Hinata couldn't help but think about what she had heard. She was asking herself questions like, is he as naturally talented as everyone thinks. Maybe if he lived in the shadow of his older brother maybe he worked to catch up? Or, maybe not, maybe Hinata was just wishful thinking. She knew that she should just drop the matter out of her mind and focus on other things. What was the point anyway, most everyone would be his friend if he wanted them to, so why would he notice her anyway? He wouldn't care is they were anything alike, anyway so what if both of their siblings outshined them, at least his was older, hers was younger.

It's not like Hinata would be able to say anything anyway. Even if she did have a burst of courage it wouldn't do her any good, team seven was away on a mission. The good news was that her own sensei was back so that meant that it was back to training.

So a few months went by, slow and normal, Hyuga Hinata's life was exactly the way it always was. There was training, alone and with her team, there was volunteer work at the hospital, and there was trying to impress her father, trying. So she forgot about Sasuke's words, until it happened.

She had done some work at the hospital, Sasuke had been admitted, again, Shino was away on a mission, and not much was happening. It had been a long day and Hinata was very tired, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

As soon as the Hyuga entered the medical center the next day she could tell that something was different. The staff was gathered in small groups of two or three, quietly whispering to each other. Some of them had very shocked expressions on their faces, some worried looks, and some just looked very angry. Hinata was very curious.

Luckily she didn't have to wait long for someone to fill her in; the nurses were always horrible gossipers.

"Uchiha Sasuke has deserted Konoha and left for the Sound Village, and a five man team was sent after him. The team consisted of Uzumaki Naruto, Akimichi Chouji, Hyuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, and Inuzuka Kiba." Hinata nodded at the woman who had provided the information, turned and headed for the exit. She needed some time to think.

The dark haired girl found herself sitting on a bench in a quiet area of the park, deep in thought. There were many thoughts circulating in her head and she was trying to figure out what to do. Finally the only solution that she could see was to wait for the search party to come back.

Hinata went back to the hospital to numb her mind with some work and to wait. After several long hours the team finally returned. Thankfully they were all alive, two were in critical condition, but they were alive. Luckily Kiba wasn't in horrible condition and was well enough for Hinata to speak to.

After another twenty minutes of waiting Hinata found herself sitting next to Kiba's hospital bed. He willingly answered all of her questions about how the mission went, and how they were doing as far as he knew.

"M-maybe another search party could go out," suggested Hinata, "I could put in a mission request to Hokage-sama…." She trailed off a bit, concentrating more on her twiddling fingers than Kiba.

"Naruto already has, trust me. I heard him arguing with the fifth in the next room, do you realize how thin these walls are, or maybe it's just how loud Naruto is," answered Kiba, "Why do you care so much anyway Hinata?" Hinata's gaze lowered to the ground.

"Oh, I d-don't really, I'd better go, you n-need your rest Kiba-kun," she said as she stood and walked out the door. Kiba wondered for a moment about her odd behavior, but the pain killers pushed the thought towards the back of his mind. He was tired, and grateful for a chance to rest.

Hinata walked down the halls, descended the stairs, and stepped out the door. It was getting dark and as she walked home the pale eyed girl knew what she was going to do.

"I'm going to go after him, tonight." She quietly whispered to herself, and the wind swishing through the trees seemed to agree with her decision.

--

There, next chapter done. I know that the plot has basically stayed with what actually happened during the Sasuke retrieval ark, but I promise that the rest is going to totally be original stuff that you've never read before.

So until then,

UchihaHyugaGlow