Hinata the Angel

Summary: Hinata is tired of always being the underdog and then she leaves Konoha to a brighter future.

Disclaimer: Hey! Masashi Kishamoto owns Naruto! I like it but it isn't mine just like so many other things like Phantom of the Opera.

This is more of a filler chapter, but I hope you like it. I had writer's block for a while but anyway…Enjoy!

Chapter Four: Past the Point of No Return

Swish! Swish! Swish! The trees were becoming a constant part of her vision, green and brown blurs flashing past her. She had stopped looking to the sides but the trees were always the same. Her limbs ached with fatigue and constant chakra use. Yet, she said nothing of this to the two Akatsuki members in front of her, not wishing to be a burden. Somehow she even managed to keep her pace equal to theirs. But her chakra was reaching a critical low and she didn't know how much longer she could hold out for. Konoha was now just a memory for her both physically and mentally as it was very far behind them. Itachi seemed to notice that she was tiring as he slowed down slightly to fall back with her behind Kisame.

"Hinata, are you okay?" he asked concerned for his angel's health. She gave him a small smile to tell him she was okay since she was saving all her energy for running. Itachi obviously wasn't satisfied with that answer as he used his Sharingan and saw that she was almost all out of chakra, although she was concealing it well.

"Angel, we are going to be making camp in about a half hour. Can you make it that long?" She nodded. They had been traveling about a day and it was approximately six o'clock. She had made it this far, and she could go a little longer without rest.

Thirty minutes passed very rapidly and Itachi called to set up camp. Hinata helped as much as she could with cooking, but Itachi told her to sit down. When they were eating, Hinata began to cough lightly spitting up a little bit of blood. Itachi and Kisame both looked at her with concern. She smiled softly to let them know she was fine. Her heart and lungs ached from the chuunin exam wound she had taken five years ago so as of now there was nothing either of them could do. Thankfully, she had learned how to stop it from bleeding and hurting her from Shizune. She coughed again, but this time, she placed a healing chakra-filled palm to her chest, and then she passed out as she used the last bit of excess chakra that didn't keep her body alive. As she fell backwards, Itachi, who was sitting next to her, caught her before she hit the ground.

"What happened to her? I didn't think that the food was that bad."

"It wasn't. An old internal wound opened up, I believe, and that coupled with chakra depletion…I'm surprised she made it this far without passing out. I was expecting her to drop an hour ago."

"Will she be alright?"

"She should be fine in the morning. She just needs some rest to replenish her chakra supply."

"Well, nonetheless, I'm tired as well. Do you think we should stay here tomorrow she can regain her strength and we can scout out the area?"

Itachi shook his head. "Kisame, you know as well as I do that that would put us all in this party and the Akatsuki at risk. We will only camp here for tonight and then move out first thing tomorrow morning."

"What about her? What if her strength isn't back by morning?"

"I will carry her," Itachi stated simply. "There's only ten miles to go to the hideout. It won't take that long."

"Whatever you want to do is fine by me, but she sleeps in your tent, not mine." Then with a huff, Kisame preformed a quick water jutsu and went into his tent to get some rest, taking his Sameheda with him. Itachi picked Hinata up bridal style and carried her over to their tent, marveling at how light she was. Entering the tent, Itachi softly set her down on the blankets, watching her chest gently rise and fall with her calm breathing. She truly was beautiful. He kissed her mouth gently and she stirred a little in her sleep but didn't wake up.

"That's right, angel. Just keep sleeping, you'll need your energy," he whispered before he took off his cloak and laid it over both of them, wrapping his arms around her waist as he was captured by the nighttime exhaustion that he felt.

The next morning Itachi and Kisame woke up at dawn and took down camp, allowing Hinata to sleep. After breakfast, they left. Hinata was in Itachi's arms bridal style again. After about five miles of running, Hinata began to wake up. As she awoke, she noticed Itachi was carrying her. She felt her energy and saw that it was back to, if not above, her normal levels, and she motioned for him to let her run. He skidded to a halt and put her down after she spent five minutes convincing him that she was strong enough to run on her own.

Finally, they were nearing the Akatsuki lair when a giant bird seemingly popped out of nowhere in the sky. It swooped down low and flew beside them, showing two people on the back, one of which didn't look so happy to be on the bird as he looked a little sick. (A/N: You can probably guess who the one flying the bird is and who the one that is going to be sick is.)

"WELCOME BACK, ITACHI, KISAME! YEAH!" the blonde man on the front of the bird welcomed the trio with an enthused grin, which earned him a smack on the head from the redhead behind him, a curt nod from Itachi, no response from Kisame, and a giggle from Hinata. (A/N: I think Sasori is more of a redhead then a brunette so in this story he has reddish/ auburn hair.)

"Who's the girl, Itachi? Is she the one you were talking to Leader-sama about?" the redhead on the back of the bird asked.

"Her name is Hinata and yes, she is the new medic nin I was talking to Leader-sama about."

"She's pretty, yeah," the blonde commented, earning a soft blush from Hinata. "Aww look she's blushing, un." This comment earned him another smack from the redhead behind him.

"Will you watch where you are going on this thing, Deidara!!?" the redhead growled as they narrowly missed a tree.

"Sure thing, Sasori-danna. When we land, I will watch where I am going," the blonde called Deidara said, teasing poor Sasori.

"DEIDARA!!!" Sasori yelled.

"What…Oh, no!!" Deidara yelled as they hit a tree.

At this, Hinata practically burst out laughing as the two climbed out of the wreckage of a seemingly large clay bird and Sasori slamming himself into Deidara, attacking him with very lifelike puppets. Kisame left to go break them up with his Sameheda as Hinata continued laughing until she saw the opening to the Akatsuki lair. Seeing that, she stopped abruptly in her tracks.

Itachi, seeing her stop, turned around and asked, "What's the matter, angel?"

"Nothing is wrong, Itachi-kun." It was a lie and they both knew it.

"Don't be scared, angel. I'll be right beside you." He wrapped her in a warm embrace, giving her a light kiss before grasping her hand and guiding her toward the entrance to the lair. Then he stopped, "You know, angel, you can still go back…it's not too late to turn around and go back. But once you've passed through here, you can never return. You'll be past the point of no return and you can never go back."

"I know," Hinata gulped. "But I want to be with you no matter what."

"Just remember, that was your choice." He nodded for her to go forward first.

As she stepped into the darkness inside the cave, the first few lines of a song popped into her head, and it fit perfectly.

No thoughts within her head,

Step

But thoughts of joy.

Step

No dreams within her heart,

Step

But dreams of love!

Step

With those few lines in mind, Hinata gripped Itachi's hand tightly and followed him the rest of the way inside.

Gomen nasai. I took so long to update! It was long even for me, but I got stuck. Please don't be mad at me. I am going on a whitewater rafting trip and won't be back until Sunday so I will try to write in the car and update A. S. A. P. when I get back, depending on how many reviews I get. If I get at least five, I will be happy. Arigato to all of you who have reviewed. I love you all. The song fragment at the end is from the newer movie version of Phantom of the Opera and the song is called "Point of No Return". I thought it fit really well so I put it in there. Well, I love you all. Review! Review! Review!

Lots of Love,

Talapadme