Pranks

Chapter 2

Naruto slid into his seat right in front of the glittery stage. He gave a nod to Cassandra, who had already shed down to a metallic thong. She knew what he liked. She began to utilize the pole, twisting and curling around it. When she discarded the thong, Naruto began to pull out his bills. She bent down right in front of him, for he was her best customer. He smirked, examining her perfect cheeks, before sticking some moolah into her tight little ass. She grinned, slowly turning around, and waggling her bum all the while. Their eyes finally met, and he stared hard, alas mouthing two definitive words: Lap. Dance.

Okay, so that never actually happened.

After extensively weighing his options, Naruto decided that the nudey bar would just have to wait. Following a few minutes of blindly running through the forest (stepping on squirrels and crashing into trees), he reached the clearing where Hinata had been left. It seemed that Sasuke had just arrived as well, and was standing over the hole while peering into it.

More mocking? Naruto wondered from a bush.

His eyes widened when Sasuke jumped into the hole. The blonde slowly smiled, and released a quiet chuckle. His task completed, he took a piss and walked away.

Inside the hole, the twelve-year-old Hyuuga Hinata pressed her pointer fingers together. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek. As she pulled away, she watched a faint flare appear on his face, before he glanced away, compulsively shoving his hand into his pockets.

Hinata smiled. "Let's go home."

As Hinata was the smaller of the two, it was decided that Sasuke would hoist her out of the hole by allowing her to step in the palms of his interlocked hands. When Hinata managed to pull herself to the surface, she sat on her heels and caught her breath, before glancing back at Sasuke whose arm was extended for her assistance. Her smile faded.

"Hyuuga?"

"Have a good night," Hinata said. She noticed two orbs of red where Sasuke onyx eyes had been. She walked away, feeling proud for sticking up for herself, but at the same time, anxious. What if Sasuke got sick, or starved, or eaten by a bear? After a few more minutes of walking, she stopped in her tracks, shaking her head. She had to go back for him! It was the right thing to do. Committed to saving her boyfriend, Hinata spun around, only to come face to face with-

A figure with pale white skin and blood red hair. She released a shriek, but covered her mouth. It was one of the foreigners participating in the chunnin exams. Hinata clutched her chest. "He-hello," she managed, noticing the "love" tattoo plastered on the side of the boy's forehead. Maybe he was a nice person. She lowered her hands, unaware that they were trembling. "I'm H-Hinata."

No response.

"Garfield...was it?"

Still no response.

"Yeah, I-I'm Hi-Hin-"

"Blood."

Hinata blanched. "Wh-what?" she squeaked.

"I...want...blood."

Silence.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Hinata ran as fast as she could, hearing Gaara plow after her. Far too terrified to activate the byakugan or use any of her other awesome ninja techniques, she took to flailing her arms while screaming at the top of her lungs. The sun had fallen, the forest was dark, and Hinata became lost within seconds.

She consistently glanced back, and Gaara was always a few yards away. His eyes seemed almost red with killing intent.

Twice she noticed him trip on tree roots, even managing to fall on his face at one point. After being mauled by a family of offended raccoons, Garfield responded with a frustrated scream of, "CHIDORI!"

Hinata continued to run, daring not to look back again. What would she do? She had to find someone! Should she face him – fight him? The prospect was far too horrifying.

That was when someone crashed into her back. She fell to the ground, struggling beneath Garfield, covering her face as he raised his fist.

...No impact.

Hinata peeked up at Garfield's suspended hand and uneasy expression. Why had he hesitated? The boy released a high-pitched squawk as her knee collided with his crotch.

Now's my chance, Hinata thought. She had to find her way out of the woods. She had to get back to the village! She rammed into someone's chest, and released another scream.

"Hinata?"

It was Sasuke! Sasuke! She clung to his chest, giggling hysterically, because she'd found Sasuke, and now she was safe! Don't let me go...

The Uchiha obediently wrapped her in his arms. "What's wrong?" he said.

"Ga-Garfield – he was – he was-"

"Hinata, breathe."

She tried again. "Chasing – ch-chasing me."

Sasuke peered out into the darkness in the direction from which Hinata had come. "No one's there," he said.

She buried her face in his shirt. She'd never touched Sasuke like this – they'd never been so intimate, but she was so glad he was there.

Her boyfriend didn't seem to mind. "I'll walk you home from training from now on," he said with a touch of embarrassment.

And that was how they made up. Holding hands, the two walked back to the village, Sasuke with a slight limp.

It was the next day, reading a magazine in the waiting room of the hospital, for Hinata was accompanying Sasuke to his strange "annual rabies shot," that she heiress paused midway though an article. "Wait a minute..."