Begin

Hinata was running through the dark streets of the small town she had arrived at only last night

Hinata was running through the dark streets of the small town she had arrived at only last night. Somehow, she had been separated from the others and was being chased by Itachi's henchmen once again. She turned a corner and not find a means of escape but a dead end. She quickly turned, gasping for breath and the fear evident in her eyes. They were just about to grab her when….

she shot up in the bed with a start. A thin layer of sweat covered Hinata's face and body as she breathed in and out deeply.

'A d-dream...only a dream...' she thought to herself as she clutched the soft white blankets to her chest.

Hinata did a quick survey of the room to find white walls with light brown carpeting. She was lying on a large bed with white blankets and pillows. The furniture in the room was all a light oak color with white handles.

Hinata was confused as to where she was when the memories came rushing back to her. She still missed everyone dearly but was grateful that she was out of the dark mansion and away from Itachi. Another thought came rushing to her head.

'When did I fall asleep?!' was what screamed in her mind.

After a bit of thinking Hinata recalled that she had been listening to Kakashi and then began to cry but how did she get in this room and in bed?! A furious blush came to her cheeks as she looked down to see a large baggy dark gray T-shirt that was exceedingly large on her and black gym shorts that tied around her waist. The blush became even redder that someone had seen her naked but her thoughts were disrupted when there was a soft knock on the door.

"Y-yes?" asked Hinata in an almost inaudible whisper but the person on the other side of the door must have heard because the door opened.

Once opened, Kakashi, who was fully dressed and ready for the day in tan cargo pants and a tight black T-shirt, stepped inside with a smile and a tall glass of orange juice.

"Nice to see you're awake and not asleep on the floor." he said still smiling as he held out the glass for her to take.

"Th-thank you..." said Hinata as she took the juice.

But she hesitated to take a drink for a question lingered in her mind.

"And don't worry," Kakashi began with an all-knowing expression "I only moved you to the room, Sakura changed you."

She was relieved that another boy hadn't seen her naked but only a girl. Granted she preferred if no one saw her in only her undergarments but at least it was someone of the same gender.

"I'm s-sorry for c-causing to h-have to carry m-me." said Hinata with a small blush on her cheeks.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto's heavier, he should be thanking me." Kakashi said in a flat-out honest tone.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the small comment and was very grateful to have been taken into such a kind home.

Fast Forward

It's been almost a week since Hinata came to Konoha and she was very content in being here. Her newfound friends didn't watch her like a hawk, knowing she was safe in such a heavily guarded town.

'I'm surprised at how robust the police force is!' she thought to herself as she was walking around town.

She noticed that no matter where she went there usually was a cop or two. Hinata knew she should head home soon since the sun was setting. She turned to look at the sun and saw a park silhouetted by the orange and red sky.

'It looks so beautiful!' thought Hinata as her feet moved towards the park of their own will. There was a swing set there which she was ecstatic about since she loved swings.

Hinata sat there, slowly swinging as the light breeze caressed her face while she watched the sun sink.

"You best be careful after dark or goblins will snatch you up." said a deep tone that was unfamiliar to Hinata's ears.

She jumped and quickly turned around causing her to fall onto her butt. Hinata's eyes shot up and saw a man she didn't recognize, standing there as he lightly chuckled. His long black hair draped over his shoulders and black leather shirt which held buckles and rings of all sorts. He had a pale face with strange tattoos on his eyes. He didn't seem to be a very friendly person with the evil smirk that lined his lips.

"Who a-are y-you?" asked Hinata nervously as she continued to sit there with her hands clutched to her chest.

The man came over and knelt down in front of her while leaning on the swing that kept some space between the two which made Hinata feel slightly better.

"I should be asking you that. I've never seen a girl watched by so many cops." he said as he very lightly rocked back and forth, somewhat closing the space with each swing.

'They do?' Hinata began thinking, extremely confused which must have been evident on her face because the man continued.

"You didn't notice? This is the first time I've seen you without cops on your tail. Either you've done something very naughty or you're someone important or someone's after you." he said with a smirk.

Hinata was staring at her knees, comprehending the information when a certain part of the sentence caught her attention.

'When h-has he seen m-me other than tonight? Maybe he had j-just saw me go to the grocery store once as he w-was going about his own b-business.' thought Hinata to herself, happy with the conclusion that she hoped so dearly to be true.

Hinata looked up again to see the man lazily smirking at her and then her saw his eyes light up which made her uncomfortable because of how much they reminded her of snakes.

"You know, that doesn't sound like a bad idea." he said as he began to stand up.

"E-excuse m-me?" asked Hinata nervously standing up as well, taking a few small steps back.

His eyes became darker with the evil thoughts that crossed through his mind and his smirk went away as he than became serious.

"Kidnapping you." he said as he outstretched his hand toward Hinata.

"Hinata!" said a familiar voice.

Hinata heard her name being shouted and turned to see Naruto standing next to a boy who seemed not too much older than you and was wearing a long sleeve dark shirt with a green vest and dark gray pants; he also had a spiky ponytail. Just as Hinata about to run towards them, an arm snaked across her shoulders, pulling her against a tall and lean body. She felt the coldness of metal as it was pushed against her neck. Her hands were on his arm but were not pulling in fear of the blade being pushed deeper.

Naruto and his friend ran up closer but stopped at seeing the danger Hinata was in.

"Orochimaru, let her go!" Naruto yelled as his hands balled into fists up to the point where his knuckles turned white and his blue eyes filled with hate.

"Calm down, Naruto. Yelling and running into this isn't the best way to go." Naruto's friend calmly stated.

Hinata felt the blade pushed up on her neck a little more, the sharp metal breaking her skin causing a trickle of blood to slowly slide down her throat. Orochimaru leaned down and with a tongue longer than most people have, he licked the blood clean from Hinata's neck, causing her to shiver.

"Tasty." he said as he leaned over to whisper into Hinata's ear, just loud enough for the other two to hear.

Orochimaru was about to move but stopped as he felt something push against the back of his head. He was surprised he hadn't heard the person sneaking up on him. He turned his head a little to catch a glimpse of the person and the surprise went away as it was the leader of the town that resided in the sand. His fiery red hair and blood red tattoo were unmistakable.

"Gaara!" said Naruto with a smile now that Hinata wasn't in as much danger.

She had yet to see this person because the blade on her throat prevented her from moving. Hinata heard the person behind her and Orochimaru speak with a deep tone.

"Let her go." said Gaara in a calm tone.

Orochimaru tightened his grip on the blade and with a swift movement, while still holding Hinata, turned with his arm outstretched that held the blade and slashed at Gaara who simply jumped back and avoided the weapon. Landing a couple feet away, never moving the gun from pointing at Orochimaru, and still held his calm demeanor while Orochimaru was becoming somewhat perturbed that he was getting ganged up on.

Now that she was turned around, Hinata was able to see him better. Gaara had a red T-shirt on with a black long sleeve underneath. The ensemble was complete with baggy black jeans and black shoes. He had dark rings around his eyes and a red tattoo of a Japanese symbol on his head on his forehead.

The gun he held was aimed just above Hinata's head at Orochimaru's. She didn't know what to do as she stood there, stuck with someone holding a knife to her neck and surrounded by unfamiliar people save for Naruto who were thankfully trying to help her. Hinata felt the knife push up a little more as Orochimaru's options began to run out causing him to get angrier. She was unsure of what was going to happen as the sun was almost completely set that gave light to this stand-off.