Hey all, my finals are over! My dumb ass signed up for a summer semester so I'm going right back, but that's not the point.

I don't own Naruto, but if I did...

Chapter 11:

The sun that Suna was famous for shown in Hinata's face.

As she gained her mental faculties, all of the events leading up to this moment rushed to her mind. Getting her body crushed, finally resolving the issues she had with Neji, and then…

She blushed. Sasuke was the first time she had done anything with anyone, or even felt the notion to try. Without moving too much to wake him, she shifted her eyes up toward his face. Watching Sasuke sleep was like watching a dragon of legend guard a great treasure. His skin was almost as pale as hers. His dark eyelashes brushed his cheeks and his hair splayed out uncontrollably from his head.

She would never utter it out loud, mostly because she was unsure of the impact the words would have when spoken aloud; however, she dared to think it.

Sasuke was beautiful.

He was like a well of dark destructive power with the face of an angel. She didn't know how her eyes weren't drawn to him when they were children. She reasoned that at some point in her life she had preferred the sun; now she found comfort in the darkness.

"Even your breathings loud Hyuga."

His face was still stoic and if she hadn't seen his mouth move, she would have thought she had imagined him speaking. Hinata rolled her eyes and moved to get up, but Sasuke pulled her down and curled her back into his side.

"Sasuke Uchiha loves cuddles, who would have known."

"You better be careful Hyuga, I'll kill to keep that secret." He looked down on her, sharingan swirling and Hinata looked into his mixed colored eyes. She grinned, knowing that his sharingan was swirling for another reason.

"Sasuke, we have duties to attend to. I also would like for you to meet Shinki," she smiled at him. Placing a hand on his chest, he allowed her to break free of the comfort of his arms.

"Hn," Sasuke grumbled. Hinata smiled, after seeing him last night under the effects of that woman's genjutsu, she wasn't sure if he would ever be the same again. However, one of the only constants in her life was that Sasuke would be Sasuke.

He slowly pulled himself up and Hinata blushed once more. Seeing him in full nudity, outside of the heat of the moment would take a lot of getting used to. He simply raised his eyebrow at her, pulling on his mission pants and tunic, placing his cloak in his mission bag. Hinata did the same and with practiced precision braided her hair back into two plats this time; allowing her scalp a chance to breath in the heat.

She may have been a little overzealous, but her hope was to complete the mission as fast as she could. She knew this wasn't responsible thinking for a shinobi of ANBU level, but she reasoned the faster she finished it, the faster she and Sasuke could figure out what they were to each other and how far into the future their relationship spanned in his mind.

Hinata knew where she stood, but Sasuke was not easy to read. However, it did comfort her when Sasuke had told her that Uchiha's mated for life. She smiled when she thought about how fierce his conviction had been when stating that fact, the possessiveness was something she found she did not mind either.

Speaking of Uchiha. "I didn't mention it last night for…obvious reasons," she started. Sasuke let the feintest smirk ghost over his face.

"Something has been bothering me. I… don't think I got out of that genjutsu by myself." Hinata strapped on her weapons belt and they headed for the door. Hinata felt a little bad for the state of the room. The lightning she had conjured had left burn patterns in the floor. She imagined that Gaara would be the one paying for it.

"I was going to ask you about that," he muttered. "It was advanced jutsu, beyond even my skill level."

Hinata nodded in agreement to his implication. "I was pretty far gone, but I… Sasuke I think I saw Itachi."

Sasuke fell in step behind her as they walked down the corridor. Hinata suppressed the horrifying memories she had from the last time she had turned that specific corner. Sasuke seemed to be having a battle in his head, his face coated with a look of disbelief.

"What is it?" she asked him worriedly.

He was silent before a smirk came over his face. "My brother moved very strangely in life Hyuga; I think it only stands to reason that he moves that way in death as well."

Hinata would have asked additional questions had she not understood him completely. Her mind fluttered back to the white room that she had conversed with her cousin in.

"Regardless, it seems I owe the bastard a debt." Sasuke sounded so begrudged by that, that Hinata couldn't help but snicker at his scrunched-up face. Hinata reasoned that she herself might owe the older Uchiha a debt as well, he had helped her in more ways than one.

They rode the elevator down and stepped into the lobby, hurrying out before the overzealous staff could say anything to them. Hinata had sent word the night before to Gaara for her and Shinki to meet them at the gate of Suna so that she would have chance to say good-bye.

She dragged her pace a little bit, much to Sasuke's distaste, as she said goodbye to Suna once more. It wasn't perfect, and she had no wishes to live the rest of her life there by any means, but it was the first place that she had really begun to heal. She hadn't realized how much training with Gaara had changed her life since she set out on this mission.

Eventually they did arrive at the gate; and Hinata could see Gaara's mane of red hair from a distance. Shinki was no where to be seen though and Hinata had a guess why. Stowing this knowledge, she approached Gaara with a smile and hugged him once more. He returned it stiffly, seemingly out of practice.

"Shinki, is he still-?" Hinata started, but a black current of sand racing toward her halted her words. With a big grin on her face she went to counter the attack but Sasuke was quicker.

"FIRESTYLE: FIREBALL JUTSU."

A roar of flames blocks the magnetic sand from reaching her and she flashed Gaara a look. Gaara in turn gave her a knowing glance strategically hiding his smile.

The small boy stepped out in a huff when his attack didn't land. He had grown a little since the last time Hinata saw him and she welled up with a sense of pride.

"Your jutsu is looking a lot better kid." She smiled. She placed her hand on the top of his dark locks and he allowed her to stroke his hair gently. Shinki was not an affectionate child, he hated to be placated or coddled. He also liked a challenge and sneak attacking Hinata had become his pass time when she had lived in the sand. "If Uchiha here hadn't blocked it, I think it would have given me some trouble."

Shinki's magnetic release was an ability that could rival Gaara's one day. If the boy were not Kazekage in 15 years Hinata would be shocked. He may not have the ability to overtake her now, but he would. The newer generation of shinobi would pass the older, just as her generation had passed the one before them.

"Uchiha," Shinki murmured, looking up at the tall dark-haired man. As if on que Sasuke's sharingan flashed. Hinata briefly wondered if she and Sasuke did produce children, if they would all be scared of their father. Shinki, however, gave Sasuke a blank look. If one didn't know the boy, they would have assumed that he was bored. However, Hinata knew Shinki enough to know when someone had earned his respect.

The Uchiha massacre was well known throughout every village, and the sharingan was in every textbook right next to the imaged that Sasuke was the one person Shinki could really relate to, given that they had both lost entire families.

Shinki turned addressing Hinata, "When will you be back mother?"

Hinata smiled down at him. "I'm on mission Shinki. I also have not been back to my home in a very long time and I have…" she looked back at Sasuke briefly who raised his eyebrow. "…things to take care of."

Shinki had developed almost as good a mask as his father, but Hinata was able to see through it. She touched his cheek kindly. "However, your father and I talked, and we chatted about the upcoming chunin exams."

"Yes, fathers leaving there to go attend to his boring Kage duties and I am to be left here."

Gaara looked as though he had been stabbed by his beloved son and it was quite amusing.

Hinata chuckled. "Yes, your father will be attending to all of those important Kage duties. However, I thought it would be best for your training if you were to come and spend that time with me. Your training is obviously taken a back seat…"

Gaara looked as though he had been stabbed again Hinata chuckled once more.

Shinki tried not to show it, but a smile tickled at the corners of his lips.

"I suppose. However, the person I want to receive training from is the Uchiha." Shinki pointed toward Sasuke's tall dark figure. The man showed no indication that he was being talked about and simply returned the boys stoic face. It was Hinata's turn to feel stabbed. Shinki preferred Sasuke over her? What had the world come to, she thought.

Hinata looked at him pointedly, telling him with her eyes to answer the boys request.

"I don't train children," he simply muttered.

Shinki looked a little disappointed; as well as a bit perturbed, he had been called a child.

Hinata smiled at Sasuke who regarded her suspiciously.

"Sasuke, you could always call it practice…" she trailed off. Sasuke didn't seem to miss the inuendo. Hinata had just implied he could practice for training his own children after all. Hinata knew what the last Uchiha desired above all else; if it was what Shinki wanted she was willing to play a little dirty.

Gaara looked on amusedly. It wasn't like him to pick up on social ques.

"I'll think about it." To his credit, his voice was genuine. Sasuke was nothing if not a man of his word. "We should get going," he continued.

Hinata had to agree with him. The sun would set in six hours and if they wanted to put any reasonable distance toward Kumogakure before it got dark, they needed to move.

She gave Gaara one last look. A lot had been realized for her in Suna. Call her naïve, but it was her hope that one day her friend might be able to achieve the same realizations. Maybe when all this was over, she might have to return Gaara's favor and do a little match making of her own.

She bid them one last farewell and fell into step with the Uchiha.

...

She and Sasuke were not overly affectionate people. They were also trained shinobi on mission, so they were able to stay focused. Well kind of…

A few overly intense stares and kisses didn't deter them from the mission and within two weeks they had reached Kumogakure.

Hinata smiled, it was beautiful. The land hidden in the clouds. It had been the first land she had ventured to after Konoha. She had been in awe. The weather was perfect, the land was beautiful, the people were… not so much.

They had entered the city just as they had all the previous cities and as they ventured into the town's center, they were given condescending stares and looked down upon. It was nothing new to Hinata, but she could tell that Sasuke was having a hard time not bashing some heads into the wall. Hinata smirked, she had felt the same when she had arrived in the city, but she had adapted. Kumo was a strange place. Konoha and Kumo had been at odds since the first shinobi war. Kumo was a very ambitious village and believed in collecting the most skilled shinobi and at one point was willing to capture other villages unique chakra wielders to do it. However, in an era of peace, it was no longer necessary. Nevertheless, Kumo still believed that they were the village that held the best of everything, and the people reflected that in they're attitudes.

However, they were giving the Uchiha a little more of a death glare.

"Sasuke, have you ever been here before?" Hinata was prompted to ask.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, which in his language meant yes. He didn't elaborate, Hinata didn't ask him to. She knew that the only reason they would be glaring at the Konoha Avenger was if his visit had been not so friendly.

Sasuke stretched his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. Hinata understood the action, even if it was meant to be subtle. He was putting himself in an openly vulnerable position, one that suggested he didn't intend to do battle. In his own way, Sasuke was attempting to put these people's fears at ease.

Hinata shook her head, she really hoped that Sasuke's past would not create trouble on this current mission. Sighing, she reviewed the knowledge that she had collected about the fourth target. He was the eldest out of the five and was called Shotaro. Clan was unknown, ability unknown but if he was calling the land of Lightning his home, Hinata speculated that his ability was some kind of lighting release. Thanks to her first sensei, Killer B, she was skilled in that area herself. She just hoped it would be enough.

Hinata took the lead, walking into the stone building labeled as an inn. It was modest for Kumo, but it would do.

"One room please," she asked the attendant, a heavy weight balding man behind a glass cover. The room he was huddled in was small, and the book he was glossing through was covered in barely clothed females.

Hinata averted her eyes in disgust and waited for the man to give her a key. He let out a loud irritated huff as though annoyed that someone had interrupted his fantasies so that he could do his job. As he maneuvered his giant body to reach one of the keys hanging behind him, he stopped when something caught his eye. He was looking behind her, toward Sasuke. The man had the nerve to fix his face in a sneer.

"I know who you are, and you're crazy if you think any inn in Kumo would ever rent to someone, no something, like you." He spat the words out like they were a curse. Hinata's look of disgust increased when she saw spit fly and hit the protective glass of the man's workstation.

Hinata clenched her fist, she didn't know what Sasuke had done in Kumo but if the man just thought he could say whatever he wanted without consequences he was sorely mistaken. Emphasis on the sorely.

Sasuke tugged lightly at her braid, pulling her back into him.

"I don't suppose you'd allow my comrade to stay without me?" Sasuke asked, his tone holding no attachment to Hinata whatsoever. She knew what he was doing, he was trying to disassociate himself for the sake of securing Hinata's comfort. But if he thought for one second-

The man averted his angry eyes from Sasuke and took in Hinata. Anger was replaced with lust and on the mans face it made Hinata want to vomit. It was a lecherous look that she would take pride in pealing off his face.

"Oh yeah, she can stay. I have no rooms available, so she'll have to share mine," the man belted loudly, giving Hinata another once over. Oh, that was it, she was going to teach this man manners whether he wanted to learn them or not.

However, the man froze, his mouth falling open.

Sasuke mangekyo sharingan swirled as he glared at the man angrily. He was in Sasuke's genjutsu for only two minutes, but when Sasuke released him, the man looked as though he had endured a lifetime of torture and heaved over vomiting, before shakily passing out.

Sasuke looked as though he had done nothing wrong and shifted his boyish smirk to Hinata.

"Rude," was all he said before backing out the establishment. "There's a place in the woods not far from here that I know of, we'll camp there. Without fail, our targets have found us and engaged almost as soon as we've arrived. My bet is that the same will be true this time; and unlike before when we engage, we'll be well away from civilians."

It was sound logic, and Hinata agreed, letting Sasuke lead the way. Her curiosity got the better of her, however.

"Sasuke, its not that I don't think that man was the vilest human being that I ever encountered, but why does he hate you? Why does everyone in this village glare at you?"

Sasuke's jaw clenched and he tensed up. This happened every time Hinata asked him about his past.

"A while ago, my team and I caused a lot of trouble in Kumogakure. Trouble the locals, and I imagine the Raikage, are not soon to forget."

Hinata furrowed her brow. Brother A was a strict man; but she had a hard time imagining him or B holding a grudge. Sasuke must have done something pretty bad to warrant such a response from him. Also judging by the Uchiha's tone it was something that he was not willing to go into detail with her about.

Hinata thought back to Kakashi's words before he had sent them on mission. He promised Sasuke his freedom from Konoha but warned that he could not protect him from other nations that wanted to kill him. Apparently Kumo was one of those nations.

In a way this made Hinata sad. Kumo, like Suna, held a lot of pleasant memories for her. However, Sasuke had somehow achieved an importance to her that far exceeded her love for any land. She smiled fondly. He didn't always let on exactly how he was feeling, but she knew that being in a village that only remembered him for past actions had to be hard on him.

"Wow," she let out a breath as they reached the clearing. Sasuke had been right, it was a wooded area bathed in foggy clouds. However, he had neglected to tell her that in the center was a hot spring. "You didn't tell me there was a natural hot spring."

"You didn't ask," he smirked. Laying down his pack, he started to set up their sleeping bags and break down the wood that they would use to build a fire to cook with. This was their usual routine. Sasuke would set up and Hinata would cook while he scouted the area for enemy ninja. Night had not yet fallen but judging by the rumbling in her own stomach, she imagined Sasuke would be equally hungry as well. From her pack she pulled some meat she had been able to salt and preserve and tomatoes she had been able to snag from a stand in the previous town when they had gotten supplies.

Sasuke granted her an approving nod as she placed them in the small skillet that he had balanced on the fire. This was a routine that they had fallen into early into their travels, it was minimal which was what they both favored in life.

Sasuke had made the necessary rounds, and Hinata took his silence as an all clear. Once they had eaten, they sat in silence as Sasuke sharpened his sword and took inventory of their kunai and shuriken.

Now that the sun had gone down, the moon was hitting the hot spring with a small array of light that was calling Hinata to it. Something about being alone with Sasuke in a moment were they really didn't have to do anything but wait emboldened Hinata. A few weeks felt like a lifetime since they had been together at the hotel. Giving one last scan of the area with her Byakugan she stood up. At her movement, Sasuke tilted his head up and fixed his eyes lazily on her. She felt him watching her as she walked toward the hot spring. As Hinata walked, she shed her mission gear and loosened the tight braid from her hair.

Standing in what she had been born in, she sifted her gaze slightly to Sasuke. He had frozen; his arm stuck holding the stone to the blade of his weapon. His sharingan was activated and his face held that intense expression that she loved.

She gave him a sweet smile as she slowly descended into the water. She let out a moan as she felt the warm water on her skin. Apparently, this was all the invitation he needed as Sasuke moved quick, removing his clothing, and moving beside her into the water.

He smirked, "This isn't like the sweet and innocent Hyuga that I know at all."

His voice was low, and he snaked his arm around her waist and yanked her close to his chest. Hinata could feel his arousal press against her stomach as she wrapped her arms around his torso.

"What can I say Uchiha, you're a bad influence," she whispered. She pressed her chin firmly into his chest and looked up at his intense gaze. His mixed match eyes looked back her and Hinata realized how fond she had become of them.

"Hn," he grunted before leaning down and attaching his lips to hers. She sighed into his kiss and he fisted a hand into her hair and tilted her head in a way that gave him better access to deepen the kiss. She snaked her hands into his dark hair as well and tugged. Grunting, he bent down and easily lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist and positioned her so that her back was pressed firmly against the wall of the hot spring.

She lost herself in him as his hands roamed her body. Still holding one of her legs he slid the other along the inside of her left thigh and Hinata let out a breath in anticipation. He was growing steadily close to a place that Hinata had yearned from him to touch since their first time together.

His face was buried in the crevasse of her neck and she tilted her head back to give him further access. She was expecting a lot of things, but not-

"Shit," he cursed. In flash he was away from her and stood with just his pants on and his sharingan activated. He had taken up a defensive stance. Hinata was not long after him, her pants and binding had been thrown on in a flash and her Byakugan was activated and scanned the area. There were fifteen chakra points and she cursed herself for being surrounded. They had been too distracted. She had assumed they had the luxury of reprieve; but on a mission like this they were never safe.

"Show yourselves," Sasuke called. His voice containing edge.

Slowly, shinobi dropped from trees and from the slashes through their shinobi symbols she could tell they were rogue ninja. Hinata scanned once more with her Byakugan.

"I count fifteen," she muttered. But her face scrunched in confusion. "But they're..."

"Nothing," Sasuke deadpanned. "Let's not waste chakra."

Sasuke weaved hand seals fluidly. Biting his thumb, he drove it into the ground and a black curling seal formed.

Hinata once again fixed her eyes on the snake the size of a building with the heart of a puppy dog.

"Aoda, wipe them out, bring me one," Sasuke ordered shortly. Aoda sprang into action. Hinata did not recall even blinking as he lashed his tail out and created a short chorus of male screams. He almost looked like he was playing with toys, it was honestly quit amusing if you looked at it at the right angle.

Aoda slithered back over to them, crushing trees in his wake. He held a man in his tail, seemingly suffocating him into submission before he playfully threw him at Sasuke's feet.

"So rarely you call me anymore master Sasuke, but when you do it is always very enjoyable."

Sasuke grunted, rounding on the man with his Sharingan swirling. Aoda fixated his giant head on her.

"Ah Lady Hyuga, it's a pleasure to see you by master's side again," Aoda declared. He moved his head down further, and Hinata could see into the iris of his giant snake eyes. She found it odd how Orochimaru could posses a more sinister snake like appearance then a gigantic snake like Aoda. Though Hinata would be weary to face him in battle, she found his presence oddly comforting as he regarded her with child like fascination.

"Ah, and from your scent I can tell the coupling has finally begun," Aoda declared, his voice containing so much mirth. Hinata's face bled red as she resorted back to her old habits. Aoda was also child like in the sense that he contained no filter on his words.

"We should be expecting the hatchlings very soon. I was worried that my master would never find a mate given his… scaly disposition," Aoda went on. He gave Sasuke a pitying look only a three-story snake could give. Sasuke was still holding genjutsu on their captive but he grunted in his own defense.

Hinata chuckled.

"I myself was so ecstatic when I found my mate. Humans are strange in the specificities they require. When I saw my Akira, I knew she would give me strong hatchlings and take care of me until I shed my last skin."

Hinata smiled, she found the snake oddly endearing.

"Aw speaking of hatchlings, I have something for you Lady Hyuga."

There was a puff of smoke and Hinata saw that when it cleared the was a scroll laying at her feet.

"My eldest hatchling, Akako, is a seasoned warrior who, like all my family, is ready to serve master Sasuke at a moments notice. I have trained her for the day that he would one day find a mate who would carry his line into the future as my mate as done for me."

Hinata blinked. "Aoda, Sasuke and I have only been together for a short time. I couldn't ask you risk one of your children for-"

Aoda interrupted her with a fit of laughter. "I have been with Master Sasuke for many years. In that time his scales have not prickled for anyone, I had fears he was sterile."

Hinata hid her smile behind her hand.

"But Aoda your only daughter-"

The snake laughed again. "Lady Hyuga, my mate is very fertile. We have 750 children in our clutch." He said it with so much pride it made Hinata smile up at him. Still 750 children was…

"You should do it Hyuga. Aoda has sworn service to me, and our families will be bonded for eternity. It's something we both take pride in."

Hinata turned her gaze to Sasuke. The rouge shinobi lay hunched against a tree, most likely dead. "But Sasuke-"

"Uchiha are like snakes, we mate for life, so clear any uncertain thoughts out of the that big head of yours Hyuga."

She wondered how he knew that was what she was thinking. They had not talked about what their future held. Hinata had an aching feeling that Sasuke might have only developed feelings for her as a result of their mission. It was not uncommon for shinobi to become attracted to each other simply for the amount of the time they spent together. However, looking at the sheer volume of raw emotion that lingered in the Uchiha's eyes dispelled any thoughts that lingered in uncertainty. True, there time together was short, but the investment that they had in each would result in a return that was tenfold.

She bit down on her finger, as she had seen Sasuke do, and wrote her name in blood and stamped her fingerprints as Aoda instructed. Her name was in the second column, next to the neatly drawn name of Sasuke Uchiha. To the left were other empty columns where one day their children, and grandchildren, would sign. This thought made Hinata smile.

"Akako is ready when you call, I must return home now. Good-bye Master Sasuke, Lady Hyuga."

Aoda gave them a sloppy snake smile before disappearing in a puff as enormous as he was.

"We've got a problem Hyuga," Sasuke muttered, bringing her back to the situation at hand. "These aren't Shotaro's men, they're just a rouge shinobi assassination clan that the inn keeper hired to kill me."

Hinata glared, obviously the genjutsu was not enough but maybe a gentle fist to the heart would set an example.

"Now's not the time to focus on idiots Hyuga," Sasuke murmured, sensing her train of thought. She grumbled but banished her murderous thoughts for another time. "The rouge said he had heard of Shotaro, but that he apparently died in his sleep two days ago."

Hinata's head snapped up at him in surprise.

"Does that mean-"

Picking up on the scared look on Hinata's face, he placed a hand on top of her head to calm her down. "We wouldn't be here right now if everything tied to Konoha was destroyed. Kakashi said that the jutsu only took effect when one of the men was killed by anything but old age or natural causes."

Hinata nodded, recalling the words in her own mind. Sasuke was right.

"We have to verify," Hinata stated.

Sasuke nodded. "He used to stay on the outskirts of the village. I can lead us there."

Hinata nodded and they began packing up their stuff. As they began to leave Hinata looked longingly at the hot spring once more. On her way out, she kicked the fallen rouge shinobi in the leg for ruining what would have been a very good time.

...

They arrived at a small cabin just as day broke.

It was covered in mist and the wood of the cabin looked as though it had been rain rotted. As they approached, to the right Hinata could see a patch of shifted dirt and small rock that marked it as a grave. Sasuke and Hinata approached. Once they had reached the patch, Hinata activated her Byakugan and peered down. The dead didn't hold on to chakra, but Shotaro had only died two days ago. Hinata was an advanced sensory type so she could usually sense chakra when other people couldn't; unless she was…occupied.

"The soil absorbed his chakra but it's there. He's dead, but he was 85 when he went to sleep; almost 6 years later you do the math."

"Hn," Sasuke agreed. With a long-legged stride, he made his way over to the small hut. "I'm curious."

Hinata stepped into stride with him and used her Byakugan to survey the structure of the house. Once it was deemed sound, they stepped inside. The first thing that hit her was the smell. It was fowl like sour milk on a summer day. Hinata switched to breathing through her mouth.

She looked around; but found nothing but jars of what looked like ink and litters of crumpled up parchment. There were also discarded food containers and bottles with small amounts of liquid that had started to mold. What a way to die she thought.

As she continued to contemplate what kind of life the man must have had, there as a loud pitched ringing.

"Hyuga, run," was all Sasuke said before they took off. They just made it to the mossy grass when the explosive charge detonated, and the cabin blew, raining down soot and ash upon them. Hinata chided herself, those crumpled up pieces of paper must have been explosive tags.

Sasuke and Hinata stood up, dusting off their clothes and avoiding the ash and debris that rained down upon them. Something fluttered by Hinata's gaze, curving in the air, and cutting a direct line across her face. She snatched the offending paper from the air and leveled her gaze on it.

"It looks like some kind of seal," she murmured as Sasuke looked over her shoulder.

"Hn," was all he said before taking it from her hands and putting it in their mission pack.

He had ash covering the surface of his hair and Hinata was just about to reach up and knock some of it off when she heard a familiar voice.

"Yo Yo Hinata, it's good to see you mama," the odd shinobi greeted her in his usually lyrical fashion. She giggled, she liked Killer B because he too was often underestimated because he was not a conventional shinobi. "I see you found yo' target asunder, man that fool is six feet under."

He turned his gaze from the makeshift grave to the burned down building; and then it landed on the Uchiha and all traces of happiness faded.

"Yo Hinata you rad, and that's a fact, but bringing this Uchiha here, is mad whack."

Hinata started to speak up, but Sasuke beat her to it speaking for himself.

"I know it probably won't mean much, but I am sorry for what my team and I did to you," Sasuke murmured. Hinata could tell that one of his demons was eating him inside. She knew because it was the exact same look she had when hers came after her. She was proud of the dark-haired man for humbling himself and apologizing. When he said he had caused trouble to Kumo, she had not expected it to involve Killer B.

"Fool, your apology to me is not needed. It's important to me how my girl here is treated." he said, wrapping his arm around Hinata's shoulders and she smiled up at him. "And hate you? This cat surely did not, pity in my heart is all I got."

"But cross me again boy, and it'll be on. I promise fool, your life will be gone." the Jinchuriki's hand slid across his neck.

Killer B gave Hinata a fist bump.

"Before I forget, this here's for you, you dig?" He handed the Uchiha a folded envelope that had the seal of the Hokage. "It was given to this little B, by his brother, the big. You don't want to throw it away, it's from your H-O-K-E kage!"

"Killer B out yo!"

The man walked away as quickly as he had come to make his delivery. His white coat trailing behind him.

"And they call Naruto the number one knucklehead ninja," Sasuke remarked.

"Say what you want, the man got his record deal." Hinata smiled. She had not realized she missed Killer B so much. He had taught her more than just Lightning Release techniques. He had taught her not to care so much what people thought of her, it had been a big help on fixing her stuttering, blushing, and fainting habits. She was glad she got to see him, even if he was just making a delivery for the Raikage.

"What does it say?'' she pointed toward the letter, moving in closer to read over his shoulder.

Hinata's eyes flew open, and she looked at Sasuke, he clenched his jaw.

….We have reason to believe that your last target is in route to where it began. I would advise you try to outrun him….

Their last target, supposedly the worst one of them all, was headed toward Konoha with who knows how many days in advance. But if he was coming from the land of iron, which was supposed to be their last location, they might be able to…

"Whatever Hisami is going to Konoha for, it will not end well. We have to run Sasuke, we have to end this."

"Hn," Sasuke replied "I'll be damned if that dobe Naruto defeats one guy out of five and gets all the credit."

Hinata smiled. No matter how serious and menacing the Uchiha was, he would always have a childhood rivalry with his best friend. Hell, if she was being honest his occasional childlike nature made him more appealing Maybe once this mission was done, they could finish what they started in the hot spring …

"You look like a little old lady when you crinkle your nose like that Hyuga," he smirked, lightly tugging her braid.

Then again, maybe not.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Let's move, it's at least 3 days to Konoha from here, and we have to get there in two."

Gotta say, I had a lot of fun writing Killer B. Yo, yo, yo leave a review...fool.