I don't own naruto.
The crooked wagon lagged behind, its worn dented wooden wheel providing a rough choppy ride. The strain of hauling the disheveled hobble of a cart was proving to be over whelming for the lone mare. So it was no great challenge for Hinata to escape the vehicle and land safely on her feet.
However the obstacle of eluding her root pursuers would truly assess the extent of her shinobi skills. She could sense their presence lingering on the out skirts of her field of vision. They had probably anticipated her betrayal, and it wouldn't be long before they descended on her.
They out numbered her and in direct combat their abilities exceeded her own, there was no question she would have to run.
In all honesty, she never thought herself capable enough to drug Kakashi, thought perhaps he would have noticed or been immune to it. Accepting her success was down to good timing, he was off guard and distracted. The Hokage had defiantly overexerted himself by doing something.
That something most probably included Sasuke, the rogue Nin was a different matter altogether, and he was her target. She was going to hunt him down this time.
Sasuke had sought her out twice now, meaning he evidently held interest in her. The memory of his smile still fresh in her mind, she had decided that she was willing go to, great length to provoke the same response.
He was a much more appealing option than Kakashi and Konoha anyway. He was not however, particularly the best option for her, Sauske himself had a countless number of enemies after him.
Why had she chosen such a rash course of action, why is she willingly destroying any normality in her life. Choosing instead to be an out cast a rebel with no real cause, other then her own self-loathing of life.
Was it to fill the bitter resentment and the hollow dissatisfaction, the endless monotony of her so called normal existence back home, before the mission that had scarred her forever.
With her being a konichi there should have been this risk of danger this adrenalin fueled charge for survival. However she let her life lull into the stagnant and mundane.
She had never really been able to emulate this passion for life the inexhaustible enthusiasm. Instead she was drawn to it, like a moth to a flame when she saw this ecstasy to live in the eyes of another.
It enticed her and fascinated her; she still had yet to meet anyone one such as Naruto with the very essence of life course through his veins like electricity. It had fueled her affection for him all these years.
With no strategies, escape routes or allies to rely on she simply did what came instinctively to her. And ran, ran as fast as possible in the opposite direction to the root operatives that were now chasing her and gaining fast.
One by one they appeared in her extended byakugan field of vision, she had sprang their trap she was surrounded they were enclosing in. Violently swerving to evade the barrage of senbons hurtling towards her. Using the eerie high-pitched screech that preceded them as a warning.
Two porcelain masked Nins pounced on her and launched immediately in to hand to hand combat. This is what she had feared and sort desperately to avoid. Only blocking and parrying she edge back trying to flee, realizing the root shanobi were restraining them selves from landing any fatal blows.
'So they're not trying to kill me' Hinata thought. 'They mean to capture me, then they would rather use poison so not to injure me physically' She made a mental note to avoid the kurani because the weapons would be laced with a powerful paralysis-inducing drug.
Hinata was beginning to panic, struggling to evade all the attacks. She needs to retreat now, before the rest of the squad descended on her. Becoming desperate she was haphazardly trying to ebb away from the fight. Losing her footing on long strands of wet slippery grass, she saw the sky swing into view.
The ominous vacant animal like mask surged on to her. Closing her eye's she waited the split seconds before she felt hands latch on, jerking her down roughly.
However instead of her body smashing into the ground like she expected she passed through it. The damp moist smell of soil filled her nostrils, she opened her eyes disorientated. Hinata had been dragged into long trench under the ground, the hands that were gripping her belonged to Sasuke.
He was drawing her to the narrow little beam of light at the far side. Throwing an explosive tag behind him as an insurance policy. The explosion flung soil meters into the air before it rained back down on them, collapsing the trench. Just barely seconds after they emerged on the surface.
Thrusting her into the cover of the woods, Sasuke turned and detonated a chain reaction of explosions all along the tree line of the clearing. Great pillars of soil and debris propelled into the air, creating a cloud of smoke and dirt, the tremendous boom of each explosion was deafening.
Hinata had enough sense to keep running whilst Sasuke was acting as a diversion. If she didn't all his effort would go to naught, after the initial ringing in her ear from the explosion wore off, she heard thudding noises. Growing distressed when she couldn't discern the origins of the sound. Whether it was from the sound of her racing heart pounding the blood against her eardrums, or the footsteps of someone running behind her.
She didn't dare turn around andcheck she carried on running facing forward swerving in and out of the trees. She couldn't bare the thought if it being a Root member chasing after her, that would they had captured Sasuke and they were out to tie up all the lose ends.
They would most definitely kill her; even the protection of Kakashi wouldn't save her if they had caught Sasuke. The footsteps became louder and louder who ever it was, they were in attacking range now.