Welcome back, HoneyBuns!

I'm so excited to continue this story for you all! Heads up! There'll be a lot of confusing things that may seem like they were randomly thrown in the chapters, but trust me, that was intentional, and will come up at a later date.

Also, this is a 7 year time skip, the rookie 9 are all 17 and that's all I wanted to say.

~Enjoy~


Run

Run

Run

Escape

They'll catch him

They're getting close-

No

Get out

Get out now

Run while he can

Run

Run

Run

They won't catch him

No way

He won't let them

They won't get him

Not again

Never again


*RRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNG*

Pale lavender eyes flitted up from the text book in front of them as their owner immediately translated the annoying alarm to the bell signaling the end of the school day.

Drowning out the home room teacher's voice, petite and lady-like hands gently gathered the mess of reading materials on the wooden desk, slipping them neatly into the dark blue crossbody school bag hanging off the side of said desk.

Midnight blue hair fell from what we now identify as a female's shoulders. Using her hand to tuck the loose strands of blue behind her ear, careful not to get any of the shining locks tangled in the constellation patterned earrings.

"Hey! Hinata!" A cheery and feminine voice called from, now dubbed Hinata's, right.

Looking up from what she was doing, familiar cherry blossom pink hair entered her line of sight as mint green eyes shimmered with innocence as they stared right back at her.

"I forgot to tell you earlier, Ko-sensei told me to let you know that practice is a little bit earlier today because of a middle school recital he has to attend this evening. So it's 3:45, not 4:45." She informed her classmate as she leaned on the desk across from Hinata.

"Thank you for letting me know, Sakura-san. I appreciate it." The midnight haired girl said politely.

"Aw, c'mon Hinata! Haven't I told you to just call me Sakura, the 'san' at the end is just way too formal!" She whined to her companion.

"Right, sorry Sakura-sa-I mean, Sakura."

Deciding to change the subject, Hinata looked back to her pink haired classmate.

"Is your practice game still tomorrow?"

Smiling sweetly, Sakura nodded, "Yeah, we're playing Kiri after warm-ups at 5. Gotta say, I'm a little nervous, I heard that Kiri's blocks aren't anything to scoff at. Heck, I've heard people call them 'The Bloody Mist' because of how often they shut people's attacks down." A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of getting her hits blocked like she thought they would.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine, Sakura-san!" Hinata assured her friend while picking up her bag and leading the pinkette to the door, "Besides, Konoha isn't hailed as the best in the prefecture for nothing. Don't let the intimidation get to you too much, ok?" She said, putting a comforting hand on her classmate's shoulder.

"Yeah, I hope you're right, Hinata." mumbled Sakura, sifting her hands through her short hair nervously while pretending not to hear the added 'san' at the end of her name.

"Anyway, enough about that! How's skating goin' for you? Any competitions coming up?" The pinkette asked loudly. Their conversation was nearly drowned out by the cacophony of other voices ringing through the busy hallways as they made their way to the lockers.

"It's going just fine. Actually, a competition is coming up in about a month or so and I've been helping Ino-san with her form recently."

"That's good! I know she's been looking forward to preforming with a partner one day, so it's good that she's practicing for that! Does she have an official partner yet?"

Hinata nodded shyly, "Yes, her partner's name is Sai."

"Sai... that pale art kid who smiles weird? I didn't know he figure skated." The older teen said, surprised.

"He's a bit new to it, but he's picked stuff up fast and well enough, I think he'll be a good partner for Ino with a little more practice." Hinata said honestly.

"I'm glad! And! I think it's a bit funny, in a way."

The Hyūga tilted her head in confusion, "How is it funny?"

"It's just that Ino's had her eyes on Sai for a while from what she's told me, which never really made sense to me, since no one really knows the guy all that well and he never really talks unless spoken to." Sakura replied before walking up to her locker, which was positioned right next to Hinata's, punching in the code and retrieving her pale green backpack.

"Well, you never know! Maybe he-"

"Hinata!" A loud, bold voice shouted above the other students, effectively cutting off said teen girl's sentence.

"Kiba-kun...!" She said, surprised by her friend's sudden intrusion.

As the brown haired boy, Kiba, began jogging up to her, Hinata heard a second, very familiar, voice tell off the wild teen.

"Kiba, lower your voice. Why? You're drawing unnecessary attention to Hinata-"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," he cut off his friend, waving a dismissive hand at the quiet male, "Anyway, Hinata, me and a few others are going to Cafe Kushina to study for the exam next week, wanna come? Your practice shouldn't be for another hour and a half right?"

Sighing softly, Hinata shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry Kiba-kun, but practice was pushed forward an hour so I really only have 30 minutes til practice, so if I did come, I'd only be able to stay for 10 minutes tops."

"Aw, that sucks." The brunette pouted before his usual upbeat aura returned, "Well, I hope you do well in practice!" He wished before turning and heading to the school entrance with his quiet companion, Shino, in tow.

"That was... incredibly short for someone like him." Sakura observed. Hinata nodded in agreement.

'That was short, especially for him. Is something on his mind or...' After a second of thinking, the midnight haired teen decided to let it go for the time being and ask him about it later.

Turning back to her friend, the Hyūga girl waved a brief goodbye at her pink haired friend, leaving her alone with an 'I'll see you at practice!'.


The ticking of an old clock on the wall resounded eerily in the large, nearly empty room.

Sounds of pages flipping and soft muttering accompanied the 'tic-tic' as the seconds turned into minutes.

"I really should've done this earlier, but I had no time..." the young woman whispered to herself before taking a peek at the window near the high ceiling.

'It's late, way later than I remember it being. I should probably head home now, I need to call Otou-sama and tell him that I'm alright or else he'll freak out.' She sighed before getting from her seat the library desk, only to hesitate and glance back at the study material, anxiously biting her lip.

'But I need to study. The exam is coming up on Monday and I would rather have the whole weekend to myself in order to prepare and maybe... relax a little?' Inwardly groaning in frustration at her own indecisiveness, Hinata made a quick decision and decided to pack up for the night.

Gathering her white winter coat and slipping it on along with her cable-knit scarf and matching purple gloves, she proceeded to grab the stray textbooks from the table and shuffle them into the crossbody bag that was slung across her torso.

Picking her phone up from off the desk, she checked the time and nearly blanched at how late it had gotten.

'9:00 already? I haven't really been here for 3 hours... have I?' Huffing out of her nose, she placed her phone into her coat pocket and began walking towards the front of the giant library.

"Have a nice night, Dan-san. Please tell Tsunade-san I said hello!" She bid her farewells to the librarian.

"Goodnight to you too, Hinata-san! And I'll let Tsunade know." He waved back at her before she disappeared out the door.

Upon reaching the outdoors, she took a deep breathe of cold winter air in, tightened the purple scarf around her neck and continued making her way through the snowy sidewalks.

'What should I have for dinner? I could always stop by Sakura-san's or Neji's place, but I'm sure neither of them would appreciate someone barging in all of a sudden.' Hinata pondered as she let her feet guide her down the path she'd walked millions of times before.

'I could always have leftovers. The spare Katsudon in the fridge sounds good.'

Snow flakes fell gently from the cloudy sky above, sticking themselves to the young teen's petite figure.

'Sakura-san's practice game is tomorrow, I wonder if I can watch. I guess it wouldn't really hurt to ask her in the mornin-'

A faint crunch of snow and a groan broke Hinata's train of thought as she stopped walking and quickly whirled her head in the direction of the mysterious noise.

"H-hello?" She asked quietly into the darkness of the small forest next to the trail.

Silence answered her as questions started swimming around her head.

'Did I imagine that? It was probably nothing. I must be more tired than I thought. I should hurry home and get some rest. '

Looking warily back at the ominously dark trees, she began walking again.

'Strange...' The teen thought, clutching her bag closer to her side.

Just as Hinata turned her head back towards the path, a whimper echoed from the place the groan had originated.

'I definitely didn't imagine that.'

Gathering her courage with a deep breathe of freezing air, the blue haired teen slowly turned and made her way through the very edge of the woods.

"H-hello?" She called out, hoping for an answer.

"Who's there?"

Nothing yet, but the shifting and crunching of freshly fallen snow became clearer, albeit fewer and farther between.

"A-are you alright? Do you need help with anything?" She asked a little louder this time, spinning around every few steps in order to ensure that she hadn't missed anything or anyone.

A sharp yelp had her snapping her head to the left.

"I-I'm coming, just hold on a second! I'm almost there, alright!"

The Hyuga moved with haste towards the place she heard the mystery person.

Snow boots sinking into the cold white blankets, Hinata's jog turned into a sprint. Weaving through trees and stepping over low shrubs.

If this person needed help, Hinata would assist to the best of her ability.

Her cheeks were rosy red and getting colder despite the warm knit cloth wrapped around her neck and her legs felt frozen already but she kept pushing through.

It hasn't been long, no more than 10 seconds at least, when Hinata stumbled across a bare cherry blossom tree. Underneath that tree sat an unmoving heap.

Gasping, the young woman sped to the lump's side. Falling to her knees, she swiped the snow from the fallen form and turned the figure over onto their back.

Taking in their pale appearance, it was a man, she noted, who looked to be around her age. However, he was unconscious, stained with dry blood and definitely not dressed for these weather conditions.

'Crap, should I call an ambulance? I should right?' Whipping out her phone, Hinata inwardly groaned at the fact that it was at 1%. It could die any second and she wouldn't risk getting cut off right in the middle of the call.

Stuffing the device back into her pocket, she bit her lip as she slid her hands under the young man's back. Propping him up and looping his left arm around her shoulders, he let out a painful groan at the sudden jostle.

Apologizing and quickly continuing to slide the rest of his body onto her back, Hinata leaned forward and grabbed the back of his knees in order to keep him fastened to her smaller physique.

During this struggle, the woman couldn't help but notice the 9 odd tail-like accessories coming from his lower back. Deciding that she'd deal with them later, she got to her feet and ran as fast as her legs could take her with a grown man on her back and the snow under her restricting her movements.

'I'm so glad home isn't far from here. 5 more minutes and I'll be back.' The pale eyed girl thought as she panted, running like a lunatic through the empty, wet sidewalks.

Yes, they were empty. Thank Kami-Sama it was late enough for the trails to be empty.

It was a straight shot from the park to her apartment building and upon opening the door and entering the lobby, she had to take a moment to sigh in relief that the doorman wasn't around for the time being.

Making haste, she scurried across the barren lobby, pressed the elevator button with her elbow and shifted from foot to foot sluggishly and impatiently, wanting the lift to just hurry up and open for them already.

A ding and the doors were opening before them.

Not having to be 'told' twice, Hinata walked into the elevator, pressed her floor number and waited for the doors to open again.

Thankfully, time flew by and before she knew it, she was shifting the position of the man on her back into a one-handed carry and fumbling with her keys.

Turning the doorknob, Hinata entered and then slammed the door shut, not bothering to lock it nor take her shoes off this time as she ran towards her living room couch and set the stranger on the piece of furniture as gently she could.

Bolting to her bathroom and feeling through the cabinet at the bottom of the sink, she had her mind set on trying to find the familiar first aid kit that she always kept well stocked and accessible in case of emergencies.

'No no no no no! Where is it! It's always been down here. I never moved it. C'mon, where is it- aha!' Smiling slightly in victory, the Hyuga girl hurried back into her living room, kit in hand.

Setting herself down on her knees beside the couch, she recalled every minuscule amount of information on health care that her father ever taught her and got to work on slowly warming the mystery man up, disinfecting and dressing the worst of his wounds while opting to deal with the other smaller ones later.


The clock read 10:09 p.m. by the time Hinata was done.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she felt the tension in her shoulders release and the exhaustion of the flurry of events that happened in such a short period of time weigh heavily on her.

She struggled to keep her eyes open any longer as she laid down on the cold floor.

Hunger forgotten, the girl drifted off to sleep in no time.

She'd clean up the apartment later, right now, getting some shut-eye was her top priority.


How was that for a second chapter? I'm not very satisfied with how this chapter came out but I have no idea how to improve on it.

Naruto fanfiction recommendations:

|The Fox Fire series by swirlheart found on Fan Fiction. Net

My own summary: "Fox Fire" Basically, Naruto, Sakura and someone else, I can't remember who, are sent on a mission to protect a prince of another land. Along the way, Naruto gets cursed to turn into a kitsune at night, meeting other kitsune in the process and finding out the mystery of the prince.

"Fox Fire 2" A few months after the mission with the Kitsune, Naruto is cursed again in order to protect the leaf village from a looming threat on the horizon.

My thoughts: it's pretty nice and has a good array of new characters that are really likable!

Pairings: All canon ones

Status: Complete|

(There are 3 other fics in the Fox Fire series but 1&2 are my personal favorites)

{Demon's Bride by Fire Inu Princess on Fan Fiction. Net

My own summary: Hinata's a medical student and finds Naruto, the prince of the fox demon clan, injured. She patches him up and unknowingly seals the fate between them. There are multiple bumps along the road as they both try to find a way to break the bond between them. But is that what they really want?

My thoughts: I have no idea how it ends since I'm not done with it yet, but so far, it's a good read other than the writer's tendency to repeat words.

Pairings: Naruhina, Sasusaku, Minakushi

Status: Complete}

(Smile by UchihaA2 on Wattpad

Short summary: Naruto is adopted by Obito and Rin after his parents' deaths. He finds out by accident that he's adopted and attempts to run away out of broken trust. He's found but he's not the same.

My thoughts: Sad. I haven't felt the same since I finished this story, honestly.

Pairings: ObiRin

Status: Complete)

(SAD/BITTERSWEET ENDING, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK)

Enjoy bawling your eyes out with the last one, that's what I did. Fox fires 1&2 are my personal favorites of the fox Fire series and I'm currently reading Demon's Bride, so I don't know how it ends but most of Fire Inu Princess's NaruHina stories are good, so check them out.