Thanks for the review. A lot of points of view in this one and I hope you like it.
Kiba and Shino now started to understand the urgency in Naruto actions. He told them everything Kakashi has during this short conversation. This made them worry but not for the Hyūgas who were after the two but for Hinata. Did she know this? It was a good thing that Kiba and Shino were excellent in tracking and they instantly knew where to go. The track was still kind of fresh and was easy for Akamaru to follow. They soon noticed it led them towards Land of Wind.
„What do you think could happen?" Shino asked Naruto. The blonde was still surprised every time he heard his voice.
„I don't know and I don't want to find that out"
„We have to think about our motives for this mission. If we meet them all together do we help the Hyūgas or do we simply take care of Sasuke and let them deal with Hinata?" Kiba tried to turn off his emotions regarding either one of the possibilities. „Do we ensure that Hinata comes back?" Naruto turned to look at his friend. They didn't talk much about Hinata and there was a reason for it.
„If we get there and there is a fight we'll simply take care of Sasuke. He can't co anything stupid now. But if we reach them before the scouts we just inform them of the fact and let Hinata decide on her own" It was all he could think off.
„What if we meet scout before they or us can reach Hinata?"
„We're not here to fight them. We need to try and keep our distance from them" Naruto was a leader in this mission and it made him nervous. He was probably the only person that could stop Sasuke but Kiba and Shino were closer to Hinata. Would they try to convince her to come back if the scouts couldn't? He himself hasn't seen her for such a long time and the thought of seeing her now made him feel uneasy. She was one of the reasons for his regrets in life. He'd behaved ill towards her in the past and he didn't know if she could forget and forgive him for it.
„So we go there mostly to protect people who are after our friend?" Kiba grimaced. He tried to imagine what it's going to be like to see Hinata after over a year. Would it be natural or weird and uncomfortable? They've always been close like siblings and he cared for her as if she was his sister. There was a time he's thought that he loved her but this confusion was long gone now. Could they just go back to the way things's used to be?
They ran for an entire day and made it really close to the border with the Land of Rivers. It was then that they decided to stop for the night. Neither one of them would admit it but they were exhausted.
Sakura was following them. She knew what it could be about and decided to go after them. It was stupid and she knew that from the beginning. She also knew that there probably would be trouble for her and possibly others. But she simply didn't care and couldn't stay behind. She was still very much heartbroken and depressed. The news that Shikamaru brought crushed her. It's always been unlikely that Sasuke would love her the way she's always wanted him to but the definite ending to these dreams was crushing. She wanted to see him. She wanted to check if what she knew was true. And she wanted to look Hinata in the eyes and see if she knew what she did to one of her friends feelings. She did feel bad for blaming Hinata though. This girl's been the purest shinobi she knew and even though they've never been best friend Sakura knew she could depend on her.
She was also angry at Naruto for keeping her out of this. Didn't he believe she could take it? Was she still perceived as the weak one in their team? He had to understand that she had every right to know what was going on. She couldn't be left behind anymore. She's been training and learning for so long. She was a head of the hospital. She was a strong shinobi and could be useful in any occasion. And the second thing was that it was regarding Sasuke and she and Naruto have always been together when something was about him. They tried to bring him back together and why did he leave her behind on this one?
When Naruto, Kiba and Shino stopped she cabe a bit closer to be able to know when they left again.
Hinata woke up with a weird feeling. She had the urge to just leave this village and move on. Sasuke sensed her mood and watched her the whole morning. When she started packing he raised his left eyebrow.
„What's going on Hinata?" He asked not knowing how to act. Should he be packing as well?
„I think it's time to go" she said. „I can't explain it but something feels just wrong" he didn't question her even though he couldn't sense anything wrong. When they finished packing they simply left the room and went to town for breakfast.
„Are you okay?" He was getting worried because she still was more vigilant than usual and looked everywhere with caution.
„We should tell Haruo and Ichika that we can't stay longer" she remembered that they were invited for diner and felt guilty. When she didn't answer his question he grabbed her hand that was laying on the table.
„Hinata I can't sense anything. What is going on?" She looked him straight into the eyes.
„I don't know. I keep on checking as well but I don't see anything. It's just a hunch. Something's wrong." She knew how she must have sounded to him and winced. He ran his thumb across her knuckles and nodded.
„Okay" there was a brief moment in which he fought she was paranoid but he quickly stopped it and decided to believe her hunch. „I'll go and tell them if you want to stay here" she shook her head at once.
„No, no. Let's stay together" the last thing she wanted was to part ways with him. It was truly unusual for her to be this way and that fact made it worse. What if she was just making this all up and there was nothing to worry about? But her gut couldn't let her stay there. She saw in his eyes that he was concerned.
Haruo wasn't home but Ichika was sorry they couldn't be there later this day. They apologized and left the village. When they were back in the forest she was more calm. It was easier to hide and defend yourself in the woods. They've been walking quickly and mostly in silence. Sasuke was constantly checking how Hinata was and she was activating and deactivating Byakugan.
It was only after few hours of walking she started breathing more evenly.
„Sorry about all this" she said without looking at him. He just smirked.
„No worries." He got a hold of her and and squeezed it reassuringly.
„It's not like me to act this way."
„You don't have to explain yourself. I would go anywhere with you at any time of the day" she smiled at this. It was so nice to hear him being this affectionate. It made her heart skip a beat every time.
It was already dark outside when they reached the seaside. There were a lot of cliffs and the trees came near the water. The way was utterly beautiful and the sound of the waves crushing at the rocks made her realize how tired she was. They sat at the edge of the cliff and she rested her head on his shoulder. He held her close to him and kissed the top of her head. It was nice to see her at rest at last. He set the tent and urged her to go to sleep.
„I'll watch out for troubles, I promise" he whispered and started stroking her hair. She hugged him tightly and went to sleep.
The next day Hinata still felt uneasy but decided not to panic again. It was a beautiful day and she wanted to spend it well. They found a way down the cliff and to the beach Ichika was telling them about. It was indeed beautiful. There was nobody there so they had this place all to themselves. She went into the water which was definitely colder than the outside so she shivered. She dived into the oncoming wave and came out on the other side of it. She loved the see. It wasn't the best place for a swim but spending time in it made her feel how big the world really was and all er troubles seemed so small.
Sasuke was watching her from the shore. It was hard not to smile when she looked this calm and happy. He himself stayed at the beach and wondered what it was that caused her to feel the way she did the day before. If it was something as obvious as some hostile ninjas he would've sensed it as well but he hasn't. It had to be something else that really was mainly a hunch. He refused to dismiss her behavior and wanted to stay focused until he was certain it was about nothing. Right now he wasn't sure and it made his head hurt.
Kiba, Naruto and Shino left early and followed the trail once again. It was still leading straight to Suna. They didn't know if they could outdistance two ninjas that had at least two days advantage over them. They've been running the whole time and when Akamaru unexpectedly stopped they almost knocked over each other.
„What is it Akamaru?" Kiba asked his dog. They were now in the Land of Rivers and had one and a half day of way ahead of them. Akamaru barked and looked some other way. Kiba sniffed the air and nodded. „Akamaru sensed Sasuke it this direction" he pointed left. „Should we follow his scent from now on?" It was a gamble really. This trail could come off soon and they would lose. Naruto thought for a few seconds looking in the direction Kiba pointed towards.
„Let's do this" he decided to trust the nose of a dog. They started running again and after only two hours they saw a village.
„The scent here is stronger" Kiba said and Akamaru barked to confirm his words. „And there is this other scent that somewhat reminds Hinata" he added. Shino and Kiba looked at each other for a second. They both started to feel stressed out about the meeting with her.
„Are they still here?"
„No. But I know where they went" Kiba answered.
„Lead the way" They followed this new, stronger trail.
Sakura still followed them. When they stopped she almost Cale too close and exposed her presence but they haven't noticed. She was surprised when they changed direction but went the same way.
It was really late when they reached the seaside. She stayed in the shadows of the forest when she saw them pointing somewhere. She squirted her eyes to see more. There were two figures looking straight at the team of three.
They were getting ready to go to sleep when her Byakugan was activated. She was breathing more quiet now and he knew why. There were three people approaching and he knew them. Four he thought. One was further away.
„You were right" he said. She just stood there. There was no point in running because they must have known she was there. She had to face them this time. „It's going to be fine" he said. There was no way in hell he would have it any other way. She found his hand and they just waited for their friends.
When they came close enough for her to see them clearly without her kekkei genkai her heart was already pounding. She wasn't ready for this.
„Teme!" Naruto yelled.
