throbs. Who were they? What did they want?
'Well we can rule out being friends' she thought as she reached for her kurenei. She had to think of something. What was she going to do to get out of this? What would Naruto do? Hinata bit her lip. "Kage no Bunshin..." That was a dead end, she had no idea how to do that technique.
The figure to right began moving again. Hinata guessed from the motions that another arrow was coming her way. She had to do something. If she could slow them down, she could probably make it to the village in time to get help. She put her kurenei down on the ground gently and pulled out a reel of her ninja wire.
Fear was making her fingers tremble, but she suppressed the panic and did her best to set up a trap. She had to finish it before the arrow would be released. She hoped it would work.