It was another day for Hinata, another day of suffering and sorrow, far away from Konoha, far away from her father, far away from Naruto. To her, all hope was lost. She just doesn't have the strength to care anymore. Sasuke noticed that she was getting quite pale, and asked if she was okay.

"Hey hinata, are you okay? You seem to be lacking a Sasuke noted.

"I-im okay sasuke-san, I just feel a bit s-sick…" she said while cuddling the bed.

Sasuke grabbed a thick blanket and wrapped it around her, making sure that she wouldn't get too cold.

"Thank you Sasuke-san."

He simply nodded and left, leaving hinata alone in the room.

She wondered if anyone would be worried about her disappearance, especially Neji. Neji had been very close to her during these recent years; He is no longer the same old Neji that would always despise her even if she had done nothing wrong to him.

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It had been 2 days since Hinata had left the village and Neji, Kiba, Shino & Kurenai have been wondering where she was.

"Kurenai-sensei, I'm starting to get worried. Hinata has not been seen for two days now, and I think that she may have been abducted." Neji stated.

"Hmm, I think so too. Call Shino and Kiba, we'll look around the village, and if we can't find her we'll tell Tsunade sama."

And so Neji, Kurenai, and the rest of Hinata's teammates went off looking for her around the village.

And so, Kiba, Shino, Neji and Kurenai went to search for her all around the village throughout much of the day, but they simply couldn't find Hinata…

They all entered and explained to tsunade that Hinata has been missing for a few days and they had searched all of Konoha looking for her.

"Are you sure that Hinata is missing? Perhaps she's just training alone somewhere." Tsunade said while going through some papers.

"We have to consider the possibility that she is indeed missing! We asked everyone in konoha and they all haven't seen Hinata in 2 days!" Kiba stated in noticeable concern.

"Hmmm, perhaps you are indeed correct. However, if this is all true, it will entail serious consequences for the Hyuuga clan." Tsunade noted

"Then it is best that we begin searching for her immediately. We will search the surrounding forest and countryside for her." Kurenai suggested.

Tsunade appraised the idea, "Good thinking. I'll have the other gennin teams help you in your search."

And with that said, the four left to prepare for tomorrow's search.

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"You called for me Lord Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked.

Orochimaru gave him a wry smile, "So, how goes your effort at keeping a bit of company within the confines of my lair."

"Well enough. At least she's too meek and docile to try anything stupid."

Orochimaru nodded, "Yes, it would indeed be such a shame if I were forced to "deal" with any problems that she may cause during her stay."

Sasuke understood clearly what Orochimaru meant. For the sake of her safety, Sasuke had to make sure that Orochimaru would never be displeased with her. He bowed before his master, signaling that he understood his orders.

He went outside a moment for a breath of fresh air, and noticed his wayward charge sitting atop a tree branch. She had a far off look on her face, and the glitter of tears dotted her delicate cheeks.

Why does she cry so much? He thought to himself. Never in his life had he ever seen someone cry so much over such small things. Although, it reminded him of how he used to be following the aftermath of the Uchiha clan massacre.

As he tried to get closer to her, she turned around and suddenly wiped the tears off of her face.

"g-gomen, I know it's a b-bit stupid for me to be crying like this.." hinata said

"hn, it's not like I care." Sasuke said coldly

Hinata didn't really expect Sasuke to be kind to her, so she just shrugged off his apathy. However, she noted a subtle change within him.

Many thoughts were going through her mind, why did Sasuke even bother to rescue me? Why didn't he leave me in the forest to die? It's not like him to care so much.

Sasuke noted the thoughtful look on her face. She was apparently already beginning to consider her current predicament. Hopefully she was smart enough not to try anything that would displease lord Orochimaru.

Sasuke thought. She's changed so much. Even though she still is the same shy Hinata that I once knew, she is rather calm and brave in the face of frightening and dangerous circumstances. I hope she realizes the potential danger that she is in.

Indeed. He thought to himself. I was once like her. Always trying to be accepted, but I couldn't seem to work up the courage to live up to everyone's expectations back then. I've come a long way since then, but she has just only begun a similar metamorphosis of her own.

But deep inside he knew he was starting to like her. He felt like comforting, her but that would make Orochimaru perceive him becoming soft and weak. NO! He thought, I can't show weakness, if I am to kill Itachi. I must be strong.

He then saw Hinata lying on the grass, fast asleep. He gave out a long sigh and picked her up, bringing her back to her room where she could rest for the night.

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Thank you for everyone who has reviewed my story! It means a lot to me & this is a question to the viewers: should I put slight kabuhina in the story? Because I got a request asking if I can put that pairing…and again, thank you so much for the reviews! I hope I could be getting more reviews soon.