Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto! I do not get any profit from this fiction. I only write for fun and to improve my creativity.

Chapter Thirteen.

You have escaped the cage

Your wings are stretched out.

Now, fly.

Rumi

…

Hatake Kakashi waited for the young man before him to answer his question. He noticed their nervousness with every passing second. If he had any doubts before, they were now gone; he was certain the boy before him was, indeed, responsible for the disappearance of Hyūga Hinata.

"Hiashi-sama was here?" The boy asked nervously.

"Yes. He came accompanied by an elder." The Sixth Hokage reclined himself lazily on his chair. "They seemed angry. Do you have any idea why would that be, Naruto-kun?"

"Eh?" Naruto laughed nervously. "Why would I know anything?"

"Do not take me by a fool, Naruto." Kakashi said looking at his former student gravely. "What's happening?"

There was no use in lying to the famous copy-nin. There was no way The Uzumaki could deceive him; Kakashi was very perceptive and would find out sooner than later. Reluctantly, Naruto told him what the Hyūga clan were planning to do to Hinata. With every word he said, Naruto could observe how the Hokage's expression changed to one of profuse somberness to one of incredulity.

"They were going to seal her?" The Hokage asked frowning.

"Yes" Naruto said clenching his fists. "That's why I helped her escape."

"I see, so you did help her." Kakashi said still unable to process everything the boy had told him. "Were you the only one helping Hinata-chan escape?"

Naruto couldn't tell Kakashi that he wasn't the only one helping Hinata escape. The Uzumaki had promised both, Kurenai and Sasuke, that he would keep their involvement a secret. The Yūhi was a respectable shinobi and a good mother. The least she needed was a situation where her loyalty to the village was questioned. Both, her and her daughter, had suffered enough, and Konoha was their only home. Naruto would not let anything happen to them. As for his best friend, the Uchiha had a terrible reputation as it was. The village didn't trust him, and the Hyūga clan wasn't exactly fond of him. Naruto refused to make things harder for Sasuke in case he decided to return to the village someday.

"Yes, I was the only one helping her."

The current Hokage stared at the boy before him, scrutinizing his face and posture face carefully, looking for any signs that the boy might be hiding something. And there it was, the smallest of signs, but a sign nonetheless. A nervous twitching on his serious face. Kakashi knew his former student was lying. But of course he was, there was no way in heaven Naruto could pull this off by himself. The Hyūga had escaped leaving no traces behind her, no clues as to where she was or where she went. So that meant someone else was helping her, and that person was an expert covering their tracks. Also, Kakashi knew Naruto wouldn't give this job to anyone, which meant the person he chose was trustworthy. Kakashi only knew of one person with that description.

"Very well, Naruto-kun." He sighed. "You are dismissed."

As soon as the Uzumaki left the Hokage's tower, Hatake Kakashi sat quietly, thinking of what this meant, not only for himself, but for Naruto. This could be considered treason against a clan, and logically, against the village. This act of kindness could cost Naruto his dream of becoming Hokage. As for the person helping him... He only hoped he was wrong. That would only complicate matters even more.

Uchiha Sasuke stared at the quiet woman contemplating the horizon, and he found himself a bit intrigued by her. There was nothing special about her. She looked physically the same as she did when they had left the compound, but her demeanor had dramatically changed once they had left the Land of Fire.

The moment he had stepped on the Land of Sound( better known as the Land of Rice Fields), Sasuke had stopped and placed her down as he promised, it was only then that she stared in the distance, toward what used to be her home. He wasn't sure what was so different about her, but she no longer looked... hopeless. Her eyes no longer held the pain and the desperation he had witnessed that day in the cemetery, nor the fear he had seen when he had captured her the first time. The woman before him looked... liberated.

The Uchiha found himself reflecting on another time when he was much younger and had finally left Konoha in search of power. When he left the village that had been his home for thirteen years, he didn't feel anything, only that surge of hate and desire for power to avenge his once existing clan. However, this woman, this Hyūga wasn't looking for power, she simply wanted to live and be free. Her goal was much simpler, and without a doubt, less painful. Or was it? Unlike himself, that had nothing to look back for when he left, she was leaving behind her family, her friends, and everything she knew as home.

"We must go now." He said.

"Hai, Sasuke-san" She said looking back at him.

"We will go a little ahead, and then we'll look for shelter."

She nodded activating her Byakugan.

They ran in silence. Surprisingly, Hinata wasn't as slow as he had predicted her to be, but to be fair, he wasn't going as fast as he could. However, it was obvious she had improved her skills in the years that followed after he left Konoha. She wasn't the same meek kunoichi he remembered from his childhood. The woman running next to him seemed different, more mature. Indeed, life had been not kind to the former heiress, yet there was hope in her eyes.

"There is a cave a little ahead." He heard her say.

"Hn"

When they arrived at the cave, they noticed it was small but spacious enough for the two of them. He set their bags on the floor and sat against the wall. They only had a few hours left to rest.

He noticed she was standing a few feet away from him, fidgeting with her yukata. He looked directly at her, and she averted her eyes.

He frowned.

"Hn?"

"Ano... S-sasuke-san, would you m-mind leaving the c-cave?" She asked nervously.

He narrowed his eyes and scoffed at her request. Was she that uncomfortable with him that she couldn't share the same space with him?

"Do I disgust you that much, Hyūga?" He asked in a calm voice, hiding the bitterness he felt. Surely, this woman saw him as a monster, like everyone else in that Village.

"P-p-pardon m-me?" She widened her eyes. "No! Oh n-no Sasuke-san, t-that's n-not what I m-meant!" She agitated her hands in front of her, while blushing furiously. "It's n-not that! I j-just want t-to c-change into something e-else." She said averting his piercing mismatched eyes quickly. Too embarrassed to be speaking of such things with him.

Without another word, Sasuke stood up and made his way out of the cave. Just as he walked outside, he heard the woman say thank you. It had been weak and soft, but he had been able to hear her. For reasons unknown to him, her reaction made him smirk. This woman was far too kind to hurt someone, so he wondered why would someone like her choose to be an active Shinobi, instead of a medic-nin. As far as he remembered, Hyūgas had exceptional chakra control, an attribute needed to be a medic-nin.

After he had left Hinata to her devices, he ventured into the forest, and secured their perimeter. When he returned to the cave, he found the Hyūga had changed into a pair of baggy long pants and a sweater that was much too big for her small frame. Indeed, this woman was still as conservative as he remembered her.

"I brought some onigiris with me. Would you like one, Sasuke-san?" She asked as she offered him the wrapped onigiri with a shy smile.

"Hn" Was all he said before he took it from her hand.

"I was a-able to make them y-yesterday and packed them for the trip." She said giving him a small smile. He didn't comment, instead he began to eat the onigiri. "I hope you like it."

He didn't just like it. He loved it. They were, perhaps, the best onigiris he had in a long time. Of course, they were not better than those his mother used to make for his bento box, but these were close enough. They were filled with al sorts of vegetables and, to his surprise, cherry tomatoes was one of them. Of course, he would never tell the Hyūga he had enjoyed them this much, but he was certain she knew he did, if only by the way he had finished it in a few bites.

After they had finished their food, he once again sat against the wall. He observed how she took a blanket out of her bag, and after placing it on the floor, she lied on it.

"Are you not going to sleep, Sasuke-san?"

"No." He answered. "Sleep, you have only a few hours."

"B-but..."

"I'll keep watch." He said interrupting whatever she was going to say.

"I'll k-keep watch n-next time, okay?"

"Hn" He said, which Hinata took as a yes.

A few minutes later, Sasuke heard the woman next to him snore softly. Who knew the Hyūga snored? The thought of it was a bit hilarious. Italmost made him smile... Almost.

It was early morning when Hyūga Hanabi arrived home from her mission. She couldn't wait to get home, clean up, and ask her sister to make her something to eat, preferably that banana dessert with melted caramel Hinata makes for her. Oh how she missed Hinata's cooking!

A day after Hanabi had arrived at the village from a mission, she was sent on another mission. This one was B-rank and it consisted of two weeks long. Of course, it was nothing she and her teammates couldn't handle, but she didn't want to be away from home for so many days. Especially when Hinata had come back from a failed mission and needed her. Now that she was back home, she would request two weeks off to the Hokage, so she could spend more time with her sister. After Hinata had been attacked by rouge nins during her last mission, Hanabi noticed how her sister had become secluded and withdrawn. Hinata wasn't as happy as she used to be. The young heiress often feared something had happened to her sister during the mission.

Taking her ninja sandals off, she made her way to see her father. The housemaid had told her he was in the garden having breakfast.

"Otō-san" She bowed to her father, once she found him. "I'm home."

"Hanabi, welcome home daughter." Hiashi greeted. "Would you like to have tea with me?"

"Yes, thank you." She said taking a sit across from her father, while a housemaid came rushing to serve her tea.

"How was your mission?"

"Successful." She smiled proud of herself.

"As expected of the heiress of the Hyūga clan." He praised his daughter, causing the young woman to blush a little. "Did you report to the Hokage?"

"Yes, I did."

"Very good."

They drank their tea in silence.

Hanabi noticed her sister was missing when she should be here having breakfast with them.

"Where is Hinata, Otō-san?"

"Hinata is not here."

"Oh" Hanabi looked slightly confused. "Is she on a mission?"

"No"

"Is she visiting Kurenai-san?"

"No, that's not it either." Her father said before taking a deep breath. "Hinata is not coming back, Hanabi."

Hanabi froze in her tracks. "Where is my sister?" She said looking at her father sternly.

"Your sister left the village last night."

"Good morning, Sasuke-san."

"Hn"

The Uchiha took a sit facing the small fire, fishes at hand. He then proceeded to clean a fish with his kunai. Hinata observed him carefully.

"Do you mind me helping?" She asked, but when he didn't say anything, she took that as a yes. Taking a fish and looking for her kunai, she began to clean the fish.

They worked in silence, cleaning the fishes until they were suitable to consume, and then put them to cook.

"Is the river too far from here?" She asked him.

"A few minutes away, why?"

"Ano… I w-would like to c-clean up a l-little."

"Hn" He was quiet a few seconds too long. "Is it necessary?" He finally asked.

Realizing what he meant she blushed a dark pink. "I… Well, n-no but..."

"Then you can wait." He cut her abruptly.

The Hyūga gaped in utter disbelief at the man before her. There was no doubt about it, the Uchiha was the rudest man that has ever lived on earth. For how long did he plan on accompanying her? She hoped he'd leave her alone soon. She didn't need him to babysit her. She had escaped from the village before without any delays, and if it wasn't for him meddling where he hadn't been called, she would be living somewhere else in a quiet town.

"Ano, Sasuke-san, are w-we traveling t-together?"

"What do you think?"

Was he being sarcastic? Because if he was, he failed at that too. He sounded far too serious to be mocking her.

"Um… I c-can t-travel by myself from h-here on." She said carefully.

He looked at her sternly, as if studying her. The way he looked at her demanded respect and complete submission, in other words, there was no room for argument with the Uchiha. Hinata felt a shiver ran through her spine, and she wondered how could someone impose so much respect and fear with a simple look.

When the food was cooked and cool enough to eat, he gave her a portion.

"Thank you." She said softly, and they ate in silence.

Hinata had wanted to ask him if he was going to accompany her one more time, but she imagined the Uchiha wouldn't like it, so she refrained from saying anything. Instead, she finished her food, and grabbed her bag. Sasuke had taken the time to grab his bag too and clean the place where the fire had been. He made sure to clear the area so it looked like no one had been there. It was incredible how this man could cover his track so easily and professionaly. But of course he could, this was Uchiha Sasuke we were talking about, the last of his kind, the pupil of a legendary Sannin and considered a Sannin himself, the wielder of the rinnegan, and Naruto's rival.

"Let's go."

"I'm s-sorry Sasuke-san" She said carefully. "b-but where are y-you taking me?"

"To a safe place." He said curtly. "Now let's get moving or would you want me to carry you again?" He glanced at her and noticed how her face flushed rapidly at his words.

"W-what… N-no!" She spat flustered. "That w-won't be n-necessary."

"Then let's go." He said as he ran toward the forest, forcing Hinata to run fast to catch up to him.

All the while, she continuously reminded herself that no matter how rude and socially inept this man was, he was taking the time to help her; and he was doing it out of the goodness of his heart, or so she hoped.

"Naruto-kun!" The Yūhi smiled upon seeing him.

"Kurenai-sensei"

"Come in" She said stepping aside for the Uzumaki to come inside. She had been waiting for Naruto to come by with news about Hinata. "I'm so glad to see you." Kurenai said "How is Hinata-chan? Did the Uchiha come for her?"

"He did!" Naruto said grinning "They were able to escape. If everything went well, and I'm sure it did, they should be far from the Land of Fire."

"Thank goodness!"

"Kurenai-sensei" He said, and Kurenai noticed his face turn somber.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?"

"Kakashi sensei" He said rubbing his neck. "He knows I helped Hinata-chan escape."

"How?" She gasped.

"I don't know." He confessed. "All I know is that Hiashi-sama went to see him after she had escaped."

She feared something like this would happen, but he didn't think it would be that soon.

Kurenai was afraid to ask if Kakashi knew she was involved too, but soon after, Naruto answered her question. He told her that the Sixth Hokage didn't know she or Sasuke helped them. She sighed in relief.

"But what about you, Naruto-kun?"

"I'll be fine."

And believe him she wanted to do, but the grim expression in the young man's feature made her worry even more. If the Hyūga clan heard about this, and found out that Naruto had helped Hinata escape the seal, his dream of becoming Hokage would be in danger. Moreover, he would be considered a traitor for helping the former heiress escape her punishment.

"All that matter is that they make it safely." Naruto said.

"Where will they be going?"

"I don't know, but Sasuke promised me he would keep her safe until the Hyūgas gave up looking for her."

"I don't know, Naruto." She said worriedly. "The Hyūgas are a stubborn clan. They might never give up looking for her."

"You think so?"

"I don't know. I hope I'm wrong." She sighed.

Uchiha Sasuke did not understand women. How could she think of cleaning up in the river when she most likely had Leaf shinobis looking for her? It was ridiculous and completely irrational. To make matters more complicated, he didn't want to be in her company, just like he was sure she didn't want to be in his, but he had made a promise to his friend that he would look after Hinata, and make sure she was safe.

"Tsk, Naruto..." He muttered to himself.

"Ano…" He heard the woman say, breaking him from his thoughts. "S-sasuke-san, could you s-slow down a l-little?" She asked panting.

"Can't keep up with me, Hyūga?" He said glancing at her with a smirk. "I can still carry you if you want?"

To his amusment the woman looked horrorified, which he took as a no. He had offered to carry her before, but he had only done to tease her and make her move and stop blabbering nonsense. However, it seemed he would have to carry her again. They had only started running three hours ago and she was already panting in exhaustion. Perhaps, he was to blame. Sasuke was running at a speed not many could keep up with. Last night, he had ran at a pace she was able to follow, but today, they had to cover more distance if they didn't want to be found; so, it was necessary to move at a faster pace.

"We'll rest soon."

"O-okay"

Author's Note: Yay early chapter! Once again, thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! I can't express how happy they make me feel. So please, do keep them coming! If you think there is something I could work on, please do tell me. I love to hear your opinion.

Important: As you know, this chapter is at least 2-3 days early. I'm updating now because I will be out of state for a whole week. This also means that, sadly, I won't able to work on the following chapters, or edit chapter 14; therefore, there won't be an update next week. I don't know if I'll be able to update the story in a two weeks period. I'm sorry about that guys! If it's of any consolation, I will be working on the fic as soon as I return.

Forgive me for the grammatical errors you may have found on this chapter. I didn't spend too much time editing it. I did my best because I wanted to update early.I hope you enjoyed the content and it wasn't disappointing.

Answer to Reviews:

Mucnhiedi: You think Rock Lee would be faster? Haha, you know, maybe you're right. Hinata always had good chakra control. She had to, considering her bloodline requires her to have it. So if Naruto, that sucked at chakra control was able to do it, I'm sure she could at least make one clone like that. I'm so glad you think it's not so ooc for Sasuke, that makes me feel a lot better. I hope you continue enjoying this fic. Thank you so much for your reviews!

Behla: You don't know how grateful I am for your comment. Sasuke's character is, in fact, the hardest one to write for me, because of the complexity of his personality. So I'm glad you found his character, for the most part, in character. I do try to explain everything so it makes sense to the readers, so I'm glad that's also helping in that area. As for your suggestion, I truly appreciate your sincerity and will work on that. It was actually starting to bother me too lol. Also, don't worry, I don't get easily offended, and your suggestion was exposed respectfully. So I thank you for taking the time to point it out. Thank you for your review and for reading this story!

Gangnam Style X3: So very happy you liked the chapter. You are very perceptive! Your comment made me really happy because it tells me I am doing a good job at making things easy to understand for the readers. So thank you!

Viralvera: I've always felt that Sasuke's character is ever hardly in character in most fanfics. I still try to enjoy them as best as I can though. Some are really good, despite the mild ooc, but as you've mentioned, others overdo it. Anyway I'm glad he is in character and that you liked the chapter!

See you guys!