"Jeez, is it just me, or is the sand village not that friendly?" Tenten asked, looking at the blank looks she was receiving from the villagers. "This is what we spent four days walking out in the wilderness for?"
"They're not exactly known for their hospitality, I guess." Naruto said, lacing his arms behind his head.
Tenten gave him the once over. "I still can't get over you changing outfits. You look…different."
Naruto looked down at his now orange-and-black suit. He shrugged. "No biggie. I just thought I'd try something new for a change."
Neji stopped and looked around. "Where's his house located anyway?"
"Gai-sensei it was on the south-east side of the town, 3rd house on the left of the Sand Village training center." Lee said, adjusting the strap of his bag. "If we locate the training center, we'll easily find his house! Let's go!" He dashed off at top speed, leaving the others blinking rapidly.
"I think he had too much honey on his corn cobs," Tenten said.
"We'd better follow him." Naruto said, sighing and following Lee's dust.
A few minutes later, they found Lee leaning against the wall of what was probably Gaara's house, a look of impatience on his face.
Before he could open his mouth, Neji beat him to the punch. "There was no need to hurry, you know. Not like he's expecting us."
Lee looked furious. "Well, don't you think…you should really…" he trailed off. Then his expression turned sheepish. "I guess you're right, Neji-kun. Heheh. Gomenasai."
"Let's just ring the bell and get it over with." Naruto said, moving past them toward the door.
Sakura leaned against the tree, panting hard. She had used a lot of chakra in fixing the ribs of a small otter. At least she had accomplished it.
Sasuke-kun, she thought, looking up at nothing in particular. I wish you were here to see my accomplishments. To be honest, your compliments mean a lot more to me than others. Why did you leave? She squeezed her eyes to stop the tears, but they flowed out anyway. She gave up and let them flow freely. Why did you leave me behind? You could have said good-bye. You could have at least reassured me that you would be fine. She sighed. You don't understand, do you? You don't understand the pain I feel when I don't even know where you are or how you're doing.
She wiped away the tears. A ninja must not show emotion in any situation. And Sasuke would hate her for being so weak
Then she heard a rustle of leaves. She stiffened. Slowly, she walked towards the source of the sound. She pushed aside a few hanging leaves. Her jaw nearly dropped.
Sitting in the clearing, surrounded by targets, was Sasuke. He seemed to be concentrating. Then in the blink of an eye, kunai started to fly everywhere. Sakura's eyes widened. Every single kunai hit the targets, right in the middle.
But, I didn't see him move! She thought, looking at him closely. His eyes were still closed, his arms in the same position. Then what-? She noticed the handles. They were aglow with chakra.
That's it then! He used his chakra to move the kunai in the direction he wanted them to go! What a remarkable technique!
She stood up and stepped into the clearing.
"Sasuke-kun! That was amazing!"
Sasuke's shoulders tensed and he looked at her with an angry look in his eyes. She stopped short. "S-sasuke-kun?"
She blinked, and he was gone.
Sasuke…she looked up. That was the fastest I saw anyone move. If he did leave to train, like I first thought, then why did he leave when he saw me? Something's not right…
Suddenly, Hinata appeared. She stopped when she saw Sakura.
"Ah, Sakura-san!" she said, stepping away. "Wha-wha-what are you d-doing here?"
"I'd ask you the same, Hinata." She said, brow furrowed.
Hinata was silent for a few seconds, and then she smiled. "Gomen. I-I-I d-d-didn't mean to intrude on you. I'll-I'll be g-going n-n-now."
"Hold on." She said, grabbing her by the arm. "You look like you've been crying."
"N-n-nani?" she said, eyes widening. She shook her head. "No, no…it's…I…it's nothing." She jerked her arm away. "Thank you for your concern, though."
She turned and ran before Sakura could say another word. Sakura sighed. Hinata really was a mystery. But she didn't dwell on her for too long, though. She had other things on her mind.
I don't get it. Surely he had left to train. That's why he's so powerful right now. But is that the only reason? I mean…why would he leave when he saw me. Unless…unless he had something to hide. She frowned, mulling over the possibilities. One thought presented itself at the back of her mind, but it was so ridiculous that she had to laugh. But still, as she made her way back to town, the thought never left her. Not once.
"Look," Naruto said, trying to keep his temper under control. Gaara had been nothing but uncooperative since they got there. "Apparently, you can't get what we're saying since we're mostly sending garbled messages to you, so I'll get straight to the point; Do you have any information about Sasuke's whereabouts?"
For one brief moment, Naruto thought that he saw…something in his eyes. Guilt? Secrecy? Surprise? He couldn't tell, because it lasted for only about a millisecond. Gaara closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Gomenasai, Naruto, demo…" he trailed off and looked out the window. The silence lasted for a few seconds, and then he turned back to them. "Please, believe me when I say that I don't know where he is."
Neji shook his head. "I apologize, but we can't just walk away."
"We're a very determined bunch!" Lee spoke up from behind him. "And I'm not going to leave without information."
Gaara seemed lost in thought. Then, finally he leaned forward and said, "I did see him one time."
"N-nani!" Naruto leaned closer excitedly. "When? Where? How?"
"Just yesterday. I just saw him briefly, though. I really didn't know that you were looking for him, so I just let him walk away."
"Damn!" Lee exclaimed, "so close, and he slipped right through our fingers."
"At least we have a lead." Tenten said brightly. "Since Gaara saw him yesterday, there's a possibility that he's here. And if he's not, we'll search in the villages near here. I mean, unless he can teleport, he can't have gotten very far."
Lee brightened up immediately. "You're right! Let's go!" He dashed out the door yelling, "Arigato, Gaara-kun!" The other tree scrambled out after him.
Gaara closed the door and drew the curtains over the widow pains. Darkness.
I wish I could have warned them, he thought, sitting back down on the chair, picking up the bloodstained knife, but Otosama was monitoring me.
He brought the knife upward, then jerked it towards his chest.
It's no use, he thought sadly, and threw the knife away. The more vital the part is, the tougher the sand. He looked at his leg. It was still dripping with blood. He'd had a hard time trying to get through the sand, but at least he managed a fairly deep cut.
This is it, Hinata thought, looking at the reflection of her face in the knife. She looked pretty scared. And why shouldn't I be? She thought sadly. My entire life is messed up. Otosama got angry with me for hiding my strength all these years and for hurting Neji-kun. Naruto-kun's still upset with me, and I don't think I ever want to face Kiba-kun and Shino-kun ever again! She picked up the knife blindly and hacked at her wrist. I'm just so confused! She thought, watching her tears mingle with the blood, which was now pooling on the floor. She wondered vaguely how long it would take before she died. She hopped it would be soon. Otosama or Hanabi might walk in on her, and then her plans would be ruined. I should lock the door, she said. She tried to get up, but she could barely move. That's strange, she thought, leaning against the door. I can't move. Oh, well, she smiled and shrugged. I don't think I could see the door through all this darkness anyway. The room was swimming. It seemed too dark to be midday. Why is it so dark? She thought. Then it hit her. Oh, of course. She felt all her strength ebb away. She smiled, watching the blood spatter on the gleaming white tiles of the bathroom. Otosama won't like it. It'll take days to rub off the blood. Her head dropped to her chest, then she jerked up. Wait, I really should tell Naruto-kun, she rubbed her thumb through the blood, then wrote something next to it. I really should tell him…
She finished in time. The darkness compressed her, constricting her breathing. I…guess this…is what…it's like to…to… She slumped forward, her hair touching the blood written words.
Good-bye, she thought, smiling. It didn't hurt to die after all. It was quite a relief actually. Good-bye, Naruto-kun.
Kurenai looked up just as Hinata's father walked out the door.
"Is she…" she looked at his face. It was hard to read.
He shook his head. "They closed up the wound as fast as they could, but they can't restore all the blood she lost. I already did a blood transference technique, but I'm not so sure it's enough." He sat down and hid his face in his hands. "All we can do is wait."
Kurenai sat down next to him. "Why would she do something that stupid?"
He didn't answer. She blew the bangs off her forehead and leaned back. It's a good thing I arrived just in time…
The memory came back to her. She had wondered why Hinata still hadn't shown up for training, so she had decided to go to their house to see why. When she arrived, no one was home. Curiosity had gotten the best of her, and she crept in. When she opened the bathroom door, her heart nearly stopped.
Hinata's limp form was lying in a pool of blood. Her hand was dipped in blood.
"Hinata!" She rushed forward. How did this happen? She thought, turning her over. Who could have…the she noticed the words near her, written in blood.
Gomenasai, Naruto-kun. Forgive me…farewell.
Damn! She thought, ripping off a piece of her shirt and tying it tightly on Hinata's arm, just below the wound. Why the heck did she do this?
"Hinata," she said out loud, picking her up, "can you hear me? You have to hold on, okay?"
She jumped out the window and ran off at top speed.
Dammit, Hinata, she thought, don't die on me.
Kurenai opened her eyes when she heard Hinata's father finally talk.
"It's my fault."
"What do you mean?" She asked, leaning forward, trying to look into his eyes.
"I yelled at her." He said softly. "I yelled at her when she was weak and I yelled at her when she was strong. I pushed her too hard." He looked at her, and Kurenai was surprised to find tears in his pale, white eyes.
"I realized only now how uncaring I've been. I've failed as a father." He drew in a deep rattling breath. "I only wish I had seen it earlier. Instead, she had to die I order for me to get it."
"Don't say that," she said sternly. "She isn't dead. And she's not going to die."
"How do you know?"
"Because unlike you," she stood up, preparing to leave, "unlike you, I know she is strong."
"Don't be stubborn," Neji said, rubbing his forehead. "We have to inform Gai-sensei that we'll be searching for Sasuke so it'll take us longer than expected."
Naruto shook his head. "You guys can go back and tell him, but I'm staying here. It'll take us about four days to go back to Konoha, and by that time, Sasuke could be in another village!"
"I know what you feel, Naruto-kun," Tenten said, a worried look on her face, "but it could be really dangerous to pursue after him alone."
Lee nodded. "That's right. We can't take a risk like that. We'll just try to be faster this time."
Naruto folded his hands across his chest. "Don't try to persuade me, Lee. I know what I'm doing, okay? Besides," he smirked, "I'm pretty old to require a baby-sitter."
Neji frowned. "Waving aside your last comment, I think it would be best if we split up into two. That way, we'll be able to tell Gai-sensei, and still keep tabs on Sasuke. And none of us," he looked pointedly at Naruto, "will be alone."
Naruto looked at him. "I can handle it by myself, alright?"
"Why do you so badly want to do it by yourself, Naruto-kun?" Tenten asked.
"I…" Naruto trailed off. Because I really want to show everyone back in the village that I'm strong enough to take care of myself. That I'm strong enough to handle whatever dangers I have to face alone. "I just think that a group of two people is too big. I mean, with two people in contact, a conversation is almost impossible to avoid. And I happen to know that Sasuke's senses are quite enhanced. He'd know he was being followed almost immediately."
Silence passed, then, with a sigh, Neji said, "I hate to admit it, but he's right. And we'll only waste time trying to change his mind."
"Demo, Neji-kun…" Tenten said, surprised. "You…you're not serious."
"Lets' go." Neji said, and almost immediately, disappeared.
Lee followed. "We'll be quick, don't worry."
Tenten looked at him worriedly. "Take care of yourself."
Naruto watched them go. At last, he thought, I finally have another chance to prove that I am strong. Then maybe Hinata will…he stopped and shook his head. I can't think about her at a time like this. He started to walk, not really caring where he went. Because thinking about her only brings more pain. More pain then I can handle.
"Hyuga-sensei. Kurenai sensei."
They both looked up just as the medical ninja walked out the door.
"Is she…?"
"Gomenasai." She shook her head sadly. "She lost too much blood."
Silence passed for several seconds. It seemed like an eternity, though. Slowly, the medic Nin broke it them.
"I don't think we can save her."